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The beautiful Alexis Bed Frame oozes contemporary style as well with superior form and function .Featuring quality linen upholstery over high density foam padding,solid wood legs with floor protectors create a sturdy foundation and the steel frame supports and wooden arched slat base help to distribute weight evenly throughout the structure. The slats are reinforced with built-in steel bars and kept in place by heavy-duty metal connectors. Underneath, an adjustable centre support beam further helps to provide a more balanced stance for the entire Bed Frame. | https://darkhorsecreations.com.au/products/alexis-linen-fabric-bed-frame-double-grey |
Ground Anchors are used to address a number of situations with retaining walls, dry docks, coffer dams, water tanks, concrete gravity dams, tall buildings, Suspension bridges, towers, ski lifts, cliff or vertical cut stabilization, mine, pits, shafts, tunnels, underground caverns, pipeline and oil platforms. Some of these situations include direct tension, sliding, overturning, dynamic-loading, and ground pre-stressing.
Permanent ground anchors are pre-stressed cement-grouted tendons used in soils or rock to restrain and control the displacements of structural elements such as walls or slabs. A ground anchor is essentially a vertical or lateral load-carrying element, developing a resisting force by stressing the soil around the anchorage length.
The screw anchor is a deep foundation member consisting of a steel shaft with helical plates welded to the shaft. They can be used to resist compression loads and are used as piles too. The use of anchors is widespread for both temporary and permanent work.
Typical anchor applications are to hold down slabs subjected to hydrostatic uplift, to increase the stability of a dam, or connected with guy wire to resist overturning of towers. Anchors are used because they are an economical way to provide resistance to vertical loads and are frequently far less expensive to install than the corresponding weight of concrete or to replace or rebuild the structure. | http://www.gibsonsgrouting.com/anchor-systems |
What Is a Strongback?
Also sometimes known as a strong back, a strongback is a type of construction that helps to enhance the strength of some type of structure by adding a secondary support at a key point in the design. The idea is to provide additional support at points in which the failure of the main support network would lead to the collapse of the structure as a whole. This type of additional element in construction can be successfully utilized in commercial buildings, homes, and even in the construction of boats and ships.
As it relates to the construction of a commercial building, a strongback is often in the form of a girder or beam that helps to reinforce the overall structure. For example, an additional girder or set of girders may be placed in close proximity to a girder that is positioned to bear a great deal of weight in the overall structure. Doing so creates a situation in which any damage to that central girder does not immediately lead to the collapse of the weight normally carried by that support. Instead, the burden shifts to the two strongback girders and makes it possible for repairs to be made before permanent damage to the structure takes place.
In a home, a strongback is often a beam that is used to reinforce the efficiency of floor and ceilings joists within the construction. With this application, the strongback joist works in conjunction with the beam to help keep floors and ceilings level, even if the support or weight-bearing beam should begin to deteriorate over time. The same general concept may be used to reinforce staircases, by attaching the strongback bracing to the stringers on the staircase, making it possible for the structure to remain stable even when subjected to stress that would normally cause the stringers to fail.
The strongback is also often used in the construction of different types of boats and ships. As with the supporting beam or joist found in the home, the strongback in the ship design often helps to provide additional support to the skeleton or frame of the vessel by running along the length of the ship and bracing the frames that make up the overall body of the ship. This makes it more likely that the framing of the ship will remain intact even if there is some type of hull damage sustained in a storm or some type of boating accident.
A strongback should not be viewed as a replacement for the joists or beams that it augments. Instead, this type of construction should be seen as a backup or support to the main element in the overall design, something that enhances rather than replaces the function of the other design elements. When executed properly, a construction element of this type can help protect the integrity of buildings and other types of construction, improving the chances of being able to repair damage and continue to make use of the structure for many years to come.
What Is a Strongback in Construction?
The quality of construction depends not only on a building's appearance but also the integrity of its structure. Good design begins with a solid frame. Whether made of wooden boards or steel beams, the substructure acts as the skeleton of a building, defining and supporting its shape. To strengthen the framework, builders add additional load-bearing systems called strongbacks.
Strongback in Roofing
A building's roof must withstand the force of wind, rain, and, in some regions, the weight of snow. Builders use a type of strongback construction called a truss. Long boards, called rafter ties, are nailed in place perpendicular to the ceiling joists, providing stability to the roof's structure. Weight is distributed over a larger area, creating an even load.
Strongback in Flooring
Floors are strengthened by a system of joists and bracing trusses. Joists distribute weight evenly over the entire space. Bracing trusses increase the floor's stiffness, reduce vibration and prevent joists from shifting. A stiff floor will resist sagging.
Using strongback construction makes a solid base for any type of flooring. When laying tile, maintaining a flat, even subfloor is crucial. Any amount of shifting in the joists can cause tiles to crack. Hardwood floors are prone to warping and squeaking when the subfloor is uneven.
Strongback in Staircases
When designing staircases, builders use strongbacks as secondary support at pivotal points where the structure may be weakest. A staircase comprises vertical risers, horizontal treads and diagonal stringers. To stiffen this assembly, builders place boards perpendicular to the stair treads.
What Is a Strongback in Framing?
Quality construction depends on a well-designed substructure. Because it is the skeleton of the building, a frame must perform several functions.
Define the Shape
Builders have more freedom in design when they can use strongbacks to strengthen structurally vulnerable areas in the framework. High walls with vertical studs would not stay upright without the presence of support beams. In framing, strongbacks are boards placed diagonally to the studs, keeping them firmly in place and providing rigidity to the wall.
Support the Weight
The framework supports the weight of the entire structure-- the drywall, roofing materials, plumbing and electrical systems. Using strongbacks in framing strengthens the structure so it can bear the load. Wood is strong enough to be used for framing in residential construction.
Commercial builders use steel girders in place of lumber; many of these building are made with heavy concrete for durability. Elevators and escalators add weight and increase the need for strong construction.
Withstand External Forces
A building's frame must be strong enough to withstand external forces. Horizontal straight line winds exert pressure on vertical walls. Strongbacks provide rigidity to the framework. To further strengthen a structure, builders make a continuous load path by connecting the floor, wall and roof together using a system of braces and trusses.
Prevent Sagging
Strongbacks are also needed in places where a building may sag. When designing a frame, builders must consider these areas of potential vulnerability:
- Windows
- Doors
- Fireplaces
No home or office is complete without windows or doors, but disrupting a wall frame decreases its strength. Anywhere there is an interruption in the vertical stud system, a strongback is put into place. Window and door frames are strengthened with additional vertical boards called king studs. Builders commonly place horizontal headers at the top of a window or door to keep the frame from leaning inward. A fireplace, though more complex in design, requires a header for additional structural integrity.
Discussion Comments
@TurtleeyMC - I know that I hate stairs anyway, especially the ones you can look down and see right down to the ground. People like me don't like the heights and the added support helps squelch some nerves.
We all have these irrational fears and they may be silly. I would want extra support if I could design my own stairs though.
This type of construction is something some people look for when they are building a house or updating an old house. I can see why someone would want to have the added support, 'an ounce of prevention', they say. | https://www.aboutmechanics.com/what-is-a-strongback.htm |
How does buoyant foundation work?
How does buoyant foundation work?
Buoyant foundations are a cost-effective, adaptive flood risk reduction strategy that works in synchrony with a region’s natural flood cycles. When flooding occurs, the buoyancy blocks lift the house, with the structural subframe transferring the forces between house, blocks and posts.
Why buoyant foundation is used?
Advantages of Buoyant Raft Foundation The building is elevated to a required height, which makes them stay above high water levels. The chances of settlement are reduced. Watertight material for foundations would help in the durability of the underground structure.
What are the basic elements of buoyant foundation?
Buoyant foundation
- BUOYANT FOUNDATION REPORT MADE BY :- PARTH S.
- BUOYANT FOUNDATION • A reinforced concrete foundation designed and located such that its weight and superimposed permanent load is approximately equal to the weight of displaced soil and/or ground water.
What are buoyant houses?
“A buoyant foundation is a relatively inexpensive, unobstructive retrofit to a shotgun house that provides it with buoyancy blocks and a verticle guidance system interconnected by a light structural frame, so that the house rises to float on the water when flooding occurs and settles back into its original place when …
Can you build a house on a floating slab?
Building a floating slab is one of the great economical ways to construct a foundation. Conventional foundations contain a strip footing on the perimeter with a frost wall on top. Floating Slab is the nicest choice for the construction of sheds but construction of the home, there are some disadvantages to think about.
What is the floating foundation?
A floating foundation is a type of foundation constructed by excavating the soil in such a way that the weight of structure built on the soil is nearly equal to the total weight of the soil excavated from the ground including the weight water in the soil before the construction of structure.
What are the types of deep foundation?
What Are the Types of Deep Foundations?
- Pile foundations.
- Caissons.
- Cylinders.
- Basements.
- Hollow Box Foundations (Buoyancy Rafts)
- Shaft Foundations.
What are different types of shallow foundation?
The different types of shallow foundations are:
- Spread or Isolated Footing;
- Strip Foundation;
- Mat or Raft Foundation;
- Combined Foundation.
How are caisson foundations constructed?
It is a form of deep foundation which are constructed above ground level, then sunk to the required level by excavating or dredging material from within the caisson. Caissons (also sometimes called “piers”) are created by auguring a deep hole into the ground, and then filling it with concrete.
Which house can float on water?
A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a home. Float house is a Canadian and American term for a house on a float (raft); a rough house may be called a shanty boat.
What do you need to know about buoyant foundations?
A buoyant foundation “is a type of amphibious foundation in which an existing structure is retrofitted to allow it to float as high as necessary during floods while remaining on the ground in normal conditions” ( Buoyant Foundation Project ). There are three elements:
How are buoyancy rafts used in building construction?
In the case of buoyancy rafts construction, the shear strength of the soil in the site is very low. Now under such conditions, the construction by floating of the foundation is the only way that works. To have such a foundation, cellular rafts are sunk in the form of the box section.
How are buoyancy blocks used to float a building?
There are three elements: 1. buoyancy blocks that are installed under the house that will help float the building, 2. vertical guideposts that prevent the building from wondering during a flood beyond the vertical movement, and 3. a structural sub-frame that ties the blocks and guideposts together.
What kind of foundations are used in construction?
Buoyancy rafts or hollow box foundations also known as the floating foundations is a type of deep foundation is used in building construction on soft and weak soils. | https://idswater.com/2019/06/27/how-does-buoyant-foundation-work/ |
And in yoga, we have the same idea. When we ground ourselves, we connect to the earth, to the present moment and to our physical sensations. A lot of the time in our lives we live in our heads. We are quite literally lost in thought, and we neglect our sense of presence and our connection with the here and now.
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When we ground ourselves, either on the yoga mat or in our daily lives, we connect with the reality of the present moment. We let go of the stories and the narratives about what might be happening, what has happened and what could happen. We drop into experiencing what is. We feel stronger, more balanced and more connected with the earth and ourselves. Through grounding, we feel secure and present and we establish our right to be here. To be grounded cultivates physical and mental stability and balance. (Learn more about staying present here.)
How to Get Grounded
Grounding can be practiced in any yoga or meditation posture. A good place to start, though, is in tadasana (mountain pose). By its very nature, it is a posture of stability, stillness and presence. Conveniently, it is also very close to the standing posture we spend so much time in off the mat, so practicing grounding here will be easily transferable to the rest of our lives.
Through the Feet
Stand tall with your feet together, big toes touching. Lift, spread and lay the toes back down. Firmly establish a strong connection between the ground and all four corners of the feet. Distribute your weight evenly between these four points and gently lift the inner arches of the feet. Visualize roots growing from the balls and heels of the feet down into the earth, grounding and connecting you here.
Through the Root Lock
From the firm foundation of your feet, draw the energy up through the inner line of the legs and engage in mula bandha (root lock). This is where you subtly contract the muscles between the tailbone and the pubic bone, lifting the perineum. The root lock naturally engages your core to build stability. It also helps you to draw the connection you have created between your feet and the ground up into your body.
Through the Crown
Somewhat paradoxically, the final aspect of being grounded is to experience a sense of being lifted, even while you are rooted to the earth. Elongate the spine, drawing energy up from the tailbone through the length of the spine to the crown of the head. Visualize a string connected to the crown of your head pulling you up to the sky. Feel the way that this pull perfectly and effortlessly balances the forces connecting you to the ground, allowing you to feel simultaneously rooted yet lifted.
Through Cultivation
Being grounded is about cultivating balance and presence, not about feeling heavy or stuck. To be grounded is to establish a firm foundation from which to grow.
Cultivating a sense of grounding can help us to develop all of our yoga asanas. When we ground ourselves, we feel stable and balanced, whatever parts of our bodies remain in contact with the mat. For example, practicing principles of grounding with your forearms or hands in exactly the same way as you did with your feet can help you to develop a strong inversion practice. You can also work on grounding in postures such as Virabhadrasana II (warrior II pose), maximizing the feeling of strength and rooted-ness that the posture naturally encourages.
Grounding can also help you as a mindfulness practice in your life. Any time you are feeling overwhelmed, or caught up mentally with anxieties or worries, pause for a moment. Take the time to check in with the parts of you that are connected with the ground. Breathe into those connections, deliberately strengthening them, and feel the permanence of this rooting and stability. Whatever happens, the earth is still there and you are still grounded on it. | https://www.yogapedia.com/2/6773/meditation/mindfulness/getting-grounded-what-it-means-and-how-to-get-it |
Your body is neither flat nor curved and without proper support it tends to take the shape of the surface it rests on. Sitting on a hard surface for a longer duration causes the legs, hips, spine, shoulders and head to misalign, resulting in pain and discomfort. That’s the last thing you need when you are trying to stay still and find inner peace in meditation.
Ideal to sit on for long hours.
Crescent-shaped portion filled with buckwheat provides a firm foundation and reduces stress on the spine.
It is ideal to sit on for the practice of pranayama.
The rectangular portion is filled with pure cotton which allows for the greatest comfort and cushioning for the legs and ankles.
Provides cushioning (between 5-6 cms) thus reduces stress on the spine.
Designed to provide comfort, distribute weight evenly, improve alignment and stability.
Product Care: Gently pat the pillow to release any dust, wipe surface with wet cloth, sun dry the pillow. | https://www.juruyoga.com/product/juru-yoga-meditation-pillow/ |
Unemployment in Kenya.
The US Bureau of labour Statistics defines unemployed as a person who does not have a job and has been looking for employment in the past four weeks.
The young people in Africa are faced with a number of challenges. These include among others; their small-growing economies (but)which cannot create sufficient jobs for their citizens, political instabilities, Outbreaks, poor government policies, economic crisis, and post-crisis economic growth partly arising from unfavourable environmental conditions created and poor prices of the commodities that follow. Despite that, the African population continues to increase, implying that the number of youth increases proportionally and will continue to grow in the foreseeable future.
This population growth presents both an opportunity (to reap the demographic dividend) and imminent danger and threat to social cohesion. Consequently, if appropriate policies are not implemented to harness the dividend, massive migration occurs in search of better opportunities.
According to International Labour Organization (ILO), one (1) in five (5) youths was not in employment, education or training (NEET) in 2019 and they state that this state of joblessness has been steadily growing since 2012. This is projected to slightly increase by 0.3% points to 20.8 in 2021. And it seems to escalate even further due to the coronavirus disease outbreak. Young women are particularly more affected by the NEET status with a gender gap of around 10% points since 2018.
In sub-Saharan Africa, unemployment rates remain relatively low, as the majority of potential employees and active youth cannot afford not to work. However, these youth regularly suffer from under-employment and lack of decent working conditions. Of the 38.1 per cent estimated total working poor in sub-Saharan Africa, young people account for 23.5 per cent. Young girls tend to be more disadvantaged than young men in access to work opportunities and experience worse working conditions than their male counterparts, and employment in the informal economy or informal employment is the norm.
In the east African countries, Uganda has the lowest unemployment rate. This impressive score by Uganda is attributed to the fact that most young people have delved into agriculture hence bridging the gap between job opportunities in the formal and informal job sectors.
In Kenya, the unemployment rate keeps surging every year. According to a Business Daily post by Patrick Alushula dated February 24, 2020, more than 39% of Kenyan youth eligible for work remain unemployed. The situation has even been made worse by companies employing cost-cutting strategies through retrenchments and enhanced technology. On the other hand, institutions of higher learning incessantly churn out thousands of graduates each year, confounding the unemployment problem further.
Types of unemployment
Frictional Unemployment
This type of unemployment also called search unemployment occurs when workers lose their current job and are in the process of finding another. This can be as a result of voluntary quitting, seasonal employment, termination and contractual employment. There is, therefore, very little that can be done to reduce this type of unemployment other than providing information to reduce the search time. Since there will always be workers changing jobs, this shows that there is no way there can be zero unemployment.
Structural Unemployment
Structural unemployment is a form of involuntary unemployment caused by a mismatch between the skills that workers in an economy can offer and the skills needed by the employers. This results in a skills gap. In most case, this type of unemployment is caused by a technological takeover in businesses and organizations thus outdating the workers’ skills.
Cyclical Unemployment
This is caused by the contraction phase of the business cycle when the demands of the goods produced and services offered declines drastically. It forces the business to lay off a large number of workers to cut cost.
Also, because the laid-off workers have less money to maintain their buying and purchasing power, the demand for the goods and services decreases further, escalating the unemployment rate.
Government intervention, in the form of expansive monetary policies, is required to stop the downward spiral.
Classical Unemployment
Classical unemployment is caused when wages are too high. In this case, workers are too choosy and don’t accept lower wages. For example, in Kenya, fresh graduates demand too high. Again they are not ready to start with a menial job.
Seasonal Unemployment
This results from the fact that certain industries only produce or distribute their products at certain times of the year. Such industries include among others farming, tourism and construction.
Possible root causes of unemployment
There are various arguments about the causes of unemployment in Kenya, some of which are:
• Poor education system and training
Inadequate education and lack of productivity are costing jobs. Unemployment increases progressively with decreased educational levels, and the education system is not producing the skills for the labour market.
In Kenya, education curriculum has been theory-based (aimed at passing exams)and because of this most rolled out, graduates lack the practical skills in the areas trained for.
• Labor demand and supply mismatch.
Labour supply is affected by the increase in the number of job seekers over the years.
Furthermore, the Kenyan population is a young population – more people enter the working age as compared to the number of jobs that become available in the labour market.
• Role of trade unions in government.
Higher wage demands may lead to a decline in new employment. Some argue that labour demands make Kenya’s labour regime inflexible while others point to it as important to improve the quality of life through a living wage.
• Lack of interest for entrepreneurship.
Irrespective of various government initiatives to enhance entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial activity in Kenya is still very low. Self-employment is the solution to unemployment in Kenya because apart from being a source of income to the party involved, it ends up employing others.
These problems could be partly solved through the creation of part-time jobs. Such a plan would see skilled youths work in shifts in various institutions. For instance, a production company could employ two workers for the same job. One can then work for 5 hours, from 8 am to 1 pm; paving way for their colleague to work from 1 pm to 6 pm.
Part-time jobs can increase productivity among workers; spurring growth in an organization. Increased output is likely to fetch more revenues for such organizations making their operations more profitable. Demand for goods and services is also bound to increase among Kenyans as a result of improved purchasing power.
Part-timing will reduce poverty since a significant proportion of youths will be engaged in gainful employment. It has the potential to further reduce unemployment since those in the working class have more free time which they could utilize to implement their business ideas and employ other people.
However, as pointed earlier, research clearly points out that the labour supply outstrips demand. This means that there will never be enough jobs created in the formal economy to absorb unemployed people. And people should, therefore, be encouraged to start their own businesses- become entrepreneurs and ultimately self-employed.
But also, it is evident that there are perceptions about the causes of unemployment, and in particular, perceived stumbling blocks that have to be dispelled if we want to entrench a spirit of entrepreneurship in our country.
This is where communication has a big role and a big responsibility.
Communication is key.
Most Kenyan youths seem to be reluctant to start their own businesses. Any communication campaign will not succeed unless it simultaneously tackles such reluctance. To address this, an integrated campaign is crucial which should ideally focus on the following elements:
Firstly, a campaign at addressing the negative perceptions is needed which would encourage the entrepreneurial spirit among Kenyans and address feelings of hopelessness and perceptions regarding nepotism, corruption etc.
Secondly, there is an information gap where communication has a big role to play. The need for information on how to grow a business is extensive – for example, where and how to find starting capital; how to finance your business; how to market your business; how to attract new customers; how to run a business, the kind of skills needed; training opportunities; opportunities to gain experience and so on.
Lastly, job seekers should be encouraged to make the decision to be self-employed. The government should provide an effective and friendly environment that helps them persevere.
This requires a holistic approach for its success. The government needs to collaborate with all Socio-economic stakeholders. The current wage structures can be revised downwards to accommodate the new entrants in the job market. Additionally, the government can introduce tax holidays for start-up businesses and organizations and further reduce the corporate tax charges for the existing ones. In this way, companies will be cushioned against possible huge losses in their incomes on account of increased wage bills. With increased productivity, output, and profitability in the long run, such organizations are expected to stabilize and be in a better position to pay higher wages to their employees. Needless to say, the government will also be able to collect more tax revenues as a result of an expanded tax base. | https://www.sleadas.com/unemployment-in-kenya/ |
On balance, economic activity in the Sixth District remained weak from mid-May through June. Labor markets improved somewhat as businesses in parts of the region reopened. Nonlabor costs remained subdued. Reports from retailers noted strong consumer demand and increased sales of automobiles. Tourism contacts reported that attractions and hotels had begun to reopen, but revenues and employment levels were expected to be constrained by mandated capacity limits. Demand for residential real estate strengthened and inventory levels fell resulting in upward pressure on home prices. Commercial real estate market conditions were mixed. Manufacturing activity declined, and reports on new orders were mixed. Financial institutions reported a deterioration in conditions as COVID-19 impacted some firms' credit. Overall commercial loan growth was slow and consumer lending remained soft.
Employment and Wages
Labor conditions improved modestly since the previous report. Some firms reported slowly recalling workers and increasing hours as demand increased, while others remained in a holding pattern. Many of those bringing employees back indicated staffing was not back to pre-pandemic levels. While some employers reported taking measures to cut less productive processes and employees, others were able to acquire more skilled and productive staff due to greater talent availability. Although some remote workers returned to the office, many firms indicated success with remote arrangements and noted they will continue this stance for the near term and possibly beyond. Some employers remained committed to maintaining employment levels and plan to reduce hours, wages, and possibly benefits to maintain those levels; however, most indicated that demand will determine staffing levels in the second half of the year. As the support from the Paycheck Protection Program winds down, many employers indicated that they will be forced to lay off workers should business remain weak.
Contacts continued to report wage and salary cuts, except at the low-end of the pay scale and among essential workers. Reports on the disincentive to work from receiving unemployment insurance benefits were mixed.
Prices
Contacts continued to note muted input costs and little to no pricing power. Though many described rising costs associated with sanitation practices and Personal Protective Equipment used to protect employees and clients from COVID-19, most reported an inability to pass along these additional costs. The Atlanta Fed's Business Inflation Expectations survey showed year-over-year unit costs remained steady, on average, at 1.2 percent in June. Year-ahead expectations increased somewhat to 1.7 percent.
Consumer Spending and Tourism
Retailers reported healthy demand as many stores reopened. While some noted that there was still uncertainty clouding their outlook, expectations are for sales and margins to improve over the remainder of the year. Auto dealers reported increased sales activity since the last report.
Tourism and hospitality contacts noted that they have begun to reopen hotels and attractions in accordance to recommended guidelines. However, business capacity will be constrained by social distancing requirements which will continue to negatively impact both revenue and employment.
Construction and Real Estate
District housing market conditions improved significantly over the reporting period. Pent-up demand and low interest rates accelerated home sales. In many markets, home inventories contracted significantly, creating strong upward pressure on home prices. Despite low interest rates, affordability remained a concern as median home prices continued to reach new highs in several markets. The limited supply of existing homes increased demand for new homes. 30-day delinquencies rose sharply, especially in South Florida markets, despite a surge in forbearances.
Commercial real estate (CRE) contacts reported continued challenges associated with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hard hit sectors like retail and hospitality reported some stabilization as local economies reopened; lower-price point hotel brands saw improvements in occupancies and values from record lows in May through early June. Multifamily owners reported minor softening in occupancies and were offering greater concessions to minimize lease turnovers. There were growing reports of tenants and borrowers seeking relief. Investment activity was muted compared with pre-COVID-19 levels. Contacts reported that capital was readily available at banks; however, underwriting criteria tightened for the financing of operating CRE projects, and originations continued at a subpar pace. Contacts reported that high-quality asset values declined marginally, and hospitality and retail sector assets declined at a more accelerated pace since the beginning of the pandemic.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing contacts indicated that overall business activity decelerated, but at a somewhat slower pace than the previous report. While most firms reported decreases in new orders and production levels, a modest rise in new orders was noted by a few contacts. Purchasing managers suggested that supplier delivery times were getting longer as some supply chain disruptions continued. Contacts also cited a decline in finished inventory levels. Expectations for future production levels declined, with only one-fifth of contacts expecting higher production levels over the next six months.
Transportation
Transportation activity was largely unchanged since the previous report. Class I railroads saw slight improvements in volumes; however, total rail traffic remained substantially weak. Short-line railroads noted declines in shipments of autos and increases in aggregates and building materials. Ports experienced a significant reduction in auto imports and container traffic was down. Inland barge companies cited modest improvements in demand, but movements of energy products were soft as refineries continued to operate below capacity.
Banking and Finance
Conditions at financial institutions deteriorated over the reporting period due to credit issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Provisions for loan loss reserves increased significantly for most institutions, in preparation for increased charge-offs once forbearance periods end, exerting downward pressure on earnings. Additionally, lower short-term interest rates further compressed net interest rate margins. Loan growth remained muted with most centered on approvals of new loans under the Paycheck Protection Program. Except for first lien residential mortgages, consumer loan growth was flat partly due to tightening credit standards. Liquidity remained healthy as deposit levels increased.
Energy
Energy industry contacts continued to report weak demand, oversupply, and constrained global storage capacity for crude oil, liquefied natural gas, and refined products such as distillates. Oil and gas producers noted that they expect U.S. oil production to take one to two years to return to pre-COVID-19 levels. Fuel distributors reported little to no demand from municipalities, transit authorities, school systems, and airlines, while demand from food wholesalers and grocers remained solid. Utilities in the region indicated that reductions in demand were not as large as anticipated in the first quarter. While utilities contacts noted that planned capital investments will continue through 2021, other energy sectors reported delayed or cancelled projects, cuts to budgets, and layoffs, some permanent, over the same period.
Agriculture
Agricultural conditions remained weak. Mostly drought-free conditions prevailed. On a month-over-month basis, June's production forecast for Florida's orange crop was down from the previous month and last year, while Florida's grapefruit production forecast was down from the previous month but remained ahead of last year. The USDA reported that in May, year-over-year prices paid to farmers were up for rice, soybeans, and eggs but down for corn, cotton, cattle, broilers, and milk. On a month-over-month basis, prices increased for cotton, rice, cattle, and broilers but decreased for corn, soybeans, eggs, and milk. | https://www.minneapolisfed.org/beige-book-reports/2020/2020-07-at |
A trans-Atlantic chasm has opened up on pandemic labor policy. We’ll soon know which side got it right.
BYSIMON TILFORD
PUBLISHED6. APRIL 2020
READING TIME5 MIN
The coronavirus pandemic has dramatically changed economic life across Europe and the United States. By confining people to their homes, leading them to spend far less money than they otherwise would, the West has seen a collapse in consumption, threatening the survival of a sweeping number and range of firms, from restaurants to airlines to car manufacturers. This, in turn, has produced a sudden and unprecedented collapse in demand for labor. The United States has witnessed a dramatic rise in jobless claims—a scarcely believable 10 million over the last two weeks. This is uncharted territory for labor markets, and so it is unsurprising that different countries have adopted different strategies for coping with the looming unemployment crisis.
Many European countries are cushioning the impact of the crisis on their labor markets by employing a system pioneered in Germany and Austria called Kurzarbeit (short-time working). In essence, it involves reducing the number of hours a firm’s employees work to reflect the fall in demand, but their salaries are reduced by much less than the reduction in hours, with the country’s federal labor office funding the difference. Put simply, it is a form of wage subsidy.
Which approach is most likely to limit the long-term economic damage? The U.S. one of rapid cuts in employment in order to match the supply of labor with the suddenly depressed demand for it? Or the European approach of attempting to keep as many as possible at work? This will depend to a large extent on the length of the downturn: Can we look forward to a rapid, “V-shaped” recovery and limited loss of economic activity, or are we facing a longer recession or even something akin to a depression?
Many credit Germany’s rapid economic bounce-back from the 2008-2009 financial crisis to its system of Kurzarbeit.
German unemployment rose less than in comparable countries, enabling German firms to hold on to skilled workers, which in turn meant that they could respond more rapidly once global demand started to recover. More European countries, including France and the United Kingdom, are pushing variations on the German approach during the current crisis in the hope of limiting the long-term impact to their economies.
Kurzarbeit is especially suited to Germany and other European countries with highly regulated labor markets and generous unemployment benefits. For example, it is expensive for firms in Germany to lay off workers; the procedure is lengthy, and they often have to pay for large compensation packages. German businesses are therefore understandably keen to avoid laying people off, especially when they believe that they will soon have to rehire workers. Second, unemployment benefits are high; a German on a full-time permanent contract who has worked more than 12 months will typically receive unemployment benefits of 60 percent of their net salary for 12 months; this rises to 67 percent for someone with children. As a result, wage subsidies can be a cost-effective option for government.
There is no tradition of Kurzarbeit in the United States. When demand for labor falls, the number of workers typically falls rapidly to reflect the drop—there is no attempt to divide up the remaining demand for labor among the existing number of workers. One reason is that it is cheaper and much less complicated for U.S. firms to shed workers. Another is that unemployment benefits are traditionally low compared with those in many Western European countries, hence public subsidization of private sector wages can seem expensive.
Typically, only a small proportion of European workers have been covered by Kurzarbeit schemes: full-time workers in larger firms, disproportionately in manufacturing sectors.
Those in non-unionized jobs or on temporary contracts have not tended to be covered. But Kurzarbeit schemes are being rapidly expanded—the German federal labor office estimates that 2.4 million workers will soon be covered by it—and it is not an exaggeration to say that the current crisis has opened a continental chasm on labor market policy. The United Kingdom has usually been closer to the United States than the rest of Europe when it comes to labor market policies, but it has now put in place a government program to pay up to 80 percent of private sector salaries (capped at just over $3,000 a month).
Do the Europeans have it right? Much will depend on the length of the downturn. If we see a rapid economic recovery from the third quarter (July to September) of the year, then the European approach will probably be vindicated. The rise in unemployment will have been lower in Europe than in the United States, firms will have retained more skilled workers (and their loyalty), and these companies will be better placed to ramp up production quickly, much as German ones did back in 2009. By contrast, unemployment will have risen much more in the United States, and households will have suffered more financial damage, causing more corporate bankruptcies and with them pressure on the financial sector. U.S. firms will face the costly and time-consuming process of rebuilding their workforces.
But what if the downturn is more protracted and the recovery is weak?
This could easily happen if governments are forced to maintain the lockdowns for longer and are then only able to ease them gradually, as appears to be the case in China. Kurzarbeit is not a long-term solution for a number of reasons. First, it is costly. In countries with generous unemployment benefits, this cost initially looks manageable. But even in Germany very generous unemployment benefits do not last forever. Second, the longer Kurzarbeit goes on, the more socially inequitable it can become; those workers with full-time jobs in the sectors covered by these schemes are largely protected from the downturn, while others—many of whom are poorer—face the full brunt. Third, the longer the downturn, the greater the likelihood that consumption and investment patterns will shift and the challenge will not be to kick-start existing production capacity but to shift resources—capital and labor—into new industries. In this situation, Kurzarbeit could distort wages and hold back necessary structural changes in an economy. For example, it is possible that demand for German cars—at least the gas-powered variants—will never properly recover from this crisis. It may therefore make little sense to artificially maintain employment levels in that industry.
If we suffer a prolonged downturn and weak recovery, other factors will have a bigger impact on how economies fare than whether or not they employ Kurzarbeit schemes. Countries that succeed in ensuring that households can pay their rents and mortgages and maintain a decent level of consumption (thereby keeping a limit on corporate insolvencies), and guarantee universal access to health care will likely come through the crisis in better shape than those that do not.
The U.S. administration has certainly stepped up emergency support for businesses, while the Federal Reserve—like the European Central Bank and the Bank of England—has moved aggressively to boost liquidity in an effort to head off a financial crisis. The CARES Act passed by Congress at the end of March also increases unemployment benefits and the number of people who qualify for them. But even after these changes, which U.S. labor unemployment offices are struggling to process, most Europeans have better unemployment and welfare benefits—and, crucially, poor and jobless Europeans have better access to health care. The U.S. government could easily address these issues by spending more money. The world wants dollars, now more than ever—the yield on 10-year U.S Treasury bonds is currently just 0.7 percent. Although this would no doubt prove cheaper for the United States in the long term, there is little to suggest—at least so far—that it will significantly boost spending on social programs.
This article was published first on Foreign Policy. | https://newforum.org/en/simons-blog-america-is-having-an-unemployment-apocalypse-europe-chose-not-to/ |
Policymakers around the world have enforced an unprecedented shutdown of public life to slow down the spread of the coronavirus. As a consequence, entire sectors of the economy have seen their revenues collapse to zero. At the time of this publication, it appears that the shutdown will be a matter of months rather than just a few weeks. Yet, to date, no coherent political-economic strategy exists on how businesses may potentially survive a prolonged period without any revenues. Many hospitality and retail businesses are about to be sacrificed in the name of public health.
A wave of insolvencies would cause irreversible harm to the economy in the form of mass unemployment, unprecedented levels of business loan defaults and a substantial decline in real estate values. Politicians urgently need to put in place framework conditions that can temporarily relieve businesses of their financial obligations, in particular a suspension of payments for salaries, rents, and debt services. The short-term economic costs are minor compared to the long-term harm our economies face today if businesses do not survive. We have a chance for a v-shaped recovery if we act now.
1) Relieving businesses from salary payments now to save jobs long-term Kurzarbeit, or short-time work has been called one of Germany’s most successful exports during the last financial crisis. The short-time work system enables businesses to hit by a downturn to send their workers home or radically reduce their hours, and the state will replace a large part of their lost income. The system enables businesses to retain skilled workers and was one of the reasons why Germany recovered so quickly from the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. Meanwhile, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland have all followed Germany by introducing subsidies for workers that would otherwise be laid off. If short-time work is not an option, many business owners will have no other choice than to lay off staff in order to protect their companies from insolvency. Indeed, while the laid-off staff is ideally reemployed as soon as the economy recovers, some workers may in the meantime have found other jobs, and some firms may not rehire all of the laid-off staff. Short-time work is a superior policy to address this crisis. It doesn`t burden social welfare systems more than unemployment claims. However, it represents a less bureaucratic option when it is needed the most, while also maximizing the number of jobs retained following the crisis.
2) Relieving businesses from rental payments to maintain real estate values in the long run Rental payments are the second major expense that threatens the survival of businesses during the corona shutdown. From a financial perspective, a suspension of rental payments would share the economic burden of the shutdown between the business operator and the real estate owner. In fact, such an effort of solidarity may be in the best interest of real estate owners, since the stability of hospitality and retail real estate values is tightly linked to the health of the underlying businesses. In the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, retail and hotel real estate assets in the U.S. lost between 40-50% of their values. In a normal recession, real estate owners can hope to replace insolvent businesses with the next tenant waiting in the line. A systemic wave of business failures, however, could lead to a structural decline in the demand for hospitality and retail space. The resulting increase in vacancy rates and drop in market rents may lead to an even sharper drop of real estate values in this crisis. Real estate owners effectively find themselves in a prisoner`s dilemma. In fact, they should unitedly strive to maximize the survival chances of all tenants. With vacancy rates stabilizing around pre-crisis levels and tenants resuming the payment of contract rents, real estate values were likely to remain stable in the long run. Unfortunately, individual real estate owners have an incentive to insist on rental payments as long as their tenant remains solvent. In aggregate, such short-termism may prove to be a Pyrrhic victory, since it would only lead to more insolvencies. To avoid such an outcome, associations of real estate owners may or may not successfully work towards a unified response. Government intervention would be a safer route to overcome the prisoner`s dilemma. In turn, affected real estate owners should be granted a temporary suspension of debt service payments for real estate loans.
3) Suspending debt-service payments now to avoid a banking crisis due to credit defaults Interest and loan repayments represent the third major barrier for business owners without any revenues to survive the corona shutdown. Many business owners would be forced into bankruptcy should banks insist on contractual debt service payments. As far as the loans are recoverable, banks would be tasked with the liquidation of assets such as restaurant and kitchen equipment – an unpromising endeavor in a post-coronavirus recession. As a result, banks were about to face drastic write-downs on outstanding loan balances. It is important to note that the vast majority of hospitality and retail businesses are not structurally distressed. They are ready to re-establish business operations as soon as the shutdown is resolved. An extraordinary suspension of debt service payments would thus be in the best interest of banks to maximize the chances of business survival. If debt obligations are merely fulfilled a little later, they would have only minor impacts on bank profits. In many cases, financiers will deliberately accept a suspension of debt service payments. However, too many banks may prefer a time-consuming case-by-case examination. Similar to the prisoner`s dilemma of real estate owners, all involved stakeholders would benefit from a government intervention that lets businesses directly impacted by the shutdown postpone debt payments.
In summary, the hospitality and the retail sectors are facing existential threats due to the coronavirus shutdown. The described first-order effects alone put enormous stress on the economy and social welfare systems. Moreover, we should expect significant second and third-order spillover effects on other parts of the economy. Politicians need to act fast to provide a framework that allows struggling businesses to cut costs quickly in order to ensure their survival.
A government-backed halt on major financial obligations would give them the breathing room they need to survive. Moreover, it would drastically reduce the level of uncertainty among all involved stakeholders and provide them with a perspective on how to cope with even a multi-month shutdown, should this be necessary. We have one chance for a v-shaped recovery – by fighting the impact of the coronavirus on the economy as consequently as the virus itself. | https://thetourisminternational.com/2020/04/22/how-hospitality-and-retail-businesses-can-survive-the-coronavirus-shutdown/ |
With the Federal Reserve’s policy rate currently at a range of 4.5% to 4.75% after raising rates a quarter of a point in February 2023, businesses need to be aware that further interest rate hikes may be on the horizon to maintain economic stability. The median forecast from Fed officials in December was for the policy rate to end the year at about 5.1%, signaling two more quarter-point hikes in 2023. In this blog, we will explore the potential implications of the next Fed interest rate hike, as well as how companies can make use of human resources outsourcing to remain competitive and manage costs.
Understanding The Impact of Interest Rate Hikes
When the Federal Reserve raises interest rates, it usually signals that they are attempting to slow down inflation by making money more expensive and slowing consumer spending. An increase in the cost of borrowing also means that companies may start to feel a pinch when it comes to financing operations or taking out loans. Furthermore, consumers may start to pull back on spending due to increased costs, resulting in decreased revenue for businesses. Businesses may be forced to lay off staff or cut back on other operational costs when this happens.
Caveats to Business Layoffs
However, it is important to note that a rise in rates may not necessarily lead to massive layoffs. This could be due to several factors including:
- Increased technology and automation in recent years: With advancements in technology, businesses may be able to offset the increased cost of borrowing by utilizing automation.
- Increased productivity: Companies may also focus on increasing worker productivity to cut down on costs and remain competitive.
- Government incentives: Governments may introduce policies to incentivize businesses that keep workers employed.
Implications of A Post-Pandemic Inflationary Period
This inflationary period is unique because it comes after the pandemic which has caused some abnormal economic conditions. Some of these unique conditions include chain disruptions and labor shortages, triggered by:
- People reaching retirement age
- Raw-material shortages
- Immigration restrictions
- The Russia-Ukraine conflict
This has increased the cost of production and goods, while pent-up demand has driven up prices. Additionally, massive government transfers to citizens have further fueled consumer spending.
The Next Interest Hike in 2023
The Federal Reserve’s interest rate increase in February is likely to be a decisive one, as the Fed looks to return inflation to its 2% target. To achieve this goal, it is expected that the central bank will raise rates by a full percentage point or more. This would help the economy avoid a situation where prices rise quickly, leading to an economic downturn and job losses. In this context, the hike in February could be seen as a necessary measure by the Fed to keep inflation from going too far above its long-run target. Still, with the Fed raising policy rates eight times since March 2022, organizations of all sizes are concerned about the next Fed interest rate hike and its implications
If the next Fed interest rate hike is successful in keeping inflation from going higher, then this could be seen as a positive sign for the economy. If not, rates could raise again in 2023 to as much as 4.50% to 4.75%, depending on developments in the economy. In addition, any future hikes will also depend on whether or not economic data continues to support higher rates. These could include monthly employment numbers, GDP growth, and inflation data. With all this in mind, the next interest rate hike should be watched closely as it will likely be an important factor in determining the future of the US economy.
By utilizing outsourcing services from Corban OneSource who has experience helping companies with 75 to 6,000 employees handle their outsourced HR, payroll, and compliance needs, businesses can prepare for the next interest rate hike. This could be advantageous for companies when it comes to budgeting, forecasting, and planning for their future growth. With a sound strategy in place, businesses can take advantage of the changes brought by the Fed’s decision and prepare themselves accordingly.
HR Outsourcing: A Solution for Managing Costs
With the increased cost of borrowing, companies may be forced to look for ways to control costs and maintain their competitive edge. Outsourcing certain business processes such as HR, payroll, and compliance can be an excellent way to manage these costs. Corban OneSource provides solutions for businesses ranging from 75 to 6,000 employees that help them outsource parts of their HR, payroll, and compliance processes. With Corban OneSource’s outsourced services, companies can control overhead costs as well as reduce the time, effort, and resources devoted to managing these processes. HR outsourcing can help your organization handle upcoming Fed interest rate hikes through:
- Reduced overhead costs: Outsourcing certain business processes helps reduce overhead costs associated with staffing, training, and other related activities.
- Increased efficiency: By outsourcing some of your processes, you can take advantage of automated solutions that increase accuracy and speed up the workflow.
- Improved compliance: By having an outsourced HR provider handle your compliance needs, you can be sure that your organization complies with the relevant regulations.
- Increased employee retention: Having an outsourced HR provider manage your payroll and benefits can help you attract and retain top talent while preparing for the next interest rate hike.
- Payroll management assistance: As the Fed’s expectations for inflation rates increase, businesses may be faced with higher payroll taxes and fees. To help manage this, Corban OneSource can provide payroll management assistance to help you minimize costs while still providing quality services to employees.
By leveraging the expertise of an experienced outsourced HR provider, businesses can overcome many of the challenges posed by the next interest rate hike and remain competitive. With Corban OneSource’s comprehensive suite of services, organizations can benefit from streamlined processes and cost-savings that will help them weather future interest rate hikes. By taking advantage of Corban OneSource’s outsourced HR, payroll, and compliance services, businesses can remain competitive in an increasingly challenging economy. Get in touch to learn more about how we can help take the stress out of HRO solutions and remain competitive in a challenging economic environment. | https://corbanone.com/the-next-fed-interest-rate-hike-implications-for-businesses/ |
LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 23, 2022) — From gas prices to groceries, it seems like everything is going up lately. And it’s weighing on you — the consumer.
Naturally, many have questions about the impact of inflation. How will it affect your finances and future?
In a Q&A series, we asked University of Kentucky experts — from the Gatton College of Business and Economics and the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment — to tackle those tough questions.
In part one, Michael Clark, Ph.D., director of the Center for Business and Economic Research, and Ana María Herrera, Ph.D., associate chair of the Department of Economics, share their insight on inflation, prices at the pump and the possibility of a recession.
UKNow: What is the driving force(s) behind the current rate of inflation?
Clark and Herrera: Inflation refers to how fast general price levels are rising throughout the economy. Price levels tend to increase over time. From 2010 to 2019, prices increased at a rate below 2% as measured by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index. During this time, price increases were fairly stable. However, prices began rising at a much faster pace about 14 months ago. In April of 2021, prices were up 4.2% compared to April 2020. As of May 2022, prices were up by 8.6% from the year before.
Prices increase when supply cannot keep up with demand. Several factors are likely contributing to the price increases we’re experiencing, and economists are still trying to understand the role each factor plays.
The COVID-19 pandemic certainly played a significant role. When the pandemic began, businesses closed to help slow the spread of COVID. Workers exited the labor force due to lack of childcare, health concerns and other reasons. These events changed consumer spending patterns and disrupted supply chains. The results were shortages for many consumer goods, particularly those that required computer chips to operate and higher prices.
The fiscal stimulus provided by the federal government to help families weather the pandemic and prop up the economy likely contributed to high demand and price increases as well. A recent analysis by economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco suggests that fiscal stimulus in the United States contributed to about 3 percentage points of inflation toward the end of 2021. However, any stimulus effect should be declining as households spend down the savings accumulated during the pandemic.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has also contributed to inflation. Oil prices were already rising before the invasion due to a slow response of oil production to the increase in demand stemming from the recovery after COVID. Once the invasion occurred, many countries including the United States responded by banning imports of Russian oil. While this may have a major economic impact on the Russian economy, it also reduced the supply of oil to these countries and pushed oil and gasoline prices up. Since oil and gasoline are major inputs into manufacturing and transporting goods across the economy, these price increases pushed prices for broader consumer goods up even further. The conflict is also directly affecting food and natural gas prices.
UKNow: What trend(s) in the U.S. are economists most concerned about? Rising rent? Or gas prices? Unemployment? Something else?
Clark and Herrera: Currently, the employment situation is very good. Consumer demand for goods and services remains strong, and businesses are trying to hire workers to help meet this demand. As a result, employers are competing aggressively for workers. This has contributed to higher wages and low unemployment rates. According to the Kentucky Center for Statistics, Kentucky’s unemployment rate was 3.9% in April, its lowest level since the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statics began reporting state rates. While total employment and labor force participation haven’t quite returned to pre-pandemic levels, they are improving.
Inflation is probably the biggest concern right now and rising rent and gas prices are part of that concern. Most understand that families are hurt when prices rise faster than their incomes. However, inflation also affects businesses. Uncertainty over input prices makes it hard for businesses to negotiate contracts, set wages for workers and price their goods.
UKNow: When looking at the numbers as they relate to inflation, how does Kentucky compare to the national average?
Clark and Herrera: Unfortunately, we do not have measures of price increases that are specific to Kentucky. However, Kentucky has likely experienced many of the same inflationary pressures as the rest of the country. The prices for most of the goods we purchase are determined in regional, national and global markets. So, while our prices might differ somewhat, they generally tend to move with national prices.
UKNow: With summer travel plans, many are concerned about the prices at the pump. What is causing soaring fuel costs? And can we expect them to come down any time soon?
Clark and Herrera: The higher gasoline prices that we’ve seen likely reflect three main factors. The conflict in Ukraine pushed oil prices up significantly. However, demand for gas is also up. This is due partially to seasonal patterns. We’re entering the summer, and families are starting to travel more. I also think demand for travel may be particularly strong this summer. With most COVID-related restrictions having been lifted, people seem to be ready to take vacations and enjoy some of the activities they postponed for the past two years.
There’s a lot of uncertainty on oil and gasoline prices. Travel will fall again when schools reopen in the fall, but this might have a small impact on prices. It’s unclear how long the Ukraine conflict will last. When it does end, it is unclear whether countries that banned Russian oil will resume imports. While demand for Russian oil is down, we have not yet seen a significant reduction in oil production from Russia. Once import bans are fully implemented, Russian production should decline and restarting production will be costly.
Higher oil prices can provide incentives for oil companies to produce more oil from existing wells and increase the number of oil rigs to replace oil from Russia. However, it can take time of the new rigs to begin producing oil.
UKNow: All of us want to know, how high will prices go? Could inflation get worse before it gets better?
Clark and Herrera: It’s possible that inflation peaked in May. Supply chains issues are slowly improving, and the labor force is returning to pre-pandemic levels. These changes should help improve supply and slow price increases. We’re also starting to see some evidence that the Federal Reserve’s efforts to slow the economy by increasing interest rates is having an effect.
Core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, has declined somewhat over the past couple of months. Gasoline and energy prices, however, have pushed overall inflation upward. Energy prices may be the primary inflation driver now.
We do expect the inflation rate will improve during the next 12 months. That doesn’t mean prices will decline, but that they might not increase as fast. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of economic uncertainty.
UKNow: For consumers, this is an immediate issue. But why does it take weeks/months/even years for the economy to correct itself?
Clark and Herrera: Part of the issue is that COVID created such a significant disruption in the global supply chain and labor markets. Even now as the pandemic appears to be receding, COVID continues to pressure global supply chains. For example, China is still imposing lockdowns in portions of Shanghai. It also takes significant investment and time to bring new capacity online to meet growing demand.
UKNow: There’s a split on whether we are heading for a recession. What factors will be most determinative in steering us clear from going there?
Clark and Herrera: The recession concern reflects uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s ability to slow the economy down enough to reduce inflation without choking off demand. The Federal Reserve’s goal is to raise interest rates by just the right amount. Higher interest rates will encourage households to save more and spend less. This reduces demand and slows inflation. However, the Fed might find it has to raise rate aggressively given the high level of inflation. If the Fed acts too aggressively, the higher rates could reduce demand so much that we fall into a recession. No one can say definitively that we will have a recession, but the probability of recession appears to be high and increasing.
UKNow: What — if anything — can consumers do to help alleviate the impact of inflation?
Clark and Herrera: Inflation is particularly challenging for households because it forces them to make hard choices. Consumers typically adjust their spending when prices increase. This might involve finding lower-cost substitutes. For example, families might prepare more food at home rather than eating at a restaurant. Workers who have the option to work remotely might do so more often to save gas. Lower-income families are more vulnerable to higher prices because they might have fewer options to make these adjustments. Remote work is not an option for many workers in lower-paying service jobs. The effects of inflation will be more significant for these families. | https://cber.uky.edu/news/2022/facing-inflation-part-1-uk-economists-tackle-tough-questions |
Evgeniya Duzhak, regional policy economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, stated her views on the current economy and the outlook as of February 10, 2022.
- The improvements in the labor market reflect the economy’s robust recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The unemployment rate in January stands at 4.0%, close to the natural rate of unemployment which we estimate to be around 3.8%. Demand for workers remains strong, with 467,000 jobs added in January 2022 and noticeable upward revisions to the prior two months. Some of the gains were offset by updated population estimates. Overall, total employment is still 2.9 million jobs below its pre-pandemic level. Labor force participation stands at 62.2%, below its pre-pandemic level in February 2020 of 63.4%.
A breakdown of unemployment rates across various demographic groups displays significant disparities, with unemployment among Blacks and Hispanics typically higher than rates for Asians and Whites. In addition, the magnitude of these disparities varies with the business cycle, rising with recessions and declining with expansions. Thus, the unemployment gap between Black and Hispanic workers, on the one hand, and Asian and White workers, on the other, rose greatly during the 2007-08 financial crisis. The ensuing long economic expansion through 2019 helped to significantly reduce unemployment among Black and Hispanic workers, narrowing the gap with the other demographic groups.
- While unemployment rates for Black and Hispanic workers as well as male workers has generally been more sensitive to business cycle downturns than unemployment for Asian, White, and female workers, the pattern during the recent pandemic recession has been different. In particular, unemployment among Asian workers rose more during COVID-19, while Black unemployment rose much less in comparison to past recessions.
- Sectors that have tended to lose the greatest number of jobs during a recession include construction, production, transportation, and material moving, while the recent pandemic downturn has had a more adverse impact on service industries and occupations with higher social contact. For example, Asian restaurant workers, especially those with lower education, experienced a relatively higher rise in unemployment. Increases in the unemployment rates for Black and Hispanic workers were softer due to their higher representation in occupations in the construction and production sectors. Consequently, the gap between groups with the lowest and highest unemployment levels is not as wide as it has been in past recessions. Current unemployment rates are close to their pre-pandemic levels for most demographic groups. | https://jobmarketmonitor.com/2022/02/14/labor-market-in-us-it-reflect-the-economys-robust-recovery-from-the-coronavirus-pandemic/ |
Read this chapter to learn about some of the differences among various schools of thought with respect to the role of government, the nature of adjustments in equilibrium, the level of unemployment, and so forth. Those perspectives can affect the timing and effectiveness of government actions or inactions.
In this article we show two alternative views of the business cycle and the major problems of unemployment and inflation. We present classical theory and the Keynesian view as a critique.
Classical Theory
The classical theory is the laissez faire belief of pure capitalism. In this view, business cycles are natural processes of adjustment which do not require government action. The market or invisible hand will resolve any problems naturally.
|In Adam Smith's concept of the invisible hand, government is not necessary because companies will produce what people want: the economy works out societal problems.|
Say's Law
Say's law proposes that supply creates its own demand. This means the income people earn from producing goods, allows them to purchase goods others produce. Since everyone needs to buy goods, people will produce goods in order to derive the income they need to buy what they want. The market will always be in equilibrium.
|Workers who earn income, earn money to buy a variety of products they want. By working and producing goods, workers generate the income to purchase goods.|
Classical Money Market
Income that is not immediately consumed enters the money market as savings. Savings are put back into the economy as investment (i.e. an increase in capital) when someone borrows the money from the person who is saving it. The interest borrowers pay to savers assures no savings will be idle. The money market equilibrates through an adjustment in the interest rate.
|The interest paid to those who save provides an inducement to lend money. When the interest rate is high, people want to save or lend more. On the other side of the market, a high interest rate discourages borrowers from borrowing too much money. Consequently, the market tends to re-equilibrate under the influence of the interest rate.|
Price and Wage Flexibility
The classical theory proposes that all markets re-equilibrate due to adjustments in prices and wages which are flexible. For example, if an excess in the labor force or products exists, the wage or price of these will adjust to absorb the excess.
|When prices and wages are flexible, markets re-equilibrate. For example, If many people are unemployed, companies are able to hire workers at lower wages; but, hiring more workers precisely reduces unemployment.|
Involuntary Unemployment
The classical theory proposes that no involuntary unemployment will exist because an adjustment in the wage rate will assure the unemployed will be hired again. In addition, the need workers have to buy goods will encourage them to accept work, even at lower wage rates.
|If wages are flexible as classical economists argue, a decrease in wages allows firms to hire more workers. Only those who are reluctant to work for lower wages will remain unemployed.|
Classical Keynesian Controversy
Keynesian employment theory is built on a critique of the classical theory. Milton Keynes, the economist, argued that savers and investors have incompatible plans which may not assure an equilibrium will occur in the money market, that prices and wages tend to be rigid and equilibrium may not occur in the product and labor markets, and that countries often experience periods of severe unemployment (this should not occur according to classical theory).
|Keynes created his theories in response to the great depression. Economists had a difficult time arguing that only voluntary unemployment exists when millions of workers were out of work.|
Keynesian Savings-Investment Plans
Keynes showed that savers and investors are separate groups which do not necessarily interact: financial intermediaries (banks) have some contact with both. During a recession, investment may not equal saving because, although the interest rate is low, 1. borrowers have poor sales prospect, 2. banks are afraid to lend because they fear bankruptcy, and 3. savers fail to invest because they are waiting for higher returns. This causes a liquidity trap: some saving is idle.
|Banks tend to be prudent when making loans to businesses when economic conditions are not promising. Their reluctance to make loans contributes to the economic slow down.|
Keynesian Price-Wage Rigidity
Keynes argued that prices and wages are not as flexible as classical theorists assert. Wages tend to be rigid on the downside because workers will not accept wages that prevent them from living adequately; unions reinforced this reluctance. Unemployment results when wages are too low. In the case of prices, firms that produce high-priced items prefer to cut production and lay off workers than reduce prices. Their monopoly power allows them to keep prices high.
|Although we can point to a few examples where employees have accepted wage reductions to preserve their jobs, such as the airline and steel industries in the 1980s, wage decreases are extremely rare. We generally see continual increases to match cost of living increases.|
Aggregate Demand
Aggregate demand shown graphically represents the sum total of what household are willing and able to buy at different price levels.
|Think of aggregate demand as the combination of all of the different products consumers want to buy.|
Real Balance Effect
The Aggregate demand curve slopes downward due to the real balance effect. When prices are high, the purchasing power of monetary assets decreases: individuals feel poorer and buy less. If prices are low, the purchasing power of monetary assets increases: individuals feel wealthier and buy more.
|There is an inverse mathematical relationship between interest rates and financial assets. Securities markets, such as the New York Stock Exchange, are sensitive to inflation, the major cause for increasing interest rates. We observed this sensitivity during a stock market crash on Oct. 19, 1987, and in a securities market reaction to a decision by the U.S. federal reserve bank to decrease interest rates in 2001.|
Aggregate Supply
Aggregate supply includes three sections: the classical range is vertical, the Keynesian range is horizontal, and the intermediate range slopes upward.
Graph G-MAC7.1
|Think of the aggregate supply as the combination of all goods companies produce: it is gross national product GNP we ignore all government interventions.|
Classical Range
The classical range of aggregate supply is vertical because of the proposition of the classical theory that prices will adjust so that output is always at full employment. In this range, expanding aggregate demand will cause inflation, while contracting aggregate demand will reduce inflation.
|There are many sectors of the economy where all adjustments take place through price changes. One can think of all goods related to fashion: if a dress is in high demand, it will be priced very high; but if the dress is out of fashion, the price will be very low and, eventually, it will not be produced at all.|
Keynesian Range
The Keynesian range of aggregate supply corresponds to the proposition that when price are very low, firms will prefer to cut production rather than sell at a loss. In this range, any change in aggregate demand will produce a change in output. Thus, in the case of a recession the correct government policy is to expand aggregate demand.
|Numerous sectors of the economy have very few changes in price but sizable changes in the volume of production and the number of employees. For example, car manufacturers offer rebates which do not amount to even 10% of the value of a car. Compared to changes in price of 50% or more in clothing for instance, the car rebates are very small. The reason is the large fixed costs. Closings of entire car manufacturing plants are not uncommon during recessions.|
Intermediate Range
This intermediate range of aggregate supply represents the case of preliminary inflation (or sectoral inflation): when demand and output expand, some sectors of the economy may experience bottlenecks and require that prices increase because output cannot.
|Some sectors of the economy tend to experience price and quantity changes at the same time. This would seem to be true of all the consumer goods sectors such as radios and televisions, or sport equipment.|
Aggregate Demand Policies
When the intersection of aggregate demand and aggregate supply occurs in the Keynesian horizontal range a recession and excessive unemployment are present: the recommended policy would be to stimulate aggregate demand. When the intersection is in the classical vertical range, inflation is present: the recommended policy would be to contract aggregate demand.
Graph G-MAC7.2
|Throughout the 1960s and the 1970s, the American government tried to stimulate aggregate demand to control unemployment. Inflation was controlled with tax incentives and by implementing price and wage controls.|
Supply-Side Policies
Supply-side economists believe that you can alleviate periods of stagflation (high prices and low levels of output) by shifting aggregate supply upward. They recommended shifting aggregate supply upward by cutting costs of production, rather than increasing aggregate demand, which adds to inflation. | https://learn.saylor.org/mod/page/view.php?id=7642 |
Decrease in unemployment rate means
The unemployment rate in the United States is the percentage of workers who are unemployed, and are actively looking for a job. Unemployment ups and downs are directly connected with business ups and downs.As American products and services decline, businesses need to lay off workers. Workers who are suddenly out of a job, have less money to spend, which reduces revenue for companies. Why the decline in the unemployment rate isn’t a necessarily good thing We can’t simply sit back and take credit for a recovery; we need to recognize that the current fall in unemployment rate simply means that many more of our residents have left the labor force at least temporarily. Once our recovery begins, many of these will once The March unemployment rate finally inched up over 5 percent. Unemployment — the share of the labor force without a job but actively seeking work – has been largely unchanged since last July If you have basic knowledge of Economics,you would know that,you can not fix one indicator (Say growth) without compromising the other(say Inflation).There is a significant amount of "trade-off" involved here. with the concept of trade-off in min Monetary policy would involve cutting interest rates. Lower rates decrease the cost of borrowing and encourage people to spend and invest. This increases AD and should also help to increase GDP and reduce demand deficient unemployment. Also, lower interest rates will reduce exchange rate and make exports more competitive. Unemployment is defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as people who do not have a job, have actively looked for work in the past four weeks, and are currently available for work. Also, people who were temporarily laid off and were waiting to be called back to that job are included in the unemployment statistics.The BLS reports this in the U-3 report, a part of the monthly jobs report.
The unemployment rate is a lagging indicator. This means it measures the effect of economic events, such as a recession. The unemployment rate doesn't rise until after a recession has already started. It also means the unemployment rate will continue to rise even after the economy has started to recover.
The national unemployment rate is the number of people looking for a job This means it measures the effect of economic events, such as a recession. people are looking for work, less people will be buying, and the retail sector will decline. 1 Feb 2020 The unemployment rate is the percentage of the total labor force that is unemployed but actively seeking employment and willing to work. 13 Jun 2019 The unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of workers who are unemployed and actively looking for a job, and at 3.6% one could That's a very possible scenario, and it is due, in large part, to the second criteria in the definition of unemployment: they are looking for jobs. That means if The unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of unemployed workers in the Unemployment tends to be cyclical and decreases when the economy
The NAIRU is defined explicitly as the unemployment rate at which inflation is the price-inflation rate is a decreasing function of the unemployment rate and an
4 Oct 2019 Job creation slowed last month, though the unemployment rate fell to its 22,000 of September's new jobs, meaning private sector companies created just the unemployment rate decrease has widely been interpreted as a
27 Dec 2016 Slowing the economy prematurely means not only that the overall unemployment rate may not reach its proper trough, but also that the benefits of
28 May 2019 As American products and services decline, businesses need to lay off The unemployment rate is considered a “lagging indicator,” meaning 11 Jul 2019 After all, the unemployment rate is just 3.7 percent, near its lowest level in as unemployed, as the Labor Department has traditionally defined the concept. The decline in the labor force participation rate stems partly from 17 Nov 2019 The banks have been saved but the official unemployment rate has hit 8%, First, the long-run decline in the number of hours worked has stalled. choice in November, and the results will define the country for a generation.
Last Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the unemployment rate for the United States fell from 9 percent in October to 8.6 percent in November and that nonfarm employment rose by 120,000 workers. | https://binaryoptionsdjyz.web.app/szczepanek41842riri/decrease-in-unemployment-rate-means-1577.html |
In our taxpayers' guide (PDF) to the fiscal crisis we reported that analysts were predicting a one per cent rise in both rates of National Insurance. The Government had already increased it by 0.5% in the Budget, now they've announced another increase, for a total rise of 1%. As we said at the time, that means a tax hike on employment:
"Research for the accountancy BDO Stoy Hayward has suggested that the Government may well introduce a 1 per cent increase in national insurance rates for employers and employees.An increase in employees’ national insurance would effectively operate as an increase in income tax. By contrast, an increase in employers’ national insurance would effectively operate as a tax on employment. As it would increase the cost of taking on workers such a measure would reduce the demand for labour. That would mean workers would either need to accept lower wages than without the new tax or face greater chances ofunemployment.As of November 2009, nearly 2.5 million Britons are unemployed, or 7.8 per cent of the workforce. Young people, who are likely to be the worst affected by any rise in national insurance as they tend to be lower paid and therefore more easily pushed into unemployment, are facing even higher unemployment rates. Nearly a fifth of those aged 18-24 are unemployed. Even before the crisis, OECD research showed that the proportion of the UK 16-25 population who are not in employment, education or training was 13 per cent, up from 11.6 per cent in 1997. That does not reflect an international pattern as the linear average of the 16-25 not in employment, education or training rate across the OECD has fallen from 12.4 to 12 per cent."
All of the little fiddles that Alistair Darling announced, which he said would help tackle high levels of unemployment, are pretty meaningless in the face of this kind of increase in the tax burden imposed on employing people. | https://www.taxpayersalliance.com/national_insurance_up_another_0_5_4wi62ld5fvmkxlynsih7dd9tgxe |
The major problem of economic recessions and depressions is high unemployment. When unemployment is severe or prolonged, it can lead to social disintegration, loss of job skills, and increased difficulty of finding a new job. It can also cause social unrest because more people fall into poverty. However, not everyone who is not working is considered unemployed — only those who are part of the labor force, those who are actively seeking employment.
Labor Force
The total population of any economy is divided into 4 major sections, in regards to employment:
- Those who are under 16 or institutionalized are not considered part of the labor force and are not eligible to seek employment.
- Those who are able to work but are not in the labor force, because they are not seeking employment, such as homemakers, full-time students, and retirees.
- Almost half of the population that is employed.
- The small number of people who are unemployed, which are those who are able to work and are actively seeking employment.
Discouraged workers are also not included in the labor force, because, although they would like work, they have given up looking for it.
The labor force consists of all those people who are either employed or unemployed, but seeking work.
|Unemployment Rate||=||Number of Unemployed|
Number in Labor Force
|× 100|
In the United States, the unemployment rate is determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which conducts a monthly nationwide random survey of about 140,000 businesses and government agencies, representing approximately 440,000 individual worksites, providing detailed industry data on nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings of workers. The results of this sampling are then projected to the entire nation.
However, economists have criticized the BLS statistics because it counts part-time employment as full employment, even if the workers are seeking full-time employment. Also, the BLS only counts those people who are actively seeking work, but, especially in recessions, there are many people who would like to be employed, but are discouraged and so stop seeking employment. Hence, the actual unemployment rate is usually greater than what the BLS statistics suggest.
The BLS also determines the labor force participation rate from the same survey, which is the percentage of adults in the labor force:
|Labor-Force Participation Rate||=||Number in Labor Force|
Number of Adults
|× 100|
Types of Unemployment
Unemployment is generally classified into 3 types, according to the cause of unemployment: frictional, structural, and cyclical.
Frictional unemployment is the unemployment that results when people are between jobs or when they first start looking for jobs. Many people quit or get fired from their job, causing them to be unemployed temporarily. Although most people looking for work eventually find another job, there are always others who lose their job for one reason or another, and so become part of the unemployment pool. Because this happens continually, frictional unemployment is persistent, and represents the minimum that the unemployment rate can go.
Structural unemployment results when there is a mismatch between the skills demanded by employers and the skills that workers have. Structural unemployment may also result from the relocation of jobs to different geographical areas, because many people tend to remain where they have lived most of their lives. Structural unemployment can persist over many months or even a few years, until people can retrain or develop new skills or they become willing to relocate in new areas where there are jobs.
Cyclical unemployment results from the decreased aggregate expenditures by the economy during a recession, when businesses have cut back on their production of output. Since labor is an input, reduced output lowers the demand for labor. Hence this type of unemployment is sometimes referred to as deficient-demand unemployment. For instance, during the credit crisis from 2007 to 2010, the unemployment rate in United States hovered slightly under 10% for several years.
Full Employment
Because frictional and structural unemployment are part of any economy, true, full employment, where everyone in the labor force has a job, does not occur. Instead, economists talk about a natural rate of unemployment (NRU), which is the absence of cyclical unemployment, but not frictional or structural unemployment. In other words, the unemployment rate will rarely drop below the natural rate of unemployment. Generally, when there is a natural rate of unemployment, the number of job vacancies equals the number of job seekers. Sometimes, however, the unemployment rate can drop a little below the natural unemployment rate, because demand for labor is so high, that even workers who were not actually looking for a job may be enticed by higher wages and the ready availability of jobs. The natural rate of unemployment has come down over the years, largely due to improvements in technology. The Internet, for instance, allows employers to post available jobs for little or no cost, or they can search resumes online to find people with the appropriate skill set. People looking for jobs also have it much easier, since they can search for jobs on their own home computers.
The natural rate of unemployment differs among nations. For instance, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom generally have higher unemployment rates than the United States, probably because they have more generous unemployment benefits, which lessen the need to find a new job.
The economy is considered at full employment when the unemployment rate is equal to the economy's natural rate of unemployment, which is also when economic output is at a maximum.
Economic Cost of Unemployment
Unemployment above the natural rate means that the economy is producing less than its potential output. This is referred to as the GDP output gap, or simply the GDP gap. Higher unemployment rates create a larger GDP output gap.
The size of the output gap created by a specific amount of unemployment was first quantified by the economist Arthur Okun and has, since, become known as Okun's Law. Okun's Law indicates that for every 1% of unemployment above the natural unemployment rate creates a GDP output gap of about 2%. So for a $10 trillion economy, a 1% unemployment rate above the natural rate of unemployment creates a $200 billion output gap. In the United States, the unemployment rate averaged 9.6% in 2010, which is about 5% above the natural unemployment rate. Since the United States had a nominal GDP of about $14.5 trillion, the high unemployment rate according to Okun's Law would be equal to an almost $1.5 trillion output gap.
Generally, unemployment rates are higher for people with fewer skills or for people working in lower skilled occupations. Lower skilled workers are also less likely to be self-employed. Teenagers generally have higher unemployment rates because they have lower skill levels, frequently quit their jobs or get fired, and have less geographic mobility than adults. Blacks and Hispanics also suffer a higher unemployment rate than whites because more of them have less education, and are more concentrated in lower skilled occupations. Discrimination also increases the rate of unemployment. People with higher education normally experience lower unemployment rates. | http://thismatter.com/economics/unemployment.htm |
The old investing adage, “don’t fight the Fed”, was in full force in August as both stocks and bonds declined after hearing a more resolute tone from Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, regarding the path of interest rate hikes in pursuit of blunting inflation. A subsection of that speech is below (our emphasis added):
“Restoring price stability will take some time and requires using our tools forcefully to bring demand and supply into better balance. Reducing inflation is likely to require a sustained period of below-trend growth. Moreover, there will very likely be some softening of labor market conditions. While higher interest rates, slower growth, and softer labor market conditions will bring down inflation, they will also bring some pain to households and businesses. These are the unfortunate costs of reducing inflation. But a failure to restore price stability would mean far greater pain.”
We believe that, in many ways, the inflation-fighting pursuit of the Fed is just. However, their tools are certainly limited. Higher interest rates do not produce more energy for Europe in the midst of a potential standoff with Russia. Nor do they produce greater agricultural output during extreme weather conditions. The Fed can only seek to reduce demand, but increasing supply takes time, investment, and innovation.
- Economic growth has begun to soften, primarily as a result of higher interest rates and inflation
- The labor market remains a key pillar of economic strength as jobs and job openings are plentiful (nearly two open jobs for every job seeker)
- The US Federal Reserve was forced to raise interest rates faster than previously communicated and expected, which has caused risk assets like stocks to reprice lower this year.
- Stocks and credit instruments are trading at better prices mid-year than at the start of the year, and significant dispersion across companies and industries still exist (opportunity for active managers)
- Investor sentiment is at very low levels, which may present a longer-term buying opportunity
Labor market
The labor market remained a pillar of strength for the economy through the month. Total US payrolls reached an all-time high in July and the unemployment rate, while ticking up slightly to 3.7% in August, remains well below average since 2000. Job openings remain plentiful (nearly two openings for every person seeking a job) and initial claims for unemployment insurance are below average. If there is a recession on the horizon, it’s not being reflected in the labor market thus far. We will be watching to see if continued Federal Reserve hawkishness leads to a slowdown in hiring.
Corporate Earnings
Large US companies have largely managed through the various challenges of 2022 reasonably well. S&P 500 earnings have continued to increase, albeit at a slower pace than originally expected, which is likely contributed to share price declines this year.
Households
Another pillar of strength for the US economy is household finances, which are in relatively good shape, on average, driven by increased home equity, investment balances, cash balances, and higher wages. However, inflation and the potential for eroding living standards has pushed household sentiment to its lowest levels in decades, potentially implying a slowdown in discretionary spending activity. Household debt has begun to rise, but delinquency rates are below average, particularly mortgage delinquencies.
Inflation
Higher costs have plagued markets, households, and businesses for much of the last year. The pandemic caused supply and demand imbalances that still persist today, low interest rates drove a significant increase in home prices, and a large number of workers leaving the labor force has led to higher employment costs for businesses. On top of all this, the war in Ukraine has significantly increased the costs of food and energy. Importantly, we’ve begun to see some slowing the pace of rising costs as mortgage rates have increased and additional energy production has come online.
Sentiment
Both investor sentiment and household sentiment remain extremely low. While not a perfect timing tool, investing during environments in which there are more sellers than buyers has often led to above-average future returns. | https://oneascent.com/monthly-investment-update-september-2022/ |
We often hear the term “unemployment” in the news. Most of us have a general idea of what unemployment is but are not aware of the economics behind it.
Today, we will be discussing the concept of unemployment, together with the different types and causes of unemployment.
What is Unemployment?
Unemployment occurs when a number of factors of production (FOPs) are not used to produce goods and services. Labour forces that are willing and able to work but are without work are considered unemployed. The unemployed are actively searching for employment or are pending an appointment.
Different countries have different calculating criteria for determining the percentage of unemployed individuals in their labour force. The labour force includes both the employed and the unemployed that are economically active. On the other hand, economically inactive individuals are unemployed individuals who have neither sought employment in the past two weeks, nor started work in the next two weeks. They are either unwilling or unable to work.
Some of the formulae concerning unemployment includes:
Unemployment rate = [Number of unemployed individuals ÷ Labour force] × 100%
Labour force participation = [Labour force ÷ Working-age population] × 100%
However, when we say full employment, it does not mean that unemployment does not exist in the economy. There is a natural unemployment rate – non-cyclical unemployment that includes frictional, seasonal, and structural unemployment.
Factors
Three main factors affect the unemployment rate – the composition of the labour force, the size of the labour force, and the labour productivity of the employed.
The composition of the labour force involves the educational and skill qualifications attained by the workforce. Should workers possess skills that are no longer relevant to the economy, there may be a higher unemployment rate.
The size of the labour force is dependent on the number of individuals in the working-age population. If the size of the labour force increases but the number of employed individuals remain constant, there will be a higher unemployment rate. This occurs due to increased birth rates, decreased death rates, or increased net immigration.
Labour productivity is the output of work produced per person-hour. This is often based on the level of education and technology of the country. With higher productivity, firms are more attracted to increase employment. As such, the demand for labour increases and the unemployment rates will fall.
Types
Cyclical Unemployment
Cyclical, or demand-deficient unemployment, is caused by cycles of economic boom and decline. This means that it is determined by the aggregate demand – it is caused by a fall in aggregate demand (AD). It relates to the trends in the growth and production occurring within the business cycle, measured by the gross domestic product (GDP).
When AD falls, firms cannot sell their current output level. While they may have unsold goods in inventories, they have to inevitably cut back on production after some time. As such, there is less demand for labour, and consumer spending falls because of the multiplier effect. This causes a gap between the potential output and the actual output of the economy.
Frictional Unemployment
Frictional unemployment happens when workers resign or graduate, and are unemployed while seeking employment. This is caused by the time taken to find jobs – employers may choose to hire people that are better qualified, or candidates may choose to turn down the offer. If individuals choose to accept a job that they may not excel as much in, then there would be lower productivity. As such, the time taken to find a suitable job is necessary to ensure allocative efficiency.
There are two main causes – imperfect information and lack of incentives.
Imperfect Information
Frictional unemployment occurs when the unemployed are unaware of available employment opportunities, together with perfect information about different aspects of the jobs.
Lack of Incentives
Some of the unemployed may be unwilling to take up positions if they perceive the tax and benefit system as a loss in income as compared to remaining unemployed.
Institutional Unemployment
Institutional unemployment is a by-product of institutional factors and incentives that are permanent. Labour market institutions and phenomena, together with government policies such as high minimum wage floors, can result in institutional unemployment.
Seasonal Unemployment
Seasonal unemployment occurs due to the demand for various types of labour based on the different seasons of the year. This is seen especially in the agricultural sector when labour is employed primarily during harvest season but are unemployed for the remainder of the year. This can also occur based on the condition of the climate.
Structural Unemployment
Structural unemployment occurs due to occupational immobility and structural changes in the economy. This causes a mismatch of skills between unemployed and potential employers. As such, some workers may become unemployed for very long since they cannot find jobs that require their specialised skills.
There are a few reasons for this.
Change in Demand
As the free market works based on the demand and supply mechanism, a fall in the demand for a certain good will cause the price of the good to drop. This means that companies earn less and thus have to reduce the number of goods. As such, fewer workers are needed to produce the good, resulting in workers being retrenched.
Change in Production Methods
As technology progresses, new production methods are invented – fewer workers are needed for the same level of output. Some jobs with specific skills needed are rendered obsolete, resulting in workers being unemployed. Occupational immobility worsens this, as retrenched workers do not possess skills that are in demand. However, this can also create new employment opportunities, especially for workers with the skills needed to operate and maintain the technology.
Globalisation
In developed countries, labour-intensive jobs are no longer economically feasible, since developing countries can offer them for a lower cost. These workers are then retrenched as companies shift their jobs abroad. Countries may consider restructuring their economy to turn their attention to other industries to remain competitive in the global economy.
Persistent Cyclical Unemployment
When cyclical unemployment continues over a long time, there will be a low AD for long periods in the economy. Unemployed workers become out of practice or have their skills become irrelevant.
Regional Unemployment
Regional unemployment refers to structural unemployment in a certain part of a country caused by certain industries being located in certain regions. Its main cause is geographical immobility as workers are unwilling or unable to move between parts of the country.
Consequences
While it is normal in the economy, high unemployment rates can cause every aspect of the economy to suffer.
For consumers, unemployment will cause the unemployed to lose income. This causes a lower material standard of living since they have a lower purchasing power and will consume fewer goods and services. When the unemployed consume fewer goods and services, firms will earn less revenue and thus produce fewer goods and services. They may also receive fewer investments due to lower returns of investment.
On the other hand, the government will receive less tax revenue from the unemployed. Taxes include income tax due to the lack of work, together with goods and services tax (GST) as unemployed consumers spend less. Some governments also pay out benefits to unemployed individuals, which incurs a larger government expenditure. There is an opportunity cost incurred as the funds can be spent on other sectors of the economy.
For the overall economy, unemployment causes productive inefficiency. Many other factors will result in a decrease in the AD of the economy. The potential growth of the economy will also increase at a slower rate. Other social costs may be incurred, such as political instability, which will further result in the loss of tourism and profits. | https://mzacademy.net/economics/unemployment/ |
Morocco will spend an initial 2 billion dirhams ($200 million) to help its health system cope with the coronavirus outbreak, the finance ministry said as the number of confirmed cases in the country rose to 333.
It will spend the money on 1,000 more intensive care beds, 550 ventilators and 100,000 testing kits, as well as medicine and other equipment, the ministry added.
The government has put 1 billion dirhams into a special fund for its coronavirus response, which has been topped up with private donations.
The European Union said it would reallocate 450 million euros ($498.15 million) of previously pledged aid to Morocco’s coronavirus response, with 150 million euros to be immediately put into the special fund.
The government cabinet said earlier it aimed to increase the number of intensive care beds in Morocco to 3,000, from 1,640 now.
The health ministry has endorsed the use of antimalarial drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat coronavirus patients.
As an austerity measure, the government has suspended promotions of staff and hiring in the public sector, except in the security and health sectors.
Morocco has opened up military medical facilities to coronavirus patients and deployed the military to set up field hospitals.
Chidi Nwoke. | https://www.von.gov.ng/covid-19-morocco-to-spend-200-million-to-help-health-system/ |
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited the ITBP’s Radha Soami COVID care facility in Delhi’s Chhatarpur on Monday and thanked the Union government for providing doctors and medical staff at the centre which has 500 oxygen-supported beds.
He said 200 ICU beds will be arranged at the facility.
Also Read: Delhi lockdown extended by 1 week as oxygen situation still 'under stress': CM Arvind Kejriwal
"Visited the Radha Soami facility this morning, 500 oxygen beds start today. More beds will be added in the next few days. We will also start 200 ICU beds here. Grateful to Babaji for helping us. Thank you Central government for providing doctors and medical staff of ITBP,” Kejriwal tweeted after the visit.
Also Read: United Airlines to resume flights from Delhi to US on April 25
COVID-19 Vaccine
Frequently Asked Questions
A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.
There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.
Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.
The Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel COVID Care Centre (SPCCC) at Radha Soami Satsang Beas in south Delhi is operated by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
Follow our LIVE blog for latest updates of the novel coronavirus pandemic
"SPCCC will provide treatment free of cost. No walk-in admissions will be made,” ITBP spokesperson Vivek Kumar Pandey had said, adding admission to the centre will be made on reference by the district surveillance officers (DSO).
A brief standard operating procedure (SOP) issued on Sunday said patients after getting a reference from a DSO will report at the reception of the SPCCC and after initial documentation, their physical examination will be done and subsequently, they will be admitted.
Delhi is facing an acute shortage of oxygen beds for serious COVID-19 patients and has almost run out of ICU facilities amid soaring infections.Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here. | https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/health-trends/delhi-cm-arvind-kejriwal-visits-covid-facility-at-radha-soami-satsang-beas-thanks-centre-for-medical-staff-6816551.html |
April 8, 2021 5:55:18 am
The UT on Wednesday reported 399 cases, the highest since September, when the pandemic was at its peak. The total number of active cases are now 3,121 and the active ratio is now 10.7 per cent.
“The rise in numbers is a cause for concern. We are expecting a higher surge in the coming two months. Right now there is no shortage of beds. But with this surge, we have to gear up for more hospital beds,” said Dr V K Nagpal, Medical Superintendent, GMSH-16, and joint director (health).
Last year,when the pandemic was at its peak, the beds were increased to 2,000. This year, if need be, the capacity will be utilised. “We have 200 beds at GMSH-16, with 77 occupied by Covid patients, and more than 45 by other patients and 25 by gynae patients who have Covid. All the six ICU beds with ventilators have been dedicated to serious Covid patients,” Dr Nagpal said.
At the moment the Dhanwantri care centre, which has 50 beds,is operational, out of which 49 are already occupied. Dr Navin Pandey, Department of Hospital Administration, said that PGI has 300 beds for Covid patients, out of which 50 are for ICU, with 168 Covid patients admitted at the moment, 39 in the ICU and 129 in the general wards.
“There is a need for more beds in other hospitals and treatment modalities need to be worked out. Last year, we had increased the beds to 400 when the pandemic was at its peak,” Dr Pandey said.
According to Prof G D Puri, who spearheaded the COVID-19 initiative in PGI, the Emergency wards here are full, with NHE also working to its full capacity.
GMCH-32 has dedicated 52 beds to Covid patients, with 50 already occupied, and in the GMCH-48, which has 100 beds, 28 are occupied. In all, GMSH-16, Sector 22, 45 and Manimajra Civil Hospitals have 200 beds for Covid patients, with 100 already occupied in the four facilities, making the occupancy rate 50 per cent.
“We will start with the international hostel at PU as a Covid Care Centre. Last year, we had 100 beds in PU’s hostels 8, 9, and 10. Keeping in mind the present rise in cases, we will decide on further action,” Dr Nagpal said.
Fortis Hospital, Mohali, has dedicated 120 beds for the treatment of COVID patients, the first private hospital in the Tricity with the highest number of beds for COVID patients, which is second after PGI, Chandigarh. Speaking on the preparedness of Fortis to treat COVID-19 patients, Abhijit Singh, zonal director, Fortis Hospital, Mohali, said, “We are working closely with the local authorities and the healthcare delivery system to effectively combat this pandemic. A 3-tier COVID defence structure is in place at all Fortis hospitals, with screening, fever (FLU)cClinics, and in-patient isolation facilities. We have been continuously monitoring the situation and have increased the number of COVID beds seeing the rise in the number of cases. We have also implemented necessary safety protocols to keep our doctors, nurses, other patients, visitors and staff safe. Segregation of staff, separate COVID and non-COVID Emergencies, preliminary screening at flu clinic and dedicated wards, ICUs and air handling units for COVID patients are a few of the initiatives we have taken.”
Also, two private hospitals in Chandigarh, Eden and Kare Partners Group, both paid facilities, have been authorised to treat Covid patients.
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- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards. | https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/with-surge-in-cases-we-have-to-gear-up-for-more-hospital-beds-chandigarh-joint-director-health-7263633/ |
200 beds in Ambedkar Nagar hospital to open by month-end; 450 beds in Burari likely to start from next week
To ramp up the city’s hospital bed infrastructure amid a rise in Covid-19 cases, the Delhi government will next week open a newly constructed hospital in Burari and partially start another one in South Delhi’s Ambedkar Nagar by the end of this month for coronavirus patients, senior government officials said on Thursday.
The health department has prepared a proposal to first start 200 beds in the 600-bedded facility Ambedkar Nagar -- seven years after it was first approved -- all of which will be dedicated to Covid-19 patients. The proposal is likely to be tabled in the next cabinet meeting, the date for which is yet to be finalised.
But before this hospital is opened, the government will start another of its new hospital in Burari for Covid-19 patients. The facility, which has a capacity of 700 beds, will start with 450 beds from next week.
“In the case of Burari hospital, only the fire safety clearance is awaited. We are expecting to start 450 beds for Covid-19 patients there from around next week. In Ambedkar Nagar, fire safety clearance will take a few more days, so we are expecting to start 200 beds in that facility by the end of this month,” said an official from deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s office. Sisodia is also presently Delhi’s health minister.
Government officials, however, clarified that neither the Burari nor the Ambedkar Nagar facilities will have ICU beds. In both hospitals, arrangements have been made for medical and supporting staff, officials said.
“Some of these beds will have oxygen supply and oxygen cylinders, but no ICU bed is being readied in these two facilities yet,” a government official said.
In Burari, 250 beds will have oxygen support. “Every third bed here will have an oxygen supply attached to it. Around 125 beds have oxygen supply, and 125 will be provided through oxygen cylinders,” the official said.
The hospital in Ambedkar Nagar was approved in 2013 at a cost of Rs 125.9 crore by the Congress government. While initially it planned to house 200 beds, the Aam Aadmi Party government increased the capacity to 600.
Residents of Ambedkar Nagar said the hospital would benefit not just them but also those in nearby areas such as Sangam Vihar, Deoli, Khanpur, Madangir and Dakshinpuri.
“Right now, we just have Batra hospital, which is a private facility. For Covid-19 treatment, there was no government facility in the area. This would help many get free treatment if it is opened,” said Satish, who goes by his first name and is a resident of E-Block.
Lalit Kant, a scientist and former head of epidemiology and communicable diseases at ICMR, said the government must focus on increasing ICU beds and ventilator beds. “On Thursday, there were more than 10,300 beds vacant in various hospitals in Delhi. But almost 66% ICU beds in private hospitals and 40% in government hospitals are already occupied. So, the authorities should scale up ICU beds and ventilator beds,” he said.
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Fire at ATM kiosk engulfs multi-storey building in Noida | Video
A fire suspected to have started at an ATM kiosk in Noida Friday night engulfed the four-storey building, news agencies reported. The fire broke out around 10pm at a multi-storey residential-cum-commercial building in the crowded Bhangel area, prompting the deployment of firefighters, reported PTI citing officials. A short circuit at the ATM is believed to have triggered the fire, spreading into the other floors of the four-storey building.
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Delhiwale: Bhutta returns, in a new chulha
Very many of the bhutta vendors, who will soon pop up through the Delhi region, source their bhuttas from Azadpur Sabzi Mandi. But Mukesh gets his directly from a region where they are grown in great quantity, he says, close to his native Moradabad.
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Symbol to honour martyrs shifted from India Gate to War Memorial
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated National War Memorial (NWM) three years ago, on February 25, 2019, and since then, millions of people have visited the memorial and paid homage to the country’s fallen heroes whose names are inscribed on its walls.
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Heatwave not likely in Delhi for a few days, says IMD
Delhi's maximum temperature rose by three degrees on Friday to settle at 39.3 degrees Celsius (C), which, according to the India Meteorological Department, was still a degree below what is considered the normal for this time of the year. The officials added that no heatwave conditions are expected in the national capital for the next five days. The maximum temperature at five of the 11 weather stations in Delhi breached the 40C mark on Friday.
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1 dead, 2 hurt as building falls in outer Delhi
Deputy commissioner of police (outer) Sameer Sharma identified the deceased man by his first name as Manas, a resident of Prem Nagar, and the injured as Gareeb Shah (54) and his son Sachin Kumar (age unknown), residents of Bhagat Singh Park area. | https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/200-beds-in-ambedkar-nagar-hospital-to-open-by-month-end-450-beds-in-burari-likely-to-start-from-next-week/story-IUYf6SDNQJtrEjeKY5hdiI.html |
April 6, 2021 12:34:42 pm
As the demand for beds continues to increase due to the surge in Covid-19 infections, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to start an Oxygen bed facility at the Covid Care Centres (CCC) being set up across the city.
The city is already facing a shortage of ventilator beds for critical patients and in the last few days, patients in need have been struggling to get ventilator support in any of the hospitals in the city. As on Tuesday morning, the PMC dashboard had no vacant Ventilator beds of the total 493 allocated for treating Covid patients. There were only 5 of 432 ICU beds without ventilators vacant that too after the increase in the bed capacity at the jumbo Covid hospital in CoEP grounds.
Of the 4,457 allocated isolation beds with Oxygen, there were only 383 vacant with the demand increasing fast during the last few days. There are 706 of the allocated 4,457 beds without Oxygen vacant in city hospitals.
“The PMC administration has been directed to prepare an action plan to increase Oxygen beds along with beds at the CCC in the city. The plan is to provide Oxygen facility for 10 per cent of the total beds in CCC,” said mayor Murlidhar Mohol after discussing the issue of shortage of beds for treatment of Covid patients in the city.
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Also, the PMC has been asked to rope in Nitya Shradha hospital for Covid treatment. Mohol said the civic body would seek their paid service to run a civic hospital. “The civic administration has been asked to identify more private hospitals in the city that are yet to be included in the civic list of hospitals for reserving beds for Covid treatment,” Mohol added.
The PMC would soon start CCC at CoEP hostel and Agriculture hostel alongwith other locations identified for the CCC with 10 percent beds with Oxygen facility, he said adding, “The PMC is also trying to get in touch with residential hotels and lodges in the city to start CCC to cater to the increasing number of Covid patients in the city.”
The civic administration has been asked to explore the possibility of making use of vacant civic buildings constructed for schools or other purposes for starting Oxygen bed facilities. The bed capacity at civic hospitals treating Covid patients is also being increased, Mohol said adding there would be an addition of 200 beds in the next two days by increasing the capacity at jumbo hospital and Dalvi hospital.
As per the PMC report, there are 919 critical patients in the city and 3,952 on Oxygen therapy. A total of 42,741 active patients are in the city and most of them in home isolation.
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- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards. | https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/pmc-to-provide-oxygen-beds-in-ccc-to-cater-to-increasing-demand-of-oxygen-therapy-for-patients-7260789/ |
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A great opportunity! A family or holiday home, renovated on the outside, almost completely renovated on the inside, situated in the heart of a ...
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Cute little house to be renovated in nice village with garden directly bordering the Saone. Potential to rent out for holidays
A nice little house to renovate completely, adjacent to the Saone. The house consists of 2 . . . | https://www.frenchestateagents.com/allproperties/exclusives/primary_id:1/region_id:43 |
The total number of coronavirus cases in Delhi has been declining as the positivity rate has gone down to 11 percent, said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday.
Delhi Chief Minister said that Delhi reported 6,500 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours while the positivity rate has further gone down to 11 percent.
Also Read | Coronavirus India: PM Narendra Modi a ‘super-spreader’ of COVID-19, says IMA Vice President
“So, Corona’s impact is going down in Delhi,” Arvind Kejriwal said, adding that 1000 ICU beds have been set up within 15 days and the doctors and engineers have set an example. “I thank them,” he added.
Also Read | Religious and political events accelerated COVID-19 transmission in India: WHO
Furthermore, he said that “We’re starting oxygen concentrator bank on Saturday”.
“Essential to provide oxygen to COVID-19 patients, on time. We’ve started this for such patients. 200 such banks set up in every dist,” he said.
Adding, he said that “Our team will provide the concentrator at the doorstep of patients in home isolation if needed.
On Friday, he saluted the doctors, engineers, and workers who worked round the clock on a war footing and constructed these 500 ICU beds in just 15 days at Ramlila maidan opp LNJP hospital. “250 ICU beds to start on Saturday and 250 in next two days,” he said. | https://www.ptcnews.tv/coronavirus-delhi-records-less-than-7000-new-covid-19-cases-in-24-hours-en/ |
Covid Centre inaugurated at Nagpur’s National Cancer Institute
Nagpur: “The coming days will be challenging as nobody can predict how many days the Covid-19 will continue to torment people. Keeping in mind this fact, the big hospitals should start operating their own oxygen plants so that the patients don’t face hardships,” said the Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday.
Gadkari was speaking after inaugurating Covid Centre at National Cancer Institute (NCI) here. Former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, NCI’s CEO Shailesh Joglekar and Dr Anand Pathak were seated on the dais.
“The Covid Centre initiatially will have 20 ICU and 30 ventilator beds. 100 more beds will be added in the next eight days. Later, a facility of 200 more covid beds will be made available in the NCI apart from the cancer patients who visit the hospital for treatment. Presently, oxygen shortage is being faced in Nagpur. However, arrangements for supply of oxygen have been made as 400 tonnes of oxygen is being supplied from Bhilai. Over 300 beds are being added in GMCH and Mayo Hospital. The oxygen supply to these two hospitals will be made from Visakhapatnam,” Gadkari said adding that efforts are being made to get 1000 more ventilators.
Talking about shortage of Remdesivir injections, Gadkari said that the Central Government has given permission to seven more companies to manufacture the critical Covid-19 drug in India. “I personally met the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the concerned Minister Mansukh Mandviya and got the permission. The shortage problem will be sorted out within 304 days. The oxygen plants at GMCH and Mayo are starting shortly. NCI should also make efforts to start its own oxygen plant on war-footing,” Gadkari said.
Speaking on the occasion, Fadnavis said that a large number of covid patients were found in Nagpur in the second wave. There is shortage of beds, medicines, oxygen and ventilators. This led to panic among relatives of patients. But with the help of Gadkari, efforts are being made to provide all Covid facilities to people.
Mayor Dayashankar Tiwari, Dr Vikas Mahatme (MP), MLCs Pravin Datke and Parinay Fuke were also present. | https://www.nagpurtoday.in/hospitals-should-have-their-own-oxygen-plants-gadkari/04152202 |
Govt hospitals to get 1,200 more Covid-19 beds
The government has instructed six public hospitals in the capital to add another 1,200 Covid-19 beds as the pandemic continues to surge, leaving healthcare facilities near capacity.
Speaking to The Daily Star on July 18, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said, "In a meeting with hospital officials, we have asked them to increase the number of Covid general beds immediately. We hope the task will be completed at the earliest."
He said the government made the decision as the number of Covid patients has been on the rise and the number of empty hospital beds is decreasing gradually.
Covid cases and deaths have been going up in Dhaka over the last one month. There are 5,717 Covid general beds in public and private hospitals in the capital. Only 2,070 of them were vacant as of yesterday.
Besides, only 147 out of 878 Covid ICU beds were unoccupied in the city yesterday.
The meeting decided to add 400 Covid beds at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, 300 beds at National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR), 200 beds at Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital, 100 beds each at National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital, National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital and National Institute of Mental Health and Hospital.
Of the six public hospitals, Shaheed Suhrawardy and National Institute of Neurosciences already have 263 and 60 general beds respectively for Covid patients.
The Convention Centre of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) will be turned into a 1,000-bed field hospital for Covid patients.
"It will have 400 ICU [intensive care unit] and as many HDU [high dependency unit] beds," said the health minister.
Apart from this, a central monitoring team has been formed to monitor the hospital services in the capital, Zahid said after Sunday's meeting with the officials of public hospitals.
"Our resources are limited. The increased number of beds will not be enough if the situation is not controlled right away," the minister warned.
Health professionals said increasing the number of beds will not bring any change if the manpower is not increased simultaneously.
"We have already started expanding the hospital beds. Our 8th-12th floor will be turned into a Covid unit. We are hopeful of adding 200 beds to the hospital, but we don't have ICU facilities," NITOR Director Abdul Gani Mollah told The Daily Star on July 19.
He, however, said they have a shortage of manpower as the NITOR doctors are not tasked with treating Covid patients. "But we will try to ensure making our best efforts as this is a crucial time."
Prof Dr Khalilur Rahman, director of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, said they are capable of increasing the number of Covid beds up to 350.
Asked about manpower, he said they have already communicated with the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) for additional manpower.
Dr Sheikh Farid Hossain Miah, director (hospitals) at DGHS, said they cannot recruit healthcare professionals overnight.
"Recruitment of doctors, nurses, and technologists is under process. The existing manpower will provide services for now."
He said the ICU beds for Covid patients will also be increased.
Currently, there are 15,625 general beds for Covid patients across the country. Of them 6,198 were vacant yesterday, according to DGHS data.
Out of 1,301 Covid ICU beds across the country, only 257 were unoccupied until yesterday. | https://www.thedailystar.net/health/disease/coronavirus/news/govt-hospitals-get-1200-more-covid-19-beds-2135526 |
Emergency beds cut rough-sleeping rates
The number of people sleeping rough in Dublin has fallen by 40 per cent after 200 extra emergency beds were provided. Rough sleeping was down from a ten-year high of 184 last November to 110 this month, according to the Dublin Region Homeless Executive.
Charities and opposition TDs praised the reduction but said that it had been driven by an increase in the number of beds rather than fewer people being made homeless. | https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/emergency-beds-cut-rough-sleeping-rates-rn7l2sh27 |
Key Points. High‐frequency S ‐coda and long‐period Rayleigh waves from repeating earthquakes reveal velocity changes since the 2004 Sumatra Earthquake ; S ‐coda velocity changes underwent steady recovery from 2005 to 2015, while Rayleigh wave velocities decreased significantly in late 2007 ; Temporal differences in S ‐coda and Rayleigh velocity changes can delineate slow deformation ...
Summary. An earlier study of the cyclic Miocene red bed sequence of La Gloria (Spain) by Krijgsman et al. indicated complicated behaviour of the natural remanent magnetization (NRM) in parts of the section, particularly close to reversal boundaries. We resampled part of the section with high resolution and used extensive rock-magnetic analyses to characterize the magnetic remanence carriers.
Limestone geomagnetic properties. ROCK-MAGNETIC PROPERTIES AND ABSOLUTE (chert, limestone, quartzite, sandstone and obsidian) was heated under controlled field and temperature conditions monitored by standard thermocouples. The main objectives of this study are: i) characterise the main magnetic and macroscopic properties of these materials ...
earliest interval of reversed geomagnetic field polarity of the late Jurassic-early Cretaceous magnetic reversal sequence. The basalt samples had very unstable remanent magnetic properties, characterized by median demagnetizing fields less than 100 oe. The samples were able to acquire large viscous remanences (VRM) in the laboratory in a 1.0-oe ...
6 where q is the charge of the particle that carries the current, n is the number density of the particle and µ=υ/E is the mobility where υ is the drift velocity of the particle. When there are multiple charged species that carry the electric current, equation (1) should be modified to σ=q in iµ i i
The magnetic properties of the resulting grain-growth chemical remanent magnetization (CRM) which parallels the inducing field, appear to be dependent on the synthesis temperature and the presence of a substrate. Specific values for the CRM range from 1 to 2.5 μA m …
Conformable on Saltford Shale Member - placed at base of an argillaceous limestone above which such limestones are common; at type section boundary placed at limestone below Bed 8 of Clements (1977). Definition of Upper Boundary: Placed at top of highest limestone of the limestone/mudstone sequence.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 82 (1987) 349-356 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam -Printed in The Netherlands 349 Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility in the Scaglia Rossa pelagic limestone W. Lowrie and A.M. Hirt Institut f Geophysik, ETH-Hggerberg, 8093 Zich (Switzerland) Received September 1, 1986; revised version accepted January 13, 1987 During folding of the Scaglia ...
Limestone is a carbonate sedimentary rock that is often composed of the skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral, foraminifera, and molluscs.Its major materials are the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate (CaCO 3).A closely related rock is dolomite, which contains a high percentage of the mineral dolomite, CaMg(CO 3) 2.
Rock magnetism is the study of the magnetic properties of rocks, sediments and soils.The field arose out of the need in paleomagnetism to understand how rocks record the Earth's magnetic field. This remanence is carried by minerals, particularly certain strongly magnetic minerals like magnetite (the main source of magnetism in lodestone).An understanding of remanence helps paleomagnetists to ...
This website beta version contains information on geophysical methods, references to geophysical citations, and a glossary of geophysical terms related to environmental applications. the website provides a beta version of the Geophysical Decision Support System (GDSS), which is an informal application for obtaining suggested geophysical methods and citations based on information you provide ...
Rock salt and limestone are examples of A) metamorphic rocks B) chemical sedimentary rocks ... (LOTS of property damage) BODY WAVES 2 kinds: P waves and S waves ... d. needle points directly toward geographic north rather than geomagnetic north. c. possesses an inclinometer, allowing the user to measure dip and plunge angles.
Just eight elements account for 98% of Earth's mass. Polymorphs are minerals that have the same elements in the same proportions, but the atoms are arranged differently. Example: diamond and graphite Both graphite and diamond are pure carbon. Cleavage is the property of a mineral to break along ...
Determination of the correlation between the energy-density changes in geomagnetic field and seismic events is a challenging scientific topic that allows the study of local tectonics using magnetometers. The magnetised properties of the crustal field of the Earth change due to natural sources and/or human activities that affect the environment.
Lowrie and Heller (1982) and Freeman (1986) reviewed the magnetic properties of marine carbonates and outlined many details concerning their magnetic stability, magnetic properties, and magnetic mineralogy. Our understanding of the magnetic properties of pelagic carbonate sediments has undergone a recent revolution (e.g., Roberts et al., 2011, Roberts et al., 2012, Larrasoaña et al., 2012 ...
Geomagnetic reversal . A change in state from normal polarity to reversed polarity, or vice versa. Articles: Geomagnetic reversals, Paleomagnetic dating. Geopetal structure . A structure formed when a hollow object is partially filled with sediment, allowing us to use it as a way-up structure. Article: Way-up structures. Glacial
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life.According to radiometric dating and other evidence, Earth formed over 4.5 billion years ago. Earth's gravity interacts with other objects in space, especially the Sun and the Moon, which is Earth's only natural satellite.Earth orbits around the Sun in 365.256 solar days, a period known as an Earth ...
the geomagnetic field vector1 The record of the ancient geomag-, study of the limestone magnetic properties indicated the presence of fine-particle magnetite dispersed in a Fe-poor calcium carbon-ate matrix1 Therefore, isolated Fe anomalies on the fluorescence (PDF) Rock-magnetic properties and absolute paleointensity,
reversal properties both in nature and in the laboratory during thermal de magnetization. Nevertheless, a fairly stable magnetic direction has been derived. The result does not confirm a Permian age but agrees with the direction of the Late Caledonian geomagnetic field as deduced from other Norwegian rocks.
function of the physical and chemical properties of the rock type, and these properties vary from rocks to rock and also from place to place on the earth surface (Roy, 1966). Magnetic susceptibility is the physical property which defines the behaviour of rock or earth materials to magnetism. Location and geology of the study area
We are testing the hypothesis that depositional processes of the mid-Cretaceous Greenhorn Limestone were influenced by orbitally-driven climate variations using rock magnetic data. Correlation of the data, including anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM), magnetic susceptibility, isothermal remanent magnetization in different DC fields to saturation, and hysteresis properties, from three ...
May 11, 2017· Matched inductance between geomagnetic activity and the local static field, they say, creates a representation recorded in the crystalline structure of the rock – a geologic hologram to be replayed directly to the brain when conditions are just right. ... You will find several people speaking authoritatively about the properties of limestone ...
Limestone: Limestone is a sedimentary rock that usually forms in lakes, streams, rivers, oceans etc. Most Limestone is deposited in warm shallow seas, on carbonate shelves etc. Limestone is a carbonate rock mainly made up of calcite precipitated chemically or by organisms, and lime.
b. The Redwall Formation in the Grand Canyon is composed primarily of limestone. c. The outer part of Earth consists of several large plates that move and interact with each other. d. Since 1885, the terminus of Canada's Athabasca Glacier has receded 1.5 kilometers.
Magnetic Properties of Marine Limestones Article (PDF Available) in Reviews of Geophysics and Space Physics 20(2):171-192 · January 1982 with 300 Reads How we measure 'reads'
Limestone has many chemical properties as well as physical properties. It contains between 38 and 42 percent lime, 15 to 18 percent silica, three and five percent alumina and trace amounts of magnesium oxide and iron oxide. In the U.S., limestone occurs in the Lampasas River area of Texas. It can also be found in the UK in England, and in the ...
Numerous paleomagnetic investigations have been carried out on limestones, but their rock magnetic properties have often been neglected. In this review, geological and rock magnetic factors which determine whether marine limestones are suitable for paleomagnetic study are summarized, and laboratory techniques for the identification of the magnetic mineralogy are evaluated.
Sands of ferrous and other magnetic minerals can certainly be magnetized to respond to, or generate, magnetic fields. Sands of non-magnetic materials like limestone or silica generally do not ... | https://www.mamluszczyce.pl/view/43917.htm |
Small grains of Magnetite are found in most igneous and metamorphic rock and is also, less commonly, present in some sedimentary rock, sometimes in banded iron formations In appearance, it is a black, opaque, submetallic to metallic mineral and has a Mohs hardness between 55 and 65...
Minerals, Rocks Rock Forming Processes - Know More
Igneous Rocks are formed by the cooling and crystallization of a silicate melt dominated by oxygen and silicon, with a variety of other metals The occurrence and distribution of igneous rocks and igneous rocks types can be related to the operation of plate tectonics...
A Description of Magnetite - Know More
The chemical formula is Fe 3 O 4, commonly called ferrous-ferric oxide, and is valuable as an iron ore The occurrence of magnetite is widespread It is commonly found in igneous, and metamorphic rocks Some sedimentary rocks have magnetite present in them as well...
Igneous and Sedimentary Magnetic Susceptibility , - Know More
The magnetic properties of a rock arise from the magnetic property of its mineral grains and crystals Typically, mafic igneous rocks demonstrate a high magnetic suscepbility compared to felsic igneous rocks and other sedimentary rocks...
II3 Intermediate igneous rocks - Know More
Appearance Dark, medium to coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock, the intrusive equivalent of andesiteThe mineral of this rock type is similar with the gabbros, but the anorthite content of plagioclase is usually less than 50 mol...
What Type of Rock Is Magnetic? Reference - Know More
The magnetic mineral magnetite is commonly found in igneous rocks The mineral magnetite that occurs in a variety of geologic environments is one of the few elements that cause a rock to become magnetic...
Chapter 4 Rocks and Minerals - Know More
Chapter 4 Rocks and Minerals Chapter 4 focuses on Rocks and Minerals, looking at types of rocks , A concordant igneous rock body runs parallel to the pre-existing bedrock , Magnetite is a mineral that has a very high iron content Magnetite has a black or brownish-red color and a black streak It has a hardness of about 6 on the Mohs ....
A List of Extrusive Igneous Rocks Sciencing - Know More
An extrusive igneous rocks definition states these rocks form when magma exits and cools above or very near the Earth s surface Examples of extrusive igneous rocks include basalt, andesite, rhyolite, dacite, obsidian, pumice and scoria Komatiite is a very rare and old extrusive igneous rock...
Rockhounding Arkansas Magnet Cove, AR Famous Mineral , - Know More
Magnet Cove is a 100-million-year old igneous intrusion mass of igneous rock of some rare and unusual rock types - all derived from a melt that was originally a ,...
Magnetite Lodestone Mineral Photos, Uses, Properties - Know More
In the crystallization of an igneous rock, tiny crystals of magnetite form in the melt, and because they are magnetic, they orient themselves with the direction and polarity of Earth s magnetic field This preserves the orientation of Earth s magnetic field within the rock at the moment of crystallization...
rock Definition, Characteristics, Types Britannica - Know More
Igneous rocks are subdivided into two categories intrusive emplaced in the crust , and extrusive extruded onto the surface of the land or ocean bottom , in which case the cooling molten material is called lava , The major rock-forming magnetic minerals are iron oxides and sulfid...
AN EASY GUIDE TO THE COMMON IGNEOUS ROCKS - Know More
Igneous rocks with a coarse-grained texture generally, all or almost all grains at least sand-sized, over 1 mm in diameter are going to be plutonic in origin - having crystallized slowly, underground...
The Order of Crystallization in Igneous Rocks - Know More
The order of crystallization in igneous rocks is necessarily determined from the end product, the solid rock When thin , magnetite Only the outer rim A of this crystal can be safely assumed to be of later crystallization than the magnetite The inner portion B may be of later crystallization but, on the...
The Rock Identification Key - Know More
Igneous Rock is formed when a magma cools underground and crystallizes or when it erupts unto the surface of the ground, cools and crystalliz Magma that erupts onto the surface is called lava , Sometimes chlorite, garnet, hornblende, actinolite, kyanite, magnetite, pyrite, staurolite, tourmaline, and many others , About the Rock ....
Meteorite Museum - Know More
However, many terrestrial igneous rocks are porous and have holes in them These holes or vesicles were produced by bubbles of gas that formed in the magma as it was erupted If you find a rock that is porous or contains vesicles it is a terrestrial rock...
Amazing Information About Gabbro Rocks That is Worth Reading - Know More
Gabbro is an intrusive igneous rock that is composed mainly of the minerals clinopyroxene and calcium-rich plagioclase feldspar It has numerous uses like for making cemetery markers, monumental stone, as crushed materials for construction and several other things...
paramagnetic igneous rock examples - Know More
Rock Magnetism Some Paramagnetic Minerals , Examples are magnetite most common , ilmenite, pyrrhotite, titanomagnetite , not uncommon to see variations in susceptibility of several orders of magnitude for different igneous rock samples like density,....
II4 Acidic silicic igneous rocks - Know More
Appearance Light coloured, medium- to coarse-grained intrusive igneous rocks with more than 20 of quartzWithin feldspars, the Na-rich plagioclase prevails over K-feldspar orthoclase The mafic minerals are represented by amphibole, pyroxene and biotite...
Minerals and Rocks Packet - Know More
Minerals and Rocks Packet 1 2 Define the Following terms Minerals- Inorganic- Luster- Hardness- Streak- , magnetite 4 The data table shows the composition of six common rock-forming minerals The data table , Which igneous rocks tend to be coarser in texture, ....
Rock magnetism geology Britannica - Know More
The magnetic properties of rocks arise from the magnetic properties of the constituent mineral grains and crystals Typically, only a small fraction of the rock consists of magnetic minerals It is this small portion of grains that determines the magnetic properties and magnetization of the rock,...
List of Top 16 Metamorphic Rocks Geology - Know More
The host rock is a gneiss-like metamorphic rock and the intruding or injected rock is a granitic igneous rock The host rock is, by nature, always older and the intruding rock is always lighter than the host rock...
The Minerals of Igneous Rocks - Know More
To correctly classify many igneous rocks it is first necessary to identify the constituent minerals that make up the rock Piece of cake you say, I saw most of these minerals when I did the Minerals Exercise or I have them in my mineral collection...
Paleomagnetism and Continental Drift - Know More
Igneous rocks are formed when molten rock magma cools and allows the mineral components to crystallize During this cooling process iron-rich crystals that form in the liquid melt are affected by the earth s magnetic field...
Rocks and Minerals Facts - Know More
Interesting Facts about Rocks and Minerals A rock is a solid substance that occurs naturally due to geological process of solidification, sedimentation and metamorphism , Pumice is an igneous rock, formed when frothy lava solidifi This is the only rock that floats , The actual rock at the Earth s surface consists of magnetite, quartz ....
What rocks are magnetic - Know More
Many rocks have magnetic properties are capable of beingmagnetized, are magnetic or are attracted by a magnet derived frommagnetic minerals in their composition like magneti , te, hematite,and ilmenite The most well known magnetic rock is the lodestone,which is comprised mainly of magnetite...
Magnetite vs Hornblende - Know More
is that magnetite is mineralogy a magnetic mineral, fe 3 oxygen o 4, one of the primary ores of iron it has also been called lodestone while hornblende is a green to black amphibole mineral, of complex structure, formed in the late stages of cooling in igneous rock...
Igneous Rock by Stacy Arnold on Prezi - Know More
This rock is classified as a mafic igneous rock Magnetite is found in most of the igneous and metamorphic rocks Scoria- Scoria is an extrusive rock, that is light colores,igneous rock The grain ize of scoria is coarse The hardness on Moh s scale is ranged from 6 to 65 Scoria is 50 silica...
Rock Types Igneous, Sedimentary Metamorphic Rocks PMF IAS - Know More
Economic Significance of Igneous Rocks Since magma is the chief source of metal ores, many of them are associated with igneous rocks The minerals of great economic value found in igneous rocks are magnetic iron, nickel, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, manganese, gold, diamond and platinum...
Can an igneous rock be attracted to a magnet - Know More
Many things are magnetic, though in varying degrees, especially special rocks called magnets Magma, lava underneath the surface of the earth, is highly magnetic, as lava of , ten comes out in ....
Rocks Minerals Definitions - Know More
It is an extrusive igneous rock whose major minerals are plagioclase, pyroxene and olivine Minor mneral contents may include apatite , biotite , hematite , hornblende , ilmenite , magnetite , and quartz... | https://www.barandasjeyda.es/europe/7889/a-igneous-rock-that-is-magnetite.html |
The Moon Kept Its Magnetic Field Far Longer Than Anybody Expected
A lunar rock brought back to Earth in 1971 has provided researchers with memento of the Moon’s magnetic field as it might have been just a billion years ago.
The discovery suggests our nearest neighbour was still slightly molten on the inside 1 to 2.5 billion years after it was assumed to be frozen solid, a find that could have implications in our search for life on other worlds.
US researchers from MIT, Rutgers University, and University of California, Berkeley, found a rock sample brought back by Apollo 15 astronauts had captured evidence of a magnetic field measuring about 5 microteslas.
This puts it on the scale of a magnetic field about 30 centimetres (1 foot) away from an operating microwave oven, so it’s not all that strong.
In fact, our own planet’s magnetic field at the surface is about five to thirteen times that, ranging from 25 to 65 microteslas.
The difference is Earth has a dense, rotating core of iron and nickel surrounded by flowing rock that keeps charged particles moving in what’s called a dynamo.
It’s possible that we should be thankful for the Moon’s gravitational grunt keeping our planet’s gooey insides sloshing about for so long, but the poor Moon itself had no hope, eventually turning as solid as a marble.
It wasn’t always that way.
Following its formation in the wake of a massive collision between Earth Mark I and a Mars-sized object about 4.5 billion years ago, the Moon also had molten guts that rolled and churned enough to give it a relatively strong magnetic field of up to 70 microteslas.
Over time, as the Moon chilled, its field weakened. When the Apollo astronauts tested the Moon’s surface just under half a century ago they found it was virtually zip, about 100 times lower than Earth’s.
Since the Moon is smaller and less dense than our planet, it’s no mystery as to why the magnetic field eventually vanished.
What is a mystery is why it stuck around for as long as it did. Roughly 3.56 billion years after the collision, the Moon’s magnetic field was at peak strength before it started to fade to about 4 microteslas about 400 million years later.
Oddly, its molten core should have locked up around half a billion years earlier. Something had been keeping it ticking.
“The concept of a planetary magnetic field produced by moving liquid metal is an idea that is really only a few decades old,” says MIT researcher Benjamin Weiss.
“What powers this motion on Earth and other bodies, particularly on the moon, is not well-understood. We can figure this out by knowing the lifetime of the lunar dynamo.”
Constant meteorite impacts could have played a small role in giving the Moon more heat energy, though the barrage of space rocks had quietened significantly well before 3.56 billion years ago.
A second idea suggests the Moon ‘wobbled’ more when it was closer to the Earth, keeping its insides shaken until it moved further away.
Another possibility is heat arising from the crystallisation of minerals in its core might have been enough to keep convection turning over, pushing those charged particles around enough to generate a field.
Part of the problem is we know don’t quite know when the Moon’s dynamo ground to a complete halt, largely because there aren’t a lot of fresh rock samplings melting and solidifying after 3 billion years ago.
In this latest research, the scientists took Apollo 15 mission samples of basalt from a crater rim within eastern Mare Imbrium in the Moon’s northern hemisphere which had been dated to around 3.3 billion years old.
The basalt contained glassy fragments that were caused when a meteorite plowed into the Moon nearby about 1 to 2.5 billion years ago.
These fragments would have melted and then quickly cooled, allowing its iron atoms to realign under the influence of any potential magnetic field.
Testing that magnetism showed that in spite of the time that had passed, there was still a weak but non-zero field present.
“We didn’t think that small planetary bodies could generate magnetic fields for a very long time because they have smaller cores that would cool quickly and crystallise early in their lifetimes,” says researcher Sonia Tikoo from Rutgers University, New Brunswick.
The find implies the Moon must have had two mechanisms powering its dynamo – one in its youth, and something else that dragged on the generation of a magnetic field for a lot longer.
So far the slow-crystallisation of the core hypothesis seems to be the most popular, but more research will be needed to better gauge the composition of the Moon’s core.
The discovery could help us to better understand why planets like Mercury still have a magnetic field, while worlds like Mars don’t.
Since a magnetic field is incredibly useful for life on this planet, knowing from afar which exoplanets are likely to have one could help narrow down our hunt for life elsewhere in the Universe.
“Whenever we look at exoplanets or the moons of exoplanets that could be in the habitable zone, we can consider the magnetic field as an important player in habitability,” says Tikoo.
This research was published in Science Advances. | https://grendz.com/pin/5421/ |
REE minerals, and the REEs themselves, excluding La and Lu, are magnetic. In contrast, the usual gangue minerals in a rare earth orebody, such as calcite, quartz, dolomite, feldspars, barite, fluorite, etc., are not. This difference in magnetic behavior provides for a mechanism of concentration upgrade/recovery, and can be used for the production of REE minerals.
The magnetic force felt by the REE minerals is related to both the magnetic field strength and how the magnetic field changes with distance. This process can be performed on both wet and dry ore materials, with dry processing usually minimized due to dust concerns.
This process has several requirements for efficient use, the essential one being the size and size distribution of the REE minerals being fed into the system. In mineral sands processing for monazite and xenotime, the natural mineral size distribution is usually quite narrow, so separating the feed into different size fractions is not necessary. However, with REE hard rock feeds, ground in ball mills, dividing the feed into several size fractions before magnetic processing leads to increased recovery.
The two main types of magnetic separators used are rare earth rollers and Wet High Intensity Magnetic Separator (WHIMS). Rare earth rollers utilize a round long magnet made of alternating plates of non- and magnetic material. Perhaps not surprising, the material used here is based upon rare earth-based NdFeB magnets – hence the name, “rare earth rollers”. The dry material is fed using a thin belt over the REE roller, with the nonmagnetic material being flung off the belt when it turns, and the magnetic material sticking to the belt and being deflected into a concentrate bin.
Magnetic separation with rare earth rollers in action
WHIMS is usually used for finer grained REE ores. A slurry of ground ore is passed through the magnetic zone of the WHIMS, which also contains what is termed a “matrix”. This matrix modifies the magnetic field to better allow the REE minerals to attach to it, allowing the REE minerals to be separated from the gangue minerals. The matrix is then removed from the magnetic field, and water washed to remove the REE minerals from the matrix. These steps are repeated continuously. | https://www.theanchorhouse.com/?essential_grid=magnetic-processing |
For departmental PhD projects view here: Look under Geophysics and Computer Modelling.
We conduct research on a wide range of topics. Here are a few vignettes:
Magnetostratigraphy
Magnetostratigraphy uses known changes in the polarity of the Earth’s magnetic field over time for correlation of rocks from one place to another. The geomagnetic polarity time scale can be used to date rocks or particular events preserved in the rock record, if a particular polarity reversal can be identified. We are currently using magnetostratigraphy to produce a chronostratigraphic framework for the Morrison Formation, a suite of rocks deposited by rivers and on flood plains 150 million years ago in the Upper Jurassic Period. The Morrison Formation is famous for its iconic and diverse dinosaurian fauna, including Stegosaurus and Diplodocus. Attempts to understand the evolution and palaeoecology of the dinosaurs are currently hampered by a lack of long-range correlation across the Formation.
Hydrocarbon identification and magnetic minerals
Aeromagnetic surveys and magnetic susceptibility measurements in drill cuttings, soils and sediments have been proposed as alternative and/or complementary methods of assessment and exploration of hydrocarbon reservoirs. Some magnetic anomalies have been attributed to the existence of authigenic magnetite and/or Fe-sulphides at shallow depths. These magnetic minerals have been hypothesized to be a chemical byproduct of primary Fe-oxides exposed to a reducing environment induced by the underlying reservoir. The formation of secondary magnetite as spherical aggregates (framboids) has been linked to the presence of hydrocarbons or oil biodegradation, but a mechanism for such formations has not been established. We are currently studying framboid formation mechanisms, and their magnetic signals using experimental and numerical micromagnetic models.
Nano-scale recording in rocks
For reliable interpretation of palaeo-magnetic data, the mechanisms that induce and alter magnetic remanence, like thermoremanent magnetisation (TRM) and acquisition chemical remanent magnetisation (CRM) must be fully understood. Magnetic signals from rocks are often dominated by grains that contain non-uniform pseudo-single domain (PSD) magnetisation states. However, there is very little understanding of their CRM and TRM properties. Off-axis electron holography permits nanometre-scale imaging of magnetic induction within and around materials as a function of applied field and temperature. The use of TEM techniques are combined with numerical micromagnetic modelling to fully understand the effect of chemical and heating on the recording fidelity of natural magnetic systems.
Dating of cataclysmic events
Key to understanding of cataclysmic events such as mega-floods and palaeo-tsunamis is the ability to accurately date them. This can prove problematic, as the record of rapid erosion retained by the geological record leaves little identifiable material that can be easily dated. For example, large boulders (erratics) are common features of both glacial retreat and cataclysmic events, but as most of their intrinsic properties are not associated with the event we need to examine physical effects or properties that were re-set or initiated at the time of the event. Two measureable effects are the degree of exposure to cosmogenic rays on an erratic’s freshly exposed surfaces and the new magnetisation (a viscous remanent magnetisation (VRM)) recorded by the magnetic minerals within the rock due to its re-orientation in the geomagnetic. The acquisition of VRM is time dependent. We are currently testing this method using erratics from Iceland.
Meteorites
We study primitive meteorites to understand the role that magnetic fields had in the formation of the Solar System, how the meteorites became magnetised and the significance of their magnetisations. In particular we examine chondrules and chondritic meteorites, using a range of techniques: 1) magnetic measurements in the laboratory, 2) nanometric imaging of magnetic structures using off-axis electron holography in transmission electron microscopes and 3) numerical micromagnetic modelling.
Geomagnetic field variation
The Earth's magnetic is constantly changing. To understand variations on long geological timescales, we need to examine the magnetic signal recorded by rocks during their formation. Extracting directional magnetic recording from rocks is relatively straightforward, but extracting the intensity of the ancient field is much more problematic. Reliable intensity data is required if we are to construct accurate geomagnetic field models and understand the long-term behaviour of the fluid motions deep within the earth where the field originates. We are working on a number of topics, including field evolution (fieldwork in Botswana) and field variation (fieldwork in Iceland).
Urban atmospheric pollution
Inhalable airborne particulate matter that has a diameter ≤ 10 µm, PM10, consists of a wide range of local and regional, organic and inorganic substances that pose threats to the human body. It has an association with acute cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases. In ultra-urban environments like London, iron oxides and hydroxides typically make up 10-70% of the bulk iron content Most iron oxides and hydroxides have distinct magnetic signatures. The magnetic signal varies mainly with the anthropological input in an urban environment, as a result, the magnetic signature of PM10 has the potential to link the pollution to its source. Magnetite is commonly identified as the dominant magnetic mineral within urban PM10. To investigate sources and temporal variations of the magnetic minerals of PM10 and how the signature relates to other pollution indexes, e.g., NOX, location and meteorological conditions, we magnetically study air pollution samples and data from London. | https://www.imperial.ac.uk/earth-science/research/research-groups/natural-magnetism-group/research/ |
The research related to the origin, occurrence, movement, accumulation, and exploration of hydrocarbon fuels is known as Petroleum Geology.
There are many ways the field of Geology contributes to the Petroleum industry. It explores a higher prospect of the source of oil and where it might be found. The basics are Structural Geology which is the study of rock bodies, their composition, tectonic history and the events that might have changed their features or might do so in the future.
When the nature of these rocks is determined, petroleum geologists can discover whether there is any presence of petroleum, natural gas, or other natural resources trapped within the rock.
Searching for oil in this vast earth and that too thousands of feet below the ground is impossible to find without the study of the rocks and the structural geology of the place.
Contents
- 1 Types Of Rock to study under Petroleum Geology
- 2 Common Rocks Containing Oil And Gas:
- 3 Analysis Of Sedimentary Basin
- 4 Exploration Techniques
Types Of Rock to study under Petroleum Geology
The study of rock is the primary step and very important before determining the particular geology of a specific area to find petroleum. As we know, the rocks are classified into three types based on their structural features and chemical composition. They are:
- Igneous rocks crystallize from molten rock or magma. They are of two types based on their depth of the formation. Plutonic igneous rocks crystallize slowly below the surface of the earth and have large crystals. Granite, Gabbro, and Diorite are typical examples. Volcanic igneous rocks crystallize quickly at the earth’s surface and have small crystals. Basalt, Rhyolite, and Andesite are typical examples.
- Sedimentary rocks are the rocks which contain the hydrocarbons such as oil and natural gas. As the name suggests, the sedimentary rocks are formed by the consolidation of the sediments. Sandstone and Limestone are the standard examples.
- Metamorphic rocks form from the alteration of the pre-existing rocks by changes in changes of pressure and temperature. Gneiss, Schist, Slate are typical examples.
Common Rocks Containing Oil And Gas:
The types of rocks that contain oil and natural gas are all sedimentary rocks, and because these rocks are cemented together, they are porous, full of spaces in which energy-rich carbon compounds can settle, later to be liberated in the form of oil or gas.
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Shale:
Shale is a sedimentary rock seen as a natural fuel source, mainly because of its abundance. 42% of sedimentary rocks are shale. It is created when carbon-rich mud layers are compressed into a hardened rock. One type of shale is known as “oil-shale” as it contains a large amount of kerogen that gets processed into oil and gas. ( kerogen is an organic matter capable of producing petroleum.)
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Sandstone:
Porous rocks that trap the low-density carbon compounds lying above shale beds are known as sandstones. They formed from the grains of minerals like quartz bound by other compounds such as silica. Generally, carbon compounds exist in sandstone beds in liquid form as crude oil.
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Carbonates:
Carbonates are formed from the remains of marine life, mainly shells, and bones, combined with other minerals. The spaces between their fused fragments are where oil and gas may be found.
Analysis Of Sedimentary Basin
Petroleum geology is principally concerned with the evaluation of the following seven critical structures in a sedimentary basin:
- Source: Source rock refers to the rock which is capable of generating hydrocarbons or the rocks from which hydrocarbons have been derived.
- Reservoir: The porous and permeable rock which have hydrocarbon reserves inside its pores is known as a reservoir rock. Sandstone and limestone are the most common type of reservoir rocks.
- Cap: Cap rocks play an important role in acting as the geological feature which restricts the further migration of the hydrocarbons from the reserves.
- Trap: It is a structural feature that ensures the entrapment of oil into the subsurface so that it cannot escape and hence is lost.
- Maturation: The maturity of a source rock reflects the ambient pressure and temperature as well as the duration of the conditions favorable for hydrocarbon generation. Understanding maturation is significant in shale reservoirs as shales play the dual role of both a reservoir and a source rock.
- Migration: The movement of hydrocarbons from their source to the reservoir rock is known as migration in petroleum geology. It typically occurs from a structurally low area to a higher area because of the relative buoyancy of the hydrocarbon in comparison to the surrounding rock.
Exploration Techniques
Hydrocarbon exploration is the search by petroleum geophysicists and geologists for hydrocarbon deposits beneath the earth’s surface. Petroleum exploration is grouped under the science of petroleum geology.
The exploration techniques for petroleum can be separated into two ways: surface geology and sub-surface geology.
Surface Geology: 1st Exploration Technique in Petroleum Geology
- Direct indications: Seepage of oil and gas through any fault line, the porous rock may indicate the presence of hydrocarbons.
- Surface data: They may include the study of the rock on the surface. Lithology, stratigraphy, porosity, and thickness of significant formations help in explorations.
- Field geology: It is a traditional method that involves mapping the surface geology and predicting the types of rocks in the sub-surface.
- Gravimetric method: This method has the usage of gravimeters. Force of gravity at any point on the earth’s surface influences the magnitude and direction of the rocks of different densities in the area. Older rocks tend to have a stronger gravitational force than sediments of newer basins.
- Magnetic method: A sensitive instrument known as magnetometer is used to measures the variations in the intensity of the earth’s magnetic field which are originated from the varying magnetic properties of the underlying rocks.
- Seismic method: The seismic method of exploration is used to search the availability of petroleum using seismic waves. artificial shock waves are generated on land and the reflected waves are recorded and are analyzed for the indication of an economically valuable source of energy like crude oil.
- Electrical method: Depends on the differences in the resistance to electric currents by rocks of various types.
Sub-Surface Geology: 2nd Exploration Technique in Petroleum Geology
In this method, the drilling is done first. After or while drilling, a sample rock is obtained from beneath which is known as core, and the process is known as coring. A core sample is a cylinder section of the sample rock that is collected for investigating the rock properties such as its porosity, permeability, etc.
It is analyzed by different techniques and equipment depending on the type of data required. Primary information is obtained from the rock sample, and further measurements such as radioactive, acoustic are made on the properties of the rock.
All of these measurements opens a channel to a lot of information such as density, radioactivity, porosity, permeability, resistivity, depth, thickness, fluid type, etc. Analysis of such rock samples yields primary data to the evaluation of the productive potential of a hydrocarbon reservoir. It provides valuable information about the makeup of the rock being drilled. | https://sciencemonk.com/petroleum-geology/ |
It refers to the preservation of magnetic properties in the older rocks of the earth. It gets magnetized depending on the presence of iron content in the rock and is preserved frozen at temperature below Curie point, which is generally C.
The direction and inclination of .the magnetic field of rocks of different ages have been measured from rock samples collected from all. over the world, and this information can be used to as certain the location of the Earth's magnetic pole at the time when those rocks were formed. The direction of the magnetic field of a given rock sample indicates the direction in which the magnetic pole of the Earth lay when the rock formed, while the inclination of the magnetic field of the rock indicates how far away from the collection site the magnetic pole was located. For example, if the inclination of the magnetic field is nearly horizontal, the magnetic pole of the Earth must have been 90 great circle degrees away from the collection site because the site was near the magnetic equator. On the other hand, if the inclination of the magnetic field of a rock is vertical, the collection site would have been located at or near the Earth's magnetic pole at the time of rock formation. It is assumed that if enough rock samples of a given age are averaged together, the average position of the magnetic pole will be the same as the average position of the Earth's rotational pole. Thus, paleomagnetic poles provide the location of the planet's rotational pole.
The geocentric axial di-pole magnetic field represents 95 per cent of earth's total magnetism. Global system of Lithosphere plates: Depending upon the intensity of boundary activity plates are divided into greater plates, lesser plates and sub-plates. Greater plates -Pacific, American (N and S), European (having Persian sub-plate), African (having Somalia sub-plate), Australian-Indian and Antarctic plates.
Constantly in motion with respect to each other and to Earth's axis of rotation. Plate velocity varies all along the sphere of the Earth. | https://www.examrace.com/Study-Material/Environmental-Science/Geomorphology/Geography-Palaeomagnetism.html |
Around 2800 kilometres below where you are standing right now, there is a large amount of molten iron swirling around and generating our planet’s magnetic field. This magnetic field may be invisible but it is vital for life on Earth since it shields the planet from streams of radiation from the sun, known as solar wind.
But around 565 million years ago, our planet’s magnetic field decreased to less than ten per cent of its strength today. Then, almost mysteriously, the field regained its strength just before the Cambrian explosion or the “biological big bang” when various phylae and species of multicellular life emerged on earth.
A new paleomagnetic research study published in Nature Communications says that this rejuvenation of the magnetic field happened within the span of a few tens of million years (which is rapid in a geological contact) and also coincided with the formation of Earth’s solid inner core. This suggests that the core is likely a direct cause of the rejuvenation.
“The inner core is tremendously important. Right before the inner core started to grow, the magnetic field was at the point of collapse, but as soon as the inner core started to grow, the field was regenerated,” said John Tarduno, corresponding author of the paper, in a press statement. Tarduno is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Geophysics in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and dean of research for Arts, Sciences & Engineering at the University of Rochester.
Our planet’s magnetic field is generated in its outer core, which lies between the Earth’s mantle and the solid inner core. The solid inner core is composed of an outermost inner core and innermost inner core. In the outer core, swirling liquid iron generates electric currents due to a geodynamo process and in turn, these electric currents induce the magnetic field.
For decades, scientists have been trying to figure out how the Earth’s magnetic field and core have changed throughout or history. But they cannot directly measure the magnetic field due to the location and extreme temperatures of materials in the core. Thankfully, minerals that rise to Earth’s surface from the core contain tiny magnetic particles that lock in the direction and intensity of the magnetic field at the time the minerals cool from their molten state.
To better understand the age and growth of the inner core, Tarduno and his team used a carbon dioxide laser and a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer to analyse particular mineral crystals from the rock anorthosite. These “feldspar” minerals have minute magnetic needles within them that Tarduno calls “perfect magnetic recorders.”
By studying the magnetism “locked” in these ancient crystals, researchers were able to deduce two important events in the history of the Earth’s inner core.
First, the formation of a solid inner core happened about 550 million years ago. Researchers attribute the rapid renewal of the magnetic field at the same time to this formation and deduce that the solid inner core recharged the molten outer core and restored the magnetic field’s strength.
Second, the growing inner core’s structure changed about 450 million years ago. This marked the boundary between the innermost and outermost inner core. The mantle that lies above the core also saw some changes around the same time, due to plate tectonics on the surface.
“Because we constrained the inner core’s age more accurately, we could explore the fact that the present-day inner core is actually composed of two parts. Plate tectonic movements on Earth’s surface indirectly affected the inner core, and the history of these movements is imprinted deep within Earth in the inner core’s structure,” added Tarduno, in the press statement.
Researchers believe that Mars once had a magnetic field that later dissipated, leaving the planet oceanless and vulnerable to solar winds. While it is not easy to conclude that the Earth would have met the same fate without the magnetic field, our planet would have lost a lot more water if the field was not generated.
By understanding how these processes work, scientist get insights into how other planets could also form magnetic shields and sustain the conditions needed to harbour life as we know it. | https://baytechpc.com/uncategorized/ancient-rocks-hold-clues-to-how-earth-can-sustain-life-avoiding-a-mars-like-fate/ |
Verosub, Kenneth L. and Roberts, Andrew P. (1995) Environmental magnetism: Past, present, and future. Journal of Geophysical Research, 100 (B2), 2175-2192.
Abstract
Environmental magnetism involves the application of rock and mineral magnetic techniques to situations in which the transport, deposition, or transformation of magnetic grains is influenced by environmental processes in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The first explicit description of environmental magnetism as a distinct field was in 1980. Since that time environmental magnetism has become a broad field that is finding application in an ever-increasing array of scientific disciplines. In this review of the present state of environmental magnetic studies, we divide the field into three broad, but arbitrary, categories. The first involves the use of mineral magnetic assemblages in the geological record to study physical processes in depositional environments. This category includes the correlation of sediment cores using magnetic susceptibility measurements, studies of geomagnetic field behavior, the analysis of depositional and postdepositional mechanical processes that affect sediments, and the examination of magnetic parameters that might represent proxies for paleoclimatic variation. The second category encompasses studies of the processes responsible for variations in the magnetic minerals brought into a sedimentary environment. These provenance investigations include studies of changes in catchment-derived sediment in lakes, fluctuations in contributions from terrigenous, aeolian and glaciogenic components in deep-sea sediments, and the origin of atmospheric particulates. The final category addresses in situ changes and transformations of magnetic minerals in sedimentary environments, including pedogenesis, authigenetic/diagenetic formation of ferrimagnetic phases, dissolution of magnetic minerals due to reductive diagenesis, and contributions of biomagnetism to sedimentary magnetism. Because environmental magnetism can address problems in so many disciplines and because many of these problems may be inaccessible to other techniques, it is likely that the scope of environmental magnetism will continue to expand rapidly. Environmental magnetism is capable of providing important data for studies of global environmental change, climatic processes, and the impact of humans on the environment, all of which are major research initiatives in the international scientific community. These factors suggest that environmental magnetism has a bright and diverse future.
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The most accurate laboratory measurements yet made of magnetic fields trapped in grains within a primitive meteorite are providing important clues to how the early solar system evolved. The measurements point to shock waves traveling through the cloud of dusty gas around the newborn Sun as a major factor in solar system formation.
The results appear in a paper published November 13, 2014, in the journal Science. The lead author is graduate student Roger Fu of MIT, working under Benjamin Weiss; Steve Desch of Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration is a co-author of the paper.
"The measurements made by Fu and Weiss are astounding and unprecedented," says Desch. "Not only have they measured tiny magnetic fields thousands of times weaker than a compass feels, they have mapped the magnetic fields' variation recorded by the meteorite, millimeter by millimeter."
An optical photomicrograph of one of the chondrules in the study shows (in outline) dusty olivine rock crystals with magnetic iron-bearing minerals. The areas marked "MM" have contaminating minerals, which were removed. The image at right shows the magnetic field around the chondrule. Red denotes a magnetic field coming out of the screen, blue going into the screen. The chondrule behaves as a tiny bar magnet recording the strength of the magnetic field in the solar nebula gas. The orientation of the magnetic field differs among the chondrules in the same meteorite, indicating magnetization took place before the chondrules came together to make the meteorite. Photo credit: Fu et al./Science
Construction debris
It may seem all but impossible to determine how the solar system formed, given it happened about 4.5 billion years ago. But making the solar system was a messy process, leaving lots of construction debris behind for scientists to study.
Among the most useful pieces of debris are the oldest, most primitive, and least altered type of meteorites called the chondrites (KON-drites). Chondrite meteorites are pieces of asteroids, broken off by collisions, that have remained relatively unmodified since they formed at the birth of the solar system. They are built mostly of small stony grains, called chondrules, barely a millimeter in diameter.
Chondrules themselves formed through quick melting events in the dusty gas cloud – the solar nebula – that surrounded the young Sun. Patches of the solar nebula must have been heated above the melting point of rock for hours to days. Dustballs caught in these events made droplets of molten rock, which then cooled and crystallized into chondrules.
Tiny magnets
As chondrules cooled, iron-bearing minerals within them became magnetized like bits on a hard drive by the local magnetic field in the gas. These magnetic fields are preserved in the chondrules even down to the present day.
The chondrule grains whose magnetic fields were mapped in the new study came from a meteorite named Semarkona, after the place in India where it fell in 1940. It weighed 691 grams, or about a pound and a half.
The scientists focused specifically on the embedded magnetic fields captured by "dusty" olivine grains that contain abundant iron-bearing minerals. These had a magnetic field of about 54 microtesla, similar to the magnetic field at Earth's surface, which ranges from 25 to 65 microtesla.
Coincidentally, many previous measurements of meteorites also implied similar field strengths. But it is now understood that those measurements detected magnetic minerals contaminated by Earth's magnetic field, or even from hand magnets used by meteorite collectors.
"The new experiments," Desch says, "probe magnetic minerals in chondrules never measured before. They also show that each chondrule is magnetized like a little bar magnet, but with 'north' pointing in random directions."
This shows, he says, they became magnetized before they were built into the meteorite, and not while sitting on Earth's surface.
Shocks and more shocks
"My modeling for the heating events shows that shock waves passing through the solar nebula is what melted most chondrules," Desch explains. Depending on the strength and size of the shock wave, the background magnetic field could be amplified by up to 30 times.
He says, "Given the measured magnetic field strength of about 54 microtesla, this shows the background field in the nebula was probably in the range of 5 to 50 microtesla."
There are other ideas for how chondrules might have formed, some involving magnetic flares above the solar nebula, or passage through the Sun's magnetic field. But those mechanisms require stronger magnetic fields than what is measured in the Semarkona samples.
This reinforces the idea that shocks melted the chondrules in the solar nebula at about the location of today's asteroid belt, which lies some two to four times farther from the Sun than Earth now orbits.
Desch says, "This is the first really accurate and reliable measurement of the magnetic field in the gas from which our planets formed." | https://meteorites.asu.edu/news/semarkona_magnetic |
# Magnetic mineralogy
Magnetic mineralogy is the study of the magnetic properties of minerals. The contribution of a mineral to the total magnetism of a rock depends strongly on the type of magnetic order or disorder. Magnetically disordered minerals (diamagnets and paramagnets) contribute a weak magnetism and have no remanence. The more important minerals for rock magnetism are the minerals that can be magnetically ordered, at least at some temperatures. These are the ferromagnets, ferrimagnets and certain kinds of antiferromagnets. These minerals have a much stronger response to the field and can have a remanence.
## Weakly magnetic minerals
### Non-iron-bearing minerals
Most minerals with no iron content are diamagnetic. Some such minerals may have a significant positive magnetic susceptibility, for example serpentine, but this is because the minerals have inclusions containing strongly magnetic minerals such as magnetite. The susceptibility of such minerals is negative and small (Table 1).
### Iron-bearing paramagnetic minerals
Most iron-bearing carbonates and silicates are paramagnetic at all temperatures. Some sulfides are paramagnetic, but some are strongly magnetic (see below). In addition, many of the strongly magnetic minerals discussed below are paramagnetic above a critical temperature (the Curie temperature or Néel temperature). In Table 2 are given susceptibilities for some iron-bearing minerals. The susceptibilities are positive and an order of magnitude or more larger than diamagnetic susceptibilities.
## Strongly magnetic minerals
### Iron-titanium oxides
Many of the most important magnetic minerals on Earth are oxides of iron and titanium. Their compositions are conveniently represented on a ternary plot with axes corresponding to the proportions of Ti4+, Fe2+, and Fe3+. Important regions on the diagram include the titanomagnetites, which form a line of compositions Fe3-xTixO4 for x between 0 and 1. At the x = 0 end is magnetite, while the x = 1 composition is ulvöspinel. The titanomagnetites have an inverse spinel crystal structure and at high temperatures are a solid solution series. Crystals formed from titanomagnetites by cation-deficient oxidation are called titanomaghemites, an important example of which is maghemite. Another series, the titanohematites, have hematite and ilmenite as their end members, and so are also called hemoilmenites. The crystal structure of hematite is trigonal-hexagonal. It has the same composition as maghemite; to distinguish between them, their chemical formulae are generally given as γFe2O3 for hematite and αFe2O3 for maghemite.
### Iron sulfides
The other important class of strongly magnetic minerals is the iron sulfides, particularly greigite and pyrrhotite.
### Iron alloys
Extraterrestrial environments being low in oxygen, minerals tend to have very little Fe3+. The primary magnetic phase on the Moon is ferrite, the body-centered cubic (bcc) phase of iron. As the proportion of iron decreases, the crystal structure changes from bcc to face centered cubic (fcc). Nickel iron mixtures tend to exsolve into a mixture of iron-rich kamacite and iron-poor taenite.: 27 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_mineralogy |
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New research suggests Earth’s most recent magnetic field reversal took longer to complete than previously thought: around 22,000 years in total. Figuring out why this particular flip was so drawn out will let us better understand this mysterious process, and maybe even help us to prepare.
It’s a fact geologists know about our planet: every few hundred thousand years or so, Earth’s magnetic field quite literally flips – so the magnetic north is at the South Pole, and vice versa. It’s important to establish the timings of these reversals so we know how much of a window we have to potentially adapt for the next one.
With so many modern-day systems like GPS reliant on knowing north from south, a flip could easily cause chaos one day.
Earth’s magnetic field is created by the planet’s liquid iron outer core spinning around its solid inner core. Charting magnetic field reversals back through time isn’t easy, but clues can be found in ocean sediments and lava flows that lock in the direction and the strength of the magnetic field at the time they emerged.
“Lava flows are ideal recorders of the magnetic field,” says geologist Brad Singer, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “They have a lot of iron-bearing minerals, and when they cool, they lock in the direction of the field.”
“But it’s a spotty record. No volcanoes are erupting continuously. So we’re relying on careful field work to identify the right records.”
Singer and his colleagues looked at lava flow records from Chile, Tahiti, Hawaii, the Caribbean and the Canary Islands, looking at the timing of the most recent reversal. Named the Matuyama-Brunhes reversal after the scientists who discovered magnetic field flips, it happened about 770,000-780,000 years ago.
That timing suggest we’re ‘overdue’ for a reversal right now – although we may just be in a period of instability that doesn’t result in a full flip (something that’s happened before, too).
There’s currently some debate over how long the next reversal will last.
Based on the lava rock records, the researchers found that the main part of the Matuyama-Brunhes event lasted 4,000 years, but was preceded by 18,000 years of instability and excursions (those temporary, partial reversals).
The findings were backed up by an analysis of rocks from the ocean floor, a more continuous but less precise record of Earth’s magnetic field.
This time frame is longer than previous estimates, and hints that we won’t suddenly be surprised by a relatively quick flip.
We still don’t know for sure how long the next flip might last – or exactly when it’s coming – but we do now have a wealth of extra data to help scientists make their best estimations. If we’re in for another Matuyama-Brunhes reversal, this study suggests it’s going to last for many generations.
When the time does come, our planet’s magnetic field is going to be weaker and more complicated than it is now, so it’s vital that we’re prepared.
“Reversals are generated in the deepest parts of Earth’s interior, but the effects manifest themselves all the way through the Earth and especially at Earth’s surface and in the atmosphere,” says Singer.
“Unless you have a complete, accurate and high-resolution record of what a field reversal really is like at the surface of Earth, it’s difficult to even discuss what the mechanics of generating a reversal are.”
The research has been published in Science Advances. | http://scienceglobalnews.com/nature/earths-last-magnetic-pole-flip-happened-much-more-slowly-than-we-thought/ |
Fresh analysis of moon rocks collected by Apollo missions reveals that our only natural satellite may never have had a strong magnetic field, as has been believed since geological samples were first returned to Earth.
The moon formed around 4.5 billion years ago in a collision that sent a chunk of Earth out into orbit, so it has a similar iron core to Earth’s. Currently the moon’s magnetic field is less than one thousandth as strong as Earth’s, but initial analysis of moon rocks in the 1970s suggested that its magnetic field would have been as strong as Earth’s between 3.6 and 3.9 billion years ago. The assumption was that it had long since disappeared.
John Tarduno at the University of Rochester says that discovering evidence of a strong magnetic field in rocks after the Apollo missions was a surprise, because the moon was not large enough to power it. “No one’s been able to solve that paradox,” he says. “How do you have a magnetic field if you have no way to power it? The answer is that you didn’t have a magnetic field.”
He and colleagues believe that the evidence of that strong field is actually due to moon rocks having been magnetised by the shock of asteroid impacts. They found that other Apollo-era rock samples from different lunar locations show no sign of such a field.
His team analysed a glass-like sample of moon rock that was formed two million years ago by an asteroid impact and found that it had evidence of a strong magnetic field being present when it cooled and solidified. But by that time, the strong magnetic field of the moon should have waned. They say this proves that the impact caused the magnetisation – and that the same could be true of much older samples, erroneously leading previous researchers to conclude that the moon had an active magnetic field.
They also tested samples dating back to between 3.9 billion and 3.2 billion years, the period of time when the moon should have had a strong magnetic field, and found no evidence of it. Examinations revealed that the samples contained minerals that would have been able to record any such field during its cooling and formation, were it present.
Tarduno says that, together, these results show that the moon did not have a long-lived strong magnetic field as was previously thought. He concedes that in the first 100 million years after the moon was formed there may have been a magnetic field, before it cooled and stabilised. But there are no rocks on the surface of the moon that date back that long, as the landscape is constantly pummelled and churned by asteroid impacts.
Were we able to drill down and discover such rocks, perhaps as part of NASA’s upcoming Artemis programme, they could provide insight into the early composition of the Earth’s atmosphere as the moon would have passed through Earth’s magnetosphere and picked up trace materials, he says. Such an experiment would not be possible if the moon also had a strong magnetosphere.
Journal reference: Science Advances, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abi7647
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More on these topics: | https://streamsa2zonline.live/2021/08/04/the-moon-may-never-actually-have-had-a-strong-magnetic-field/ |
Magnetic properties and potential field modeling of the Peculiar Knob metamorphosed iron formation, South Australia: An analog for the source of the intense Martian magnetic anomalies?
Journal article, Peer reviewed
Published version
Permanent lenkehttp://hdl.handle.net/11250/2491918
Utgivelsesdato2007
MetadataVis full innførsel
Samlinger
OriginalversjonJournal of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth. 2007, 112 (B03). 10.1029/2006JB004495
Sammendrag
Magnetic property measurements show that the strongly metamorphosed Peculiar Knob iron formation (IF), South Australia, is coarse‐grained, high‐grade hematite with variable amounts of magnetite and maghemite. This body exhibits a relatively low magnetic susceptibility (<0.3 SI) that cannot explain the associated intense magnetic anomaly, 30,000 nT, in terms of induced magnetization alone. Peculiar Knob IF possesses an extremely intense (∼120 A m−1) remanence, directed steeply upward. This ancient remanence reinforces the local Earth's field (inclination −63°). A simple geological model, constrained by drilling and physical property measurements, explains both the observed magnetic and gravity anomalies, consistent with the Poisson theorem. Koenigsberger ratios (Qs) of 10 and greater, as found here, are rare in nature. We postulate that acquisition of a thermoremanent magnetization (TRM) by the ore during postmetamorphic cooling from above the Curie/Néel temperature accounts for the intense remanence and high Qs. Although the hematite is in the multidomain size range, the coercivity is higher than expected. Also, the natural remanent magnetization (NRM) values are less than 10% of the expected value for a saturated TRM of hematite. On the basis of reflected light, scanning electron microscope observations, and rock magnetism, we propose that the common fine intergrowths of a very small amount of magnetite and/or maghemite within the hematite host are responsible for the relatively high coercivity and contribute to the NRM. These intergrowths are not normal exsolution lamellae and were likely present at high temperature. This study suggests that coarse‐grained hematite‐rich bodies that carry TRM and have been subjected to high‐grade (>680°C) metamorphism may be possible sources for some of the prominent Martian anomalies. | https://ntnuopen.ntnu.no/ntnu-xmlui/handle/11250/2491918?locale-attribute=no |
Earth’s magnetic field is dramatically weakening, and according to new research, this disruption is part of a pattern lasting for over 1,000 years.
Experts found that a weak patch over the southern hemisphere known as the ‘South Atlantic Anomaly’, which has grown in size over the past 170 years, is not a fluke, and is likely being caused by a dense reservoir of rock deep below Africa.
This may be weakening the rest of Earth’s magnetic field, which scientists are concerned could flip the planet’s magnetic poles.
Researchers came to their conclusion by studying minerals baked into African clay huts that were ritually burned during the Iron Age.
As part of their study, they found that the Anomaly’s field strength is now so weak that it’s a hazard for satellites that orbit above the region.
This is because the magnetic field no longer protects them from radiation which interferes with satellite electronics.
The minerals have given scientists precious insight into Earth’s magnetism above Africa over the past thousand years.
According to the new research, from experts at the University of Rochester in New York, the poles have reversed frequently over the history of the planet, but the last reversal occurred some 780,000 years ago.
When flips do occur, they don’t take place immediately. Instead, they flip slowly over thousands of years.
Researchers aren’t sure whether Earth can expect another flip in the near future, due to a lack of data. | http://revolutionradio.org/2018/03/06/burned-clay-bantu-huts-from-1000-years-ago-have-revealed-how-southern-africas-magnetic-field-has-become-so-weak-that-its-dangerous-for-satellites-to-enter-it/ |
Light in air is incident on a glass surface at 30°. If the refractive index is 1 .55 find the angle of refraction. Explain what is meant by the critical angle and calculate it for this glass.
1. Do you know about Snell's law?
2. Critical angle is the angle of incidence where the angle of refraction = 90 degrees.
nooo i don't, we've been ask to find out a load of stuff on the internet and my physics teacher reccomended me to th site.
n1 sin θ1 = n2 sin θ2 , (1 = medium where the light comes and 2 = medium where the light refracted).
Read about snell's law and critical angle (maybe from the site that is recommended from your teacher or just googling) to get the basic of it.
Now can you solve your problem? | http://physicshelpforum.com/light-optics/4179-find-angle-refraction.html |
reflected and refracted rays, the reflected light will be linearly polarized.
Brewster’s angle, or the
polarizing angle, is defined as an angle at which an incident beam of
unpolarized light is reflected after complete polarization.1
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Background
In his studies on polarized light, Brewster discovered that when light
strikes a reflective surface at a certain angle, the light reflected from that
surface is plane-polarized. He elucidated a simple relationship between the
incident angle of the light beam and the refractive index of the reflecting
material. When the angle between the incident beam and the refracted beam
equals 90 degrees, the reflected light becomes polarized. This rule is often
used to determine the refractive index of materials that are opaque or
available only in small quantities.2
Brewster’s Angle and Polarized Light
When considering the incidence of non-polarized light on a flat
insulating surface, there is a unique angle at which the reflected light waves
are all polarized into a single plane. This angle is commonly referred to
as Brewster’s angle, and can be easily calculated utilizing the
following equation for a beam of light traveling through air:
n = sin (?i)/sin
(?r) = sin (?i)/sin (?90-i) = tan (?i)
Where n is the refractive index of the medium from
which the light is reflected, ?i is the angle of
incidence, and ?r is the angle of refraction. By
examining the equation, it becomes obvious that the refractive index of an
unknown specimen can be determined by the Brewster angle. This feature is
particularly useful in the case of opaque materials that have high absorption
coefficients for transmitted light, rendering the usual Snell’s law formula
inapplicable. Determining the amount of polarization
through reflection techniques also eases the search for the polarizing axis of
a sheet of polarizing film that is not marked.
For water (refractive index of 1.333) and glass (refractive index of
1.515 the critical (Brewster’s) angles are 53 and 57, degrees, respectively.
Hypothesis/Theory:
“When a beam of unpolarized light reflects
from a surface at the Brewster angle, the reflected beam will be polarized
along a direction parallel to the surface. The Brewster angle is the angle of
incidence that results in a 90° angle between the reflected and refracted
beams.”3
It is hypothesised that as the refractive index changes it will affect
Brewster’s angle.
Design and Methodology:
Equipment;
·
Laser wavelength: 630-680 nm, power: | https://fridayessay.com/when-defined-as-an-angle-at-which-an-incident/ |
Flashcards in Light Y11 Deck (11)
Loading flashcards...
1
What is refraction?
When a light ray changes direction because it crossed the boundary between two substances, causing it to change speed
2
What happens when light goes into/leaves a denser substance?
Goes into: slows down and bends towards the normal
Leaves: speeds up and bends away from the normal
3
What is snell's law?
Sin i = n x sin r
∴ sin I /sin r = n
(N is the refractive index)
4
What is an experiment to investigate the refraction of light?
• produce a narrow beam of light from the Ray box
• place glass block on piece of paper and draw around it
• aim ray at point half way along longer side of block
• mark the path of ray by making two small crosses on the paper
• do for both incident and emergent ray
• remove block. Where ray enters, draw normal line, and measure angles of incident and refraction
• repeat for different angles of incidence, 0 ° to 90 °.
• from here work out refractive index
5
What is total internal reflection?
When a beam of light entering a semicircular prism goes out at the same angle it came it (image as if it were mirrored)
6
What is the critical angle? How do you work it out?
The angle at which refraction stops and TIR starts. You see both.
Sin Critical angle = 1/n
7
How is TIR used in optical fibres?
• light enters bunch of fibres as infrared or visible light.
• it totally internally reflects, as angle incidence > critical angle as light slower in glass
• ∴ trapped inside the fibre and not refracting, until it reaches the end, when it comes out
• the fibres are made of glass w a high refractive index, but coated with glass in a lower refractive index to stop light crossing from one fibre in the bundle to another
Pro: cheaper than copper. Don't need to boost as often, as less resistance
8
What are uses of TIR in prisms?
• reflectors, e.g. On bikes: light is totally reflected twice, and so reverses direction
• periscope: arrange tw prissm so the light is reflected twice at 90° ∴ can see over corners, walls
• camera viewfinder: pentaprism TIRs light twice before entering eye
9
What is the law of reflection?
Angle of incidence = angle of reflection
10
What are properties of a reflected image? | https://www.brainscape.com/flashcards/light-y11-5892673/packs/4284808 |
CBSE Class 10 Physics Light - Reflection and Refraction
Q.
When the light ray is incident perpendicularly onto the boundary of a glass slab and air,
Q.
If the angle of incidence is 30° and the angle of refraction is 60°, then the refractive index is
-
sir iska answer solve kr ke do
- what do you mean by refraction of light?
- how can you find the speed of the scooter that approches the mirror
- What if A is not given in the angle of deviation formula? i + e - A
- define the refractive index of benzene if the critical angle of it is 42
- The speed of light in a transparent medium is 0.6 times as that of its speed in vacuum. What is the refractive index of the medium? (a) 1.0 (b) 1.33 (c) 1.55 (d)1.66
-
what is it
- Define critical angle for a pair of media.
- explain snell' law.
- Refraction of light class 10 simple defination
Queries asked on Sunday & after 7 pm from Monday to Saturday will be answered after 12 pm the next working day. | https://www.topperlearning.com/cbse-class-10-videos/physics/light-reflection-and-refraction/refraction-of-light/1836 |
- Electrons are the main type of particle that can scatter x-rays. Elastic or Thomson scattering occurs when a non-relativistic electron is accelerated by the electrical component of an incoming electromagnetic field from an x-ray. The accelerated electron then reradiates light at the same frequency. Since the frequency of the input light and output light are the same, this is an elastic process.
- The intensity of the re-emitted radiation at an observer’s location depends on the angle Χ between the incident light and the observer. Because of the sinusoidal wave character of light, the scattered intensity at the observer’s location is given by the proportionality equation below.
- Light that encounters the electron is scattered if it is incident on the region defined by the electron’s classical radius. This region is called the Thomson scattering length r0. For a free electron, r0 = 2.82×10-5 Å.
- Compton scattering occurs when an electron scatters a photon and the scattered photon has a lower energy than the incident photon (an inelastic process). For Compton scattering, a fraction of the incident photon’s energy is transferred to the electron.
- The amount of energy lost via Compton scattering where the incident photon has energy E0 = hc/λ0 and the scattered photon has energy E1 = hc/λ1 is described by the following equation. Here, ψ represents the angle between the paths of the incident photon and the scattered photon.
Scattering from atoms
- X-rays are scattered throughout the volumes of atomic electron clouds. For x-rays that scattered in the same direction as the incident x-rays, the strength of scattering is proportional to the atom’s Z-number. In the case of an ionic atom, this value is adjusted to equal the atom’s number of electrons. Note that this assumes free electron movement within the cloud.
- By contrast, x-rays that are scattered at some angle 2θ relative to the incident x-rays exhibit lower scattering magnitudes. Each of the x-rays scattered at angle 2θ will possess different magnitudes and phases depending on where they were scattered from within the atomic cloud. As a result, the scattering amplitude for the x-rays at angle 2θ will be a vector sum of these waves with distinct magnitudes and phases.
- A wavevector k is a vector with magnitude 2π/λ that points in the direction of a wave’s propagation. The difference between the wavevector of the incident wave k0 and the wavevector of the scattered wave k1 is equal to a scattering vector Q (that is, Q = k0 – k1). The magnitude of Q is given by the following equation.
- The atomic scattering factor f describes the total scattering amplitude for an atom as a function of sin(θ)/λ. By assuming that the atom is spherically symmetric, f will depend only on the magnitude of Q and not on its orientation relative to the atom. Values for f can be found in the International Tables for Crystallography or computed using nine known coefficients a1,2,3,4, b1,2,3,4, and c (which can also be looked up) and the following expression. The coefficients vary depending on the atom and ionic state. The units of f are the scattering amplitude that would be produced by a single electron.
- If the incident x-ray has an energy that is much less than that of an atom’s bound electrons, the response of the electrons will be damped due to their association with the atom. (This no longer assumes free electron movement within the cloud). As a result, f will be decreased by some value fa. The value fa increases when the incoming x-ray’s energy is close to the energy level of the electron and decreases when the incoming x-ray’s energy is far above the energy levels of the electrons.
- When the incident x-ray’s energy is close to an electron’s energy level (called an absorption edge), the x-ray is partially absorbed. With this process of partial absorption, some of the radiation is still directly scattered and another part of the radiation is re-emitted after a delay. This re-emitted radiation interferes with the directly scattered radiation. To mathematically describe the effect of the re-emitted radiation’s phase shift and interference, f is adjusted by a second term fb (which is an imaginary value). Far from absorption edges, fb has a much weaker effect (it decays by E-2). The total atomic scattering factor is then given by the following complex-valued equation.
Refraction, reflection, and absorption
- A material’s index of refraction can be expressed as a complex quantity nc = nRe + inIm. The real part represents the rate at which the wave propagates through the material and the imaginary part describes the degree of attenuation that the wave experiences as it passes through the material.
- The reason that a material can possess a complex refractive index involves the complex plane wave equation. The wavenumber k = 2π/λ0 is the spatial frequency in wavelengths per unit distance and it is a constant within the complex plane wave equation (λ0 is the wave’s vacuum wavelength). The complex wavenumber kc = knc is the wavenumber multiplied by the complex refractive index. As such, the complex refractive index can be related to the complex wavenumber via kc = 2πnc/λ0 where λ0 is the vacuum wavelength of the wave. After inserting 2π(nRe + inIm)/λ0 into the complex plane wave equation, a decaying exponential can be simplified out as a coefficient for the rest of the equation. The decaying exponential represents the attenuation of the wave in the material. Once this simplification is performed, the equation’s complex wavenumber is converted to a real-valued wavenumber.
- For x-rays, a material’s complex refractive index for wavelength λ is related to the atomic scattering factors of atoms in the material using the following equation. Ni represents the number of atoms of type j per unit volume and fj(0) is the atomic scattering factor in the forward direction (angle of zero) for atoms of type j. Recall that r0 is the Thomson scattering length.
- The refractive index is a function of the wavelength. For most optical situations, as the absorption maximum of a material is approached from lower frequencies, the refractive index increases. But when the radiation’s frequency is high enough that it passes the absorption maximum, the refractive index decreases to a value of less than one.
- The refractive index is defined by n = c/v, where v is the wave’s phase velocity. Phase velocity is the rate at which a wave’s phase propagates (i.e. how rapidly one of the wave’s peaks moves through space). Rearranging the equation, v = c/n is obtained. When the refractive index is less than one, the phase velocity is greater than the speed of light. However, this does not violate relativity because the group velocity (not the phase velocity) carries the wave’s energy and information. For comparison, group velocity is the rate at which a change in amplitude of an oscillation propagates.
- Anomalous dispersion occurs when the radiation’s frequency is high enough that the refractive index of a material is less than one. As a result, x-rays entering a material from vacuum are refracted away from the normal of the refracting surface. This is in contrast to the typical case where the radiation would be refracted toward the normal of the refracting surface. In addition, the refracted wave is phase shifted by π radians.
- The complex refractive index is often expressed using the equation below. Here, δ is called the refractive index decrement and β is called the absorption index. Note that nRe = 1 – δ and nIm = β (as a comparison to the previously used notation). Recall that nIm = β describes the degree of a wave’s attenuation as it moves through a material.
- The refractive index decrement can be approximately computed using the average density of electrons ρ, the Thomson scattering length r0, and the wavenumber k = 2π/λ0. Note that this approximation is better for x-rays that are far from an absorption edge.
- With most materials, the resulting real part of the index of refraction is only slightly less than one when dealing with x-rays. For example, a typical electron density of one electron per cubic Angstrom yields a δ value of about 5×10-6.
- Snell’s law applies to the index of refraction for x-rays and is given as follows.
- Because the index of refraction for x-rays is slightly less than one, total external reflection can occur when x-rays are incident on a surface at angles less than the critical angle θcritical. This stands in contrast with the total internal reflection that commonly occurs with visible light.
- The critical angle can be approximated with a high level of accuracy using the following equation (derived from the Taylor expansion of the cosine function). With typical values of δ on the order of 10-5, θcritical is often equal to just a few milliradians (or a few tenths of a degree). These small angles relative to the surface are called grazing angles.
- Because grazing incident angles facilitate x-ray reflection, special curved mirrors can be used to focus x-rays. The curvature of these mirrors must be small enough that the steepest incident angle is less than θcritical. It should be noted that, even when undergoing total external reflection, x-rays do penetrate the reflecting material to a depth of a few nanometers via an evanescent wave.
- The absorption index β is related to the value fb using the following equation where r0 is the Thomson scattering length. Recall that fb represents the effects of scattering from absorption and remission of x-rays with energies that are close to the absorption edges of a material.
- Using the process explained earlier for computing the decaying exponential exp(-2πnImx/λ0) that represents the attenuation of a wave’s amplitude as it travels through a material, the decay of a wave’s intensity as it travels through a material can also be found. Recall that λ0 is the wavelength in a vacuum. Because intensity is proportional to the square of the amplitude, the equation below describes the exponential decay of a wave’s intensity in a material. (This decaying exponential function is multiplied by the equation of the wave). Here, μ is called the absorption coefficient and is defined as the reciprocal of the thickness of a material required to decrease a wave’s intensity by a factor of 1/e. The absorption coefficient is a rough indication of a material’s electron density and electron binding energy.
- The correspondences between the atomic configurations associated with an x-ray absorption edge and the commonly used name for said absorption edge are given in the following table. The subscripts used with the configurations represent the total angular momenta.
X-ray fluorescence and Auger emission
- Materials fluoresce after bombardment with x-rays or high-energy electrons. If electrons are used, the emitted light consists of Bremsstrahlung radiation (which comes from the deacceleration of the electrons) and fluorescence lines. The Bremsstrahlung radiation includes a broad spectrum of wavelengths and has low intensity while the fluorescence lines are sharp peaks and exhibit high intensity. If x-rays are used to bombard a material, there is no Bremsstrahlung radiation, but fluorescence lines occur.
- Different materials exhibit different characteristic fluorescence lines. These x-ray fluorescence lines are caused by outer-shell electrons relaxing to fill the holes left after the ejection of photoelectrons. However, not all electronic transitions are allowed, only those which follow the selection rules for electric dipoles. These selection rules are given below. J is the total angular momentum and can be computed from the sum of the Azimuthal quantum number L (which determines the type of atomic orbital) and the spin quantum number S (which determines the direction of an electron’s spin).
- The nomenclature for x-ray fluorescence lines is based on the shell to which an electron relaxes. If an excited electron relaxes to the 1s shell state, then the fluorescence line is part of the K series. For an excited electron that relaxes to the 2s or 2p state, the fluorescence line is part of the L series. The M series includes relaxations to 3s, 3p, and 3d. The N series includes relaxations to 5s, 5p, 5d, and 5f. As such, the Azimuthal quantum number determines if the fluorescence line falls into the K, L, M, or N series (there are some series beyond these as well which follow the same pattern). The transition within each series that exhibits the smallest energy difference is labeled with α (i.e. Kα), the transition with the next smallest energy difference is labeled with β, and so on. It should be noted that the fluorescence lines are further split by the effects of electron spin and angular momentum and so are labeled with suffixes of 1, 2, etc.
- Auger emission is the process where a photoelectron is ejected, an outer shell electron relaxes to fill the hole, and the released energy causes ejection another electron instead of emitting a photon. The energies of emitted Auger electrons are independent of the energies of the incident photons.
- The excess energy released by the relaxation of the outer shell electron is equal to |Ecore – Eouter|. In order for the last electron ejection to occur, the electron must have a binding energy that is less than the excess released energy from the relaxation. The kinetic energy of the ejected Auger electron is |Ecore – Eouter – Ebinding|. Note that Ebinding is the binding energy of the Auger electron in the ionized atom (which is different from the binding energy in the neutral form of the atom).
- Auger emission and x-ray fluorescence are competitive with each other. Fluorescence is stronger for heavier atoms (higher Z-number) since they exhibit larger energy differences between adjacent shells as well as binding electrons more tightly. For the same reasons, Auger emission is stronger from atoms with lower Z-numbers.
Reference: Willmott, P. (2011). An Introduction to Synchrotron Radiation: Techniques and Applications. Wiley. | https://logancollinsblog.com/author/loganphospholipid/page/3/ |
- Electrons are the main type of particle that can scatter x-rays. Elastic or Thomson scattering occurs when a non-relativistic electron is accelerated by the electrical component of an incoming electromagnetic field from an x-ray. The accelerated electron then reradiates light at the same frequency. Since the frequency of the input light and output light are the same, this is an elastic process.
- The intensity of the re-emitted radiation at an observer’s location depends on the angle Χ between the incident light and the observer. Because of the sinusoidal wave character of light, the scattered intensity at the observer’s location is given by the proportionality equation below.
- Light that encounters the electron is scattered if it is incident on the region defined by the electron’s classical radius. This region is called the Thomson scattering length r0. For a free electron, r0 = 2.82×10-5 Å.
- Compton scattering occurs when an electron scatters a photon and the scattered photon has a lower energy than the incident photon (an inelastic process). For Compton scattering, a fraction of the incident photon’s energy is transferred to the electron.
- The amount of energy lost via Compton scattering where the incident photon has energy E0 = hc/λ0 and the scattered photon has energy E1 = hc/λ1 is described by the following equation. Here, ψ represents the angle between the paths of the incident photon and the scattered photon.
Scattering from atoms
- X-rays are scattered throughout the volumes of atomic electron clouds. For x-rays that scattered in the same direction as the incident x-rays, the strength of scattering is proportional to the atom’s Z-number. In the case of an ionic atom, this value is adjusted to equal the atom’s number of electrons. Note that this assumes free electron movement within the cloud.
- By contrast, x-rays that are scattered at some angle 2θ relative to the incident x-rays exhibit lower scattering magnitudes. Each of the x-rays scattered at angle 2θ will possess different magnitudes and phases depending on where they were scattered from within the atomic cloud. As a result, the scattering amplitude for the x-rays at angle 2θ will be a vector sum of these waves with distinct magnitudes and phases.
- A wavevector k is a vector with magnitude 2π/λ that points in the direction of a wave’s propagation. The difference between the wavevector of the incident wave k0 and the wavevector of the scattered wave k1 is equal to a scattering vector Q (that is, Q = k0 – k1). The magnitude of Q is given by the following equation.
- The atomic scattering factor f describes the total scattering amplitude for an atom as a function of sin(θ)/λ. By assuming that the atom is spherically symmetric, f will depend only on the magnitude of Q and not on its orientation relative to the atom. Values for f can be found in the International Tables for Crystallography or computed using nine known coefficients a1,2,3,4, b1,2,3,4, and c (which can also be looked up) and the following expression. The coefficients vary depending on the atom and ionic state. The units of f are the scattering amplitude that would be produced by a single electron.
- If the incident x-ray has an energy that is much less than that of an atom’s bound electrons, the response of the electrons will be damped due to their association with the atom. (This no longer assumes free electron movement within the cloud). As a result, f will be decreased by some value fa. The value fa increases when the incoming x-ray’s energy is close to the energy level of the electron and decreases when the incoming x-ray’s energy is far above the energy levels of the electrons.
- When the incident x-ray’s energy is close to an electron’s energy level (called an absorption edge), the x-ray is partially absorbed. With this process of partial absorption, some of the radiation is still directly scattered and another part of the radiation is re-emitted after a delay. This re-emitted radiation interferes with the directly scattered radiation. To mathematically describe the effect of the re-emitted radiation’s phase shift and interference, f is adjusted by a second term fb (which is an imaginary value). Far from absorption edges, fb has a much weaker effect (it decays by E-2). The total atomic scattering factor is then given by the following complex-valued equation.
Refraction, reflection, and absorption
- A material’s index of refraction can be expressed as a complex quantity nc = nRe + inIm. The real part represents the rate at which the wave propagates through the material and the imaginary part describes the degree of attenuation that the wave experiences as it passes through the material.
- The reason that a material can possess a complex refractive index involves the complex plane wave equation. The wavenumber k = 2π/λ0 is the spatial frequency in wavelengths per unit distance and it is a constant within the complex plane wave equation (λ0 is the wave’s vacuum wavelength). The complex wavenumber kc = knc is the wavenumber multiplied by the complex refractive index. As such, the complex refractive index can be related to the complex wavenumber via kc = 2πnc/λ0 where λ0 is the vacuum wavelength of the wave. After inserting 2π(nRe + inIm)/λ0 into the complex plane wave equation, a decaying exponential can be simplified out as a coefficient for the rest of the equation. The decaying exponential represents the attenuation of the wave in the material. Once this simplification is performed, the equation’s complex wavenumber is converted to a real-valued wavenumber.
- For x-rays, a material’s complex refractive index for wavelength λ is related to the atomic scattering factors of atoms in the material using the following equation. Ni represents the number of atoms of type j per unit volume and fj(0) is the atomic scattering factor in the forward direction (angle of zero) for atoms of type j. Recall that r0 is the Thomson scattering length.
- The refractive index is a function of the wavelength. For most optical situations, as the absorption maximum of a material is approached from lower frequencies, the refractive index increases. But when the radiation’s frequency is high enough that it passes the absorption maximum, the refractive index decreases to a value of less than one.
- The refractive index is defined by n = c/v, where v is the wave’s phase velocity. Phase velocity is the rate at which a wave’s phase propagates (i.e. how rapidly one of the wave’s peaks moves through space). Rearranging the equation, v = c/n is obtained. When the refractive index is less than one, the phase velocity is greater than the speed of light. However, this does not violate relativity because the group velocity (not the phase velocity) carries the wave’s energy and information. For comparison, group velocity is the rate at which a change in amplitude of an oscillation propagates.
- Anomalous dispersion occurs when the radiation’s frequency is high enough that the refractive index of a material is less than one. As a result, x-rays entering a material from vacuum are refracted away from the normal of the refracting surface. This is in contrast to the typical case where the radiation would be refracted toward the normal of the refracting surface. In addition, the refracted wave is phase shifted by π radians.
- The complex refractive index is often expressed using the equation below. Here, δ is called the refractive index decrement and β is called the absorption index. Note that nRe = 1 – δ and nIm = β (as a comparison to the previously used notation). Recall that nIm = β describes the degree of a wave’s attenuation as it moves through a material.
- The refractive index decrement can be approximately computed using the average density of electrons ρ, the Thomson scattering length r0, and the wavenumber k = 2π/λ0. Note that this approximation is better for x-rays that are far from an absorption edge.
- With most materials, the resulting real part of the index of refraction is only slightly less than one when dealing with x-rays. For example, a typical electron density of one electron per cubic Angstrom yields a δ value of about 5×10-6.
- Snell’s law applies to the index of refraction for x-rays and is given as follows.
- Because the index of refraction for x-rays is slightly less than one, total external reflection can occur when x-rays are incident on a surface at angles less than the critical angle θcritical. This stands in contrast with the total internal reflection that commonly occurs with visible light.
- The critical angle can be approximated with a high level of accuracy using the following equation (derived from the Taylor expansion of the cosine function). With typical values of δ on the order of 10-5, θcritical is often equal to just a few milliradians (or a few tenths of a degree). These small angles relative to the surface are called grazing angles.
- Because grazing incident angles facilitate x-ray reflection, special curved mirrors can be used to focus x-rays. The curvature of these mirrors must be small enough that the steepest incident angle is less than θcritical. It should be noted that, even when undergoing total external reflection, x-rays do penetrate the reflecting material to a depth of a few nanometers via an evanescent wave.
- The absorption index β is related to the value fb using the following equation where r0 is the Thomson scattering length. Recall that fb represents the effects of scattering from absorption and remission of x-rays with energies that are close to the absorption edges of a material.
- Using the process explained earlier for computing the decaying exponential exp(-2πnImx/λ0) that represents the attenuation of a wave’s amplitude as it travels through a material, the decay of a wave’s intensity as it travels through a material can also be found. Recall that λ0 is the wavelength in a vacuum. Because intensity is proportional to the square of the amplitude, the equation below describes the exponential decay of a wave’s intensity in a material. (This decaying exponential function is multiplied by the equation of the wave). Here, μ is called the absorption coefficient and is defined as the reciprocal of the thickness of a material required to decrease a wave’s intensity by a factor of 1/e. The absorption coefficient is a rough indication of a material’s electron density and electron binding energy.
- The correspondences between the atomic configurations associated with an x-ray absorption edge and the commonly used name for said absorption edge are given in the following table. The subscripts used with the configurations represent the total angular momenta.
X-ray fluorescence and Auger emission
- Materials fluoresce after bombardment with x-rays or high-energy electrons. If electrons are used, the emitted light consists of Bremsstrahlung radiation (which comes from the deacceleration of the electrons) and fluorescence lines. The Bremsstrahlung radiation includes a broad spectrum of wavelengths and has low intensity while the fluorescence lines are sharp peaks and exhibit high intensity. If x-rays are used to bombard a material, there is no Bremsstrahlung radiation, but fluorescence lines occur.
- Different materials exhibit different characteristic fluorescence lines. These x-ray fluorescence lines are caused by outer-shell electrons relaxing to fill the holes left after the ejection of photoelectrons. However, not all electronic transitions are allowed, only those which follow the selection rules for electric dipoles. These selection rules are given below. J is the total angular momentum and can be computed from the sum of the Azimuthal quantum number L (which determines the type of atomic orbital) and the spin quantum number S (which determines the direction of an electron’s spin).
- The nomenclature for x-ray fluorescence lines is based on the shell to which an electron relaxes. If an excited electron relaxes to the 1s shell state, then the fluorescence line is part of the K series. For an excited electron that relaxes to the 2s or 2p state, the fluorescence line is part of the L series. The M series includes relaxations to 3s, 3p, and 3d. The N series includes relaxations to 5s, 5p, 5d, and 5f. As such, the Azimuthal quantum number determines if the fluorescence line falls into the K, L, M, or N series (there are some series beyond these as well which follow the same pattern). The transition within each series that exhibits the smallest energy difference is labeled with α (i.e. Kα), the transition with the next smallest energy difference is labeled with β, and so on. It should be noted that the fluorescence lines are further split by the effects of electron spin and angular momentum and so are labeled with suffixes of 1, 2, etc.
- Auger emission is the process where a photoelectron is ejected, an outer shell electron relaxes to fill the hole, and the released energy causes ejection another electron instead of emitting a photon. The energies of emitted Auger electrons are independent of the energies of the incident photons.
- The excess energy released by the relaxation of the outer shell electron is equal to |Ecore – Eouter|. In order for the last electron ejection to occur, the electron must have a binding energy that is less than the excess released energy from the relaxation. The kinetic energy of the ejected Auger electron is |Ecore – Eouter – Ebinding|. Note that Ebinding is the binding energy of the Auger electron in the ionized atom (which is different from the binding energy in the neutral form of the atom).
- Auger emission and x-ray fluorescence are competitive with each other. Fluorescence is stronger for heavier atoms (higher Z-number) since they exhibit larger energy differences between adjacent shells as well as binding electrons more tightly. For the same reasons, Auger emission is stronger from atoms with lower Z-numbers.
Reference: Willmott, P. (2011). An Introduction to Synchrotron Radiation: Techniques and Applications. Wiley. | https://logancollinsblog.com/tag/science/ |
REFRACTIVE INDEX OF SILICON DIOXIDE: GAS FLOW (N20/SIH4 RATIO) 1.455 1.46 1.465 1.47 1.475 1.48 1.485 1.49 1.495 15 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 N2O/SIH4 RATIO RI Stress control SiOx • Particles – if seen as silica dust in showerhead pattern on wafers then need to search for air leaks in gas lines or behind showerhead.
• Change in the refractive index of a crystal due to the presence of an electric field. • Depends on strength and direction of E-field, and crystal symmetry. • Linear effect is dominant. Quadratic (Kerr) effect is negligible for a nonzero linear effect. • Right: data taken from simulations of EO effect on hexagonal Silicon Carbide. ZnTe
03.05.2017· Permittivity is a function of wavelength (frequency). 80.4 value is valid for microwave diapason, not for optical one. For optical frequencies you should calculate permittivity from refractive index, i.e. [tex]\epsilon_r = n^2[/tex]
Industrial waste silica preparation of silicon carbide. Feb 25, 2017· Silicon particles with uniform sizes were formed by cleaning solid organic wastes from the silicon industry with ether and nitric acid and ball milling the products. Cited by: 20; Glass Production National Industrial Sand Association.
08.03.2012· Silicon carbide (SiC) became an A refractive index greater than 2.5 However, metal masks cause a major problem, namely the micromasking effect: as dry etching progresses, metallic particles are extracted from the mask and re-deposited onto the film/substrate where they can continue to have a protective role,
In summary, the short answer is: even without the parameters, we can obtain useful information from nanoparticles with DLS. # “Optical characterization of liposomes by right-angle light stering and turbidity” Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) – Biomeranes 1467, 1, 219-226 (2000) * “Measurement of refractive index by nanoparticle tracking analysis reveals heterogeneity in
For long-wave radiation, the refractive index does not practically change, although in a region close to its own absorption the refractive index can change its value. According to the data of [ 25 ], in the wavelength region up to 440 nm (band-band transitions and above), the refractive index of silicon carbide varies nonmonotonically in the range of 2.4–3.4.
The medium in which light travels slowest will have highest refractive index. The record of highest refractive index is 4.05 for the element Germanium, but in the IR (infra red) range only. It drops to lower values in the visible region and others
A gorgeous engagement and wedding ring set. Main Stone: MoissaniteMetals: Available in White, Yellow, Rose Gold or PlatinumSetting Type: Claw SettingStone Shape: Round CutAccents: MoissaniteStone Size: 6.50 x 6.50mm Round Cut MoissaniteWeight: 1.00 …
A high-refractive-index polymer (HRIP) is a polymer that has a refractive index greater than 1.50.. Such materials are required for anti-reflective coating and photonic devices such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) and image sensors. The refractive index of a polymer is based on several factors which include polarizability, chain flexibility, molecular geometry and the polymer backbone orientation.
refractive index particles enter into scene, the magnetic contribution should also carefully be considered. In this paper, we systematically discuss the optical forces acting on a silicon
Silicon carbide heating elements are generally subject to gradual oxidation, the formation of Silica and an increase in electric resistance, so called deterioration while in use. This raises electrical resistance. Oxidation occurs when the temperature reaches 800°C and is accelerated as the temperature increases. Is Silicon Carbide toxic? Nonfibrous particles have low to very low …
The refractive index determines how much the path of light is bent, or refracted, when entering a material.This is described by Snell''s law of refraction, n 1 sinθ 1 = n 2 sinθ 2, where θ 1 and θ 2 are the angles of incidence and refraction, respectively, of a ray crossing the interface between two media with refractive indices n 1 and n 2.
- Silicon Carbide This section is intended to systematize parameters of semiconductor compounds and heterostructures based on them. Such a WWW-archive has a nuer of advantages: in particular, it enables physicists, both theoreticians and experimentalists, to rapidly retrieve the semiconducting material parameters they are interested in.
01.01.2016· A Monte Carlo method is devised to determine the extinction coefficients of silicon carbide (SiC) porous media made up of random sphere pores. The optical properties of porous media are obtained from Fresnel’s law and Beer’s law based on the refractive index of the SiC.
. Complex refractive index values were interpolated from tables published by Koike et al. (for aluminum oxide) and by Choyke and Palik (for silicon carbide). The notation n + ib(-c) in the columns for the refractive index give the imaginary part as k = b x 10 -c. The nuer of significant figures in these columns reflects the
We suspect this difference may be due to the very high refractive index of those particles, although differences in particle microstructure may also be important. Two samples produced positive linear polarization which had a single broad maximum near 100° stering angle, and a magnitude greater than 40% at some wavelengths.
silicon carbide particles can be estimated. It is seen that. particles with sizes from 5 to 8 nm, which correspond. refractive index . n. 2. reaches 1.7
5 SURFACE STRUCTURE, METALLIZATION AND OXIDATION 5.1 Surface structure and metallization of SiC R. Kaplan and V.M. Bermudez 101 5.2 Oxidation of SiC J.J. Kopanski 121 6 ETCHING 6.1 Introduction to etching of SiC G.L.Harris 133 6.2 Chemical etching of SiC G.L.Harris 134 6.3 Dry etching of SiC К Wongchotigul 136 6.4 Electrochemical etching of SiC J.S. Shor 141
Amorphous silicon–carbon alloy (a-Si x C1-x ) thin films have been deposited by radio frequency (RF) sputter deposition. These films were obtained, from a composite target consisting of silicon fragments regularly distributed on the surface of a pure graphite disc, for different values of silicon surface fraction R Si/C, at an RF power of 250 W. X-ray diffraction diagrams show that all the
Porous silicon particles were fabried by an electrochemical etch of single-crystalline, degenerately B-doped p-type The wavelength of the spectral peak reflected from porous Si photonic crystals is dependent on the refractive index (n) of the porous Si matrix. 21 Changes in the refractive index of the porous Si layer occur as
Silicon dioxide nanopowder, 10-20 nm particle size (BET), 99.5% trace metals basis; CAS Nuer: The refractive index of silica nanoparticles is similar to polymeric coatings, In 1907, the first electroluminescent device, with silicon carbide (Prod. Nos. 594911, 378097, | https://kppspkoluszki.pl/1589798046/refractive-index-of-silicon-carbide-particles-at-kazakhstan.html |
For Keynes, the short run was important and due to the instability of the macro economy, government intervention may be necessary to kickstart the economy.
Classical economists tend to be more dismissive of short term falls in output. According to their models, falls in real output below the equilibrium would only be temporary and the economy would return to equilibrium of its own accord. In particular, classical economists argued that if the economy is below full employment, wages should fall and labour markets will clear solving the unemployment.
But, Keynes argued that this was a wrong approach. He stated that the economy may well return to full employment, but, without government intervention this could take a long time.
This is why he quipped in the long run we are all dead. Why wait 10 years for a reduction in unemployment when the reduction could be achieved much quicker?
He argued that what happened in the short run could influence the long run. High unemployment created a negative multiplier effect which reduces output even further. When resources are idle, it may be difficult to get them re-employed. He also highlighted the fact labour markets may not clear. For example, wages are sticky downwards (in other words trades unions resist nominal wage cuts). But, also even if wages did fall, this could be damaging because workers would have less income and so spending would continue to fall.
This analysis provided the justification for government intervention – increased government spending financed by borrowing to kick start the economy and make use of passing saving. | https://www.schoolofeconomics.net/the-long-run-and-keynes/ |
Adjusted analysis1: when groups differ on baseline characteristics (eg, age), analyses of outcome data are statistically modified to account for these differences.
Blinding (masking): in an experimental study, refers to whether patients, clinicians providing an intervention, people assessing outcomes, and/or statisticians were aware or unaware of the group to which patients were assigned. In the design section of Evidence-Based Nursing abstracts of treatment studies, the study will be identified as blinded, with specification of who was blinded; unblinded, if all parties were aware of patients' group assignments; or blinded (unclear) if the authors did not report or provide us with an indication of who was aware or unaware of patients' group assignments.
Concealment of randomisation: concealment of randomisation is specified in the design section of Evidence-Based Nursing abstracts of treatment studies as follows: allocation concealed (deemed to have taken adequate measures to conceal allocation to study group assignments from those responsible for assessing patients for entry in the trial [ie, central randomisation; numbered, opaque, sealed envelopes; sealed envelopes from a closed bag; numbered or coded bottles or containers; drugs prepared by the pharmacy; or other descriptions that contain elements convincing of concealment]); allocation not concealed (deemed to have not taken adequate measures to conceal allocation to study group assignments from those responsible for assessing patients for entry in the trial [ie, no concealment procedure was undertaken, sealed envelopes that were not opaque, or other descriptions that contain elements not convincing of concealment]); unclear allocation concealment (the authors did not report or provide a description of an allocation concealment approach that allowed for the classification as concealed or not concealed).
Confidence interval (CI): quantifies the uncertainty in measurement; usually reported as 95% CI, which is the range of values within which we can be 95% sure that the true value for the whole population lies.
Crossover trial: a method of comparing 2 interventions in which patients are switched to the alternative intervention after a specified period of time.
Dose response2: indicates that a relation exists, such that increasing doses or duration of treatment results in increased frequency or intensity of outcomes (eg, as the dosage of a medication increases, so does the magnitude of pain reduction).
Fixed effects model3: gives a summary estimate of the magnitude of effect in meta-analysis. It takes into account within-study variation but not between-study variation and hence is usually not used if there is significant heterogeneity.
Grounded theory4: an approach to collecting and analysing qualitative data with the aim of developing theories grounded in real world observations.
Hermeneutic phenomenology5: the study of the methodological principles of interpretation by using narrative texts to explain a phenomenon.
Heterogeneity3: the degree to which the effect estimates of individual studies in a meta-analysis differ significantly.
Inductive analysis: often used in qualitative research, this type of analysis begins with specific observations from which generalisations are developed; opposite to deductive analysis, often used in quantitative research, which begins with the abstract (eg, general laws or hypotheses) from which logical deductions about specific things are made.
Intention to treat analysis (ITT): all patients are analysed in the groups to which they were randomised, even if they failed to complete the intervention or received the wrong intervention.
Logistic regression1: a statistical technique that predicts the probability of a dichotomous dependent variable (eg, dead or alive) using, typically, a combination of continuous and categorical independent variables.
Median: the value of the middle observation in a sample. That is, if the data from 99 people were ordered from high to low, the median would be the value of the 50th observation.
Meta-analysis1: a method for combining the results of several independent studies so that an overall summary statistic can be calculated.
Multiple case study approach2: a non-experimental study design involving a series of cases; the cases may be individuals, groups, or organisations; data are collected and analysed from these multiple sources (cases).
Number needed to treat (NNT): number of patients who need to be treated to prevent 1 additional negative event (or to promote 1 additional positive event); this is calculated as 1/absolute risk reduction (rounded to the next whole number), accompanied by the 95% confidence interval.
Odds ratio (OR): describes the odds of a patient in the experimental group having an event divided by the odds of a patient in the control group having the event or the odds that a patient was exposed to a given risk factor divided by the odds that a control patient was exposed to the risk factor.
Phenomenology4: an approach to inquiry that emphasises the complexity of human experience and the need to understand that experience holistically as it is actually lived.
Power1: the ability of a study to detect an actual effect or difference of a given size (eg, a 10% difference) between groups; it has to do with the adequacy of sample size. Before a study begins, researchers often calculate the number of participants required to detect a postulated difference between 2 groups. If a study has insufficient power (ie, sample size is too small), actual differences between groups may not be detected.
Relative risk (RR): proportion of patients experiencing an outcome in the treated (or exposed) group divided by the proportion experiencing the outcome in the control (or unexposed) group.
Relative risk reduction (RRR): the proportional reduction in outcome rates of bad events between experimental and control participants; it is reported as a percentage (%).
Weighted: statistical analysis accounts for differences in certain important variables.
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The Standards Based Management and Recognition (SBM-R©) approach to quality improvement has been implemented in Ethiopia to strengthen routine maternal and newborn health (MNH) services. This evaluation assessed the effect of the intervention on MNH providers’ performance of routine antenatal care (ANC), uncomplicated labor and delivery and immediate postnatal care (PNC) services.
A post-only evaluation design was conducted at three hospitals and eight health centers implementing SBM-R and the same number of comparison health facilities. Structured checklists were used to observe MNH providers’ performance on ANC (236 provider-client interactions), uncomplicated labor and delivery (226 provider-client interactions), and immediate PNC services in the six hours after delivery (232 provider-client interactions); observations were divided equally between intervention and comparison groups. Main outcomes were provider performance scores, calculated as the percentage of essential tasks in each service area completed by providers. Multilevel analysis was used to calculate adjusted mean percentage performance scores and standard errors to compare intervention and comparison groups.
There was no statistically significant difference between intervention and comparison facilities in overall mean performance scores for ANC services (63.4% at intervention facilities versus 61.0% at comparison facilities, p = 0.650) or in any specific ANC skill area. MNH providers’ overall mean performance score for uncomplicated labor and delivery care was 11.9 percentage points higher in the intervention than in the comparison group (77.5% versus 65.6%; p = 0.002). Overall mean performance scores for immediate PNC were 22.2 percentage points higher at intervention than at comparison facilities (72.8% versus 50.6%; p = 0.001); and there was a significant difference of 22 percentage points between intervention and comparison facilities for each PNC skill area: care for the newborn and health check for the mother.
The SBM-R quality improvement intervention made a significant positive impact on MNH providers’ performance during labor and delivery and immediate PNC services, but not during ANC services. Scaling up the intervention to other facilities and regions may increase the availability of good quality MNH services across Ethiopia. The findings will also guide implementation of the government’s five-year (2015–2020) health sector transformation plan and health care quality strategies needed to meet the country’s MNH goals.
Maternal and child mortality have declined over the past 20 years in Ethiopia. However, 2015 estimates show that mortality remains high in the months before and after childbirth, with 420 mothers dying per 100,000 live births, 41 infants dying per 1000 live births, 28 neonates dying per 1000 live births and neonatal deaths accounting for 47% of all under-five mortality . In line with Sustainable Development Goals, by 2020 Ethiopia aims to reduce the maternal mortality ratio to 199 per 100,000 live births, the infant mortality rate to 20 per 1000 live births and the neonatal mortality rate to 10 per 1000 live births .
Achieving these goals will require improvements in the quality of maternal and newborn care services. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines eight standards for improving the quality of maternal and newborn care, one of which calls for “competent, motivated staff to be consistently available to provide routine care and manage complications” . Multiple factors influence health workers’ performance, including health workers’ knowledge and skills gaps, caseload, patient demand, clinical practices, educational opportunities, availability of supplies and equipment and also the presence of a quality improvement process .
Various quality improvement models have been implemented in low, middle and high-income countries to improve healthcare providers’ performance and quality of services [5, 6]. WHO has concluded that any of these strategies can help to ensure high quality antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal care .
Multifaceted interventions that include supervision, training, audit and feedback have been shown to have a greater impact than single interventions on the quality of health workers’ performance [5, 7]. One such approach is Standards-Based Management and Recognition (SBM-R©), which includes four stages to improve performance and quality of health services .
In Ethiopia, the Ministry of Health (MOH) began implementing the SBM-R quality improvement model in 2003 to improve HIV/AIDS and maternal and newborn health (MNH) services. However, the effect of SBM-R on healthcare providers’ performance and the quality of MNH services has not been evaluated in Ethiopia. This study seeks to address gaps in the literature regarding the effectiveness of MNH quality improvement interventions [3, 9] on providers’ performance by evaluating the impact of the SBM-R intervention in Ethiopia.
The evaluation asked: Do MNH providers in facilities that have implemented SBM-R perform better than providers at comparison facilities during routine delivery of antenatal care (ANC), uncomplicated labor and delivery, and immediate postnatal care (PNC) services within the first six hours after delivery ?
This study employed a post-only intervention and comparison evaluation design to assess the impact of the SBM-R intervention on provider performance at public health facilities located in four major regions of Ethiopia: Tigray, Amhara, Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ (SNNP). An SBM-R process to improve the performance and quality of MNH services was introduced at 116 government health facilities (15 hospitals and 101 health centers) from March 2011 to June 2014 with a phased-in approach. This study focuses on the 21 health facilities (15 health centers and 6 hospitals) in the first phase. All of these facilities had proceeded through the entire SBM-R process within three years of implementation and were ready for external assessment.
Guided by national MNH policies and guidelines, performance standards in 10 technical areas were developed for providing quality MNH services, including 80 standards for health centers and 79 standards for hospitals. Technical areas included: routine ANC, uncomplicated labor and delivery care and post-partum care; management of antenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum complications; infection prevention; laboratory; pharmacy; human, physical and materials resources; information, education, communication and community participation; and management system. Each standard comprised a series of specific items that could be scored as a measure of achievement. After authorities endorsed the standards, they were introduced in each health facility. Health managers and providers received three rounds of SBM-R modular trainings focusing on how to use and implement the standards, measure progress, and recognize performance.
After completing the first round of SBM-R training, each facility established a quality improvement team to implement the intervention. This team conducted a baseline assessment of services at the facility using standard tools to identify performance gaps and analyze root causes. Commonly identified performance gaps included deficits in health providers’ skills and knowledge as well as shortages of supplies and equipment. Based on the initial gap assessment, intervention facilities received essential equipment and supplies (such as newborn weighing scales, autoclaves, examination beds, delivery beds, baby towels and hats, and infection prevention supplies), training on Basic Emergency Obstetric Newborn Care (BEmONC) for providers, and regular follow-up from regional health bureaus and partners, including site mentoring, review meetings and quarterly supportive supervision. Quality improvement teams at each facility conducted assessments every six months to track performance using direct structured observations, document review and provider interviews. Based on the results, the teams developed action plans to address remaining performance gaps. All target facilities completed the four stages of SBM-R and were eligible for external assessments verifying that they had achieved at least 80% of the standards.
Sample sizes were calculated for observations of providers’ performance in each of three service areas (ANC, labor and delivery, and immediate PNC) based on 95% level of statistical confidence, 80% statistical power, 20% expected difference in health providers’ performance between intervention and comparison groups and the recommended value of 1% intraclass correlation coefficient for median value of primary health care research . The intraclass correlation coefficient is the correlation between responses given by randomly selected respondents within clusters or facilities to measure degree of similarity .
Health providers’ mean performance scores from a 2010 quality of care study in Ethiopia informed the reference values used to calculate the three sample sizes. For ANC, a mean percentage performance score of 38% for preventive treatments, including the administration of tetanus toxoid and prescription or provision of iron/folic acid was used. For uncomplicated labor and delivery care, a mean percentage performance score of 29% on active management of the third stage of labor was used. For immediate PNC, a mean percentage performance score of 47% on immediate newborn care services was used. Based on these, we calculated sample sizes of 236 provider-client interactions (observations) for ANC, 226 for uncomplicated labor and delivery care, and 232 for immediate PNC. Each sample was divided equally between intervention and comparison groups.
A total of six hospitals and 15 health centers had completed all stages of SBM-R. Half (three hospitals and eight health centers) were randomly selected for the study sample. Comparison facilities that had not implemented SBM-R (three hospitals and eight health centers) were selected from the same region and zone as the intervention facilities, but from different districts. Comparison facilities were matched with intervention facilities on staff size and client volume, including the number of first ANC visits and deliveries attended by skilled birth attendants.
The estimated number of MNH providers (those who offer ANC, labor and delivery, and/or PNC services) at each facility was 12 per hospital and five per health center, for a total of 152 across all intervention and comparison facilities in the sample. Because the number of MNH providers at each facility was small, all of them were invited to participate in the study. Women who sought ANC or labor and delivery followed by immediate PNC at these facilities during the study period were invited to participate.
Observations of service delivery using structured checklists were conducted to measure provider performance in ANC, uncomplicated labor and delivery care, and immediate PNC. The clinical observation tool listed essential maternity and newborn care tasks and was adapted from an earlier quality of care study in Ethiopia , national BEmONC training guidelines , and SBM-R tools. The ANC portion of the tool consisted of 53 tasks in eight skill areas; the labor and delivery portion consisted of 105 tasks in 10 skill areas; and the PNC portion included nine tasks in two skill areas. Observers coded each task as “Yes, task performed” or “No, task not performed.” The tool also captured basic characteristics of health providers.
Data were collected from July 7 to August 3, 2014 by 20 experienced assessors. Assessors consisted of midwives and health officers with at least a Bachelor of Science degree and national BEmONC master trainers. The assessors attended a four-day training on consent, study instruments, observation techniques, and data quality, and demonstrated their competency through role plays on consents and observation checklists before deployment. A team of two assessors conducted observations at each facility. Five supervisors and one study coordinator supervised them. To minimize observer’s bias, assessors were not assigned to health facilities where they worked.
Assessors collected information on providers’ socio-demographic characteristics and conducted observations while providers performed each step of routine ANC services, all stages of uncomplicated labor and delivery care, and/or the full range of immediate PNC services within the first six hours after delivery. Assessors stayed overnight at facilities to conduct observations, remaining up to five days at each facility until they observed at least one provider-client interaction per facility. Providers could be observed with more than one patient during this time. If no delivery took place in the facility during the assessors’ visit, the study coordinator instructed assessors to move to the next sample facility and observe more providers to compensate. Before traveling to the next sample facility, assessors and supervisors checked the completed observation tools for completeness and consistency.
Data was cleaned and entered into CSPro V 5.0 and exported to STATA V 13.1 for statistical analysis. Descriptive statistics, including frequency and percentages, were computed to identify outliers and missing values. Data were nested in three levels: clients (first level) were clustered by provider (second level), and providers were clustered by facility (third level); this nesting structure creates dependency of data. The analysis examined three outcome variables: provider performance scores on ANC, uncomplicated labor and delivery care, and immediate PNC, calculated as the percentage of essential tasks in each service area completed by providers. For this study, health providers’ performance is defined as the extent to which actual work practices reflect the skills and knowledge taught in training using standardized operating procedures .
Multilevel analysis was used to calculate adjusted mean percentage performance scores and standard errors to compare intervention and comparison groups. The multilevel model is appropriate to generate adjusted standard errors of the estimates and test statistics or p-values for clustered data, instead of conventional linear models that overestimate test statistics and lead to misleading inferences [15, 16]. Mean performance scores ranged from 0 to 1. The mean percentage performance score was calculated by dividing mean performance scores by the maximum mean score and multiplying by 100.
Interclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were computed to assess variations explained by facility and health provider clustering effects on three outcome variables: health provider performance on ANC, uncomplicated labor and delivery care, and immediate PNC. ICC ranges from 0 to 1 and is used to estimate the degree of providers’ performance similarity within and among clusters, where an ICC value close to 1 indicates similarities between individual’s performance within clusters and an ICC value close to 0 shows independence of individual’s performance within clusters and/or an indication to use single level analysis . ICC values suggest the use of multilevel analysis even if they are close to 0.05 .
A Chi-square test was used to assess associations of study participants and facility characteristics among intervention and comparison groups. A p-value of less than 0.05 was used for all statistical tests. We computed adjusted standard errors of the mean performance scores to calculate 95% of confidence interval of the mean.
Study approvals were obtained from the Ethiopian Ministry of Science and Technology National Research Ethics Review Committee and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Institutional Review Board. Trained assessors informed health providers and women sought MNH services about the study and asked for their written consent to be observed. Woman was asked to allow trained assessor to observe only her labor and delivery services with the provider however, assessors did not collect data on her name, identification number and pregnancy history. For those women who arrived to the facility with labor pain, her next of kin was asked for written consent for observation. If a woman had complication, assessors did not ask written consent from a woman or her next of kin; and they waited another women who came for labor and delivery services to use for providers observations.
The sample consisted of 147 MNH providers (79 in the SBM-R intervention group and 68 in the comparison group). Most providers were female in both intervention (77.2%) and comparison (70.6%) groups, and one-third were over age 30 (Table 1). A large majority were midwives and nurses, and about half worked at hospitals and half at health centers. Almost half had fewer than five years of work experience in both intervention (48.1%) and comparison (45.6%) groups. There were no significant differences in provider or facility characteristics between intervention and comparison groups.
As shown in Table 2, assessors observed 232 ANC clients who were attended by 63 different health providers, 226 labor and delivery clients who were observed with 117 different providers and 229 PNC clients who were observed with 109 providers. ICC values vary, but are higher in the intervention than in the comparison group with one exception (PNC services at the facility level). This suggests that the quality of services offered was more uniform at intervention than comparison facilities. The greatest differences between intervention and comparison groups were seen in labor and delivery services: provider performance was more similar within each facility in intervention (ICC = 0.775) than in comparison facilities (ICC = 0.454), and performance was also more similar for multiple observations of the same provider in intervention (ICC = 0.632) than in comparison facilities (ICC = 0.474).
Average overall performance scores for ANC services were 63.4% in the intervention and 61.0% in the comparison group (p = 0.650). There were no significant differences between study groups in any of the eight skill areas, although performance scores were higher by over 10 percentage points for rapid initial assessment, preventive treatment and counseling on danger signs in intervention as compared to comparison facilities. Health providers’ strengths and weaknesses, as evidenced by higher and lower scores in the various skill areas, were similar in both study groups (Table 3).
Average overall performance scores for uncomplicated labor and delivery services were significantly higher in the intervention than in the comparison group (77.5% versus 65.6%, p = 0.002). MNH providers at intervention facilities significantly outperformed those at comparison facilities in 7 of 10 skill areas. Differences between the study groups were greatest for rapid initial assessment (60.6% versus 42.8%, p = 0.019), care during labor (81.1% versus 66.0%, p = 0.001), and immediate newborn care (76.9% versus 61.9%, p = 0.013). Differences between the study groups were smallest (less than 10 percentage points) and not significant for quality utilization of partograph and infection prevention (Table 3).
Average overall performance scores for immediate PNC services were significantly higher at intervention than at comparison facilities (72.8% versus 50.6%, p = 0.001). There was a significant difference of 22 percentage points between study groups in both skill areas: care for the newborn and health check for the mother (Table 3).
This evaluation found that the SBM-R quality improvement intervention in Ethiopia had a positive impact on MNH providers’ performance in two out of three service areas: uncomplicated labor and delivery care and immediate PNC. Notably, significant and positive impacts on certain important skills that can save the lives of mothers and newborns were found. Rapid initial assessment determines whether pregnant women need emergency care, while immediate newborn care can identify and address potentially life-threatening conditions for newborns. Similarly, active management of the third stage of labor is a proven obstetric intervention for the prevention and management of postpartum hemorrhage . SBM-R also contributed to substantial improvements on postnatal health checks for mother and baby after delivery, which are important to avert key causes of maternal and newborn deaths such as asphyxia, bleeding and severe infection .
Several factors likely contributed to these improvements. First is BEmONC training conducted in response to initial results of the SBM-R facility assessments, which primarily targeted midwives working in labor and delivery rooms. Training emphasized clinical competencies of labor and delivery care and immediate PNC services and utilized both simulated and clinical settings. Second is the low percentage of institutional deliveries in Ethiopia at the time of the study ; the lighter workload may have allowed midwives to take time needed to properly follow SBM-R standards before, during and after delivery. Third, the SBM-R intervention facilitated mobilization of resources within and outside facilities to address performance gaps. Also, intervention facilities received medical equipment and supplies to improve quality of intra- and postpartum care; this likely increased providers’ confidence in their clinical skills.
Findings on labor and delivery care and PNC are generally consistent with evidence from other SBM-R quality improvement interventions directed at MNH services. For example, studies in Malawi and Tanzania showed significant improvements in PNC performance, such as essential newborn care, at sites that implemented SBM-R [8, 22, 23]. Assessments conducted in 11 low-resource countries in Africa and Latin America found evidence that SBM-R interventions not only caused substantial improvement in labor and delivery service delivery practices such as partograph use and active management of the third stage of labor, but also contributed to positive intermediate and long-term health outcomes, such as lower rates of episiotomy and postpartum hemorrhage and reductions in maternal complications and maternal, neonatal and under five mortality [8, 24–27]. However, systematic evaluations of SBM-R in Malawi and Afghanistan found no significant differences in providers’ performance in labor and delivery care between intervention and comparison facilities [8, 22].
In contrast to labor and delivery care and PNC, the intervention did not show a significant improvement in providers’ performance on ANC. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the lesser impact of the intervention on the quality of ANC performance could be related to providers’ qualifications. Unpublished supervision reports from the SBM-R roll-out in Ethiopia indicate that routine ANC is often provided by nurses because the number of midwives at public health facilities is limited. These nurses were trained on general nursing during their pre-service education and did not specialize in MNH. They also did not have the opportunity to receive BEmONC training informed by SBM-R standards. In addition, ANC was often provided to multiple women at the same time, which may have prevented nurses and midwives from meeting SBM-R standards. It is important moving forward to provide refresher training on ANC tasks to all providers who offer these services, including nurses.
Previous studies of the impact of SBM-R interventions on ANC performance have shown mixed results. For example, after SBM-R was introduced at Zambian Defence Force facilities, overall ANC performance increased at intervention sites compared to control sites, but the difference was not statistically significant . Exactly the same pattern was shown in this study, suggesting that SBM-R intervention likely contributed to the wellbeing of maternal, fetal and neonatal health. Other evaluations found that SBM-R interventions improved providers’ performance in ANC services in Afghanistan, but not in Zambia and Malawi [8, 22]. Another study in Kenya and Afghanistan indicated that quality improvement interventions enhanced ANC services [19, 25].
As noted above, many of the practices targeted by this intervention have the potential to save lives. Findings from systematic reviews in low- and middle-income countries confirm that quality improvement interventions focusing on healthcare providers’ skills can have a direct impact on health outcomes . For example, SBM-R interventions in West African countries have contributed to decreases in institutional rates of postpartum hemorrhage and maternal and neonatal deaths [27, 29]. This suggests that scaling up SBM-R could contribute to achieving national goals for the reduction of maternal and newborn mortality rates. This quality model could also contribute to achieving the Ethiopia MOH’s 2020 strategic aims to improve intermediate and long-term health outcomes, such as increasing coverage of four ANC visits from 68 to 95%, births attended by skilled health personnel from 60 to 90%, and postnatal coverage from 90 to 95% .
With regard to sustainability, officials who offered supportive supervision and monitored the SBM-R intervention helped in building local ownership of quality improvement strategies at the district and facility levels. Results of the analysis of ICC values suggest that SBM-R contributed to standardization of provider skills in delivering ANC, labor and delivery care and immediate PNC services within and among facilities. Additional activities, such as ongoing mentorship at each facility, may be needed to reinforce and sustain these gains in providers’ MNH skills and performance over time.
Strengths of the study included its reliance on direct observations of routine services by experienced assessors using comprehensive and verifiable tools to assess quality of care by comparing intervention and comparison groups. The biggest limitation is the lack of baseline information on provider performance, which makes it impossible to compare changes in provider performance over time between study groups. In future, pre-post study designs are needed to examine the full effects of SBM-R quality improvement tools. In addition, qualitative interview data that could provide a deeper understanding of providers’ performance and clients’ perspective on the quality of services are lacking. Findings cannot be generalized to all facilities across all regions, and it is possible that other quality improvement approaches fielded by international non-governmental organizations may have contaminated effects in comparison sites. Finally, the study may have introduced the Hawthorne effect, in which providers perform better than usual in response to being observed by external assessors; however, this would have affected both study groups equally.
The SBM-R quality improvement intervention led to significant improvements in health providers’ performance in delivering uncomplicated labor and delivery care and immediate PNC services in Ethiopia, a country with limited resources and a low density of healthcare providers. This substantial change contributed to increased availability of good quality MNH services at intervention hospitals and health centers. It also strengthened key skills that have the potential to save lives and reduce maternal and newborn mortality.
The Ministry of Health integrated the SBM-R approach within the existing MNH performance and quality improvement tool; and suggests to scale up across the remaining health facilities in all regions of the country, in order to improve healthcare providers’ performance and the quality of care and to contribute to health system strengthening across Ethiopia. These findings will serve as input for implementation of the government’s five-year (2015–2020) health sector transformation plan and health care quality strategies to meet the country’s sustainable development goals.
We acknowledge the Federal Ministry of Health of Ethiopia for giving permission to conduct the study and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for providing financial support. We are also grateful to Professor Judith T. Fullerton and Adrienne Kols for their critical reviews of the manuscript and Dr. Diwakar Mohan for providing guidance in data analysis. Finally, we would like to acknowledge the study participants, the data collectors and supervisors.
This study was made possible by the generous support of USAID under the terms of the Leader with Associates Cooperative Agreement GHS-A-00-08-00002-00 of the Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP). The contents are the responsibility of Jhpiego and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. USAID did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, interpretation of the data, or preparation of the manuscript. Study participants did not receive financial incentives for their participation in the study.
FA contributed to the study design, managing data collection, performed the data analysis, interpretation of data and wrote the manuscript. NS, JVR, JS and HG contributed to interpretation of data, drafting and reviewing the manuscript. GE, EB and YMK contributed to the development of the study design and writing the manuscript. AT and ED contributed to the study design, participated in data collection, and writing the manuscript. All authors read and agreed to be accountable for the whole process of the manuscript development; and they approved the final manuscript.
The study was approved by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Institutional Review Board and the National Research Ethics Review Committee (NRERC) at the Ethiopian Ministry of Science and Technology to conduct the study in all hospitals and health centers. The NRERC is the highest level of IRB body in Ethiopia to provide ethical approval for all types of researches. In addition, the Ministry of health provided support letter to access selected hospitals and health centers. Written consent was obtained from each study participant. Data were de-identified to maintain confidentiality. See Additional file 1 for the complete consent form for participation.
Countdown to 2015. A decade of tracking progress for maternal, newborn and child survival. The 2015 report. Geneva: UNICEF and World Health Organization; 2015. http://countdown2030.org/documents/2015Report/CDReport_2015_ex-profiles_final.pdf. Accessed 24 May 2016.
Tawfik Y, Bongiovanni A, Vaid S, Hermida J, Boucar M, Hill K. Taking every opportunity to save lives: the role of modern quality improvement in enhancing maternal, newborn, and child health programs. A synthesis of USAID Health Care Improvement Project field experience. Health Care Improvement Project Technical Report. Bethesda: University Research Co., LLC (URC); 2012. https://www.usaidassist.org/sites/assist/files/role_of_qi_in_enhancing_mnch_programs_june2012_0.pdf. Accessed 24 May 2016.
Zainullah P, Kim YM, Bazant E, Yari K. Raising the quality of care: an impact evaluation in Afghanistan. Presented at the ISQua 30th International Conference on Quality and Safety in Population Health and Healthcare. 2013. http://www.isqua.org/docs/default-source/edinburgh/abstract-15mins-edinburgh-2013.pdf?sfvrsn=2. Accessed 10 Feb 2016. | https://0-bmcpregnancychildbirth-biomedcentral-com.brum.beds.ac.uk/articles/10.1186/s12884-017-1303-y |
The current political decisions do not only affect the economy, additionally also future capital stocks and (infra-) structures are significantly influenced. Generally one should keep in mind that natural resources as well as price inflation for produced goods highly depend on the decision whether to consume now or save them for later.
One of the most important influence factors for the economical life is the government policy. The trade-off between the focus on present and future welfare (between consuming and saving) is mainly based on political decisions. Thus it is important to address the role of the government and understand how elections and voters might influence the decision of the political parties during their incumbency.
This paper describes the motivation of the politicians to influence the voters before the election takes place in order to win. Generally speaking, they use economical instruments (like the Phillips curve, aggregated demand, budgets, etc.) to increase their chance for the next election. However the usage of these instruments produces a downturn shortly after the election; the whole process is called a political business cycle.
In order to understand the problem field of political business cycles, one must look at the underlying macro-economical framework first; this could be described by different mechanisms like a budget constraint or due to the Phillips curve. Nevertheless this paper will use the Phillips curve as the underlying mechanism because it has been promoted in Nordhaus (1973) and also offers a very intuitive method to understand the mechanism. The curve itself includes the trade-off between unemployment and inflation in a society.
Based on the underlying theory this section describes the basic background of the political business cycles. Furthermore it provides the necessary background information about the Phillips curve and its mechanisms. The most important assumptions are outlined and presented in order to act as a reference for the opportunistic and partisan models (Section 3 + 4).
This paper describes both, the partisan and the rational opportunistic model in order to compare two important aspects: (a) the motivation of the parties and (b) the rational motivation of the voters. However the focus clearly lies on the rational opportunistic model.
The rest of the paper structures as following: Section 2 gives an overview about the related work, with an emphasis on optimal inflation and empirical analysis. Afterwards Section 3 describes two different approaches for opportunistic business cycles models and pinpoints the main differences between them and the classical political business cycle model from Nordhaus (1973). Section 4 describes the partisan model; finally Section 5 outlines the main findings and includes a brief discussion about the different approaches as well as critics for each of them.
In order to understand the opportunistic business cycles and the rational opportunistic model it is important to explain the two main terms “opportunistic” and “rational”.
Opportunistic behavior describes the fact that each party (each of the two in the case of the models) is interested in winning the election. Even ideologically motivated politicians will act opportunistic (as long as they know the voters preferences).
Rational behavior describes the voters’ motivation (in the rational opportunistic model). Contrary to the traditional opportunistic model, where voters do not “learn” from the politician’s behavior, the term of rationality indicates that each voter maximizes his or her individual preference function.
An opportunistic business cycle is based on the asymmetry of available information between the government (parties) and the voters. Generally speaking, one can imagine the business cycle as a repeatable effect based on the motivation of the politicians to win the election. Therefore they use their influence on the economy in order to present a status quo (towards the voters), which is better than the natural growth. In other words the incumbent party tries to push the current growth to a higher level. A negative side effect is a phase of recession after the elections that is caused due to adaptive assumptions (towards inflation and growth).
Therefore during the next period the economy will slowly stabilize until the next elections (where the incumbent party will try to push the growth again). This repeatable process is called a political business cycle.
Based on the fundamental finding of Phillips (1958), it is generally agreed that there exists a trade-off between the level of employment and the rate of inflation in an economy. Both factors are competitive; this coherence is based on the intuitive argumentation that a low unemployment rate also means a relative high demand of workers (because of the reduced amount of potential unemployed workers). Therefore the industry is less flexible towards strikes, which in the end leads to a higher than usual increase of employees’ wages.
However it is important to point out that the Phillips curve is just one possible method to model the underlying framework, a budget Generally speaking there is a stronger trade-off in the short run (mostly empirically underlined by analysing quarters of a year) compared to the long run.
The Phillips curve (PC) describes the coherence between both factors and acts as a starting point for further analysis. Figure 1 visualises the PC for unemployment and inflation.
As one can see, assuming the government has the opportunity to directly choose a point on the Phillips curve, there is still a major trade-off remaining between either a high inflation combined with a low unemployment or vice versa. With regards towards the empirical results one can see that this decision significantly influences the distribution of wealth in the society. As Alesina (1997) concludes: “an increase in unemployment reduces the income shares of the population ’ s two poorest quintiles and increases those of the two richest quintiles. Hibbs calculates that a one-year increase in the unemployment rate from 6 to 10 percent shifts about one percentage point of the income from the poorest two quintiles to the richest two”.
Therefore different parties will choose their individual optimum along the curve. Generally speaking, the left party (which is more worker oriented) will try to set a low unemployment at the cost of a high inflation, meanwhile the right party (business orientated) will tolerate a higher level of unemployment in order to reduce the inflation.
Concluding the main findings, one should also analyse a potential optimum for inflation and unemployment (party independent). This aspect will be discussed in Section 2.1.
The models of (opportunistic) political business cycles have a wide variety of related aspects in macro-economy. This section outlines the most important aspects of the related scientific approaches. Therefore Section 2.1 discusses the idea of an optimal inflation and/or unemployment rate, which includes a deeper analysis of the Phillips curve. Afterwards Section 2.2 pinpoints important aspects of related empirical approaches. Finally Section 2.3 gives a brief overview about other (minor) related aspects of election theories.
The related literature about opportunistic models includes a wide variance of different approaches that are based on Nordhaus (1973). Several authors like Cukierman and Meltzer (1986), Rogoff and Sibert (1988), Rogoff (1990) and Persson and Tabellini (1990) have slightly modified the traditional opportunistic model with consistent conclusions about the resulting business cycles. Each of their models includes the assumption of asymmetric information between government and voters.
An important assumption of the business cycle model from Nordhaus (1973) is that voters prefer a low unemployment and a high stability in prices. Nevertheless it is important to analyse if the individual preferences of the voters match a possible optimum for inflation and unemployment. As the paper of Nordhaus (1973) shows, it is also possible to calculate the optimal inflation and unemployment of a purely benevolent politician.
Empirical evidence for the business cycles as well as further results can be found in different scientific articles, such as Hibbs (1977), OECD (1970), Lindbeck (1976) and Kramer (1971). Several mayor findings will be summarized in this section in order to give an overview about empirical statistical analysis as well. One should keep in mind that due to the strong assumptions the resulting models do not accurately reflect the empirical observations. Hence it is important to address that the statistical white-noise (which is produced due to a wide variety of minor effects) has a significant influence.
Nordhaus (1973) concludes the OECD (1970) statistical findings in order to show that with regular elections a fall in the unemployment rate before the election and a rise in inflation at the same time can be shown. Two main aspects are discussed in depth: (1) the politically determined policy choice will have a lower unemployment and a higher inflation is optimal and (2) on average the left party will choose a policy with comparably more inflation and lower unemployment.
The findings were underlined by a empirical analysis of the 9 OECD countries (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden, UK and USA). Each of the countries was analyzed under the assumption that unemployment will fall before the election and inflation will rise shortly after the election (with a small delay), furthermore the rising unemployment rate after the election was also pinpointed. The statistical analysis further promoted the theory of business cycles, although one should note that the OECD countries fulfil an important set of pre-assumptions about the political stability and the influence of the government. Especially in development countries with political instability the effect of political business cycles could not be shown.
Combined with the approach of Hibbs (1977), who analysis statement (2) (the difference in unemployment and inflation rate during a left and a right party’s office time), one can clearly pinpoint that the statistical evidences also promote differences during the incumbency of left and right parties. A further discussion about a possible equilibrium for both parties is featured in Section 4, within the partisan model.
As Downs (1957) indicates, with complete information about the voters’ preferences even ideologically motivated politicians act opportunistic, because they are aware of the fact that they can only establish their ideologies as long as they are in charge. This finding is known as the convergence of the median voter theorem. Due to the motivation to maximize the chance for a victory at the next elections and therefore have a convergence of political programs, the scientific models for business cycles also include the basic assumptions of the median voter theorem.
Another minor related aspect to improve the chance of winning an election is the design of the electoral districts. The task to re-form the shape of these districts is called Gerrymandering; by reshaping the districts the incumbent party creates disadvantages for the challenger in the next election by re-allocating potential voters in order to create intelligent electoral districts. Depending on the underlying political system and the depth of the statistical data this aspect also offers a wide variety of further “improvements” to win an election.
Finally there exist several other (more recently used) techniques to improve the chance of winning an election. One of them is the technique of “broadening the base”, which describes the task to activate as many positive voters as possible (also based on statistical analysis of the deterministic factors). Alike Gerrymandering the technique can further improve the chances for a successful re-election.
As a further approach, the rational opportunistic model from Persson and Tabellini (1990) modifies the assumptions of the traditional opportunistic model from Nordhaus (1976). This Section describes the main differences in between both models; where as Section 3.1 introduces the traditional opportunistic model from Nordhaus (1973); Section 3.2 features the rational opportunistic model, which is based on Nordhaus’ approach. The most important differences concerning the assumptions are also pinpointed. Finally Section 3.3 describes the existence of the equilibrium in the rational opportunistic model and explains the reasons.
Based on the macro-economical framework Nordhaus (1973) created a political business cycle model with several assumptions. The main idea reflects the motivation of the government to win the elections in order to realize their policies. Such a behavior is called opportunistic, although one can show that even ideological orientated politicians will act opportunistic as long as they know the voters preferences. Without going to deep into the median voter theorem, Alesina (1997) quotes: “In this model (political business cycle model from Nordhaus), opportunistic policymakers can take advantage of an exploitable Phillips curve and face na ï ve voters to forget the past, ( … )”.
As long as voters act myopic (they forget about the past and refer strongly to recent events), the government can stimulate the economy immediately before each election in order to signal that the economy is doing well (temporarily). After the election a short period of recession will be the price for such a policy.
Figure 1 describes the long run Phillips curve, together with additional assumptions it is possible to show that in the short run the growth can exceed the natural limit and the economy can realize lower unemployment without (temporarily) no additional inflation. The following assumptions are based on the summary of Alesina (1997). Based on the assumptions the main mechanisms of the Nordhaus model can be pinpointed.
Assumption 1: The economy is characterized by an expectation-augmented Phillips curve.
rate of inflation. Furthermore y is the natural rate of growth and γ is a positive factor.
Why did the United Party loose the 1948 General Election? | https://m.grin.com/document/142210 |
Moshoeshoe’s research paper wins award
ROMA – DR Ramaele Moshoeshoe from the National University of Lesotho (NUL)’s Economics Department has just won the Econometric Society Africa Region’s Young Economist Best Paper Award.
Dr Moshoeshoe beat competitors from the rest of Africa.
As a reward, Dr Moshoeshoe has effectively booked his ticket as a Visiting Scholar to France.
“I will be a Visiting Scholar to the Centre for Research in Economics and Statistics (CREST), in Palaiseau, France,” Dr Moshoeshoe said.
As a bonus, his paper will also receive a fast-tracked review by the prestigious Annals of Economics and Statistics journal.
Here is the story.
The respected Econometric Society, a worldwide body promoting Econometrics, held its Africa Region international conference recently.
There are several such region-specific conferences by the Econometric Society.
“As an African scholar based in Africa, I submitted my paper to this Africa meeting of the Society,” he said.
There was a competition in this section.
Africa-based Economics Scholars within 10 years of receiving their PhD, who present at the conference would compete for the best research paper award.
Scores of scholars from all over Africa presented.
Then came the good news!
“Well, I was just interested in sharing the findings of my paper and get feedback. As for my paper being considered the best, it came as a complete surprise.”
If you have been looking at the trend, NUL students and lecturers are going head-to-head, toe-to-toe, with their international peers and they are out-competing them.
The economists amongst us are already salivating as they wait for an answer to this question, “what was this paper all about?”
Lesotho introduced free primary education (FPE) many years ago, in 2000, and phased it in grade-by-grade.
In 2012, the first cohort that benefited from this policy since it was introduced entered the NUL.
What does the available data show about its performance?
Was their performance better or worse than that of students who came before them, and who never experienced FPE policy?
That’s a hard nut to crack.
The first question is, why would an economist be interested in the first place?
Well, economists are interested in development, and human capital is critical for development.
Thus, knowing how government policies impact human capital development is a preoccupation of economists all over.
This is because how well people are trained and educated determine how productive they will be in the economy.
“We used a method called Difference-in-Differences to find the long-term impact of the said policy,” the Dr said.
At NUL, students’ academic performance is based on their year averages (Overall Weighted Average or OWM).
So these OWMs were used to determine the long-term impact of the free primary education policy on the student’s performance at the NUL.
In its simple form, the Difference-in-Differences method goes this way.
“We subtract the OWM of students who were in their second-year from the OWM of first-year students at NUL in 2012.”
Second-years were not affected by FPE in 2012.
A little bit of mathematics will make it clearer.
[OWM_f – OWM_s ]^2012, where (f) is first year and (s) is second year and 2012 is the year the students did their first year.
“Then we subtract the OWM of students who were in their second-year from the OWM of first-year students at NUL in 2010 and 2011 before FPE.”
[OWM_f – OWM_s ]^(2010-2011)
“Then we take the Difference of the Differences.”
[OWM_f – OWM_s ]^2012 – [OWM_f – OWM_s ]^(2010-2011)
If the Difference of the Differences is at or closer to zero, this would mean FPE policy did not have an impact, negative or positive.
However, if the difference is either significantly positive or negative, then the policy has some impact.
For this approach to make sense, “we had to assume that the Difference of the Differences for the years prior to 2012 were not changing and our statistical checks on the available data said as much.”
When they applied the Difference-in-Differences, they had to ensure that they were comparing apples to apples.
For instance, whether the performance by the 2012 group had improved or decreased compared to previous year could be a matter of whether the university, in 2012, selected only the best students from high school, because there was a huge number of students graduating from high school, or a host of other reasons.
“We had to check all such factors.”
So the students were compared faculty to faculty, gender to gender, district to district, age-cohort to age-cohort, and by family wealth.
The result?
The free primary cohort performed better than those who came before them by a margin of four percent.
Why?
“We don’t have enough data to make conclusions,” Dr Moshoeshoe said.
However, he said the available data shows the following things happened during the policy implementation.
(1) Lesotho’s FPE policy was implemented one year at a time, it was not a Big Bang, as it happened in other countries.
(2) This afforded government time to build more schools and (3) increase the number of teachers, which, according to the available data, led to a sharp decrease in student teacher ratio.
(4) During the same period, there was an increase in teacher qualification.
All these have been shown to positively affect student learning, and could have contributed. | https://www.thepost.co.ls/local-news/moshoeshoes-research-paper-wins-award/ |
There is an active ongoing debate between economists as to how much intervention by the government ultimately leads to lower prices in the American economy. Historical evidence suggests that government intervention more often than not paves the road to higher prices for consumers and shortages for some critical commodities. There are examples of government intervention that artificially keeps costs low: for example, regulation of electricity.
Electricity is highly regulated, and in some states, utilities have to appear before a board before rates are raised. The government sets consumer rates that the utility can charge and, in some states, guarantees a fixed return on investment to the utility. The evidence also suggests that the lack of competition in the production of electrical energy has forced suppliers to neglect critical maintenance (California is an example). Some economists suggest that the lack of competition and guarantee of a profit stymies innovation. There is little or no incentive for energy companies to begin to search for alternative sources, such as clean energy. Other economists point to the success that deregulation has on the natural gas industry, which is booming, though some of the credit for the boom goes to new technology.
A better example of how government intervention is a short-term solution and leads to eventual higher prices for consumers is the price controls implemented by President Nixon in August of 1971. President Nixon ordered a freeze on all price and wage increases in the United States even though the economy was relatively flat—not recessionary or in rapid expansion. Wildly popular with the public who were led to believe price controls would keep inflation at bay and prices low, the economic advantages were short-lived, as producers began producing less. Wages did not rise and became stagnant. In the agricultural sector, farmers quit producing, creating shortages in some parts of the country as the price fell below the cost of production.
Another example is the effort to place rent controls on residential properties by state or local governments. The idea seems sound but creates havoc in the residential housing market. If government price controls limit rent increases, the general theory is that there will then be more affordable housing on the market. The evidence suggests that the opposite is true. It is no coincidence the cities with rent controls have the most significant shortage of affordable housing. Consumers find ways to circumvent the rent controls, and the availability of affordable housing continues to decrease.
What do consumers see in healthcare and prescription drug prices? Healthcare is one of the most highly regulated industries in America. Yet prices continue to outpace inflation.The government accounts for nearly fifty percent of the total healthcare spending in the United States. While many other factors drive healthcare costs, the government's plan to reduce prescription drug prices is not working. The effort to control costs has shifted much of the burden of paying for healthcare to consumers, in the form of higher deductibles, higher out-of-pocket expenses, and higher premiums.
There are many other examples of situations where government intervention creates additional financial burdens on average consumers. To be fair, there are many examples of situations where government intervention may have helped to avoid economic disaster. Many economists will point to the cases of the success of government intervention in saving the American economy. For example, Roosevelt's New Deal is credited with getting Americans out of the Great Depression. President Bush and President Obama's injection of billions of dollars into the economy during the mortgage crisis and economic collapse of the financial industry is credited by many economists as having avoided a severe economic depression similar to the one President Roosevelt faced. There are other historical examples as well, but these two are notable, as economists generally agree on the necessity of government stimulus in the face of economic calamity. Yet, the evidence suggests any pricing decreases were from the lack of demand and not necessarily attributable to government intervention in the form of economic stimulus.
The government can and does intervene in the economy indirectly through several regulatory agencies and directly through annual spending in the federal budget. All have some impact on the pricing of products and services to consumers. Taken in whole, government intervention in the economy seldom leads to long-term reductions in consumer prices. Consumers, innovation, technology, and competition consistently result in lower costs for consumers by comparison with government efforts. However, several economists will dispute this conclusion, and there is historical evidence suggesting their position merits consideration.
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As coronavirus seriously threatens the economy, fiscal stimulus is suddenly back in the public discussion. It should never have gone away. Demand for goods and services weakens and likely falls in a recession, and fiscal policy can raise demand to needed levels. But even now, this is not fully understood.
The immediate response to coronavirus (COVID-19) needs to be around public health, and the contours of economic crisis are closely linked to how effectively the spread is mitigated. There’s no doubt the virus is wreaking serious economic damage (including but not limited to the largest stock market declines in a generation), and there’s cost to waiting before implementing more aggressive fiscal stimulus. Coronavirus will limit consumer spending as workers are forced to stay home, cancel travel, and even lose their paychecks. The new oil price war will take a toll on the nation’s oil industry. A drop in GDP of 2 percent or roughly $400 billion is entirely possible, and maybe more. There’s thus an urgent need for a minimal package of $400 billion of spending and tax cuts for families, and a case for much more. The Obama stimulus came to 5 percent of GDP in 2009, which would equal $1 trillion today. Brookings economists predict a GDP decline of 5 percent in a scenario where there are 589 coronavirus-related deaths.
The president and perhaps some of his advisers seem unaware of this need, and of the fact that the scope of the economic damage will cascade far beyond those specific industries bearing the brunt of immediate job loss. It is folly to underestimate the damage recessions can do, and how a recession takes on a life of its own. Lost jobs and a decrease in business investment have permanent consequences, not temporary ones, and they feed on each other.
Because interest rates are so low right now, reductions in rates have little stimulative impact. The Federal Reserve has wisely injected funds into the financial system to prevent a liquidity crisis, but the central bank has often been unable to stem a decline in GDP. The administration, and some in Congress, appear to fail to grasp how broad-based injections of funding for raising incomes and investments can mitigate the economic downturn. A post-coronavirus recession will last much longer without such intervention, and it has the potential to do permanent not merely temporary damage, as jobs are lost and investment curtailed.
Aside from a poorly targeted travel ban on some Europeans, Trump’s main substantive proposal has been a large cut in payroll taxes. Democrats in the House firmly resist this. Trump says payroll taxes will be distributed quickly. But in fact, payroll tax cuts help workers slowly, not immediately, and a cut would go to better off Americans more than low income workers and would do nothing for those without a paycheck. Payroll taxes are also the source of Social Security benefits, and in today’s political environment, a cut could undermine the system’s solvency.
Trump’s other loosely worded suggestions, such as making loans available to small businesses, providing modest paid sick leave, and deferring taxes do not amount to much stimulus. This has underscored the failure of the administration to quickly ramp up COVID-19 testing that could have thwarted the outbreak.
Even with the Democratic proposals, including an extension and increase in unemployment benefits, Goldman Sachs estimates that stimulative programs will come to only 0.4 percent of GDP, or $80 billion. Federal action is a matter of protecting those most susceptible, but it is also a matter of providing general demand for goods and services to minimize the fall in U.S. incomes overall.
The new compromise between the House and the Trump administration, to be voted on next week, will not likely be enough.
The new compromise between the House and the Trump administration, to be voted on next week, will not likely be enough. One reason is that fiscal policy, which involves federal intervention through tax cuts or more social spending and public investment, has been consigned to the back seat by most mainstream economists for decades now. The mainstream, which includes Republican and Democratic economists, have long argued that monetary policy—the Federal Reserve’s control over interest rates—is the policy tool of choice.
But monetary policy has often been ineffective in the past. In the early 2000s, the Fed led by Greenspan cut its target rates to 1 percent and couldn’t induce an economic recovery from a recession. In the crisis of 2008 and 2009, Fed policy could not save the economy.
Mostly, the analysts who criticized fiscal policy were “small-government” advocates. Milton Friedman had led the charge as early as the 1960s, along with his colleagues from the University of Chicago. Friedman in fact liked tax cuts because it forced the government to cut back. To these economists, more government spending was just a “deadweight loss” to the economy. In their minds, only the private economy could induce growth. Sadly, many Democratic economists eventually bought the argument, in light of anti-government ideology and exaggerated fears over budget deficits.
The real untold history is that in emergencies, fiscal policy came to the rescue. Fiscal policy was the brainchild of John Maynard Keynes, who did his seminal work in the 1930s, but was dismissed by Friedman and his followers. When push came to shove, their conservative ideology was set aside, however, and fiscal policy was called upon to rescue the economy. President Bush ordered a tax cut in the early 2000s and sent money to individuals, President Obama’s $800 billion stimulus brought the nation out of steep recession in 2009 and eased the losses of income to millions of Americans.
Ronald Reagan’s sharp tax cuts in the early 1980s was really a form of Keynesianism, if an excessive one. Even in 2009, the Obama spending package stimulus was limited by Republican fears of a rising deficit. The compromise was to adopt unnecessary tax cuts as part of the package. But the 2009 Recovery Act worked to pull the U.S. out of the deepest recession since the 1930s.
In 2016, the argument among Democratic economists began to support fiscal policy more explicitly. The Princeton economist Alan Blinder wrote a long history praising fiscal policies for the Brooking Institution. Jason Furman, the head of Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, wrote a piece that year which more boldly declared the need for fiscal policies should add more.
One of the advantages of fiscal policy is that it can be injected quickly into the economy. That is the priority at the moment. The severity of recessions has rarely announced themselves ahead of time, and few economists have accurately predicted one.
Compounding matters, because the coronavirus has spread so quickly, it has not yet shown up in hard data about the U.S. economy. But it will soon, and the nation cannot wait for a government response.
There are automatic stabilizers that will serve as stimulus. As people lose jobs, unemployment insurance payments will increase. As individuals and businesses see profits fall, they will owe less in taxes. Medicaid payments will rise as more people fall into poverty. Food stamp payments should also rise.
Some useful new policies are obvious. Federal mandated paid sick days is one, though Republicans have objected to sensible mandates proposed. Subsidies to corporations to give employees furloughs is another. Importantly, an extension and increase of unemployment benefits should be high on the list. Aid to states to shore up spending on Medicaid and education would make sure those stabilizers work the best.
Some say micro policies are needed, aimed at industries or certain kinds of workers, but this is a more serious recessionary outlook than bad news for some industries or small groups of citizens. More imagination and public discourse is needed. Italy has suspended mortgage payments, for example. Suspension of rents may also make sense.
Jason Furman would give $1,000 to each American and another $500 for each child. George W. Bush did something similar. This would cover all kinds of Americans, from union members to gig workers to those who have no jobs. It also can be spent right away to support the economy.
In his 2016 piece, Furman also argues that it may make sense to have long-term fiscal stimulus to support growth and investment. This may be the best opportunity for Congress to adopt an aggressive infrastructure policy, something Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) has suggested to the president.
And what of the budget deficit? Odds are far higher that fiscal stimulus will induce more growth and higher tax revenues than tax cuts will. At this point, such policies may well reduce the deficit. Tax cuts will be much less beneficial.
Stale ideological arguments are suppressing needed emergency intervention in the economy. As hard evidence of recession becomes apparent soon, Congress and even the White House may see the light. We will see more next week when Congress votes on a new package. But by then the damage will be underway. | https://tcf.org/content/commentary/nation-now-needs-fiscal-stimulus/ |
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Why didn't Keynesian theory provide successful solutions to the German economy where unemployment currently around 14%?© BrainMass Inc. brainmass.com October 9, 2019, 4:32 pm ad1c9bdddf
https://brainmass.com/economics/economic-growth/consider-keynesian-theory-35384
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WHY DIDN'T KEYNESIAN ECONOMICS NOT PROVIDE SUCCESSFUL SOLUTION TO THE GERMAN UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM
The Keynesian theory stating that active government intervention in the marketplace and monetary policy is the best method of ensuring economic growth and stability.
However: A some supporters of Keynesian economics believes it is the government's job to smooth out the bumps in business cycles. Intervention would come in the form of government spending and tax breaks in order to stimulate the economy, and government spending cuts and tax hikes in good times, in order to curb inflation.
The German economy is now in the grip of a technical recession. Real capital investment fell by 4% in 2001, consumer spending is static leading to substantial de-stocking by German industry. Export growth declined sharply from 5.6% in 2000 to just 1.6% in 2001 - contributing to a sharp fall in industrial production last year. Manufacturing output was falling at an annual rate of 4.4% in the first quarter of 2002 leading to heavy job losses in German industry. Gerhard Schroder is unlikely to achieve his election target of cutting German unemployment below 3.5%. And this problem makes it more difficult to introduce additional labour market reforms designed to increase the flexibility of the domestic German economy.
To most economists they are practicing Keynesian economics, with the alteration of promoting demand side for investment and upper income consumption, that there is nothing to distinguish "Supply-Side Economics" from ordinary borrowing to finance present budget deficits.
Between February 1994 and April 1996, the German Bundesbank gradually eased
interest rates. The discount rate dipped from 5.25 percent to 2.5 percent and the marginal
lending facility (Lombard) rate descended from 6.75 percent to 4.5 percent. These
relatively favorable interest rates remained unchanged until January 1999 (i.e., for more
than two and one-half years), when the transition to the single European currency took
place. The relatively low and stable interest rates did little to stimulate the German
labor market.
The second main part of a Keynesian policy-maker's theoretical apparatus was the Phillips curve. This curve, which was more of an empirical observation than a theory, indicated that increased employment, and decreased unemployment, implied increased inflation. Keynes had only predicted that falling unemployment would cause a higher price, not a higher inflation rate. Thus, the economist could use the IS-LM model to predict, for example, that an increase in the money supply would raise output and employment -- and then use the Phillips curve to predict an increase in inflation.
More than 5.2 million Germans were out of work in February, new figures show.
The figure of 5.216 million people, or 12.6% of the working-age population, is the highest jobless rate in Europe's biggest economy since the 1930s.
The news comes as the head of Germany's panel of government economic advisers predicted growth would again stagnate.
Speaking on German TV, Bert Ruerup said the panel's earlier forecast of 1.4% was too optimistic and warned growth would be just 1% in 2005.
"Do something!"
The growth warning triggered anger even from government supporters, who said the Social Democrat-Green administration of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder had to do more.
"We are not going to create more jobs with growth of 1%," Harald Schartau, head of the Social Democrats in the northern state of North Rhine-Westphalia, told ZDF television.
"We say to our friends in Berlin, you have to persevere and create more impulse for growth."
Many German newspapers had the figures a day ahead, splashing them with angry headlines on Tuesday morning.
The mass-market Bild tabloid used red type to splash the phrase, "Do something!" across its front page.
The strength of Keynesianism's influence can be seen by the wave of conservative economists which began in the late 1940s with Milton Friedman. Instead of rejecting macro-measurements and macro-models of the economy, they embraced the techniques of treating the entire economy as having a supply and demand equilibrium. But unlike the Keynesians, they argued that the "crowding out" effects discussed above would hobble or deprive fiscal policy of its positive effect. Instead, the focus should be on monetary policy, which was largely ignored by early Keynesians. This monetarism had both an ideological appeal -- since monetary policy does not, at least on the surface, imply as much government intervention the economy. The monetarist critique pushed Keynesians toward a more balanced view of monetary policy, and inspired a wave of revisions to Keynesian theory.
Slower growth always hurts government finances. The German budget balance as a share of GDP increased to 2.5% in 2001 - stretching the limits placed by the Fiscal ...
Solution Summary
Keynesian theory is debated. The successful solutions to the German economy where unemployment currently around 14% is examined. | https://brainmass.com/economics/economic-growth/consider-keynesian-theory-35384 |
The Consequences of Feudalism and Manorialism in Medieval Times
The political, economic and social structure of the medieval society, especially medieval Europe is characterized by two important aspects, feudalism and manorialism.
Prashant Magar
Last Updated: Mar 1, 2018
The medieval society was a hierarchical system, where the king or the monarch was the supreme authority, the independent clergy served by a powerful nobility and followed by the vassals. These consisted of the peasants, laborers, and the soldiers forming the lowest strata of the medieval society. Feudalism and manorialism, are in fact, deeply inter-related concepts. The social structure, in which the king allots a gift in the form of a land and complete authority to a lord, to govern and rule an area, in exchange for the services such as defense, agriculture and allied services is the feudal system. These services are provided by the general population of the region consisting of the peasants, knights and the poor people, whose lives are dictated by the feudal lords and the clergy.
Manorialism refers to the social interaction system that existed between these lords and the dependent population like the soldiers, serfs and laborers, with regards to their daily life and survival. The term was coined from the service and allegiance of these vassals to the manors or the palatial houses owned by the feudal lords. Although, both of them refer to the same concept, there are certain differences.
The difference between them is analogous to the difference between the practice of a system and the economic and commercial aspects of that system. Simply put, manorialism can be considered as a subset of feudalism . Both these aspects are specifically understood as a mutual give-and-take relation between social classes, starting from the lowest class to the king.
The serfs worked on the fields and did all the hard labor like working for the upkeep of the manors and allied activities. In return, they were offered certain wages and protection by knights or the lords. The knights, who served the lords militarily for defending and gaining territories, in turn got rewards and titles from the feudal lords, who got that from the king. As mentioned before, they protected the serfs too, which ensured the lords, loyalty and taxes from them. The vassals formed the slightly higher class, between the lords and the knights, who enlisted the services of the knights and provided them with perks accordingly.
The lords provided lands to the knights and ensured their support to the kingdom. This was the most powerful and privileged class of the society, more dominant in Europe, than elsewhere. They received services and taxes from all the lower classes, in return for their confidence and rewards. The king, on whose behalf the lords provided lands and privileges, was the final authority, but became a mere titular head with all the prerogatives, in the later years of feudalism.
The economic aspect of feudalism was more in focus for the relation between the lords and the vassals the majority class. The life of a serf or a labor was tied to the manor or revolved around the manor. They were entitled to very few privileges, which were at the discretion of the lord or the manorial house they served. In return for their services, the lord offered them a 'chance' to lead independent lives, but at their mercy. They were also offered protection from invading powers and the right to earn their livelihood, by serving the manor and its occupants. This economic dependency was deeply ingrained in the rural society all over Europe. Thus, manorialism was a 'systematic hardship' imposed on the poor, helpless and the downtrodden people, who were subjected to frequent land grabbing by foreign invasion, slavery and other forms of economic hardship in the middle ages in Europe.
England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain were the major countries where feudalism and manorialism was imposed and later, quite rampant. It led to future revolutions, armed struggle and also laid the foundation of the evolution of modern values in human history. | https://historyplex.com/feudalism-manorialism |
What did the nobility do before the French Revolution?
Industrious nobles
Like aristocrats everywhere, many French nobles worked to accumulate wealth and expand their power and influence. Before the 1700s, it was considered demeaning for noblemen to engage in any form of trade or commerce. It was even possible to be stripped of one’s noble titles for working (dérogeance).
What were some of the advantages that the nobility had?
In the earliest ages, the privileges referred to vast land ownership titles and political influence. Nobility was a prerogative for having access to high state functions and power. Nowadays, a title of nobility is mostly honorary. The privileges such a title can grant are related to social respect and status.
What’s the purpose of nobility?
The nobles’ place in society was essentially to function as middle-men between the peasants and the royal family. Nobles provided work, land, and protection to the peasants while providing funding, supplies, and military service to the king.
Why did Napoleon give out titles of nobility?
As Emperor of the French, Napoleon I created titles of nobility to institute a stable elite in the First French Empire, after the instability resulting from the French Revolution. Napoleon also established a new knightly order in 1802, the Légion d’honneur, which is still in existence today.
How was France before the French Revolution?
Before the Revolution
France was a monarchy ruled by the king. The king had total power over the government and the people. The people of France were divided into three social classes called “estates.” The First Estate was the clergy, the Second Estate was the nobles, and the Third Estate was the commoners.
What happened in France before the French Revolution?
Before the French Revolution, French society was structured on the relics of feudalism, in a system known as the Estates System. … In contrast, the clergy and the nobility controlled the majority of the land in France and held all of the important positions in the government, military and church.
What privileges did the French nobility have?
Nobles were also granted an exemption from paying the taille, except for non-noble lands they might possess in some regions of France. Furthermore, certain ecclesiastic, civic, and military positions were reserved for nobles. These feudal privileges are often termed droits de féodalité dominante.
What type of advantage was provided to clergy and nobility explain?
Some privileges enjoyed by the clergy and nobility are: They are not liable to pay taxes to the government. Third estate or the peasants provide services to them. They collect tax and levies from the third estate parties that is, the peasants for tithes.
Does France still have nobility?
The French nobility today
There are roughly 4,000 noble families that remain in France today, with anywhere between 50,000-100,000 individuals who could be considered noble. Surprisingly, this is about the same amount of nobles as in the late 18th century before the French Revolution occurred.
What are noble titles?
Order of English Noble Titles
- King/Queen.
- Prince/Princess.
- Duke/Duchess.
- Marquess/Marchioness.
- Earl/Countess.
- Viscount/Viscountess.
- Baron/Baroness.
- See more hereditary western european titles of nobility.
How are noble titles given?
The five possible titles, ranked from highest to lowest, are: duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron for men; duchess, marchioness, countess, viscountess, and baroness for women. … Dukes and duchesses are generally addressed as “Your Grace,” while all others Peers are addressed as “My Lord” or “My Lady.”
What is a noble quality?
1 : having, showing, or coming from personal qualities that people admire (such as honesty, generosity, courage, etc.) He was a man of noble character.
How did Napoleon help France out of the French Revolution?
Q: How did Napoleon support the French Revolution? Napoleon created the lycée system of schools for universal education, built many colleges, and introduced new civic codes that gave vastly more freedom to the French than during the Monarchy, thus supporting the Revolution.
How did Napoleon improve France’s cities and towns?
How did Napoleon improve France’s cities and towns? He ordered the building of new roads, canals & bridges. Invested money in improving the image of France’s capital, Paris.
How did Napoleon’s military career help him become powerful in France?
After seizing political power in France in a 1799 coup d’état, he crowned himself emperor in 1804. Shrewd, ambitious and a skilled military strategist, Napoleon successfully waged war against various coalitions of European nations and expanded his empire. | https://unevacanceenfrance.com/tourist-assistance/frequent-question-what-benefits-did-having-a-title-of-nobility-give-you-in-france-before-the-revolution.html |
What do you call a lower class person?
What do you call a lower class person?
other words for lower class proletariat. working class. commonalty. hoi polloi. lower orders.
What does Amis mean in German?
Ami is derived from Amerikaner, but it specifically refers to people from the United States, including US soldiers in Germany. Also, more so than Amerikaner, it can be used in compounds (eg ein echter Ami-Wagen), but by itself it almost always refers to people — one does not hear einen Ami fahren referring to a car.
How would you describe lower class?
a class of people below the middle class, having the lowest social rank or standing due to low income, lack of skills or education, and the like. (broadly) working class.
Is it rude to say lower class?
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English ˌlower ˈclass noun [countable] (also lower classes [plural]) old-fashioned the social class that has less money, power, or education than anyone else. This is now considered offensive.
What is a nice way to say poor?
1 needy, indigent, necessitous, straitened, destitute, penniless, poverty-stricken.
What can I say instead of lower class?
lower-class
- baseborn,
- common,
- humble,
- ignoble,
- inferior,
- low,
- low-life,
- lowborn,
What means peasant?
1 : a member of a European class of persons tilling the soil as small landowners or as laborers This land was farmed by peasants for centuries. also : a member of a similar class elsewhere. 2 : a usually uneducated person of low social status They treated us like a bunch of peasants.
What is a peasant woman?
a a member of a class of low social status that depends on either cottage industry or agricultural labour as a means of subsistence. b (as modifier) peasant dress. 2 Informal a person who lives in the country; rustic. 3 Informal an uncouth or uncultured person.
What’s lower than a peasant?
Peasants, Serfs and Farmers Peasants were the poorest people in the medieval era and lived primarily in the country or small villages. Serfs were the poorest of the peasant class, and were a type of slave. Lords owned the serfs who lived on their lands.
Do peasants still exist?
There are still peasants, and they constitute a very active international community.
Is it rude to call someone a peasant?
In a colloquial sense, “peasant” often has a pejorative meaning that is therefore seen as insulting and controversial in some circles, even when referring to farm laborers in the developing world.
Is Peasant a bad word?
Peasant means farmer. It is sometimes used to mean villager. So technically, it is neither positive nor negative. However, it has been used to insult people by showing them that they’re common/poor/not sophisticated.
Could a peasant become a lord?
Peasants were called the lord’s “villeins”, which was like a servant. Under the feudal system land was granted to people for service. It started at the top with the king granting his land to a baron for soldiers all the way down to a peasant getting land to grow crops.
How much did serfs get paid?
The serfs also had to pay taxes and fees. The Lord decided how much taxes they would pay from how much land the serf had, usually 1/3 of their value. They had to pay fees when they got married, had a baby, or there was a war. Money was not very common then, so usually they paid by giving food instead of money.
Is a Lord higher than a Sir?
Sir is used to address a man who has the rank of baronet or knight; the higher nobles are referred to as Lord.
What is higher than a peasant?
Bishops being the highest and the wealthiest who would be considered noble followed by the priest, monks, then Nuns who would be considered in any class above peasants and serfs.
What did peasants do for fun?
People often came here to play games, to drink, to work on chores, or tell stories. Some played games such as skittles, which is like modern bowling. Occasionally, actors might come to town and put on plays and dramas. People also met here to enjoy holidays.
What did peasants spend most of their doing?
For peasants, daily medieval life revolved around an agrarian calendar, with the majority of time spent working the land and trying to grow enough food to survive another year. Each peasant family had its own strips of land; however, the peasants worked cooperatively on tasks such as plowing and haying.
What’s a vassal?
Vassal, in feudal society, one invested with a fief in return for services to an overlord. Some vassals did not have fiefs and lived at their lord’s court as his household knights. Certain vassals who held their fiefs directly from the crown were tenants in chief and formed the most important feudal group, the barons.
Who is a vassal to the Lord?
A lord was in broad terms a noble who held land, a vassal was a person who was granted possession of the land by the lord, and a fief was what the land was known as. In exchange for the use of the fief and the protection of the lord, the vassal would provide some sort of service to the lord.
Is a vassal a knight?
Sometimes knights were vassals but also did not have to be. Vassals also provided equipment for knights. ( clothes, weapons). Knights were mounted soldiers who fought against any enemies or invaders and also payed allegiance to the king to try their best and protect the land.
What did the vassal give the Lord?
Vassals gave their support and loyalty to their lords in exchange for a fief, a piece of land. If a vassal gained enough land, he could give some to other knights and become a lord himself.
Which best describes the homes in which peasants lived?
Which best describes the homes in which peasants lived? The homes housed both people and animals. What brought an end to the system of serf labor?
What was a typical manor like?
What was a typical manor like? Large house/castle, pastures, fields and forest with peasants working on it. The serfs probably didn’t like the manor system because they were treated like slaves.
Are vassals Nobles?
What are the 4 levels of feudalism?
The feudal system was just like an ecosystem – without one level, the entire system would fall apart. The hierarchies were formed up of 4 main parts: Monarchs, Lords/Ladies (Nobles), Knights, and Peasants/Serfs. Each of the levels depended on each other on their everyday lives.
Can the same person be a lord and a vassal?
Nobles can be both lord and vassal. Nobility was generally granted on feudal rights on a land. If a noble (noble 1) that have, for example, feudal rights on a big land (land A) gives feudal rights on a smaller part of this land (land A1) to another noble (noble 2), the latter becomes his vassal.
Can a person be a lord and a vassal?
At its core, it was an agreement between a lord and a vassal. A person became a vassal by pledging political allegiance and providing military, political, and financial service to a lord. If a lord acted in the service of a king, the lord was considered a vassal of the king. | https://easierwithpractice.com/what-do-you-call-a-lower-class-person/ |
# The Russian Tax Debate of 1870–1871
The Russian Tax Debate of 1870–1871 was a debate between the Russian central government and the Zemstva about replacing the newest soul tax policy with an income tax.
## Soul tax
In 1725, a tax policy was created by Czar Peter the Great called the "soul tax". Land was awarded based on the number of factors or "economic units" a household had: this could include a 'tyaglo' (man and wife pair), 'soul' (adult male), 'worker' (adult male or female), or 'eater' (household member of any age). Before 1861, the tyaglo tended to be only on private estates and the 'soul' on state land. The idea continued to grow after the serfs were freed from the land, but an adult male counted for two souls. These ideas were very similar, and a Russian male mainly looked for a partner that could not only work in the fields, but help the household with fiscal obligations as well.
The "soul tax" applied to alcohol and salt, and also included a head tax on Russian men. This created an issue because most of the consumers of salt and alcohol were among the peasantry. Therefore, petty merchants were directly affected by both forms of the tax, whereas the higher classes in the Russian economic ladder were untouched by the indirect tax and only had to worry about the head tax.
In 1725, half of state revenues came from the soul tax, although a century later that number dropped to 30 percent. By 1856, the alcohol taxes outweighed the direct tax, by 36 percent to 20 percent of revenues.
Due to a financial crisis in the 1870s, peasants were forced to pay higher taxes. Clergy and nobles were also taxed in order to close the deficit, leading the government to reform their policies.
On May 26, 1870 the Committee of Ministers recommended printing the commission's proposal and distributing it to the local governors, who would then show it to their respective zemstva (local governments instituted during the great liberal reforms by Alexander II of Russia) for consideration.
On June 10 of that year, Alexander II confirmed this recommendation; two days later a proposal was sent to the governors along with a circular from the Minister of Finance.
During the preceding three years, peasants had paid an average of 286,000 rubles in state taxes for local needs versus 440,000 rubles for the new approach, more than a 50 percent increase.
## Zemstvo Congress of 1871
Various proposals circulated in the zemstvo committees, trying to frame appropriate responses to the central government's taxation plan.
The Tambov commission favored property taxes on land and homes plus a per capita assessment on adult workers. Committees in other provinces gravitated toward a graduated income tax to be levied on the entire population, while still other committees tried to combine income taxes on the merchants and other targets on the peasants and nobility, so as to reduce the strain on peasant merchants that had existed under the old tax reforms.
## The Imperial Decision
The congress lasted three days, from March 15 to 17, 1871, and the government dropped its proposal to replace the soul tax with other assessments. Although it was not completely eliminated until 1887 under other economic circumstances, the idea of income tax gained favor in the central government. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Russian_Tax_Debate_of_1870%E2%80%931871 |
In 1789, the French Revolution was erupted and marked in the history of human struggles for freedom and equality. It challenged and overthrew the older society and strengthened the state that aimed to represent the people's will. The revolution brought changes, not only in French society but also throughout European society. India was influenced by the ideas generated during this revolution, i.e., liberty, fraternity, and equality. Some of the major aspects of this revolution are given below –
I. The Division of Feudal Estates: The French society was divided into “feudal estates”. It was divided into three estates. Estates mean a system of stratification found in feudal European societies whereby one section or estate is distinguished from the other in terms of status, privileges and restrictions according to that estate.
a. First Estate: It consisted of the clergy, which stratified into higher clergy such as cardinal, the archbishops, the bishops and the abbots. They lived a luxurious life and gave little attention to religion. Some of them preferred the life of politics to religion and spent much of their time in wasteful activities like drinking, gambling, etc. In comparison to the higher clergy, the lower parish priests were overworked and poverty-stricken.
b. Second Estate: It consisted of the ability. There were two kinds of nobles, i.e.
i. Nobles of the sword - Nobles of the sword were big landlords. They were the protectors of the people in principle but in reality, they led a life of a parasite, living off the hard work of the peasants. They led the life of pomp and show and were nothing more than ‘high born wastrels’; that is, they spent extravagantly and did not work themselves. They can be compared to the erstwhile zamindars in India.
ii. Nobles of the robe - Nobles of the robe were not by birth but by title. They were the magistrates and judges. Among these nobles, some were very progressive and liberal as they had moved in their positions from common citizens who belonged to the third estate.
c. Third Estate: It comprised the rest of the society were peasants, the merchants, the artisans and others. There was a vast difference between the condition of the peasants and that of the clergy and the nobility. The peasants worked day and night in the production of food for the whole society but were overloaded with so many taxes that they lived a hand to mouth existence. Yet they could barely survive due to the failure of any kind of protection from the government. Since the poor peasants had no power against them, i.e., clergy and the nobility, they continued to exploit the poor and kept on pampering and flattering the King.
II. Political Aspects of French society: French also maintain the theory of the divine right of king. Bourbon Dynasty ruled France for about 200 years. The people had no personal rights. King’s word was law and no other trials were required to arrest a person on the king’s orders. Laws too were different in different regions giving rise to confusion and arbitrariness. There was no distinction between the income of the state and the income of the King.
III. The war with Britain for an independent America: Another cause was the state's effective bankruptcy due to the enormous cost of previous wars, particularly the financial strain caused by French participation in the American Revolutionary War. France's inefficient and antiquated financial system was unable to manage the national debt, which was both caused and aggravated by the burden of an inadequate system of taxation. Meanwhile, the royal court at Versailles was seen as being isolated from and indifferent to the lower classes' hardships.
IV. Economic Aspects of French society: the war was very expensive which ruined the country at the time of the king of France from Louis XIV. Louis died in 1715. France became bankrupt. Louis XV Instead of recovering money from bankers borrows money. Louis XVI, a very weak and ineffective king, inherited the ruin of a bankrupt government. His wife, Queen Marie Antoinette, known for her expensive habits, is famous for her reply, which she gave to France's poor, hungry people who came to her asking for bread. She told the people that, ‘if you don’t have bread, eat cake’.
V. Intellectual Developments in France: In the 18th century France entered the age of reason and rationalism. Philosophers like Montesquieu (1689-1755), Locke (1632-1704), Voltaire (1694-1778) and Rousseau (1712-1778), whose ideas influenced the French people, believed in the true things which were proved by reason.
a. Montesquieu believed in the theory of the separation of powers and the liberty of the individuals.
b. According to Locke, that any ruler who looks away from these rights from his people should be removed from the seat of power and replaced by another ruler who can protect these rights.
c. According to Voltaire, religious toleration and freedom of speech is very essential for individuals, for freedom of speech and expression.
d. Rousseau believed that people can develop their personalities best only under a government that is of their own choice.
The major ideas of these and several other intellectuals struck the imagination of the French people. Also, some of them who had served in the French army, which was sent to assist the Americans in their War of Independence from British imperialism, came back with the ideas of equality of individuals and their right to choose their own government. The French middle class was deeply affected by these ideas of liberty and equality. | https://www.sociologylens.in/2021/05/french-revolution.html |
Third Estate French Revolution Essays
Before the revolution French society was divided into three estates or orders. By far the largest of these was the Third Estate. It contained around 27 million people or 98 percent of the nation. The Third Estate contained every French commoner: those who did not possess a noble title and those not ordained by the church. As might be expected in such a large group, the Third Estate had considerable diversity. It contained many different classes and levels of wealth; many different professions and ideas; rural, provincial and urban residents alike. Members of the Third Estate ranged from lowly beggars and struggling peasants to urban artisans and labourers; from the shopkeepers and commercial middle classes to the nation’s wealthiest merchants and capitalists. Despite its enormous size and economic importance, the Third Estate was politically disregarded and economically exploited by the Ancien Régime. The frustrations, grievances and sufferings of the Third Estate ultimately gave rise to the French Revolution.
Peasants were at the bottom of the Third Estate’s social hierarchy. Peasant farmers comprised between 82 and 88 percent of the population and were the nation’s poorest social class. Though levels of wealth varied, even within the peasantry, it is reasonable to suggest that most French peasants were poor. A very small percentage of peasants owned land in their own right, so were able to live independently as yeoman farmers. The vast majority, however, were either feudal tenants, métayers (tenant sharecroppers who worked someone else’s land) or journaliers (day labourers who sought work wherever they could find it). Whatever their situation, all peasants were heavily taxed by the state. If they were feudal tenants, peasants were also required to pay dues to their local seigneur or lord. If they belonged to a parish, as most did, they were expected to pay an annual tithe to the church. These obligations were seldom relaxed during difficult periods such as poor harvests, so many peasants were pushed to the brink of starvation.
Other members of the Third Estate lived and worked in towns and cities. The 18th century was a period of industrial and urban growth in France, yet most French cities remained relatively small. There were only nine cities with a population exceeding 50,000 people; Paris, with around 650,000 people, was by far the largest. Commoners in towns and cities made their living as either skilled artisans or unskilled workers. Artisans worked in industries like textiles and clothing manufacture, upholstery and furniture, clock making, locksmithing, leather goods, carriage making and repair, carpentry and masonry. A few artisans operated their own business but most worked for large firms or employers. Before doing business or gaining employment, an artisan had to first belong to the guild that managed and regulated his particular industry. Unskilled labourers worked as servants, cleaners, haulers, water carriers, washerwomen, hawkers – anything that did not require training or membership of a guild. Many Parisians, perhaps as many as 80,000 people, had no job at all; they survived by begging, scavenging, petty crime and prostitution.
The lives of urban workers, both skilled and unskilled, became increasingly difficult in the 1780s. Parisian workers toiled for meagre wages: between 30 and 60 sous a day for skilled labourers and between 15 and 20 sous a day for the unskilled. Wages had risen by around 20 percent in the 25 years before 1789, however prices and rents had increased by 60 percent in the same period. The poor harvests of 1788-89 pushed Parisian workers to the brink by driving up bread prices. In early 1789 the price of a four-pound loaf of bread increased from nine sous to 14.5 sous, almost a full day’s pay for most unskilled labourers. Low pay and high prices were compounded by miserable living conditions in Paris. Accommodation in the capital was so scarce that workers and their families crammed into shared attics and dirty tenements, most rented from unscrupulous landlords. With rents running at several sous a day, most workers economised by sharing accommodation. Many rooms housed between six and ten people, though 12 to 15 per room was not unknown. Conditions in these tenements were cramped, unhygienic and uncomfortable. There was no heating, plumbing or common ablutions; the toilet facilities were usually an outside cesspit or open sewer, while water was fetched by hand from communal wells.
Not all members of the Third Estate were impoverished. At the apex of the Third Estate’s social hierarchy was the bourgeoisie, or capitalist middle classes. The bourgeoisie were business owners and professionals who had acquired enough wealth to live comfortably. There was also diversity within their ranks. The so-called petit bourgeoisie (‘petty’ or ‘small bourgeoisie‘) were small-scale traders, landlords, shopkeepers and managers. The haute bourgeoisie (‘high bourgeoisie‘) were wealthy merchants and traders, colonial landholders, industrialists, bankers and financiers, tax farmers and trained professionals like doctors and lawyers. The bourgeoisie flourished during the 1700s, on the back of France’s economic growth, modernisation, increased production, imperial expansion and foreign trade. The haute bourgeoisie rose from the middle classes to become independently wealthy, well educated and ambitious. As their wealth increased, so did their desire for social status and political representation. Many bourgeoisie craved entry into the Second Estate. They had enough money to acquire the costumes, trappings and grand residences of the noble classes, however, they lacked their titles, privileges and prestige. The wealthiest of the bourgeoisie could buy their way into the nobility through venal offices, though by the 1780s this was becoming frightfully expensive.
The thwarted social and political ambitions of the bourgeoisie gave rise to considerable frustration. The haute bourgeoisie had become the economic masters of the nation, yet government and policy were the exclusive domains of the royal court and its noble favourites. Many educated bourgeoisie found solace in Enlightenment tracts, which challenged the foundation of monarchical power and argued that government should be representative, accountable and based on popular sovereignty. When Emmanuel Sieyes published What is the Third Estate? in January 1789, it struck a chord with the self-important bourgeoisie, who believed they were entitled to a hand in government. What is the Third Estate? was not the only expression of this idea; there was a flood of similar pamphlets and essays around the nation in early 1789. When these documents spoke of the Third Estate, however, they referred chiefly to the bourgeoisie – not to France’s 22 million rural peasants, its landless labourers or its urban workers. When the bourgeoisie dreamed of representative government, it was a government that represented the propertied classes only. The peasants and urban workers were politically invisible to the bourgeoisie – just as the bourgeoisie was itself politically invisible to the Ancien Régime.
1. The Third Estate contained around 27 million people or 98 percent of the nation. This included every French person who did not have a noble title or was not ordained in the church.
2. The rural peasantry made up the largest portion of the Third Estate. Most peasants worked the land as feudal tenants or sharecroppers and were required to pay a range of taxes, tithes and feudal dues.
3. A much smaller contingent of the Third Estate were skilled and unskilled urban workers in cities like Paris. They were poorly paid, lived in difficult conditions and were pressured by rising food prices.
4. At the pinnacle of the Third Estate was the bourgeoisie: successful business owners who ranged from the comfortable middle class to extremely wealthy merchants and landowners.
5. Regardless of their property and wealth, members of the Third Estate were subject to inequitable taxation and were politically disregarded by the Ancien Régime. This exclusion contributed to rising revolutionary sentiment in the late 1780s.
This page was written by Jennifer Llewellyn and Steve Thompson. To reference this page, use the following citation:
J. Llewellyn and S. Thompson, “The Third Estate”, Alpha History, accessed [today’s date], http://alphahistory.com/frenchrevolution/third-estate/.
The French Revolution had many causes. According to the historian, French people revolted because they were, "intelligent, free, and prosperous to be critical of the existing conditions." In other words, this historian is saying that the people of France knew what was going on in their country. I agree with this historian and this quote. There were conditions that existed in France the people were aware of. The ideas of the Enlightenment, social classes, and tax system contributed to the French Revolution.
The French Revolution was based mostly on the Third Estate's desire to obtain liberty and equality. The third estate (made up ninety-eight percent of the population) was the people who wanted to be equal to the nobles and clergy. The clergy and nobles made up the First and Second Estate. They first two estates had overruling power in the government than the Third Estate. This was one of the reasons of the Storm of Bastille. They were knowledgeable of the 'existing conditions.' The social class was the main thing separating the people of France.
There was a lack of social mobility also, causing people to be based on lineage, rather than wealth. The people of the Third Estate were also being treated unfairly and unjustly. The tax system was another contribution of the revolution. The nobles and clergy would tax the rest of the people by voting. Since the people were divided into sections, each section would count as one vote, despite the fact that the First and Second Estate was only made up of two percent of the population. Also, the nobles and clergy were usually exempt from paying the taxes.
This made the people angry. The tax system resulted in the Tennis Court Oath. Members of the Third Estates met there to gather and talk about the problems. The last contribution to the French Revolution was the ideas of the Enlightenment. The bourgeoisie had learned to read and write about the teachings of Locke, Rousseau, and Montesquieu. Most of them had the basic idea, to have a limited or constitutional monarchy.
Montesquieu even went as far as to divide the government into three sections. The people looked at the American Revolution also. They started to put down the idea of Devine right. They used reason and logic to figure these things out.
The French Revolution had many causes. The people were 'intelligent and free to the existing conditions.' I agreed with this historian. This quote can directly relate to other revolutions also. This is why I agree with that quote.
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Last month concerned citizens rallied in Olympia in solidarity with protestors in fifty state capitals. We had hoped to convince electors to vote their conscience. In light of all that has passed since then, it seems naïve to have hoped they might step out of the party line.
Those who lived through the rise of Hitler see history repeating itself. As a student of history, I looked back even further. When Trump bragged, “I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters,” I thought of the Latin phrase, agere et pati, ‘to act and to endure,’ a perfect description of medieval society.
Bodiam Castle, East Sussex.
There’s a striking parallel between our current social order and that of the Middle Ages, in which the wealthy ruling class acted and peasants endured. Peasants made up ninety percent of the population. Lords squeezed serfs for taxes plus three days of unpaid work per week. The church exacted two more unpaid workdays, and a compulsory tithe, 10% of their income, forcing peasants to live hand to mouth. Nobility had the power of life and death over them, while the church tortured and executed dissenters. Protest was not an option.
Traitors Gate, Tower of London. They go in, but they don’t come out.
Like Trump and the GOP, the nobility and the church had their snits, but mostly they scratched each other’s back. Nobles gave financial support to the church, and the church justified the social order by declaring it God’s will that nobles should possess all the wealth and power, and God’s will that peasants and serfs should live to serve them.
To cement the pact, the church placed highborn second sons into powerful positions in its own hierarchy. This artful deal resulted in feudal nobility with an iron grip on peasants, and peasants who were taught from birth to endure their sorry lot and wait obediently for their reward in Heaven. Nothing changed for centuries.
Burying plague victims.
It took the Black Death to upset the fruit basket. The plague hit Europe in 1347, killing half the population over the next five years. With the workforce so reduced, nobles hadn’t the manpower to till their fields or chase down runaway serfs. Surviving peasants finally had some choice about whom to work for, and could demand decent wages or leave, maybe even to learn a trade in the city. At last upward mobility was possible, and the middle class got a toehold in society.
Thirty-five years later, in 1381, to pay for its pricey Hundred Years War with France, the English government imposed its fourth Poll (per head) Tax in four years. It was a regressive tax, hardest on peasants, who shouldered as much of the Poll Tax burden as the wealthiest landowners. Just when the peasants thought it couldn’t get worse…
King Richard II
…King Richard II issued The Statute of Laborers, capping wages and forcing workers to accept the same miserable conditions they had labored under before the plague struck. The new law threatened severe punishment to serfs and peasants who dared seek better conditions or higher wages. It also forbad merchants and tradesmen to charge the market price for goods and services, and ordered a return to pre-plague prices. King Richard even tried to cut the only social security the poor had by forbidding beggars to beg. In other words, he wanted to make England great again.
In an unprecedented protest, 60,000 peasants marched to London to demand an audience with the king. 2000 protestors died in the ensuing violence, and others did too, including the archbishop, the king’s treasurer, and a number of tax collectors. The peasants dispersed after the king made promises, which he broke, and granted pardons for the rebels, which he revoked. Rebels were hunted down and executed.
Richard II meets with rebels by Jean Froissant.
After the dust settled, it might’ve seemed like nothing had changed, but historian Michael Postan says the revolt made history, “as a landmark in social development and a typical instance of working-class revolt against oppression.” If only for fear of another uprising, peasants were treated with more respect, the hated Poll Tax was never again raised, and it marked the end of feudalism. Most importantly, peasants set their sights on astonishing new, if distant goals; freedom, equality, and democracy.
We face difficult days ahead. Our hard won democracy has deteriorated into an oligarchy—a nation ruled by a small elite group of the obscenely wealthy. Any power or constitutional rights we lose to Trump and the Republicans will be difficult to recover. In D.C., the House, the Senate, and the White House are controlled by Republicans. Trump hasn’t assumed office yet and they’re already ripping apart safeguards.
We can’t afford to surrender to despair or even resignation. We must resist. Since the Peasants’ Revolt, we’ve had shining examples of nonviolent civil disobedience from heroines and heroes like Harriet Tubman, Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Susan B. Anthony, Cesar Chavez, Lech Walesa, and the Standing Rock Lakota. Nonviolent movements like the Underground Railroad, the Women’s Suffrage Movement, the Civil Rights Movement, United Farm Workers, and the Dakota Access Pipeline Resistance have brought change that makes a difference in all our lives. Not without sacrifice, but with hope, courage, and determination.
Harriet Tubman, civil rights activist, abolitionist, humanitarian.
Solidarity in Communist Poland began with strikes to demand a free trade union, and resulted in freedom and democracy for the Polish people. There was the Velvet Revolution of Czechoslovakia. The Singing Revolution in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania began with people gathering to sing national songs forbidden by the Communists. Four years later they were independent nations, free of Soviet rule.
Every protest matters. It’s an act of faith, almost a prayer. Not the kind in which you petition for a miracle or just a quick win. The kind that lends you strength to endure however long it takes, but also transforms you from silent sufferer to person of action. You’ll be there for those who have no voice, or who need help finding their own voice. You’ll be there to inform the public and to lift each other up, to remind yourself that you are not alone.
Each act of resistance repays a debt to those who fought and sacrificed on a battlefield, in a courtroom, or on a picket line to make our lives better. And each act of resistance is a gift to our children and grandchildren. One day this will all be history. When people look back, and they always do, I hope to be remembered for fighting for what’s right. It’s time to call out the lies, write our congress, gather those signatures, and save our nation from a shameful demise. It’s time to put our boots on the ground. | https://thebezine.com/portfolio/boots-on-the-ground/ |
The causes of the French Revolution, the uprising which brought the regime of King Louis XVI to an end, were manifold. France in 1789 was one of the richest and most powerful nations in Europe; only in Great Britain and the Netherlands did the common people have more freedom and less chance of arbitrary punishment. Nevertheless, the ancien rйgime was brought down, partly by its own rigidity in the face of a changing world, partly by the ambitions of a rising bourgeoisie, allied with aggrieved peasants and wage-earners and with individuals of all classes who were influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment. As the revolution proceeded and as power devolved from the monarchy to legislative bodies, the conflicting interests of these initially allied groups would become the source of conflict and bloodshed.
Absolutism and privilege
France in 1789 was, at least in theory, an absolute monarchy, an increasingly unpopular form of government at the time. In practice, the kings ability to act on his theoretically absolute power was hemmed in by the (equally resented) power and prerogatives of the nobility and the clergy, the remnants of feudalism. Similarly, the peasants covetously eyed the relatively greater prerogatives of the townspeople.
The large and growing middle class — and some of the nobility and of the working class — had absorbed the ideology of equality and freedom of the individual, brought about by such philosophers as Voltaire, Denis Diderot, Turgot, and other theorists of the Enlightenment. The example of the American Revolution showed them that it was plausible that Enlightenment ideals about governmental organization might be put into practice. Some of the American revolutionaries, such as Benjamin Franklin, had stayed in Paris, where they were in frequent contact with the French intellectuals; furthermore, contact between the American revolutionaries and the French troops who had assisted them resulted in the spread of revolutionary ideals to the French. Many in France attacked the undemocratic nature of the government, pushed for freedom of speech, and challenged the Catholic Church and the prerogatives of the nobles.
There is controversy over exactly how deeply Enlightenment ideals penetrated the various classes, and over the degree to which these ideals were simply cover for bourgeois self-interest. For example, Karl Marx writing in the Neue Rheinische Zeitung shortly after the Revolutions of 1848 wrote that in both the English Revolution of 1648 and in the French Revolution “the bourgeoisie was the class that really headed the movement. The proletariat and the non-bourgeois strata of the middle class had either not yet evolved interests which were different from those of the bourgeoisie or they did not yet constitute independent classes or class divisions. Therefore, where they opposed the bourgeoisie, as they did in France in 1793 and 1794, [that is to say, during the Reign of Terror] they fought only for the attainment of the aims of the bourgeoisie, albeit in a non-bourgeois manner. The entire French terrorism was just a plebeian way of dealing with the enemies of the bourgeoisie: absolutism, feudalism and philistinism.” (
Economics
Debt
Since 1614, the French monarchy had operated without resort to a legislature. Kings had managed their fiscal affairs by increasing the burden of the ancient and unequal system of taxes, by borrowing money, and sometimes by selling noble titles and other privileges; however, because noble titles exempted the holder from future taxes, the purchasers of titles were effectively buying an annuity.
This led to the long-running fiscal crisis of the French government. On the eve of the revolution, France was deeply indebted, so deeply as to be effectively bankrupt. Extravagant expenditures by Louis XIV on luxuries such as Versailles were compounded by heavy expenditures on the Seven Years War and the American War of Independence.
Britain too had a great debt from these conflicts, but Britain had a far more advanced fiscal structure to deal with it. There was no counterpart to the Bank of England in France in 1789 and there was also far less ready capital in France, as it was not nearly as much a trading nation as was Britain.
Edmund Burke, no friend of the revolution, was to write in 1790, “the public, whether represented by a monarch or by a senate, can pledge nothing but the public estate; and it can have no public estate except in what it derives from a just and proportioned imposition upon the citizens at large.” Because of the successful defence by the nobles of their privileges, the king of France lacked the means to impose a “just and proportioned” tax. The desire to do so led directly to the decision in 1788 to call the Estates-General into session.
Taxation
Unlike the trading nations, France could not rely almost solely on tariffs to generate income. While average tax rates were higher in Britain, the burden on the common people was greater in France. Taxation relied on a system of internal tariffs separating the regions of France, which prevented a unified market from developing in the country. Taxes such as the extremely unpopular gabelle were contracted out to private collectors (“tax farmers”) who were permitted to raise far more than the government requested. These systems led to an arbitrary and unequal collection of many of Frances consumption taxes. Further royal and seigneurial taxes were collected in the form of compulsory labor (the corvйe).
Many public officials had to buy their positions from the king, as well as the right to keep this position hereditary; they of course tried to have these expenses repaid by making a profit out of their appointment. For instance, in a civil lawsuit, judges had to be paid some fees by the parties (the йpices); this put justice out of reach of everybody but the wealthy classes. | https://www.freeessays.education/causes-of-the-french-revolution-and-unequal-system-of-taxes-essay/ |
The Great Fear (French: la Grande Peur) was a wave of panic that swept the French countryside in late July and early August 1789. Fearful of plots by aristocrats to undermine the budding French Revolution (1789-1799), peasants and townspeople mobilized, attacking manorial houses. The unrest contributed to the passage of the August Decrees, which abolished feudalism in France.
The Great Fear and its associated riots only lasted for roughly three weeks but set the stage for some of the most important developments of the Revolution. French historian Georges Lefebvre proposed some possible causes of the Great Fear being the breakdown in communication due to unrest in Paris, high tensions set off by food shortages and widespread unemployment, and fears of violent retaliation by the nobility and foreign powers meant to undermine the people. Other historians have argued that one possible cause could be the peasants' consumption of ergot, a hallucinogenic fungus.
Hunger & Despair
Lefebvre opens his 1932 book The Great Fear of 1789, still regarded as the seminal work on the topic, with a quote from French critic Hippolyte Taine: "The people are like a man walking in a pond of water up to his mouth: the slightest dip in the ground, the slightest ripple, makes him lose his footing – he sinks and chokes" (Lefebvre, 6). Taine's quote wonderfully illustrates the precarious position of the French lower classes in the Ancien Régime. Even in the best of times, one poor harvest could mean disaster for the farmers and industrial workers alike.
Since the late 1760s, harvests had become increasingly uncertain, and yields fluctuated sharply. Partly resulting from the 1783 Laki eruption in Iceland, harvests across France became progressively worse, reaching a low point in 1788, when summer hailstorms killed many crops, and a subsequent August draught killed much of the rest. For urban workers, this meant bread prices skyrocketed, and by 1789 the poorest were spending up to 80% of their income solely on bread.
Unemployment also rose sharply, with 8-11 million people, or roughly a third of the population, either unemployed or lacking other forms of support. France's rapidly growing population, having increased by 2-3 million since 1770, added to the strain on resources. In one of their cahiers, or grievances, written before the Estates-General of 1789, the villagers of La Caure succinctly described the population problem by writing, "the number of our children plunges us into despair" (Lefebvre, 9). While many flocked to the cities looking for jobs, lots of people also flooded the countryside, desperate to find work on farms. However, by the late 18th century, many peasant farms were barely large enough to support even a single family. Due to the practice of splitting the land evenly amongst sons upon inheritance, many farmers were left with minuscule and often unfertile tracts of land. This led many landless peasants to seek work on the large farming estates owned by the nobility. Since these grand estates were often only able to provide work in the harvest season, laborers suffered in perpetual poverty the rest of the year.
Many of the landless and unemployed people who flooded the countryside were unable to find work, forcing some to turn to begging. Travelling from farm to farm, often in groups, these vagrants would ask for crusts of bread or places to sleep for the night. While some farmers were sympathetic, many others were distrustful or outright fearful of them. Word began to spread that bands of vagabonds were knocking down fences or setting fire to farmers' fruit trees after being denied help, while some vagrants were allegedly swarming cornfields and cutting down unripe stalks of corn, threatening another year's harvest. Some farmers nervously wrote to nearby towns, asking for soldiers to be sent to protect their fields, while others blamed the church for not providing for the impoverished with the money collected from tithes.
Salt smugglers took advantage of the countryside chaos by travelling from farm to farm, bullying and terrorizing farmers into buying their contraband goods. These smugglers would often be followed by the gabelous, the hated tax collectors contracted by the French government. The gabelous were often little better than thugs themselves and would beat and rob farmers suspected of purchasing black market salt, occasionally even hauling them off to jail. Meanwhile, as towns erupted into bread riots, townsfolk also made expeditions out to farms where they forced farmers to sell them their goods.
The paralysis of royal authority following the rise of the National Assembly and the Storming of the Bastille meant that farmers could not rely on police or soldiers. In the spring and summer of 1789, many began to arm themselves and look to one another for protection. By July, farmers had banded together to defend their villages, with some even standing guard at roads or bridges for weeks at a time. However, many of the reports of violence were merely the result of rumors. As reliable news from Paris became less frequent because of the revolutionary excitement occurring there, rumors in the countryside increased in intensity; one such story told of the residents of Lyons fighting off hundreds of brigands which included marauding Savoyards and escaped galley slaves. Another tale told of a British squadron of warships haunting the channel, waiting for brigands to invade the port city of Le Havre and throw open the gates to them. As these rumors heightened tensions, many looked for a more tangible enemy to blame and found one in the clergy and aristocracy.
Conspiracies & Malcontents
Many across France had long blamed the privileged classes for plotting against them. Stretching back to at least the time of the Flour War, a major bread riot that swept the Paris region in 1775, the conspiracy theory known as the Pacte de Famine began to gain traction. Subscribers to this theory believed that the bad harvests and food shortages plaguing France had been orchestrated by the nobility in order to better subjugate and control the people. They allegedly achieved this by hoarding foodstuffs in monasteries and in their manorial castles. Whether or not King Louis XVI of France (r. 1774-1792) was involved in the conspiracy remained a point of division; some believed he was a benevolent king being tricked and misled by his devious ministers, while others thought he was the mastermind behind the whole plot.
Evidence for some kind of upper-class plot appeared to sprout in the early summer of 1789, as the proceedings of the Estates-General began to turn in favor of the Third Estate, which proclaimed a National Assembly on 17 June. By 1 July, the king had summoned 30,000 soldiers to the Paris region, many of them foreign troops, and on the 11th, he dismissed his chief minister, Jacques Necker, seen by many as one of the primary defenders of the people. These acts appeared to be counter-revolutionary measures, taken to thwart the National Assembly and kill the Revolution in its crib. Riots in Paris led to the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July, and although the king withdrew the troops and reinstated Necker, the seeds of distrust had been planted.
On 16 July, the Comte d'Artois, the king's youngest brother and one of the most outspoken enemies of the Revolution, fled Versailles along with a large entourage of relatives and supporters. It was unknown where he had gone; some believed he had fled to Spain, others Turin. But it was widely believed that Artois would soon return to France at the head of a foreign army. There was no shortage of enemies of the Revolution who would be willing to give him one, after all. The kingdoms of Spain, Naples, and Sicily were all controlled by the Bourbons, while the Holy Roman Emperor was the brother of Queen Marie Antoinette (1755-1793).
Across France, towns began arming themselves by calling up defensive militias, pledging to defend the National Assembly from any threat, foreign or domestic. In Montpellier, every male of fighting age except for priests and monks was ordered to prepare to take up arms, while the small town of Orgelet in the Jura wrote to Versailles and promised to "sacrifice their peace, their possessions, everything down to the last drop of blood" to defend the Assembly (Lefebvre, 81).
Anger against the nobility only intensified after Artois' flight. On 16 July, citizens of Le Havre stopped shipments of grain and flour from being sent to Paris, for fear that they would be used to feed royal troops. The same day, a citizens' militia in Dijon seized the chateau and armories, imprisoned their military governor, and confined all nobles and clergy to their homes. Members of the ministry that was to have replaced Necker's government were harassed, imprisoned, or in some cases brutally murdered: in Paris, the mouth of the severed head of one minister, Foulon, was stuffed with grass to signify his alleged involvement in the famine plot.
As paranoia took hold in many towns, revolutionary cockade wearing became compulsory, with those commoners who were judged hostile to the people's cause forbidden from wearing one. Around this time, it became commonplace, when meeting a new person, to ask, "Are you for the Third Estate?" (Lefebvre, 88). Although the Great Fear gained momentum in the towns of France, it would reach its apex in the countryside, where its target was not individual nobles but the system of feudalism itself.
Panic & Revolt
Already on edge from the rumors of violent bandits, countryside peasants had been watching events in Paris closely. The actions of 14 July and the subsequent arming of townships only confirmed their suspicions that there was indeed an aristocratic plot against them. Yet many of these peasants had even greater reason to believe they were in danger than the townsfolk did. As farmers, many of them paid feudal dues to local seigneurs and knew their lords' nature well enough to understand they would never willingly give up their privileges. Furthermore, those peasants with knowledge of history understood that most previous uprisings against feudal lords had ended in bloodshed. With this perspective, the peasants realized they were in danger as soon as the Estates-General had been summoned.
It was only natural, therefore, that rage was turned toward the lords who were, even in this period of famine and financial difficulty, "ever busy sucking their blood" (Furet, 75). The tipping point was reached on 19 July, when an explosion destroyed the Chateau de Quincey, home of one of the more hated landlords in the Franche-Comté region, killing five people and injuring several others. The explosion, while likely an accident caused by a drunken dinner guest stumbling too close to a powder keg with a flaming torch, nonetheless alarmed the peasants, who believed the nobility would use it as an excuse to crack down on them.
Immediately after the explosion at Quincey, the peasants of Franche-Comté arose in revolt. Bands of armed peasants invaded seigneurial estates, breaking into barns and reclaiming the goods they had paid in manorial dues. Muniment rooms, which contained records of feudal obligations, were ransacked and torched, and other symbols of feudalism such as wine presses and mills owned by nobles, were likewise attacked. In some cases, the chateaux themselves were invaded and plundered. If the local seigneur happened to be in residence during the attack, he would likely be accosted by the peasants who would force him to renounce his feudal privileges. Abbeys and monasteries, too, were raided in search of hoarded goods, and entire parishes banded together to refuse to pay their tithes.
The Franche-Comté riots were eventually subdued by detachments of cavalry, but the Great Fear had already caused similar revolts to break out all over the country, most significantly in the regions of Hainault, Alsace, Normandy, and the Mâconnais. In the last weeks of July 1789, bands of peasants harassed nobles and raided their estates. Carriages were pushed into rivers and nobles were harassed, humiliated, and, in some cases, beaten. Despite this, it is generally agreed that the countryside revolts during the Great Fear were relatively bloodless, and murders were few and far between. A few chateaux were burned or razed to the ground, as was the case with an estate owned by the Talleyrand family, but this too was rare.
Many of the peasants claimed to be acting on behalf of the king, who had recently accepted a revolutionary cockade and was perceived by some to be in favor of the Revolution. In the Mâconnais, an official claimed that he had seen a letter in the king's name that authorized "all the people in the country to enter all the chateaux of the Mâconnais to demand their title deeds and if they are refused, they can loot, burn and plunder; they will not be punished" (Lefebvre, 96). On 21 July, residents of Strasbourg and Cherbourg refused to pay the market price for bread, claiming that the king intended all his subjects to be equally provided for. Just as seigneurial estates were raided in the countryside, houses of those believed to be thwarting the king's will were also attacked in the towns.
As the name suggests, the Great Fear was a period of mass hysteria. As the chaos of the Revolution had begun to cause gaps in communication, it was difficult to know which news was true and what was fake. Tales were told of British and German mercenaries burning the countryside, while witnesses swore that they had seen Artois return from Spain with a 50,000-man army at his back. The brigands who had supposedly started the havoc were believed to be agents in the pay of British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger, while English traveler Arthur Young was told by Frenchmen he had believed to be "otherwise quite intelligent" that Queen Marie Antoinette was planning to poison the king and replace him with Artois, rumored to be her lover (Schama, 436).
The sight of smoke emanating from the peasants' raids on nobles' properties convinced other peasants that they were under brigand attack, adding even further layers to existing fears. Scholar Simon Schama tells an anecdote of no less than 3,000 men in southern Champagne arming themselves to drive off a band of bandits, only to discover upon closer inspection that what they thought had been a group of dangerous thugs from a distance was nothing more than a herd of cattle (432).
End of the Fear & Legacy
By early August, the National Assembly had decided it was not in their best interests to have bands of panicked peasants roving the countryside. To restore calm to the provinces, the Vicomte de Noailles put forth the radical idea of abolishing the privileges of the nobility. This idea would lead to the passage of the August Decrees on the night of 4 August, which dismantled feudalism in France and abolished the Gallican Church's right to collect tithes. The August Decrees were monumental and, combined with the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen that came soon after, were some of the most significant achievements of the entire Revolution. The decrees also seemed to placate the countryside; as abruptly as it had begun, the Great Fear had mostly fizzled out by 6 August.
Although most peasants who had participated in the revolts returned to their homes, large numbers had either been arrested during the unrest or at some point shortly afterward. In most places where the revolts had ended on their own, few people were sentenced. However, in areas like Alsace, Hainault, and Franche-Comté, where the military had ended the riots, many peasants were hanged or sentenced to service as galley slaves.
The Great Fear was, in conclusion, a puzzling moment in the history of the French Revolution, having long confused historians with its bizarre nature. Although peasant revolts were hardly a unique phenomenon, the Great Fear stands out due to both its scope and its brevity; barely lasting three weeks, the unrest enveloped large portions of French towns and the countryside. It was predicated almost entirely on rumors or exaggerated stories, turning bands of wandering beggars down on their luck into fearsome brigands in the pay of foreign powers. If such groups of marauders indeed existed, they were certainly not large or threatening enough to justify the panic that set in; and yet the panic caused by a mostly imagined threat led to the abolition of one of the most ancient institutions in France.
The seeds of distrust planted by the Great Fear lasted far longer than the event itself. Some of the nobility and clergy became further embittered toward the Revolution for the destruction of their privileges. Meanwhile, although the countryside unrest ended, the general fear remained. Hunger was still prevalent, and the threat of foreign intervention in the Revolution was ever-looming. Of course, these latter fears would eventually be realized when, in the course of the French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1802), France found itself at war with most of the rest of Europe. | https://www.worldhistory.org/Great_Fear/ |
In 1789, France was the most populated nation in Europe and had been growing continuously since the reign of Louis XIV. However, the people of France were still struggling in other aspects of life. They struggled socially because it was still divided into the Three Estates; the First Estate being the clergy, the Second the nobles, and the Third the peasants, city workers, and the bourgeoisie; the middle class. They also struggled politically because they were still governed by absolute monarchs who ruled through the belief of divine right. The French Revolution was an uprising in France against this monarchy which resulted in the establishment of France as a republic. There were many reasons as to why the French Revolution occured. Three of these reasons include inequality of taxation based on social status, the middle class’ knowledge of the ideas of the Enlightenment, and the tense relationships between the Three Estates.
The first important cause of the French Revolution was inequality of taxation based on social status. The First and Second Estates remained unencumbered by the heavy tax burden that the peasants faced, and these peasants had the least amount of money to begin with. The peasants became angered that they, possessing such little money, were being taxed so heavily. Because of this, they were unable to provide basic necessities, such as bread, for themselves and their families. For example, in Document 1, Arthur Young says; ” There is an injustice in levying imposing the amount each person must pay. Lands held by the nobility are taxed very little. Lands held by commoners are taxed heavily…the price of bread has risen above people’s ability to pay. This causes great misery.” Many peasants died as a result of a lack of money and because of a famine that swept across the country. Meanwhile, the two privileged classes, the First and Second Estates, managed to avoid most if not all taxation. Desperation set in as many peasants began to realize that they would all die if something wasn’t done. This was a driving force behind the peasants revolting.
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“The Revolution came from them-the middle class. The working classes were incapable of starting or controlling the Revolution. They were just beginning to learn to read.” (Document 4) The success of the American revolution caused French citizens to believe that the same thing could happen in their country. French citizens, especially the middle class, began thinking about things like a democracy, equality for everyone and a society free of segregation based on social status. As people started thinking about these ideas, they began to desire them. The middle class’ knowledge of the ideas of the Enlightenment allowed them to be the ones to start and control the revolution. The ideas of Voltaire, such as freedom of speech, began making people angry that their own ideas were being suppressed by the corrupt government. | https://researchnetwork.net/in-1789/ |
|Name: _________________________||Period: ___________________|
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. Of the author's five ways in which love can be acquired, which three produce the most worthy forms of love?
2. According to the author, about what do people in love think continually?
3. In the four-stage theory of appropriate development of love, to what age group does a woman's ideal man belong?
4. Among the author's twelve rules for acquiring love, what did he have to say about how to deal with a current love affair?
5. According to the author, upon what do lovers focus their attention?
Short Essay Questions
1. When a man of higher nobility approached a woman of simple nobility, of what was he advised to avoid doing during conversation?
2. Two of the five ways in which love can be obtained are beauty and good character. Which of these wins love with little effort and which is the characteristic that wise men choose?
3. Explain the singular reason why a nobleman would be willing to marry below his class.
4. What did the author describe being requested by Walter in the Preface?
5. To what characteristic about himself was the middle class man advised to draw attention when trying to attract a woman of nobility?
6. Provide one example of why love is dangerous.
7. When the man and woman of higher nobility interact, what was the woman ready to do at any point during the conversation?
8. Why did the author believe that women could not bind themselves to lovers in mutual love as men can?
9. In the instance of the older woman insisting to a man that she was too old for love, she expressed deep skepticism and lack interest. How did the man react?
10. When the woman in Dialogue 8 reproved the man of the clergy for pursuing her romantically, for what reason did she do so?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Explain the author's feelings about peasants and their inclinations to love. Under what circumstances did the author suggest that peasants can experience love? What did the author mean when he suggested that someone who falls in love with a peasant should praise her and then, in a convenient location, "embrace [her] by force?"
Essay Topic 2
Explain the role of jealousy in romantic relationships and the power it holds. What effects does jealousy have on lovers? Is jealousy always bad or always good? Can jealousy destroy love? Can it be a tool to restore love?
Essay Topic 3
Throughout the various dialogues, the author teaches members of varying social classes the proper ways to interact on a romantic basis. Review the dialogues from Chapter 6 in which the middle class man approaches both a woman of the middle class and a noblewoman. Compare and contrast the two approach and conversation techniques and the women's responses to the man's advances. | http://www.bookrags.com/lessonplan/the-art-of-courtly-love/test5.html |
IAJBS 23rd Annual World Forum University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
Experience level:
Intermediate
Authors:
Stacey Jones Ph.D., Susan Weirich Ph.D., Valentina Zamora Ph.D.
Individual Tax Provisions and Income Inequality from a Catholic Social Thought Lens
The issue of sustainability is inextricably linked to that of income inequality. In the Laudato si’, Pope Francis states, “[W]e have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.” As such, Catholic Social Thought (CST) provides a set of principles for the moral evaluation of an economic system, and these principles address sustainability, income inequality, and other concerns such as subsidiarity and universal access. However, these principles are not uniform in their guidance; there is a complex interplay among them. To illustrate how adherence to one principle may compromise adherence to another, we apply a CST lens to the three significant provisions of the U.S. individual tax system: the preferential rate on capital gains, the home mortgage interest deduction, and the exclusion from taxation of employer payments for health insurance. Together, these provisions cost the U.S. budget more than $4 trillion over a ten-year period. While the preferential rate on capital gains can be viewed as consistent with the subsidiarity principle preserving private liberties in choosing investments, this provision is inconsistent the principles related to prioritizing social obligations such as those towards labor. The deduction for home mortgage interest can be claimed as consistent with the universal access principle and the right to private property ownership. However, upon closer examination, the economic outcome of this provision is inconsistent with the principle of equitable distribution of burdens and benefits. Finally, the exclusion from taxation of employer payments for employees’ health insurance prioritizes labor by providing health insurance to workers, but the fact that only employed persons are able to participate in this benefit challenges the principle of meaningful participation for all. Taken together, our constructive criticism of existing tax policy brings to light consequences of the tax system not typically discussed in policy analysis. Our use of a CST framework adds a principles-based perspective to an ongoing and contemporary debate about specific economic policy. Finally, our exploration of the tradeoffs that emerge among CST principles when jointly applied highlights the importance of confronting these tradeoffs in designing and evaluating policies and how they move us closer to or further away from a sustainable economic system that supports integral human development. | https://www.ignited.global/conferences/iajbs-23rd-annual-world-forum-namur-belgium/sessions/individual-tax-provisions-and-income-inequality-catholic-social-thought-lens |
A History of Wealth and Poverty: Why a Few Nations are Rich and Many Poor, by John P. Powelson.
CHAPTER 2
Japan: The Power-Diffusion Process
The Japanese have saved much, and they have organized their corporations along modern lines. Despite business families (keiretsus) and government planning, they are mainly liberal: free enterprise and free trading. Corruption scandals in the 1990s have come out in the open and have caused a government to fall. But the real question is why they did all that, while Africans, other Asians, and Latin Americans mostly did not.
To find out, we move back into history. We discover that the Japanese were not nearly so poor in the nineteenth century as Western historians have alleged them to be. To discover why they were not, and how they advanced, we go back to the era in which Japanese economic organization first seemed different from the rest of the world. We arrive at the ninth century.
Pluralism in Early Agriculture
At that time, almost all cultivated land in Japan was organized into sho-en, which looked like large, feudal estates. But instead of being ruled by a feudal lord as in Europe, the Japanese had two people at the top: honke, or "noble patron" and ryoke, or "proprietor." Two centuries later there were other claimants as well: jishu, whom Western scholars have dubbed "owner," ryoshu, or "non-noble lord;" azukari dokoro, or "middle-level manager;" and zuryo, or "tax-collecting governor." There were also tenants, free laborers, half-free laborers, and slaves.
The Japanese land system had one point in common with the European manor: almost all who worked the land, other than hired laborers and slaves, had clearly defined legal rights. In Japan the legal right to land was called a shiki. There was an owner-shiki, a proprietor-shiki, a manager-shiki at different levels, a tenant-shiki, and so on. In Europe also, the rights were enforceable contracts between lords and tenants. Elsewhere in Asia, as in most of the rest of the world, tenants on conquered land usually could be dispossessed at the whim of the master.
Unlike rights on the European manor, shiki could be bought and sold. In principle they could not be confiscated. Thus every person's rights and obligations were defined with respect to those of every other person: to hold land, to produce crops, to sell them, to pay taxes, and to serve in the military. These relationships may have been violated, but if so the culture was violated too.
We can only speculate on how definable rights to land, which the sovereign could not take away, came about for all classes except slaves in Japan and northwestern Europe, but nowhere else. Let us adopt the axiom that no one gives away rights unless one has to. In our own day, one might assume that workers acquire rights either by law or by alternative opportunity: they must be bid away from other potential employers. If these assumptions were translated into ninth-century Japan, we might suppose that unless peasants received favorable treatment on the sho-en, they would clear and farm their own land instead. But solitary farmers risked capture and enslavement on someone else's property. While this must have happened, it was not the major way in which labor was sought.
Lacking evidence to the contrary, I assume that tenants possessed enough clout perhaps as organized food growers, military bands, or rebels so that owners or proprietors could not force them to work as slaves but had to make some agreements with them. Another possibility is that when overlords fought each other peasants would band with one or the other side, demanding rights in exchange for support. We cannot be certain how they obtained their shiki, but we do know that they employed this leverage in later centuries.
The Diffusion of Power
This quotation might have referred to Taisho democracy in the 1910s. But Jacobs was writing about the Taika reform of 645. From the beginning of Japanese history, authority has been parceled among many claimants.
"Alternative power" has been a feature of all Japanese administrations. Not only did powerholders compromise with each other, but if a lower class could not obtain satisfaction from one source it might go to another. Early emperors shared power with or were dominated by families, such as the Soga and later the Fujiwara. In 1185, the strong Minamoto family, headed by Yoritomo, defeated the ruling Taira family in the Gempei war. In 1192, Yoritomo had himself appointed the first shogun ("barbarian-suppressing general") while respecting the dignity of the emperor. His successor shoguns were assisted by a commoner family, the Hojo. Thereafter until 1868, the emperor and shogun existed side by side, with the shogun as the main power. But lords of the land would frequently defy the shogun or vice versa. This was especially so during the Tokugawa era (1603-1868).
A similar pluralism affected social relationships. In the thirteenth century, new officials appeared on the sho-en. They quarreled with each other and with the military. Since no group emerged as the dominant power, they were forced to compromise on both authority over land and the division of its produce.
During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the more powerful warriors became lords known as daimyo, who captured fiefs and demanded fealty from the peasants. In exchange, the peasants sought secure tenure and rights to agricultural products. From this, a contract feudalism similar to that of Europe replaced the sho-en system.
Ordinary farmers became divided into warriors (bushi, later samurai) and cultivators. Bushi clustered in castles while cultivators lived closer to their fields, much as was happening in Europe. These peasants formed villages, in which they elected their own officials, managed their own affairs, and collectively negotiated with the daimyo. Mostly they had no obligations other than taxes.
In these ways power became diffused. Laws of the central government were increasingly ignored. In the Onin War (1467-77) the shogunate fell apart, and Japan was divided into hundreds of small states. Even when they were militarily reunited in the sixteenth century, under Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and then Tokugawa, none of these rulers held absolute control. Each was linchpin presiding over a balance among surviving daimyo, whose legitimacy in turn depended on recognizing the village assemblies.
Leverage
Leverage was the primary force in this diffusion of power. As early as the ninth and tenth centuries, peasants took advantage of the rivalry between governors and powerful families to ally themselves with one or another in exchange for improved work conditions.
In the twelfth century, they capitalized on rivalry among nobles:
Wanting firm contracts in place of erratic work, peasants also "could ally with higher authority in an effort to resist a jito [estate steward], or they could attempt to negotiate directly with the jito concerning rates and times."
In the fourteenth century both estate stewards and peasants improved their positions by shifting their vertical alliances in a civil war between the emperor and the shogun. Village autonomy resulted in part from alliances between peasant groups and estate stewards to gain concessions from proprietors. From the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries, organizations known as ikki, composed of warriors and farmers, became prominent. While some writers have translated ikki as "rebellion," Davis points out that it literally means "of one goal" or "in agreement," and that it applies more to an organization than to an action. Bix reports its meaning as "identity, identical, or the same, as in `This and that are identical' . . . The solitary band with corporate bargaining power was formed expressly to make a decision that was just and unswayed by special interests because it was based on the will of heaven."
Ikki levered their power by vertical alliances with court nobility or military governors. For example, in a rebellion over debt cancellation in the fourteenth century ikki peasants themselves would not accept the shogun's offer to forgive peasant debts unless he also forgave those of the court nobility and the greater military houses, with whom they were presumably allied. From the fifteenth century on, the military support of the ikki was increasingly sought by the daimyo. As a result, "on the political stage the power gradually fell into the hands of a lower class of people that had never been recognized in such a circle."
As the daimyo were consolidating their power or losing it during the period of the warring country at the end of sixteenth century, the local gentry (kokujin), who had previously dominated the villages, stood in their way. To overcome them, the daimyo joined forces with the villagers, granting them virtual autonomy in exchange for support.
Peasants became "'negotiators' who played fiefs and bakufu [shogunate] against each other to their own advantage." The shogun was particularly concerned to maintain peace on the fief, for even violence that did not affect him directly nevertheless threatened his stability. He often would order the easiest solution to a domainal problem, which sometimes favored the peasant. Especially when violence had already broken out or was imminent, the shogunal court might dictate a decision. In at least one case, a daimyo was ordered by the shogun "to commit suicide for having allowed a peasant uprising to occur in his territory."14 This precedent would supply a sobering incentive for any daimyo to negotiate with peasants. Occasionally peasants might call on merchants for help in their rebellions. In one revolt rice and iron merchants "gave strong support to the peasants upon whom their trade depended."
In the early nineteenth century, reformers on the fief Mito "recognized the political and economic importance of the lower strata of society and spent a good deal of time and effort cultivating their support." In that same century "the participation of rural commoners in political actions . . . marked a significant departure from the exclusively samurai involvement in the Tempo reforms." When the shogunate modernized its army in response to American pressure in the 1860s, it encountered resistance from the daimyo but recruited peasants, whose standard of living was thereby improved.
All the aforementioned cases are instances of leverage by peasants. But merchants employed leverage as well. As far back as the seventh century, the emperor was taxing merchants heavily. To escape, the merchants joined monasteries, which provided them with "adequate facilities for business, storage, financial assistance and cooperative credit. In return for these benefits traders lent money to the priests who also provided military protection." Each group merchants and monasteries enhanced its power vis-à-vis the emperor. Merchants also allied themselves with nobles who granted them court rank and privilege in exchange. Independent trading companies were sponsored by the nobility.
Other groups exercised leverage as well. In the thirteenth century, housemen of the shogun transferred their loyalty to provincial governors or estate stewards to obtain better terms of service. Once towns had become prominent as commercial centers, they shifted their vertical alliances, formally or informally, among daimyo and shogun. "The ports or cities gradually came to overshadow their feudal protectors in economic power. They then entered into political-economic alliances with other feudal lords on their own initiative."
Merchants and peasants advanced not only relative to the shogun but also to the daimyo. For example, the tax and monetary reforms of the early nineteenth century, which were necessary for the survival of almost-bankrupt fiefs, required the daimyo to cooperate with peasants and merchants. The peasants and merchants, of course, exacted their price. "[E]very successful political defense [the daimyo] made of their own position was matched by a corresponding social advance by the top stratum of the peasant and merchant classes."
Rivalry between the fief and growing cities provided leverage for merchants during the Tokugawa period. "[I]t was probably the dire necessity of improving han [fief] finances and the possibility of doing so by playing the han regional economies against the great city markets of Osaka and Edo that drove han authorities into the arms of merchant houses and gave rise to the numerous han monopolies after the middle of the eighteenth century."
In the democracy forged by Japan after the Meiji Restoration, leverage mutated to the form familiar to democracies: parties jockeying for position, making and re-making alliances, and horse-trading. Once a polity and economy become complex, with multilateral issues that can no longer be negotiated among two or three groups face to face, a parliament may become the honest broker among them all. Parliament is, therefore, an organization by which multilateral applications of leverage are institutionalized.
In the first decade of the twentieth century, local bosses would swing blocs of votes to gain party patronage. Toward the end of the second decade, liberal party politicians, academics, a leftist political movement, and journalists joined to promote new strength for the labor movement. All this is leverage in its modern cast. Eclipsed by World War II, these movements are now coming alive again.
The Origins of Compromise
Over their history the Japanese have compromised rather than confronted; negotiated rather than stonewalled; and cooperated rather than going-it-alone, relative to other societies. In absolute terms the Japanese many times confronted, stonewalled, and went-it-alone, just as other societies did.
Fairbank, Reischauer and Craig note that the system of taxation and law codes initiated in 670 "were made piecemeal, with pragmatic compromises with existing institutions and the power of the various uji [clans]." Jacobs cites "constant coercion, coordination, and compromise . . . a process repeated many times in Japanese history, first by the estates against the Taikwa imperialists in the court [seventh century], then by the markets, farmers, and soldiers in the structure established by the estates [sho-en], and later by the merchants in the true feudal structure."
Asakawa writes of compromises in private farms (sho) arising in the eighth century: "The native genius of the race for adaptability found its expression here in a free division of the various interests and rights relative to land, in their investment in different lands, and in their almost infinite redivision and conveyance . . . the same piece of land cultivated by one person soon giving titles and yielding profits to many."
Social immobility sometimes promoted negotiation and compromise. "The typical azukari dokoro [custodian] of sho-en land was a locally based aristocrat, completely ineligible for the noble status enjoyed by a capital ryoke. . . . The lord and the custodian functioned cooperatively because neither could fundamentally challenge the other's prerogatives. . . . Consociation between persons of disparate status was a cardinal feature of the political system."
A famous compromise occurred in the fourteenth century, after the opposing military forces of the shogun and one of two rival emperors had occupied land to sustain themselves during the civil war. On conclusion of hostilities, the soldiers refused to leave. Peace was established by permanent division of the yearly produce between the absent proprietors and the soldiers.
In an earlier writing I have described the main contestants for land in this period and the juggling of forces and manner of compromise among them. Out of these forces arose the term wayo, often translated as "compromise." "Wayo was not a mode of settlement adhering to any specific pattern but merely an expression of detente on any issue of long-standing dispute between jito [estate steward] and shugo [provincial governor]." Sometimes compromise took the form of ignoring obstacles that other cultures might have found humiliating. For example, in the fourteenth century the Chinese insisted that imports from Japan were "gifts" and payment of "tribute" to the Chinese celestial emperor by the "inferior" Japanese. He made "gifts" in return. Japanese traders played the game. When the Ming emperor appointed shogun Yoshimitsu "King of Japan" under Chinese tutelage in 1401, he accepted the title, which in no way affected his prerogatives at home.
The nature of the Japanese as compromisers has been challenged. Najita argues that "the characterization of Japan as a consensual society proceeding along an evolutionary course or, at times, deviating from it, was misleading." Challengers who point to myriad conflicts and much violence throughout Japanese history are correct, but they miss the point: that conflict and violence were mingled with negotiation and compromise more than in most societies; that concessions by victors to vanquished abounded; and that ways were discovered for former adversaries to trust each other and do business once the conflict was resolved.
Negotiation and Compromise in the Tokugawa Era (1603-1868)
When Tokugawa Ieyasu had defeated the other daimyo in 1600 and been appointed shogun in 1603, he divided his foes into categories and granted them privileges. This treatment contrasts, for example, with the total annihilation meted out by Mongols when they overran cities. Ieyasu's leniency occurred not because of his generosity, but because his victory was not overwhelming; his position west of Osaka was precarious, and compromises with defeated daimyo were the pragmatic solution.
Tokugawa villages combined negotiated with imposed institutions. On the imposed side, every individual belonged to a class stipulated by the shogunate: noble (a member of the imperial court), warrior, priest, peasant, or town resident. Class mobility was impossible. On the negotiated side, villagers formed their own associations, resolved their disputes locally when they could, and bargained with the daimyo over taxes. Although technically not allowed to do so, the peasants sometimes took their quarrels with the daimyo to the court of the shogun. Occasionally, they even won their cases another instance of leverage.
Village government was by elected committee. While the head man was approved by the daimyo, he was elected by the villagers and deemed to represent them, to forward their requests to daimyo or shogun. Asakawa suggests that this arrangement was the genius of Tokugawa Ieyasu. If so, his genius lay only in yielding to existing custom and power, not in discovering a system.
Harootunian finds that the Japanese of the Tokugawa era were resourceful in concealing conflict and claims to power, and that power itself was concealed. But any concealment of power, such as in the shogun-emperor relationship, or any means to prevent an eruption constitutes de facto compromise.
Many have believed that the great peace of 1600-1868 was held together by the power of the Tokugawa shogun. From the mid-seventeenth century on, however, the shogunate was being weakened relative to daimyo, merchants, and financiers. As a sign of weakening, both shogun and daimyo became indebted to merchants. Also, time and again the shogun could not enforce his decrees, such as those controlling prices. His foreign-exclusion command was repeatedly flouted by "outer daimyo" of the west. His attempts to establish monetary standards failed. Peasant rebellions were settled on terms he would not have favored. He continued to exist only by compromising with lower-level officials. For further references to the weakening of the shogunate during the Tokugawa era, see Appendix 2.1.
Peasant Rebellions
Yet Japan's history has been studded with peasant rebellions, caused by excessive taxes, forced loans, and demands for bribes;38 by daimyo and shogun monopolies and controls over prices and trade; by disputes over rights to land; and attempts by the lords to control peasant movement and behavior. Both daimyo and shogun lived in fear of peasants, suspicious of their goings and comings, wondering what harm they would do next, or whether they would defect to other daimyo or threaten the shogunate.
Mostly, rebellions were not motivated by demands to change the system. Peasants protested not the levy of taxes, but the amount; not the system of tenancy, but the terms; not the idea of private business, but its monopolies; not the fact of daimyo or shogun control over the monetary system, but their monetary policies. Peasants did not usually try to change an institution, only the parameters within it.
Ikki led many of the protests. They formed their own governing bodies to negotiate with overlords, either nonviolently or in open rebellion. In alliance with "robber gangs, dissatisfied roaming noble warriors and armed monks of the new Buddhist sects, plundering, destroying or burning down store houses of the wealthy or pawn shops, temples or shrines," they forced "the government to issue moratoriums on loans, mortgages, or pawned articles."
Withdrawal was a mode of passive resistance. Peasants would lay down their tools and depart until their demands were met. They would swear oaths to cooperate and defend each other through their village organizations.
Throughout the Tokugawa period, peasants combined negotiation with violence of varying degrees, from riots to military operations. In one example among many compiled by Bix, a revolt at Ueda in 1761 over taxes and servitudes took place in five stages: (1) "mobilization and invasion of the castle town;" (2) "stalemate and confusion;" (3) "recommencement;" (4)"`vertical' discussions, conciliation, reintegration, and repression;" and (5) "public execution of [two peasant leaders], followed by more group discussions throughout the fief." The revolt was settled with a number of concessions by the daimyo, including reduced tribute and less onerous conditions of servitude.
I am indebted to Bix for his meticulous documentation of peasant rebellions throughout the Tokugawa period. Using the same information, however his own, plus that of other writers such as T.C. Smith and Borton I come to interpretations different from his. Bix emphasizes the class struggle. To him, concessions were palliative; the village was part of the apparatus of oppression; peasants are eulogized in their struggles, but their lot was not substantially improved in these crucial centuries.
My own interpretation is less marxist: that the Tokugawa village was far from a total instrument of the state; that while it reflected fears that the violence of preceding centuries would recur or that the precarious power balance in outside society might not hold, nevertheless it also reflected a willingness to negotiate and compromise in ways not easily found in many other societies.
Change occurred because each peasant victory, so small in itself, contributed cumulatively to the manner in which Tokugawa society fluidly shifted into modern Japan. But I go beyond the mainstream by suggesting that this characteristic is a major explanation of the remarkable economic growth in Japan today.
GLOSSARY OF JAPANESE TERMS
Applicable to Chapters 2 and 3
azukari dokoro, middle-level manager on a sho-en
bakufu, shogunate
daimyo, feudal lord or lords
han, feudal fief
honjo, landed proprietor
honke, noble patron of a sho-en
ikki, peasant solidarity group, leaders of rebellions
jishu, owner of a sho-en
jito, estate steward on a sho-en
kabu, a kind of guild
kaisha, business corporation
kokujin, village gentry
kabunakama, a kind of guild
kumiai, a kind of guild
nakama, a kind of guild
ritsu, penal law code
ryo, administrative law code
ryoke, proprietor of a sho-en
ryoshu, non-noble lord (lower on the scale than ryoke)
shiki, transferable right (to land, office, employment, etc.)
shikimoku, a legal code, or a compilation of legal questions
sho, medieval farm
sho-en, medieval landholding structure, precursor to feudal fiefs
shogun, military ruler of Japan ("barbarian-suppressing general")
shugo, provincial governor
tonya, a kind of guild
tozama daimyo, an "outer" daimyo, who lived far from Edo, during the Toku- gawa perio
wayo, a compromise way of life
za, a kind of guild
zuryo, tax-collecting governor
Many of the above terms have no exact English equivalent; these meanings are therefore approximations.
Notes
Copyright © 1994 by the University of Michigan. First published in the USA by the University of Michigan Press, 1994.
Published on the World Wide Web by The Quaker Economist with permission from the University of Michigan Press, 2005.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License. | http://quaker.org/legacy/tqe/wealth-and-poverty/02japan.htm |
I must have been about 9 or 10 years old when my father gave me one of the most treasured gifts of my life – a collection of classics in comic form, amongst which was the French Revolution. Although I did learn about this turbulent period in French history later on in my school history books, nothing could ever quite match the vividness of the account as in that comic book classic. The scenes of the lavish grandeur of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette, the storming of the Bastille, the guillotine beheadings – all of them were still vivid in my mind as I wrote this account of the French Revolution.
With the rallying notion of ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’, the French Revolution, which began in 1789 and lasted up to 1799, was a time of great upheaval, both socially and politically, in the history of France as well as the rest of Europe. During this period the structure of the French government, which until then was an absolute monarchy, with the Catholic clergy and aristocracy enjoying feudal privileges, was changed radically into kinds that had the principles of Enlightenment as their basis, such as the rights of citizens, citizenship, and nationalism.
These changes, however, were brought about through violent turbulence, which included executions by the thousands by the notorious guillotine along with repression, especially during the ‘Reign of Terror’, as well as military conflict, which involved all other European powers. Some of the later events that can be linked back to the French Revolution are: the Napoleonic Wars, the monarchy being restored, and two more revolutions, as France, as we know it today, slowly emerged.
The Causes of the French Revolution
Social Causes:
By the latter part of the 18th century, France was on the verge of the revolution. There were several reasons for this, which had been insidiously building up for a number of years, although the main cause could be attributed to the great disparity between the Royalty, clergy and nobility on one side, and the middle classes and peasants on the other.
The population of France at that time was separated into three estates: The first estate, numbering about 100,000 people, comprised the clergy; the second estate, numbering about 400,000 people, comprised the nobility; and the third estate comprised the peasantry, wage earners, and the bourgeoisie, which made up 90 percent of the population of France.
Under this system, while the first and the second estates were conferred with great privileges, the third estate was downtrodden under oppressive conditions. First of all, even though they were the wealthiest, the first and the second estates hardly paid any taxes. Plus, they were the only ones who could hold high positions in French society. In addition, the monarchy, via the local officials and ministers, wielded absolute authority and power over France. For instance, the parliament, known as ‘States General’, had not been convened since 1614. These conditions gradually became cause for great resentment in the third estate.
The Privileges of the First and Second Estate:
- Tolls were collected by the aristocrats from people who used markets and roads.
- The aristocrats were exempted from paying most of taxes.
- The aristocracy were also exempt from doing military service.
- The aristocrats had almost full authority over the peasant class.
- Most clergy and aristocrats lived extremely luxurious lives in palaces and chateaus.
The Unfair Conditions of the Third Estate:
- The peasant class had no right to fish or hunt in the estates of the aristocrats.
- The peasant class was forced to pay taxes to the Church, the King, as well as to their noble master.
- The peasant class had to serve in the military.
- The peasant class had to use their noble master’s winepress, oven, and mill, and pay for doing so.
Monetary Causes
The brewing discontent and resentment amongst the common people of France may not have led to the political revolution without the fiscal crisis that the country was plunged into by the late 1780s, by which time the government of France was bankrupt, with a debt amounting to 4000 million livres. A lot of money had been spent in waging expensive wars, with no gains to show for it.
The royals were accused by the people of spending enormous amounts of money on their luxurious lifestyles, particularly the highly unpopular Queen Marie-Antoinette, the wife of Louis XVI, whose extravagance and opposition to reform were contributory factors to the monarchy being eventually overthrown.
Others thought that the system of taxes was unfair and corrupt, accusing some tax collectors of not handing over their taxes to the government.
Failure of Harvests
During the 1700s, a large majority of the French people relied almost entirely on farming and agriculture for their subsistence. From the years 1787 to 1789, the weather turned for the worse, with summers that were too hot, extremely hard winters, and unprecedented heavy rains, which resulted in three years of very poor harvests in the country. This, in turn, resulted in a reduction of incomes amongst farmers and peasants, while the prices of food rose acutely. The bad harvests also led to the unemployment of a large number of farmers. Thus, there was starvation amongst large sections of the poorer classes, but they could not get any employment and therefore could not afford to buy food.
In the meantime, the royals, the aristocrats, and the clergy continued living their luxurious lives in their grand chateaus and palaces. This was the time Queen Marie-Antoinette was supposed to have famously said: “If they have no bread, let them eat cake!” (although there is some dispute whether she had actually said those words)
Opposition from the Parlements and the Philosophes
During this period, the monarchy of France also came under increasing criticism from the very people who worked for them. Past practices were criticized by the king’s own ministers, which led to them proposing reforms. However, the parlements, which comprised thirteen regional royal courts, with the Parlement of Paris at their head, were the source of the most influential dissent. The parlements were endowed with the authority of registering royal decrees, all of which had to be registered by them before they became law. The parlements often opposed the initiatives of the king which they thought threatened the liberties and rights of the people. They projected a picture of a France that was historically free, while denouncing the absolute rule of the monarchy in publications that were widely distributed.
This opposition by the parlements coalesced with that of others, particularly an influential group of intellectuals, known as the philosophes. Although they did not recommend violent revolution, however, they claimed to be the voice of the general people, putting forth the argument that the common man had certain inalienable rights and that the government was supposed to ensure those rights. They went on to ridicule the inefficiencies as well as the abuses of power by the monarchy, which they published in treatises and pamphlets, much of it illegal.
Some of the most influential figures of the Enlightenment in France whose thoughts influenced the basic ideas of the French Revolution were: Voltaire, who criticized absolutism and the Church; the Marquis de Condorcet, who propounded notions of progress; the Baron de Montesquieu, who popularized the constitutional system of England; Denis Diderot, who argued in favor of social utility, while he spoke against tradition; and most of all Jean-Jacques Rousseau, with his views of popular sovereignty. The economic reform that was proposed by the physiocrats, which A.R.J. Turgot attempted to put in place in 1774-1776, was foiled by the resistance of the privileged classes to let go of any of their privileges as well as the failure of the king to back strong economical and social measures.
It was at this time that the philosophes and the parlementaires fashioned a vocabulary, which would later be used to debate and define political ideas during the Revolution. They gave a new definition to terms like ‘nation’, ‘rights and liberty’, ‘an arbitrary ruler oppressing the people’, and ‘despotism’.
The Estates General called by King Louis XVI
The King wanted the help of the aristocracy in reforming the tax system, which he asked them to do in 1787. He wanted them begin paying some of the taxes, a proposal that they rejected. Hence, the King called for a meeting of the Estates General in 1788, who were representatives from the three estates, which had last met in 1614. The meeting was held at the palace at Versailles, in the year 1789. The King was hoping that the Estates General would give approval for new taxes. The clergy and the nobles wanted to carry on with their privileges. The middle classes wanted a democracy like the one in England. And the peasants wanted their problems to be solved and their representatives asked them to make a list of their grievances. While the King had made the palace of Versailles the venue for the meeting, he also had large numbers of troops there. Some thought that this was an attempt by him to cow down the representatives. He did not provide them with any proposals that could be discussed, and they had to think of ideas themselves. This resulted in the King not having any control over the meeting.
The French Revolution
It was the year 1789, when the States General met in the month of May, that marked the beginning of the French Revolution. Then, in the same year, on the 14th of July, the famous storming of the Bastille took place, and in the month of October, King Louis XVI, along with the Royal Family, was moved to Paris from Versailles. The Royal Family attempted to flee from Paris to go to Varennes in 1791, but failed. A Legislative Assembly began functioning from the month of October in 1791 up to the month of September in 1792, when the National Convention replaced it due to the advancing allied armies of Holland, Austria, Sardinia, and Prussia. The National Convention proclaimed France to be a Republic. It was in the month of December in 1792 that King Louis XVI was brought to trial, and executed on the 21st of January, 1793. In the same year, war was declared on Britain by the revolutionary government.
Immediately after the King was executed, the Revolutionary Tribunal and the Committee of Public Safety were set up. The infamous Reign of Terror, with its equally infamous symbol, the guillotine, was ruthlessly used by the ruling faction to execute every potential enemy, beginning in the month of September 1793. Earlier, King Louis XVI had met his fate under its blade. Then Queen Marie-Antoinette, Philippe Egalite, although he had voted for the execution of the King, the Girondins, Madame Roland, and many more, right up to the execution of Robespierre (who was the leader of the Jacobins, and one of the main architects of the Reign of Terror) on the 27th of July, 1794.
Thousands of people were condemned to death by the guillotine by the Revolutionary Tribunal. While some of them were killed for their political actions or opinions, many were killed merely because of suspicion or because getting rid of them was beneficial for others. Most of the people sent to the guillotine made the trip there unceremoniously in a tumbrel, a farm dumpcart, which proceeded through jeering crowds. About 18,000 to 40,000 people were put to death during the Reign of Terror.
The Directory replaced the Convention in 1795, which in turn was replaced by the Consulate in 1799. It was in the month of May, in 1804, that Napoleon Bonaparte became the Emperor of France. | https://thehistoryfiles.com/what-caused-the-french-revolution/ |
New Project Aims to Educate Churches About Restorative Justice.
The Project Help website states its purpose as “to involve God's people in bringing healing, wholeness, and peace to victims, offenders, communities, and law enforcement and criminal justice professionals affected by crime.” The projects views are informed both by the Biblical mandate to minister to those in need and the restorative paradigm of crime being a harm that must be repaired and that all parties affected by crime should be involved in the response. Project Help: Restorative Justice's general goals are
- Education- to develop an understanding of restorative justice and why
the church should be involved in the response to crime
- Motivation- to inspire and equip individuals or churches to become involved in restorative justice ministry
- Activate: to lead churches or their members in starting or participating in a restorative justice ministry.
This ministry focus seeks to fill the spaces neglected by the criminal justice system. The Restorative Justice Ministry Resource Guide outlines restorative justice, the trauma experienced by all those affected by crime and the needs they have. It breaks down the different needs for all of those impacted by crime and provides advice and resources for churches to respond. These include:
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Victims (and their families)
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Offenders
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Families of Offenders
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Ex-offenders
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Law Enforcement Personnel
The goal is to create a space for understanding and healing for these groups as they work for reconciliation and reintegration.
In the educational aspect of Project Help: Restorative Justice, the resource guide provides outline for holding a church or community wide conference. The conference outline walks organizers through the learning and planning stages. Materials also include guidelines for researching the services already being offered in the community as well as how to meet the needs of the those impacted by crime.
Throughout the two year focus on restorative justice, WMU will provide other resources through quarterly resource kits and its publications. | http://www.justicereparatrice.org/www.restorativejustice.org/editions/2002/June2002/restorativejusticeministry |
Chapter 4 Restorative Justice/Community Justice
Restorative justice offers a different framework for the administration of justice and the promotion of individual and community safety. The concept of restorative justice involves the offender, the victim, and the community in efforts to create a balanced approach that addresses all stakeholders' needs.
Upon completion of this chapter, students will understand the following concepts:
Traditionally, America's systems of criminal and juvenile justice have focused on crimes committed against the state, on seeking justice through what many view as an "adversarial process," and on punishment of the offender. In the United States, victims' involvement in the criminal justice system has emanated from their roles primarily as witnesses rather than as active, welcome participants. While this involvement has changed with the advent of increasing victims' rights and programs, the justice system still tends to be more "offender directed" than "victim centered."
This traditional approach has been challenged by the new paradigm of a more balanced vision. Restorative justice, the guiding philosophical framework for this vision, promotes maximum involvement of the victim, the offender, and the community in the justice process, and presents a clear alternative to sanctions and intervention based on retributive or traditional treatment assumptions (Bazemore and Umbreit 1994, 1). Restorative justice is both a philosophy and an approach that seeks to balance the interests and needs of crime victims, offenders, and the community (Seymour 1997).
Unlike America's framework for criminal justice and juvenile justice, restorative justice is not a system or a network of agencies. Rather, restorative justice is based upon a shared set of values that determines how conflicts can be resolved and how damaged relationships can be repaired or improved. This value-based approach to justice can cause confusion in justice professions that have traditionally been based on structures and agencies. However, the ultimate goal of restorative justice is to infuse its shared values and practical applications into America's traditional approaches to criminal and juvenile justice.
In Restorative Justice: An Overview (1998), Tony Marshall described the genesis of the idea of restorative justice:
The first use of the term is generally ascribed to Barnett (1977), referring to certain principles arising out of early experiments in America using mediation between victims and offenders. These principles have been developed further over time, as commentators have thought them through further, and as other innovative practices have been taken into account, but their basic justification is still grounded in practical experience. Innovation in criminal justice has mainly been in response to frustrations that many practitioners have felt with the limitations, as they perceived them, of traditional approaches. In the course of their normal work, these practitioners started to experiment with new ways of dealing with crime problems. Practice developed through experience of "what worked" in terms of impact on offenders, satisfaction of victims, and public acceptability. In particular, it was realized that the needs of victims, offenders, and the community generally were not independent, and that justice agencies had to engage actively with all three in order to make any impact. For instance, public demands for severe punishment, which those working to reform offenders found to be counter-productive, could only be relieved if attention was paid to victims' needs and healing the community, so that offender rehabilitation could only occur in parallel with the satisfaction of other objectives. Similarly, the overloading of courts and other justice agencies was due to the increasing lack of capacity of local communities to manage their indigenous crime problems, so that escalating costs could only be prevented by agencies working in partnership with communities to reconstruct the latter's resources for crime prevention and social control.
Restorative justice is not therefore a single academic theory of crime or justice, but represents, in a more or less eclectic way, the accretion of actual experience working successfully with particular crime problems. Although contributing practice has been extremely varied (including victim support, mediation, conferencing, problem-oriented policing, and both community- and institution-based rehabilitation programs), all these innovations were based on recognition of the need for engagement between two or more of the various parties (victim, offender, community). Coming from very different directions, innovating practitioners found themselves horning in on the same underlying principles of action (personal participation, community involvement, problem-solving, and flexibility). As practice is refined, so is the concept of restorative justice.
In the course of this development, there has been much inspiration from examples of "community justice" still in use (or recently so) among other non-western cultures, particularly among the indigenous populations in such New World countries as North America (Native American sentencing circles) and New Zealand ("Maori justice"). These practices have particularly contributed to the development of "family (or community) group conferencing," and were effective in moving restorative justice ideas away from the excessive individualism of victim/offender mediation practices, providing a new community-oriented focus . . .
The transition from an adversarial justice process to one that is more restorative requires significant change in both practice and principles. While there are many practical applications of restorative justice, it is important that such practices be based upon a shared set of principles and values. In a 1996 national teleconference on restorative justice sponsored by the National Institute of Corrections, participants offered seven basic principles of restorative justice upon which stakeholders can begin to evaluate existing efforts and create new approaches to justice practices:
FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
In 1997, the Mennonite Central Committee published Fundamental Concepts of Restorative Justice, which focuses on three key theories that form the foundation of both the philosophy and practices of restorative justice.
Crime is fundamentally a violation of people and interpersonal relationships.
- The primary victims are those most directly affected by the offense but others, such as family members of victims and offenders, witnesses, and members of the affected community, are also victims.
- The relationships affected (and reflected) by crime must be addressed.
- A restorative justice process maximizes the input and participation of these parties--particularly victims as well as offenders--in the search for restoration, healing, responsibility, and prevention.
- The roles of these parties will vary according to the nature of the offense and the capacities and preferences of the parties.
- The state has circumscribed roles, such as investigating facts, facilitating processes, and ensuring safety, but the state is not a primary victim.
Violations create obligations and liabilities.
- Since the primary obligation is to victims, a restorative justice process empowers victims to effectively participate in defining obligations.
- Offenders are provided opportunities and encouragement to understand the harm they have caused to victims and the community and to develop plans for taking appropriate responsibility.
- Voluntary participation by offenders is maximized; coercion and exclusion are minimized. However, offenders may be encouraged or required to accept their obligations if they do not do so voluntarily.
- Obligations that follow from the harm inflicted by crime should be related to making things right.
- Obligations may be experienced as difficult, even painful, but are not intended as pain, vengeance, or revenge.
- Obligations to victims, such as restitution, take priority over other sanctions and obligations to the state, such as fines.
- Offenders have an obligation to be active participants in addressing their own needs.
- Has a responsibility to support and help victims of crime to meet their needs.
- Bears a responsibility for the welfare of its members and the social conditions and relationships which promote both crime and community peace.
- Has responsibilities to support efforts to integrate offenders into the community, to be actively involved in the definitions of offender obligations, and to ensure opportunities for offenders to make amends.
Restorative justice seeks to heal and put right the wrongs.
- The safety of victims is an immediate priority.
- The justice process provides a framework that promotes the work of recovery and healing that is ultimately the domain of the individual victim.
- Victims are empowered by maximizing their input and participating in determining needs and outcomes.
- Offenders are involved in repair of the harm insofar as possible.
- Face-to-face encounters are appropriate in some instances while alternative forms of exchange are more appropriate in others.
- Victims have the principal role in defining and directing the terms and conditions of the exchange.
- Mutual agreement takes precedence over imposed outcomes.
- Opportunities are provided (but not expected) for remorse, forgiveness, and reconciliation.
- Recognizing that offenders themselves have often been harmed, healing and integration of offenders into the community are emphasized.
- Offenders are supported and treated respectfully in the justice process.
- Removal from the community and severe restriction of offenders are limited to the minimum necessary.
- Justice values change above compliant behavior.
- Community members are actively involved in doing justice.
- The justice process draws from community resources and, in turn, contributes to the building and strengthening of community.
- The justice process attempts to promote changes in the community to prevent similar harms from happening to others.
- Justice monitors and encourages follow-through, since healing, recovery, accountability, and change are maximized when agreements are kept.
- Fairness is assured, not by uniformity of outcomes but through provision of necessary support and opportunities to all parties and avoidance of discrimination based on ethnicity, class, and gender.
- Outcomes that are predominately deterrent or incapacitative should be implemented as a last resort and involve the least restrictive intervention while seeking restoration of the parties involved.
- Unintended consequences, such as the co-optation of restorative processes for coercive or punitive ends, undue offender orientation or the expansion of social control, are resisted (Zehr and Mika 1997).
The traditional and accepted roles of all parties in the criminal and juvenile justice systems are challenged by the framework of restorative justice. The following values and assumptions should be considered by victim service providers in developing roles and responsibilities that are relevant to restorative justice:
The new roles in the balanced approach of restorative justice, as articulated by Dr. Gordon Bazemore, are included in the second column, and the implications of these roles on victims are summarized in the third column of the following chart:
|Traditional* Justice||Restorative Justice||Implications For Victims|
|The criminal justice system controls crime.||Crime control lies primarily in the community.||The community--including victims and their allies--participates in and directly benefits from deterrence.|
|Offender accountability defined as taking punishment.||Accountability defined as assuming responsibility and taking action to repair harm.||Offenders are held directly accountable to victims.|
|Crime is an individual act with individual responsibility.||Crime has both individual and social dimensions of responsibility.||Prevention, intervention, and breaking the cycle of violence are important considerations.|
|Crime is an act against the state, a violation of the law, an abstract idea.||Crime is an act against another person or the community.||The victim is individualized as central to the crime and the criminal justice system process, with the community duly noted as also affected by crimes.|
|Punishment is effective:
|
a. Threat of punishment deters crime.
b. Punishment changes behavior.
|Punishment alone is not effective in changing behavior and is disruptive to community harmony and good relationships.||Punishment is augmented by direct accountability to the victim and to the community, with victims having a strong, consistent voice.|
|Victims are peripheral to the process.||Victims are central to the process of resolving a crime.||Restorative justice principles are "victim-centered."|
|The offender is defined by deficits.||The offender is defined by his or her capacity to make reparation.||Reparations to the victim and to the community are a priority.|
|Focus is on establishing blame, on guilt, on past (did he/she do it?).||Focus is on problem solving, on liabilities/obligations and on the future (what should be done?).||A central goal is to deter future criminal action through conflict resolution, problem solving, and fulfilling obligations to the victim and to the community.|
|Emphasis is on adversarial relationship.||Emphasis is on dialogue and negotiation.||Victims are active participants in determining appropriate reparations.|
|Imposition of pain to punish and deter/prevent.||Restitution as a means of restoring both parties; goal of conciliation/restoration.||Restitution holds the offender accountable and is meaningful to both him/her and the victim.|
|Community is on the sideline, represented abstractly by the state.||Community as facilitator in restorative process.||Just as the community is negatively affected by crime, it is positively affected by restorative justice process.|
|Response is focused on the offender's past behavior.||Response focused on harmful consequences of the offender's behavior; emphasis on the future.||Crime deterrence in the future focuses on victim and public safety.|
|Dependence on proxy professionals.||Direct involvement by participants.||Victims and their allies are directly involved in the criminal and juvenile justice and restorative justice processes.|
* In original publication, called "retributive" justice.
Kay Pranis, Restorative Justice Planner for the Minnesota Department of Corrections, offers nine questions (1997) that should be answered in developing restorative justice partnerships and practices:
1. How can we increase opportunities for victim involvement in defining harm and potential repair?
2. How can we increase offender awareness of injury to the victim?
3. How can we encourage offender acknowledgment of wrongness of his/her behavior?
4. How can we involve the offender in repairing the harm?
5. How can we acknowledge victim harm and confirm that the victim is not responsible for what happened?
6. How can the community send messages of disapproval while not banishing offenders?
7. How can the community provide opportunities for the offender to repair the harm?
8. How can the community be involved in the process of holding offenders accountable?
9. How can the community be supportive of victims and help meet their needs?
While restorative justice holds great promise for victims, many crime victims and service providers remain suspect of both the concept and the practical applications of restorative justice. Some of their fears and concerns are based on actual experiences, i.e., judges ordering victim/offender mediation without the victim's knowledge and/or consent, or victim/offender programs being developed without input from victims or those who serve them, with the expectation that they will be willing participants. Other fears and concerns are based upon victims' perceptions such as reading early publications about restorative justice that are offender-focused with little attention paid to victims' needs or concerns. If victims and service providers are truly to be stakeholders in restorative justice, their fears and concerns must be addressed in a meaningful way.
Restorative justice provides victims with a viable alternative to an adversarial justice process
that has traditionally ignored their interests and needs. While victims are increasingly being afforded considerable constitutional and statutory rights and improved services, they are seldom considered "partners in justice." Restorative justice offers victims the opportunity to join as equal partners with community representatives, professionals who assist offenders, justice practitioners, and victim service providers in planning, implementing, evaluating, and improving restorative justice programs and practices. When crime victims are excluded or diluted in restorative justice partnerships, the end result is likely to be continued growth in adversarial opposition to restorative justice.
Victims and those who serve them must contribute to and validate a community's shared values of restorative justice. This includes input into, as well as a shared understanding of, the following:
While there are generally accepted shared values of restorative justice, a community's guiding principles must "fit" the interests, needs, and challenges inherent among a locale's restorative justice community.
Restorative justice practitioners must also clearly define how their initiatives are beneficial to victims. In the 1997/98 Restorative Justice Regional Symposia sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, ten "marketing messages" for victims and those who serve them were proposed:
1. Crime victims' traditional roles solely as "witnesses" or "complainants" are expanded to incorporate victims as clients of the criminal and juvenile justice systems and welcome members of the community concerned about justice and safety.
2. Victims are given an active voice in the system and in other matters related to their cases.
3. Restorative justice approaches offer victims important choices related to their cases that can help return a sense of control to their lives in the aftermath of a crime or delinquent act.
4. The five core victims' rights are: information, input, notification, restitution, and protection. All should be afforded through restorative justice principles, programs, and practices.
5. Victim satisfaction is often directly related to the levels of participation and respect they are afforded by the criminal and juvenile justice systems--levels that are substantially increased through restorative justice approaches.
6. Important partnerships are forged among crime victims, victim advocates, justice and allied professionals, and community representatives to prevent and respond appropriately and sensitively to crime and delinquency.
7. Victim/offender programs offer crime victims the opportunity to seek answers to crucial questions they may have resulting from their victimization.
8. Offender accountability to the victim provides opportunity for both remorse from the offender and constructive, positive recourse for the victim.
9. Many victims believe their involvement in restorative justice programs and approaches will help offenders develop empathy and understanding for the harm and pain they have inflicted upon their victims, their own families, their communities, and themselves.
10. Restorative justice approaches provide opportunities for communities to learn about and support sensitive responses to victims of crime (Seymour 1998).
THE LANGUAGE OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
One of the most significant barriers to victim involvement in, and acceptance of, restorative justice is the language that is sometimes used within a restorative context. Victims' concerns extend beyond mere semantics to the expectations some words imply--that victims will heal, or that forgiveness should be an end result of restorative justice.
The word "restorative," for instance, is appropriate and powerful when describing a context or approach to justice. When the term "restoring victims" is used, many crime victims and service providers express viable concerns. Rather, "restoring justice to victims" through comprehensive, meaningful services and implementation of victims' rights is a more appropriate reference.
The term "victim/offender reconciliation" implies that there was a conciliatory relationship in the first place. While this may be true in some cases--particularly those involving interfamilial offenses--it is not true for many others. As such, caution should be utilized with this word.
The crucial concepts of "healing" and "closure" are frequently cited in restorative justice literature, policies, and programs. It is important to remember and respect that healing is a journey, not a destination. For many victims, "closure" is not only an unrealistic word; it is an unrealistic expectation. Neither healing nor closure should be cited as expected outcomes of restorative justice.
Perhaps the most inflammatory concept within a restorative justice framework is that of "forgiveness." Again, forgiveness should never be expected. If forgiveness emerges through restorative justice processes, it is healthy and welcome. Yet forgiveness from the victim--especially for offenses that cause horrendous acute and chronic trauma (both physical and emotional)--can be extremely difficult. Forgiveness without any display of remorse, sorrow, or rehabilitation from the offender can be impossible. Deschutes County, Oregon Chief Community Justice Officer Dennis Maloney emphasizes the importance of "earned redemption," that is, offenders must make diligent efforts to earn the victims' understanding that can lead them to mercy for the suffering and losses they have endured.
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE AND VICTIM TRAUMA
An in-depth understanding of victim trauma is essential for restorative justice practitioners, including:
An increased understanding of victim trauma emerges from comprehensive training and from speaking directly to--and soliciting feedback from--crime victims and those who serve them. It is also important to recognize that the majority of victims do not report crimes to law enforcement; therefore, it is imperative that restorative justice values and practices incorporate approaches that attend to the needs of nonreporting victims.
In addition, restorative justice must recognize and respect that each victim, and each case, is unique. While a substantial body of research offers a general understanding of what many victims might go through, it can be detrimental to "paint all victims with a broad brush." Previctimization factors, socioeconomic status, presence or absence of a support system, and treatment by the justice system all contribute to how a victim may--or may not--react to restorative justice initiatives. The unique aspects of victimization are critical, in that they can affect a victim's willingness or ability to participate in or appreciate restorative justice practices.
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE AND VICTIMS' RIGHTS
The effective implementation of victims' rights should form the foundation of restorative justice initiatives. There are strong rationales for integrating core victims' rights within a restorative justice context, most notably implementation of victims' rights is key to victim satisfaction and involvement with justice processes. The five victims' rights within a restorative justice framework include the following:
Victim notification. Notification to victims, upon request, about the status of their cases and offender should systematically take place from the time the offense occurs through any appellate processes. Restorative justice practitioners should be aware of the fifty-eight possible points of notification to victims (NCVC 1997), and promote interagency collaboration to "fill in the cracks" of notice and information. It is also important to note that "notification" should include the provision of information to victims about opportunities to participate in restorative justice-related programs and services, such as victim/offender mediation, victim impact panels, and completion of victim impact statements.
Victim impact statements. Victim impact statements can be truly restorative when they elicit the following information from victims:
The combination of "specific" and "open-ended" questions will elicit valuable insights into the victim's opinions, recommendations, and desire to participate in victim/offender programming. In addition, the victim impact statement can include a question regarding whether or not the victim wishes to be notified of the offender's status (such as violation of probation or release from incarceration/detention). The victim impact statement should be forwarded to the proper authority.
Victim/witness protection. Victims and witnesses should always be asked if they have any safety concerns, recognizing that many victims will not disclose this important information unless they are given a clear opportunity to do so. Restorative justice practitioners should directly solicit input from victims as to their need and recommendations for protective measures, such as "no contact orders" from offenders who are under both community and institutional supervision. Special attention should be paid to screening victims for participation in victim/offender programming and ensuring that the program's environment maximizes victim security.
Restitution. Restorative restitution is the first priority of offenders' financial/legal obligations (with the exception of child support, in which case the "first priority" is shared). Offender accountability through restitution is emphasized. If restitution poses a financial hardship on an offender--or if he or she is unable or unwilling to pay restitution--a clear determination must be made whether or not the victim endures undue financial hardship as a result of the crime (which is usually the case).
Interdisciplinary systems must be established that order, monitor, collect, and disburse restitution payments to victims. Practitioners should provide help to victims in documenting losses (see "Restitution" chapter of this text) and guide them in seeking civil or other recourse for nonpayment. Offenders' satisfactory completion of terms of restitution can be reinforced with incentives such as supervised out-of-state or community travel. Victims should also be allowed to seek restorative community service from the offender in lieu of, or adjunct to, actual restitution orders.
Victim information and referrals. While all restorative justice practitioners are not required to be "experts" in victim advocacy, they should be knowledgeable about and able to make qualified referrals to victim services. Information about victims' rights and services available to help victims at the local, state, and national levels should be universally available. In addition, all restorative justice programs should have at least one designated staff member or volunteer to serve as the "primary point of contact" for victims who need information and/or referrals.
MEASURING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS
As the victims' rights discipline increases its attention to program evaluation, and as more states and jurisdictions move toward performance-based evaluative measures, so must restorative justice consider effective approaches to measuring success and to identifying components that need improvement. In 1999, the Victims Committees of the American Probation and Parole Association and American Correctional Association are developing recommendations for evaluating restorative justice programs and initiatives (Seymour 1999). The following are measures included in the Committees' original draft:
- Notification of the case or offender status.
- Restitution and/or other financial/legal obligations.
- Protective orders or other measures to increase victim safety and security.
- The right to submit a victim impact statement, written, oral, through audio/video tape, and/or by teleconference to the hearing site.
- Information about and referrals to supportive services, offered either in the community or by the criminal or juvenile justice system.
- Requesting direct service from the offender?
- Having direct input into the community service placement from a list provided by the community corrections agency?
- Requesting that offenders provide community service to the victim assistance or community-based agency of the victim's choice?
- Community reparative boards.
- Family group conferencing.
- Healing or sentencing circles.
- "Impact of Crime on Victims" programs.
- Victim/offender mediation or dialogue.
- Victim impact panels.
In addition, the job performance measures of criminal and juvenile justice professionals must be changed to reflect the delivery of victim assistance and services. In the traditional justice system, great emphasis is placed on the numbers of cases processed, their outcomes in terms of sentences and findings, and services/programs provided to defendants, convicted offenders, and adjudicated youthful offenders. With a restorative justice approach, the evaluation measures for victim assistance and services described above should be incorporated into job descriptions and duty statements. Only when professional advancement is based upon victim assistance will the victim component of restorative justice be fully realized and implemented.
The traditional roles of professionals and volunteers within the justice system and victim services change in a restorative justice context. Practitioners must be willing and able to cross the habitual and customary boundaries that tend to isolate justice agencies (law enforcement, prosecution, courts, and community/institutional corrections) from each other, with limited consideration given to victims' rights and services as well as to community participation. In a restorative justice framework, partnerships work to eliminate boundaries and forge meaningful relationships that benefit victims, offenders, the community, and justice processes as a whole. The elevation of crime victims, those who serve them, and the community to "partner status" as restorative justice stakeholders holds tremendous promise for altering traditional roles in positive ways.
These changing roles must be reflected through changes in laws, agency policies, and interagency policies that define and integrate restorative justice, either into existing justice practices or into community-based initiatives. Most justice-related efforts are guided by legal mandates and agency policies and protocols. Serious attention should be focused on initiating or enhancing all guidelines and mandates that determine how "justice" operates and its roles and responsibilities to crime victims and those who serve them.
Just as the role and involvement of victims change considerably within a restorative justice framework, so do those of the community. Restorative justice validates the fact that communities, as well as individuals, are hurt by crime. It reflects a core belief that there is no such thing as a "victimless crime"--that any offense, no matter how "minor," has a detrimental impact on at least one person, and often on an entire neighborhood or community. It provides opportunities for communities to define the harm they endure as a result of criminal activity and involves them in developing solutions that promote both individual and community safety.
In the 1997/98 Restorative Justice Regional Symposia sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, Kay Pranis offered four assumptions about the relationship of the community to crime:
1. The community is an entity affected by criminal behavior.
2. The community is a collective, responsible for the welfare of its members, including victims and offenders.
3. The community is a stakeholder in broader policy issues.
4. Community strength is the ultimate outcome measure for (restorative justice) interventions.
Pranis also identified four key community responsibilities in responding to crime as follows:
1. Rally around the victim and attend to the wounds of the victim.
2. Provide the opportunity for the offenders to make amends for the harms caused by their behavior.
3. Establish norms and hold community members accountable to those norms.
4. Address underlying issues revealed by crimes.
With restorative justice approaches, a number of processes emerge that build a sense of community relevant to public safety, victim assistance, and offender accountability and reintegration:
Initially, the framework of restorative justice in the early 1990s focused primarily on juvenile justice. The balanced and restorative justice (BARJ) juvenile justice paradigm can best be described as a combined emphasis on three programming priorities:
New roles in the balanced approach promulgated by restorative justice are included in the following chart (Bazemore and Umbreit 1994, 4):
|Accountability - When a crime occurs, a debt incurs. Justice requires that every effort be made by offenders to restore losses suffered by victims.|
|Juvenile justice system role: Direct
juvenile justice resources to ensure
that offenders repay victims and
complete other relevant restorative
requirements as a top system priority.
|
Intended Outcome: Efficient, fair, and meaningful restorative justice practices; increased responsiveness to victims' needs.
|Offender role: Actively work to
restore victims' losses and
participate in activities that increase
empathy with the victim and victims
generally.
|
Intended Outcome: Understanding of consequences of offense behavior; increased empathy; feeling of fairness in justice process.
|Community role: Assist in the process
by providing paid work opportunities for
offenders, help to develop community
service work projects, and support victim
awareness education.
|
Intended Outcome: More participation in and support for the juvenile justice system; message that victims receive priority.
|Competency Development - Offenders should leave the juvenile justice system more capable of productive participation in conventional society than when they entered.|
|Juvenile justice system role: Access
youths' strengths and interests and
identify community resources to build
on those strengths in a way that
demonstrates competency. Engage
youth in these activities and provide
necessary supports for successful
completion. Build prevention
capacity through productivity
partnerships with employers,
educators, and other community
agencies.
|
Intended Outcome: More opportunities for youth competency development; improved image of juvenile justice; increased competency.
|Offender role: Become actively
involved in activities that make a
positive contribution to the
community while building life skills;
make continuous progress in
improving educational skills while
using existing skills to help others.
|
Intended Outcome: Increased sense of competency and self-esteem; exposure to and interaction with positive adult role models; improved public image of youth.
|Community role: Become partner with
juvenile justice system in developing
opportunities for youth to make
productive contributions to the
community while learning positive civic
and other values.
|
Intended Outcome: Increased community involvement in and ownership of delinquency problem; completion of positive work in communities; improved quality of life in community.
|Community Protection - The public has a right to a safe and secure community; juvenile justice should develop a progressive response system to ensure offender control in the community and develop new ways to ensure public safety and respond to community concerns.|
|Juvenile justice system role: Ensure
that offenders are carefully
supervised by staff and a range of
community guardians and that
offenders' time is structured in
productive activities; develop a range
of supervision restrictiveness options
and alternative responses to violations
and incentives for progress.
|
Intended Outcome: Increased public support for community supervision.
|Offender role: Become involved in
competency building and restorative
activities; avoid situations that may
lead to further offenses.
|
Intended Outcome: No offenses while on supervision; reduced recidivism when the period of supervision is over.
|Community role: Provide input to
juvenile justice system regarding public
safety concerns; share responsibility for
offender control and reintegration.
|
Intended Outcome: Increased feelings of safety in community; increased confidence in juvenile community supervision.
The Community Justice Committee of the American Probation and Parole Association offers the following comparison of restorative justice and community justice (1999 draft):
|Restorative Justice||Community Justice|
|A process of responding to criminal acts in ways that promote healing, reparation, and conciliation of all parties harmed by those acts.||A process and method of confronting crime through proactive, problem-solving strategies aimed at prevention and reparation, with interventions that help to create and maintain safer communities and an improved quality of life.|
|Considers three distinct and equal stakeholders in the justice process--victims, the community, and offenders.||Regards the community, which includes individual victims and offenders, as the ultimate customer--as well as partner--of the justice system and process.|
|With its goals of reparation and healing focused on its three distinct stakeholders, runs on a parallel track with traditional justice practices. Other justice components, methods, and practices that are not restorative in nature are not considered to be part of the process. Punishment "for the sake of punishment" is negatively viewed.||Seeks harmonious working relationships among all justice components, methods, and practices within a transformed justice system. In a community justice system, the arrest, prosecution, conviction/adjudication, sentencing, and supervision of offenders would all be considered as equally legitimate means to an end. All components and methods would be tied to clearly articulated common values and ultimate goals of community well-being. Principled and fair punishment (sanctioning as punishment, not for punishment) would be considered a valid response to criminal actions and victimization. Victims would have priority over victimizers.|
|The ideal results of restorative justice are peaceful, harmonious, and just relationships among individual victims, offenders, and their communities, as well as stakeholder satisfaction with the justice process.||The ideal results of community justice are safe, vital, just, and peaceful communities where crime cannot flourish as well as customer satisfaction with the justice system and process.|
While these terms are often used interchangeably, it is important for victim advocates to understand the significant differences between community justice and restorative justice.
In describing the context of community justice in relationship to crime victims, Deschutes County (Oregon) Chief Community Justice Office Dennis Maloney (1998) said:
. . . the system virtually ignored the crime victims. While most people, when confronting the scene of a crime, would attend to the victim first, then try to discern what damage has been done to the surrounding community, and finally proceed to call the police so that the offender could be apprehended, our criminal justice system appears to adhere to the reverse protocol. We appoint government-financed legal services for the offender, provide counseling and therapeutic interventions, and even upon incarceration provide extensive educational and vocational services. All the while, crime victims languish to deal with their trauma through their own means. Many in the public even perceive us to be offender advocates at the expense of victim and community needs.
Maloney goes on to describe the transformation that occurs within a community justice framework:
. . . the victim is regarded as the paramount customer of the justice system. Offenders are held accountable in constructive and meaningful ways, and crime prevention is viewed as a high priority. Citizen participation in attending to victims' needs, determining priorities, mediating restitution requirements, and supervising community service projects is central in a community justice approach. Justice system officials are careful to state that this shift can occur while remaining steadfast to due process requirements.
We are committed to public safety, justice for victims, the reparation of the community and accountability and personal development of offenders, with respectful treatment for all involved.
Agency mission statements should be reviewed and revised with input from leadership and line staff, as well as from key stakeholders representing victims, offenders, and the community.
- Has this crime(s) had an effect on you and your family? If so, how?
- Is your quality of life affected by this crime(s)? If so, how?
Neighborhood impact statements can also invite the community to "partner" with justice professionals in developing solutions to specific and chronic crimes. They are an excellent tool to validate people in high-crime areas as "hurt by crime," and send a message that the justice system cares about their concerns and wants to work with them on creative solutions.
- How did the crime affect you and your family?
- What was the emotional impact of the crime?
- What was the financial impact of the crime?
- What do you want to happen now? (This question provides an opportunity to offer parameters for what the system can and cannot do.)
- Would you like an opportunity to participate in victim/offender programming? (This question should only be utilized if the victim has been provided with a thorough overview of victim/offender options, and what they entail.)
- Do you have a recommendation for community service if it is ordered as part of the sentence? (This question can include direct service to the victim [upon request]; service of the victim's choice; and/or having the victim select the community service from a list of options provided by the court or supervising agency.)
- Is there anything else you would like to tell the court?
The combination of "specific" and "open-ended" questions will elicit valuable insights into the victim's opinions and recommendations. In addition, the victim impact statement should include a question regarding whether or not the victim wishes to be notified of the offender's status (such as violation of probation or release from incarceration/detention), which can then be forwarded to the proper authority.
Restorative Justice/Community Justice Self-Examination
2. Identify two differences between traditional and restorative approaches to justice.
3. Select one of the five core victims' rights and describe its implementation within a restorative justice framework.
4. Identify one role of the community in a restorative justice framework.
5. Describe two "promising practices" in restorative justice.
Chapter 4 References
Maloney, D. 1998. "Justice and the Community." Oregon's Future (Fall): 16-18.
Marshall, T. 1998. Restorative Justice: An Overview. St. Paul, MN: Center for Restorative Justice and Mediation.
McLagan, J. 1992. Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Restorative Justice to the Minnesota Department of Corrections. Minneapolis, MN.
National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC). 1997. Arlington, VA.
National Institute of Corrections. 1997. Restorative Justice, videotape. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
Pranis, K. 1997. Restorative Justice Asks These Questions. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Department of Corrections.
Pranis, K. 1997-98. "Community Role and Responsibility." Restorative Justice Regional Symposia Conference Binder. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
Seymour, A. 1997. The Victim's View of Restorative Justice, unpublished speech. Washington, DC.
Seymour, A. 1998. "Restorative Justice: What's In It for Crime Victims and Service Providers?" Restorative Justice Regional Symposia Conference Binder. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice.
Seymour, A. 1999. Restorative Justice Victim-related Performance Measures. Lexington, KY: American Probation and Parole Association; Laurel, MD: American Correctional Association.
Zehr, H. and H. Mika. 1997. Fundamental Concepts of Restorative Justice. Harrisonburg, VA: Mennonite Central Committee. | https://www.ncjrs.gov/ovc_archives/nvaa99/chap4.htm |
Restorative justice (also sometimes called "reparative justice") is an approach to justice that focuses on the needs of victims, offenders, as well as the involved community, instead of satisfying abstract legal principles or punishing the offender. Victims take an active role in the process, while offenders are encouraged to take responsibility for their actions, "to repair the harm they've done—by apologizing, returning stolen money, or community service". Restorative justice takes crime seriously without increasing repression and exclusion involving both parties and focusing in on their personal needs. In addition, it provides help for the offender in order to avoid future offences. It is based on a theory of justice that considers crime and wrongdoing to be an offense against an individual or community rather than the state. Restorative justice that fosters dialogue between victim and offender shows the highest rates of victim satisfaction and offender accountability. According to Zehr and Mika (1998), there are three key ideas that support restorative justice. First, is the understanding that the victim and the surrounding community have both been affected by the action of the offender and in addition, restoration is necessary. Second, the offender's obligation is to make amends with both the victim and the involved community. Third, and the most important process of restorative justice is the concept of 'healing.' This step comes in two different parts: the healing for the victim, as well as meeting the offender's personal needs. Both parties are equally important in this healing process to avoid recidivism and to instill safety back into the victim's life. There are various methods of restorative justice practiced, some examples are victim offender mediation, conferencing, healing circles, victim assistance,ex-offender assistance, restitution, and community service. Each method focuses in on the needs of both the offender and the victim and heals in different ways. Restorative justice principles are characterized by four key values: first, the encounter of both parties. This step involves the offender, the victim, the community and any other party who was involved in the initial crime. Second, the amending process takes place. In this step, the offenders will take the steps necessary to help repair the harm they have caused. Third, reintegration begins. In this phase, restoration of both the victim and the offender takes place. In addition, this step also involves the community and others who were involved in the initial crime. Finally, the inclusion stage provides the open opportunity for both parties to participate in finding a resolution. The process of restorative justice is lengthy and must be committed to by both parties for effective results.
Restorative justice is defined as:
… a broad term which encompasses a growing social movement to institutionalize peaceful approaches to harm, problem-solving and violations of legal and human rights. These range from international peacemaking tribunals such as the South Africa Truth and Reconciliation Commission to innovations within the criminal and juvenile justice systems, schools, social services and communities. Rather than privileging the law, professionals and the state, restorative resolutions engage those who are harmed, wrongdoers and their affected communities in search of solutions that promote repair, reconciliation and the rebuilding of relationships. Restorative justice seeks to build partnerships to reestablish mutual responsibility for constructive responses to wrongdoing within our communities. Restorative approaches seek a balanced approach to the needs of the victim, wrongdoer and community through processes that preserve the safety and dignity of all".
Restorative justice is very different from either the adversarial legal process or that of civil litigation. "Court-annexed ADR (alternative dispute resolution) and restorative justice could not be philosophically further apart", because the former seeks to address only legally relevant issues and to protect both parties' rights, whereas restorative justice seeks "expanding the issues beyond those that are legally relevant, especially into underlying relationships."
Similarly, citing Greif, Liebmann wrote
“ a way of looking at restorative justice is to think of it as a balance among a number of different tensions: | https://enacademic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/140377/Restorative_justice |
The Restorative Community Network distinguishes between the terms Restorative Practices, Restorative Justice, Restorative Approaches, and School Based Restorative Approaches. In separating these terms, the purpose is not to valuate processes or terms. Rather, the RCN aims to offer a consistent terminology to create a unified framework of understanding.
Agreeing with International Institute for Restorative Practices (Wachtel, 2013), The RCN views Restorative Justice and Restorative Approaches as subsets of Restorative Practices and School Based Restorative Approaches as a subset of Restorative Approaches. Restorative Practice is a paradigm that shifts the traditional view of justice from the traditional judicial process of punitive and isolative to transformative and healing. Understanding that crime is a violation of people and relationships, Restorative Practices create obligations to ‘make things right’ or healing the relationships damaged by crime or harm, emphasizing the redress of injustice by means of understanding, compassion, and mutual resolution. Restorative Practices also looks at the root causes of crime and community harm including community relationships and implicit biases.
Restorative Justice is reactive, consisting of formal and informal responses to crime and other wrongdoing after it occurs.
Restorative Approaches includes the use of formal and informal process that proceed wrongdoing, those that proactively build relationships, and a sense of community to prevent conflict and wrongdoing. And School Based Restorative Approaches take place in the Educational setting.
While the traditional judicial system focuses on the offender and the State (court), Restorative Practices involve victims, offenders, and community in a search of solutions and promotes repair, reconciliation, and reassurance. Instead of focusing on the weaknesses or deficits of offenders and victims, Restorative Practices attempts to draw upon the strengths of individuals and their capacity to openly address the need to repair harm. Restorative Practices denounces criminal behavior yet emphasizes the need to treat offenders with respect and to reintegrate them into the larger community in ways that can lead to inclusive behavior.
While Restorative Justice is defined by its 4 components, the flexibility of Restorative Practices allows for its use in prevention. Research demonstrates that crime is directly correlated to a sense of disenfranchisement and/or lack of connection with one’s community. Therefore, using restorative practices as a means to strengthen community relationships is becoming increasingly recognized as a prevention tool.
Restorative Practices is a movement making inroads into a range of fields outside of the criminal justice system with a large emphasis on community involvement. Type your paragraph here. | http://www.rcnsb.org/about-restorative-practices.html |
Restorative Justice and Procedural Justice – Two Sides of the Community Policing Coin
This article originally appeared in ‘Command: The Official Publication of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police‘.
Two days before his inauguration, now-Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker published his stance on issues facing Illinoisans and how he and his administration were planning to solve them. One issue – mass incarceration – was a central campaigning point for Governor Pritzker, who was ardent in his desire to implement restorative justice as a viable alternative to punitive justice. To assist in implementing restorative justice principles in Illinois, Governor Pritzker proposes the creation of the Office of Criminal Justice Reform and Economic Opportunity, an agency that will “focus on making sure the services people need are being delivered and prevent people from entering the system in the first place.” His recently formed Restorative Justice and Safe Communities Committee, a 42-member panel that is advising the Pritzker administration in achieving the new office’s goals, places the governor one step closer to creating a “system that diverts youth and adults from incarceration in the first place, modernizes sentencing, encourages rehabilitation, and works to reduce gun violence and create economic opportunity.” The Illinois chiefs are proud to have representation on that 42-member committee.
In 2018, the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police (ILACP) reaffirmed its commitment to procedural justice – as one of the Ten Shared Principles with the Illinois NAACP – and the vital importance of incorporating fairness in processes, voice, transparency in actions, and impartiality in decision making.6 Over the past several years, many Illinois police chiefs have focused significant attention, energy and effort implementing procedural justice programs. After the Governor’s announcement on Restorative Justice, the question has been raised by police chiefs – how do these efforts match up with the Governor’s priorities?
Restorative Justice: A Simple Definition
Discussions about the theory of restorative justice often veer off into other related topics, but the core definition is relatively simple: it is a process in which “all parties with a stake in a specific offense come together to resolve collectively how to deal with the aftermath of the offense and its implications for the future.” The goal is to bring together the whole community and the individuals affected to “put key decisions into the hands of those most affected by crime, make justice more healing, and reduce the likelihood of future offenses.” For example, an offender can be brought into a hearing with family, friends and community members to “reconnect the offender to their sense of responsibility to the community.” The Illinois Juvenile Justice community has been implementing restorative justice practices for several years. This includes family group conferences, peace circles, community services and restitution and victim impact panels. On the adult side, restorative justice programs focused on offenders returning to the community from prison, require those returning offenders to take accountability for their actions and enter into agreements with the community that may focus on restitution, community service, and letters of apology. Repairing criminal harm done to the community by having the community repair itself is a crucial way to build a sense of responsibility that will hopefully have lasting impact on increasing recidivism and strengthening neighborhoods. Encouraging feelings of “responsibility to family, friends, and community will enhance commitment to self-regulatory actions…against future transgressions of the law.”5
Like restorative justice, procedural justice is also community-oriented in practice. While both theories, however, advocate community voice and involvement in justice-related matters, procedural justice places a greater emphasis on the idea of overall fairness and respect for people in all criminal justice encounters, especially those involving minority and protected class individuals. Some of the most significant negative discourse surrounding policing over the past several years has been driven by the perception that our minority communities are often treated differently by the police. In many communities this has drastically reduced public confidence in the police. The goal of procedural justice is to treat all people fairly, impartially and equitably in their encounters with the police, in a process that is transparent, understood and effective in providing a real voice to any individual or community during any type of police encounter.8
This process is designed to lead to a greater willingness on the part of the public to obey laws, “improving community perceptions of police legitimacy,” and a decrease in crime rates. The first pillar of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing is to “build and rebuild trust through procedural justice, transparency, accountability, and honest recognition of past and present obstacles.” Procedural justice is crucial to the success of community policing, as is restorative justice. Whenever the community is involved and individuals feel as if their voices are heard in every step of the legal process, it is a step in the right direction for rebuilding the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve. Essentially, procedural justice is related to an individual’s sense of obligation and responsibility to authorities. Law enforcement officials can help to develop trust and increase this sense of obligation by engaging in procedural justice practices. Restorative justice is more focused on a person’s relationship with friends, family, victims and their community and their feelings of not wanting to disappoint those individuals and groups.
Proactive Community Engagement Builds Trust
While procedural justice and restorative justice are not the same theory, they integrate key aspects of strengthening the community from within. Whether by advocating communal ownership of healing from crime or fostering a more transparent and fair criminal justice system, both procedural and restorative justice seek to encourage everyday compliance with the law through a better understanding of individuals’ place in society as valuable community members. We see these components as equally valuable and vital to continual advancement in policing by giving greater voice to those who must drive how our communities are polices – the communities themselves. Both programs drive the latest advancement in community policing where police agencies work hand-in-hand with the community to develop policing strategies up front, including policies and practices that provide for community-focused policing that is consistent with community expectations of police service. This is what puts true meaning in a community’s voice.
A Great Start for The Governor – A Great Opportunity for Illinois Policing
The Governor has made the advancement of restorative justice in Illinois a priority – for his administration and stakeholders across Illinois. Since this will be a statewide initiative, law enforcement agencies should consider their approaches to restorative justice and procedural justice as they relate to holistic community policing. This presents a real opportunity for local law enforcement agencies to open new dialogues with the Governor’s office and with their local communities to identify ways to better serve juveniles and returning offenders, including potentially implementing restorative justice techniques. Police chiefs should view this as a much-needed step towards healing law enforcement-community relations that have been fractured.
Marshall, T.F. (1999) Restorative Justice: An Overview. Great Britain: Home Office.
Sharpe, S. (1998) Restorative Justice: A Vision for Healing and Change. Edmonton, Canada: Edmonton Victim Offender Mediation Society.
Tyler, T.R. (2006). Restorative Justice and Procedural Justice: Dealing with Rule Breaking. Journal of Social Issues, 62(2). 315-316. | https://www.hillardheintze.com/law-enforcement-consulting/restorative-procedural-justice-community-policing/ |
Restorative Justice Circles facilitate a healing process through an intentional face-to-face process that brings together a victim, a person who has caused harm, and other members of the community affected by the harm, such as family and community members.
These circles provide a safe space where transformative healing and understanding can take place. The circles are kept by trained facilitators who seek to provide the victim, person who has caused harm, and others a chance to discuss the effects of the harm and agree on actions that the responsible person can take to best repair the harm caused.
These circles ultimately nurture a safer community where individuals are more understanding, empathetic, and less likely to commit further harm. In some cases where the harm committed is considered a legal “offense,” restorative justice circles can serve as an alternative program diverting these cases from the juvenile justice system, thus providing youth with a “second chance.”
As a part of our restorative justice offerings, these circles fit within the larger framework of restorative justice, which aims to rehabilitate those who have caused harm through healing processes that hold them accountable and allow for reconciliation with the broader community.
Youth who have caused harm may be referred to Reach For Youth’s Restorative Justice Circles by local juvenile probation departments, middle and high schools, police officers, other agencies, and by individuals. In circumstances where legal processes are involved, the following conditions must be met in order to be eligible for Restorative Justice Circles: | https://www.reachforyouth.org/services/restorative-justice/restorative-justice/ |
KDFN Justice develops and provides programs and services to KDFN citizens and families who are in conflict with the law or in need of support from victim services, probation, or court-related services.
Building on past success, we will be developing restorative justice options for dealing with child welfare, victim services, policing, courts or corrections related issues.
What is Restorative Justice?
It is an alternative approach to justice that focuses on repairing relationships and the harm caused by a crime or transgression. It holds the person who caused the harm accountable. And, it involves the person who commied the crime, those who were harmed, and the affected communities.
Restorative Justice:
• Is voluntary;
• Is confidential;
• Is held in a safe space;
• Is respectful and has informed consent from all participants;
• Holds the offender accountable; and
• Gives those who were harmed a voice in the outcome.
Kwanlin Dün’s Restorative Justice Program
Our program takes a holistic view of the justice system. It is based on traditional teachings. And, it works towards building a healthy community by:
• creating accountability;
• allowing those who were harmed to have a say in the out come; and
• working to lower recidivism rates.
Restorative Justice Approach
• Address harms that have occurred and subsequent needs of the person harmed;
• Address obligations that result from harms;
• Address the cause of the harm;
• Participation by all of those impacted by the incident;
• Balance concern for all;
• Use of collaborative outcomes.
Restorative Options Include:
• Victim Offender Mediation;
• Community Justice Forums;
• Empowerment/Healing Circles. | https://www.kwanlindun.com/justice/restorative-justice/ |
Over recent years there have been many methods developed on how to address the problem of domestic violence. Some concentrate on social gender stereotypes and domestic violence prevention programmes; some claim that all interventions should be aimed at protecting and healing the victim. Others believe that work must be done with perpetrators to change their behaviour. Despite such diversity of intervention techniques, few are considered effective. Professionals in the field emphasise the complexity and unique dynamics of domestic abuse, which demand an interdisciplinary approach to the problem. Such an understanding leads to the usage of practices that were not initially intended for cases of domestic violence; one of these practices is restorative justice.
What is restorative justice?
Restorative justice is not merely a technique or process; it is a theory and value-based practice that began in the late twentieth century. This approach is totally different from the traditional criminal justice system due to major paradigm shifts in understanding crime, the offender and victim, punishment, and accountability.
To begin with, the understanding of crime itself is different in the two approaches. In the criminal justice system, crime is seen as the violation of the law; so crime is committed against the country. On the contrary, restorative justice defines crime as harm caused to a specific person and to social relationships. From this point of view, the key figures in the process also differ. In the traditional system, the main stakeholders are the state and the criminal; whereas in restorative justice, the main stakeholders are the offender and victim. Such dissimilarities in basic concepts lead to divergent processes. It is obvious that in the criminal justice system the court process is adversarial in nature; whereas restorative programmes denote the cooperation of parties involved. It is evident that the nature of the process greatly influences the emotional state of the key participants. In court, emotions are tense, overwrought, and anxious, and this does not lead to the renovation of the relationships. On the contrary, restorative justice is aimed at reinstating positive connections between human beings, which is possible due to such feelings as forgiveness, love, understanding, encouragement, hope, comfort, and assurance.
Another important aspect differentiating the two approaches is who makes the decisions. In the criminal justice system, professional judges are responsible for the verdict. In restorative justice programmes, both sides of the criminal conflict decide how to deal with the consequences of offence. Finally, there is a great difference in understanding responsibility. In the criminal justice system, being responsible means accepting punishment as the cure. On the contrary, restorative justice understands responsibility as the accused freely taking accountability before the victim to reimburse the harm caused. Thus, in restorative justice processes, principle notions are perceived differently than in the traditional criminal system.
Tony Marshall, author and researcher from Great Britain, defined restorative justice as:
a way of dealing with victims and offenders by focusing on the settlement of conflicts arising from crime and resolving the underlying problems which cause it. It is also, more widely, a way of dealing with crime generally in a rational problem solving way. Central to restorative justice is the recognition of the community, rather than criminal justice agencies, as the prime site of crime control.2
Simply speaking, restorative justice is aimed at healing the victim and offering the possibility to all parties involved in the conflict to take an active part in its resolution. Despite their novelty, restorative processes that foster dialogue between the offender and the victim have already shown the highest rates of victim satisfaction, true accountability from the offender, and reduced recidivism.3
Restorative justice may take many different forms, but nowadays the most common are three programmes: victim-offender mediation, family group conferencing, and restorative circles. Victim-offender mediation is usually a meeting, in the presence of a trained mediator, between the victim of a crime and the person who committed that crime. Family group conferencing has a much wider number of participants than mediation; among them can be family members of the victim and/or offender, as well as people connected to each side (for instance, friends and professionals). Circles include an even greater range of participants and may include members of community (neighbours, local authorities, and so on). There are many types of restorative circles: healing, sentencing, circles of support and accountability, and others.
Even though these programmes are quite diverse, they have a common process. Victims have the opportunity to express the full impact of the crime upon their lives, to receive answers to any lingering questions about the incident, and to participate in holding the offender accountable for his or her actions. Offenders can tell their story of why the crime occurred and how it has affected their lives. They are given an opportunity to make things right with the victim – to the degree possible – through some form of compensation. Also, great attention is given to crime prevention in the future, and that is where the role of community is crucial.
Restorative justice and domestic violence
The integration of restorative justice philosophy and domestic violence/sexual abuse research is not an easy one. Professionals in the social service system continuously emphasise the complexity and uniqueness of the dynamics of abuse.4 The cycle of violence should be taken into consideration when exploring the possible application of restorative justice practices. There are a few key aspects about domestic abuse that should be especially considered. First, abusive relationships usually occur between people who are in intimate relationships (i.e. marriage, parent/child, etc.), making it difficult to address safety requirements. Therefore, they often need immediate intervention and continuous protection to ensure the safety of the victim. Secondly, such relations involve a power imbalance between the victim and the abuser. Thirdly, domestic violence is an ongoing crime that is deeply ingrained in the relationship and the abuser’s way of thinking, so extensive and complex intervention is required in order for change and healing to occur.
Such characteristics of the domestic violence cycle are often obstacles to the use of restorative justice programmes. For instance, the restorative approach is not applicable when there is an initial imbalance of power or a lack of time, and when the safety of participants cannot be guaranteed. These shortcomings prevent restorative practices from being used solely to deal with family abuse. At the same time, however, restorative justice offers some unique instruments that can be used to overcome the problem of domestic violence in communities. First of all, the restorative justice philosophy is of special importance: the crime is viewed not as some ephemeral violation of the state law but as the harm of the relationship of two people who live in a community. Such understanding shifts the focus of the intervention significantly, giving a more holistic approach to the problem.
It has to be recognised that it is quite difficult to organise restorative justice programmes, mediation for example, in cases of domestic violence for both victim and offender at the same time. However, restorative justice circles still may be of great importance in such cases. For example, a healing circle may be organised for an abused woman to strengthen her, to help her recover, to build a safety net in the community for her, and thus to help her avoid the re-victimisation. Such circles may be organised either for one victim or for a group of abused women.
Likewise, a circle of support and accountability may be organised for the offender; it may help him recognise the problem, find needed services in the community (i.e. anger management, rehabilitation, etc.), and to be held accountable and responsible through means of social control.
Finally, circles may be organised for the community in which incidents of domestic violence occur. The topics for such circles might vary greatly: community values, raising awareness about the problem, services for victims and offenders, ways to help victims, and many others. Such broad community circles might play a tremendous role in domestic violence prevention. Discussing the problem of domestic violence in the community openly breaks the silence and ensures that such cases will not be ignored and that steps will be taken to overcome the violence. Besides, it is possible to talk about long-term effects, such as community-building. In every country where restorative justice is implemented, there are clear examples of how these programmes help to bring communities together to solve difficult social problems, like abuse, addiction, etc.
Restorative justice practice in Ukraine was implemented in 2003. The restorative programmes in Ukraine are mainly used for criminal offences committed by juveniles, but they also have been used for family matters, though never in situations of domestic violence. However, there were numerous cases when the restorative approach was used as a community-building technique, either through restorative circles, restorative approach trainings, or restorative programmes in schools.
Restorative programmes in schools have proven to be the most effective. The administration of the schools, where restorative justice practices are carried out as the conflict-resolution method on a regular basis, claim that the students became more disciplined and the number of conflicts involving physical force significantly dropped. This is mainly attributed to the fact that restorative practices teach children and communities to solve conflicts in non-violent ways. There is a higher possibility that as these children grow up and create their own families, they will use the acquired skills of non-violent conflict resolution, which gradually may lead to building safe, healthy families and communities.
To conclude, over recent years domestic violence has been given more attention and this has led to the emergence of new intervention approaches. Even though restorative justice was not originally meant for cases of domestic abuse, certain restorative programmes and principles can be successfully used, for example, healing circles for victims. The experience of many countries demonstrates that restorative programmes can be tools for rediscovering basic human values and strengthening positive relations and community ties; thus they become good methods for violence prevention in society.
Questions and comments are welcome; email [email protected].
Nataliya Pylypiv is from Ukraine. She graduated in 2010 with a MA in Social Work (Consulting and Public Administration). Since 2006, Nataliya has worked in the Ukrainian Centre for Common Ground, an NGO which implements restorative practices in Ukraine.
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Suggested reading:
G Bazemore and M Umbreit, ‘Rethinking the Sanctioning Function in Juvenile Court: Retributive or restorative responses to youth crime’, Crime and Delinquency, vol. 41, no. 3, 2005, pp. 296-316.
J Braithwaite, Crime, Shame, and Reintegration, New York, 1989, repr., Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2006.
J Braithwaite, ‘Restorative Justice’, Crime and Justice: A review of research, vol. 25, 1999, pp. 84-85.
N Christie, ‘Conflicts as Property’, British Journal of Criminology, vol. 17, 1977, pp. 1-15.
National Statistics Committee, ‘Crime rates in Ukraine’, (Dec., 2008) <http://www.ukrstat.gov.ua>, accessed 15 March 2009.
K Pranis, B Stuart, and M Wedge, Peacemaking Circles: From crime to community, 1st edn., St. Paul, Minnessota, Living Justice Press, 2003.
H Zehr, Changing Lenses: A new focus for crime and justice, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, Herald Press, 2007. | http://wscf-europe.org/mozaik-issues/overcoming-violence-in-society-how-the-restorative-approach-might-help/ |
You may have heard of a growing movement to steer away from traditional school discipline and move towards an alternative practice called restorative justice in education today. Traditional discipline systems follow the rule that students get punished if they break a rule. However, in recent years many believe that this type of punishment may lead children in the direction of further bad behavior. Some schools now think that providing students the ability to work through their issues can lead to “when you know better, you do better.” Here’s everything we know about restorative justice in schools.
What is Restorative Justice in Schools?
Restorative justice is an alternative to traditional discipline such as suspension or expulsion in schools. The restorative justice definition focuses on mediation and agreement rather than punishment for negative behavior. Through restorative justice, students learn to accept responsibility and resolve conflicts on their own or within a group. Restorative justice practices can be used exclusively or as an add-on approach to traditional discipline philosophies. It can also be combined with social-emotional learning.
How to Implement Restorative Justice in Schools
There is no tried and true rule of how you must implement restorative justice in your school. However, if you’re looking for a change in how you respond to misbehavior or any type of violation then you start by identifying what you can do to make things better. Once you come together as a school and a community, then you can better identify what you already have in place that is working and what you still need to work on.
As a Classroom Agreement
You can create a classroom respect agreement to implement a restorative practice in the classroom. Typical classrooms have rules that the teacher already sets, the problem with this is that the students have no stake in these rules because they did not help set them. When they have no ownership of the rules, they are easier to break. However, when the students help set the rules that they have ownership of, they will be harder to break. Discuss values that are important to students and make a list as a class. When the list is student-driven versus teacher-driven, students will feel part of the process and have a sense of buy-in.
As an Intervention
In a traditional classroom when someone breaks the rules, they are punished. In a restorative justice classroom, when someone breaks the rules, they need to make things right. Mediation is used instead of punishment. The mediator (typically the teacher) chats with the offending student and asks restorative questions; then, they make a plan together. The goal is to build and repair any damage that is done by talking about things that can help make the relationship stronger. These restorative chats can be done one-on-one, in small groups, or a whole group setting.
What are the Benefits of Restorative Justice?
There are many benefits of using restorative practices in schools, such as resolving conflict, building healthy relationships, holding students accountable for their actions, and reducing and improving harmful behavior. Here, we’ll take a closer look at some of the many potential benefits of restorative justice.
Creates a Sense of Community
According to a 2022 review in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, the most used restorative practice in school is called “restorative circles.” These circles help build a sense of community by allowing students’ voices to be heard while encouraging learning and mutual respect. Students can express and manage their emotions while increasing their awareness of their actions and how they may affect others.
Keeps Kids in the Classroom
Restorative practices help to keep kids in the classroom, says the Justice and Prevention Research Center. In a punitive school system, children are removed or expelled from the classroom because the punitive approach means that negative behavior gets a negative consequence. Often, this may lead to children ending up in the juvenile justice system. However, one of the goals of having restorative practice in schools is to help break this cycle by keeping kids in school and focused on their education.
Helps to Address Root Problems
Another popular restorative practice in schools, according to the 2022 review mentioned previously, was restorative conferencing and conversations. This is the practice of addressing conflicts (even minor ones) to help students learn how to better manage and respond to conflict. It also gives them a safe space to get to the root of the problem. These conversations help children learn how to manage their disputes and participate in decision-making independently.
In addition, restorative practices help students be accountable for their actions while building emotional skills and practicing empathy. It shows them the importance of communication and resolving conflict while building community. It also encourages students to face their fears in a safe learning environment.
You can implement restorative justice practices in your classroom by holding restorative circles, creating a classroom respect agreement, and using mediation instead of punishment as means to resolve conflict. If you’re looking to implement a school-wide restorative justice program, then you can learn what it takes to make this happen in this Restorative Justice Whole School Implementation Guide.
Looking for graduate-level educator content? Check out our educator’s blog and 200+ available masters, doctorates, endorsements, and certifications to advance your career today! | https://www.graduateprogram.org/2022/12/restorative-justice-in-schools/ |
What is biblical restorative justice?
here we see the restorative priorities of biblical legislation. For most offences, justice was secured through recognition, repentance, restitution, and reconciliation— things that served to repair relationships and restore community.
What is restorative justice in religion?
Restorative justice sees justice as healing, relational, community-based, inclusivist, participatory, needs and accountability-based, and forward-looking. RJ is not merely a conflict resolution tool; it is a set of principles and a way of life.
What is restorative justice in simple terms?
A more formal definition is this: Restorative Justice is a theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm caused by criminal behavior. … Crime causes harm and justice should focus on repairing that harm. The people most affected by the crime should be able to participate in its resolution.
What is the main purpose of restorative justice?
Restoration — repairing the harm and rebuilding relationships in the community — is the primary goal of restorative juvenile justice. Results are measured by how much repair was done rather than by how much punishment was inflicted.
What is restorative justice examples?
Examples of restorative justice outcomes include restitution, community service, and victim-offender reconciliation.
What are 5 basic principles of restorative justice?
These together form a kind of compass to help us work restoratively in various settings.
- Invite full participation and consensus. …
- Work towards healing what has been broken. …
- Seek direct accountability. …
- Reintegrate where there has been division. …
- Strengthen the community and individuals to prevent further harms.
Does God forgive all sins?
All sins shall be forgiven, except the sin against the Holy Ghost; for Jesus will save all except the sons of perdition. … He must receive the Holy Ghost, have the heavens opened unto him, and know God, and then sin against him. After a man has sinned against the Holy Ghost, there is no repentance for him.
What does an eye for an eye mean in the Old Testament?
“An eye for an eye” (Biblical Hebrew: עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן, Ain takhat ain) is a commandment found in Exodus 21:23–27 expressing the principle of reciprocal justice measure for measure. … The intent behind the principle was to restrict compensation to the value of the loss.
What is God’s punishment for sin?
God has pronounced that the penalty of sin is spiritual death and separation from God in a place of judgment called hell: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Jesus clearly taught that sinners were condemned in sin and would perish and go to hell if they didn’t believe in Him as their Savior (John 3:16-18). | https://saintleonards.org/biblical-reading/what-is-restorative-justice-christianity.html |
Welcome To HOPE City
The Mission of HOPE City is to bring community healing and wholeness through restorative justice practices. Our Vision is to see communities healed and reconciled where restorative justice is the natural response to crime or wrongdoing.
We involve all those impacted by conflict to find a way forward. Learn more about our restorative practices in schools.
HOPE City's mission and vision.
The services and programs HOPE City offers are an alternative to traditional criminal justice processes. Learn more about victim/offender discussions and more.
A unique approach to address crime and conflict.
HOPE City's desire is to see family connections strengthened across our city. Learn more about our Restorative Parenting Classes and Family Reconciliation Circles.
There are many opportunities to be apart of HOPE City. Find out how to volunteer here.
Sign up for a training today. | https://www.hopecityredding.com/ |
Restorative justice has become an important feature of the evolving discourse and practice of justice and has begun to transform many of the traditional, deeply held views about its nature and purpose. Often contrasted rather too simplistically with justice as retribution, the essence of restorative justice is that it requires, at a minimum, ‘that we address victims’ harms and needs, hold offenders accountable to put right those harms, and involve victims, offenders, and communities in this process’. This minimalist definition captures effectively the core of restorative justice. It demands accountability of offenders, seeks to repair the harm done to victims and regards the victim, offender and community as stakeholders in the process of this repair. Indeed, this relational dynamic involving victim, offender, and community is at the heart of the transformation that restorative justice seeks to achieve.
Definitions abound, and in different parts of the world certain practices aimed at achieving restorative justice have been tried, sometimes effectively. The values and principles of restorative justice have thus far been deployed primarily in two contexts: in the administration of criminal justice and in political situations where the persistence of inherited, systemic injustice is an ongoing cause of political conflict. In the case of criminal justice systems, much of the impetus to employ the principles of restorative justice arose from the recognition that the law-and-order agenda, with its harsh version of retributive justice has, by and large, failed to reduce crime, satisfy victims, or rehabilitate offenders. Of course many citizens believe that even harsher punishment would eventually have a positive impact on crime rates and recidivism. However, the evidence on the effectiveness of harsh punishment regimes, to date, is inconclusive. Into this space therefore has emerged a practitioner-led movement that seeks to establish a restorative justice system alongside the retributive one, thus reshaping the administration of criminal justice by adding a restorative strand where it is most appropriate and effective.
In the international political context, the impetus has arisen from what is described as ‘the liberal peace agenda’, that is, the growing recognition that the establishment of just social and political institutions across the world can only occur when there is a concomitant commitment to deal with the injustices of the past, and with the structural vulnerabilities that these produce in the present. From Northern Ireland to South Africa, from Timor-Leste to Guatemala, the principles and practices of restorative justice have formed an important part of the efforts to create a political reconciliation. Successes have been modest and relative, yet the desire to create peaceful and just societies in the shadow of systemic violence and embedded inequalities supports the view that reconciliation will only be possible with the healing of relationships long-broken.
Howard Zehr, Little Book of Restorative Justice, Vermont: Good Books, 2002, p. 25.
See Hannah Graham Rehabilitation Work: Supporting Desistance and Recovery, New York: Routledge, 2016, and Pamela Ugwudike (ed.), What Works in Offender Compliance: International Perspectives and Evidence-based Practice, Basingstoke: Palgrave 2013. | https://concilium-vatican2.org/en/original/2017-04-08/ |
It is not small people who ask for forgiveness. It is large hearted, magnanimous courageous people who are ready to say what are some of the most difficult words in any language: ‘I am sorry’. But once uttered, they open the way to a new opportunity, the possibility of a new beginning, the chance to start again having learnt a lesson from the past– Archbishop Desmond Tutu
What is Restorative Justice?
Our Definition of Restorative Justice is that:
“it is a process based on the principle, that the people most effective at finding a solution to a problem are the people who are most directly impacted by the problem.”
We facilitate and provide opportunities for those involved in a conflict to work together to understand, clarify, resolve the incident and work together towards repairing the harm caused.
Restorative Justice focuses on the human emotional impact of an incident. It works alongside, but does not replace, the management of crime and justice and other wrongdoings that can occur in any situation, including schools, neighbourhoods, businesses, prisons, etc.
We focus on the people affected by an incident, and the damage that is caused to relationships as a result of a wrongdoing. We pay attention to healing the damage in a range of ways, not all of which are focussed on punishment. A foundation principle is that Restorative Justice balances the needs of the community, victims and offenders after an offence has occurred.
Our processes and principles recognise the vital role of conciliation and mediation as important processes in healing the damage to the community, victims and offenders after crime. We place the healing process into a context that is both punitive where necessary, and reparative where possible. Restorative Justice Principles require offenders to be accountable for their crimes, just as the current system does, but it requires even more accountability by personalising the situation, the problem and the solution.
We believe that the dilemma presented by the increase in crime in western society might be more easily managed by collaborative approaches based on a system that embraces the humanity of all involved and the need to reconcile at a very fundamental level.
How Does Restorative Justice work?
Restorative Justice can involves many different types of processes including:
- Face to face meetings
- Separate meetings
- Restorative Circles
- Large group meetings
We prepare for the process by meeting with all those involved and discussing their input and what they would like to achieve from participating in the Restorative process. Once we have everyone’s agreement we convene a restorative process at a safe neutral environment.
What is a restorative conference?
A restorative conference is a gathering (usually face to face) of the people most directly affected and impacted by a wrongdoing or crime. This will include offenders, victim/s, and family of both offender/victim and any affected community members who wish to participate.
What is a Restorative Circle?
Circle Time is a restorative process used very effectively in school environments and the effective application of Circle Time provides an opportunity for the teacher and class to communicate with each other about issues which promote self-esteem and positive behaviour thus preventing conflict. Circles can also help resolve conflict.
What’s the Purpose of a Restorative Conference?
- To provide all parties present with an opportunity to discuss how a wrongdoing or offence has affected them and others.
- To provide all parties present with an opportunity to discuss how an issue of concern has affected them and others and to address concerns before they escalate into conflict.
- To provide participants with an opportunity to understand and to be accountable for the resultant effect/impact of their behaviour/s
- To provide participants in a community, or offenders and victims with an opportunity to be involved in finding agreed solutions to repair the harms caused.
- To provide opportunities for supporting offenders in completion of rehabilitative reparation.
- To provide the potential for reintegration of the offender into a supportive community.
- Note: An “offender” may not necessarily be a criminal but could be anyone who has caused harm to another within a community. | https://www.restorativejustice.com.au/about/ |
Restorative justice, understood as a set of values, principles and resulting practices, offers many opportunities for preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE). These depend on the exact objectives set for each process and the given context: the type of crime, the development and stage of the conflict, the parties affected and the consequences of the harm.
Restorative justice promotes actions cocreated by its participants, adapted to their specific needs and expectations – and therefore offers a prime opportunity for repairing the harm caused to victims of terrorism. It can be implemented for a wide range of complex violent crimes, as it is not necessary for the encounters between the individuals who harmed and those who have been harmed to be focused on ideological details and justifications for the conflict.
In cases of violent extremism, restorative justice has been used to provide concrete responses to the direct parties affected (e.g. victim-offender mediation), and sometimes to support the wider peacebuilding process in a certain community or country (e.g. through restorative circles). | https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/networks/radicalisation-awareness-network-ran/publications/potential-restorative-justice-cases-violent-extremism-and-terrorism-2021_en |
© Stanislav Tiplyashin | Dreamstime.com - Statue of Justice
Restorative justice requires, at minimum, that we address victims’ harms and needs, hold offenders accountable to put right those harms, and involve victims, offenders, and communities in this process.
~ THE LITTLE BOOK OF Restorative Justice by Howard Zehr
Restorative justice is a theory of justice that can be employed both re-actively, in response to conflict and/or crime, and proactively to strengthen community by fostering communication and empathy. Restorative Justice invites everyone impacted by a conflict and/or crime to develop a shared understanding of both the root causes and the effects. Restorative Justice seeks to address the needs of those who have been harmed, while encouraging those who have caused harm to take responsibility. Restorative Justice emphasizes the capacity of all people for healing, growth, and transformation and in this way it encourages accountability, self-determination, healing, and interconnection. Restorative Justice has a range of applications within communities, schools, and the justice system. It may also be used to address mass social conflict and/or injustice. | https://ar.secure.charterforcompassion.org/sectors/restorative-justice |
Restorative Justice (RJ) is an approach to justice that focuses on addressing the harm caused by crime while holding the offender responsible for his or her actions, by providing an opportunity for those directly affected by crime – victims, offenders and communities – to identify and address their needs in the aftermath of a crime. RJ is intended to support healing, reintegration, the prevention of future harm, and reparation, if possible.
RJ processes provide opportunities for victims, offenders, and communities affected by a crime to communicate about the causes, circumstances, and impact of that crime, and to address their related needs. These processes are guided by skilled RJ facilitators and can take different forms depending on the community, program, case, participants, or circumstances.
Canadians indicated they are not very familiar with restorative justice (RJ), but after receiving an explanation, the majority of Canadians support the use of RJ and see the process as an effective way to repair harms caused by crime.
This annotated bibliography provides a comprehensive inventory and accessible summary of research and scholarly discussions on RJ in cases of adult sexual violence. The annotated bibliography is organized into two main sections: 1) quantitative or qualitative assessments of RJ programs and their outcomes in cases of adult sexual violence, and 2) critical commentary and discussions.
The following concepts detailed in the publication were taken from an article written by Howard Zehr and Henry Mika, (1998),"Fundamental Concepts in Restorative Justice", in Contemporary Justice Review, Vol. 1.
At the primary level, restorative justice in Canada is guided by recognizing the need for victims to heal and put right the wrongs. Restorative Justice also grounds itself in engaging with community and recognizing the need for dialogue between victims and offenders as appropriate.
Canadians are largely supportive of problem-solving approaches to crime, and most want offenders to have access to initiatives that seek to address the 'root causes' of crime based on an offender's unique needs. What we also found:
The majority of Canadians (88%) believe that the criminal justice system should promote problem-solving approaches to crime (58% show strong support. 30% moderate support). Seventy-five percent of Canadians expressed high or moderate (39% and 36% respectively) support the idea that problem-solving justice could reduce rates of re-offending compared with traditional methods of justice.
This report is organized to reflect the rich information gathered from the Listening Project on Crime Victims’ Experiences of Restorative Justice. The structure of this report is as follows:
• background on restorative justice and its relationship with crime victims,
• an overview of the Listening Project,
• findings on the needs of victims of crime and how restorative justice did and did not meet those needs,
• suggestions from Listening Project participants on how to enhance meaningful victim involvement, and;
• feedback and conclusion.
Indigenous people are overrepresented in Canada's criminal justice system as both victims and offenders. National data on Indigenous people in the criminal justice system includes data on self-reported victimization , police-reported homicide, and provincial/territorial and federal custody. In 2014/2015, Indigenous adults accounted for 26% of provincial/territorial custody admissions and 25% of the in-custody federal offender population. The proportion of Indigenous adults in custody was about 9 times higher than their representation in the adult population (3%).
Young people believed it is very important to measure the performance of the criminal justice system (CJS). They indicated that they wanted to know if the CJS effectively deters crime and keeps Canadians safe, treats people fairly and equitably, and holds offenders accountable for their actions.
To inform policy development, public engagement and communications, and to support its mandate, the Department of Justice commissions periodic national surveys to understand Canadians’ perceptions, understanding, and priorities on justice-related issues. Specifically, the study measures awareness, knowledge, and confidence in the criminal justice system and criminal law; examines Canadians’ perceptions of the criminal justice system, the values they want the criminal justice system to reflect, and priorities with respect to criminal justice issues; and Canadians’ expectations of the criminal justice system to support reforms and new initiatives in this area. A large scale survey of 4,200 Canadians on awareness and top-of-mind perceptions,
values and expectations regarding the criminal justice system. Survey respondents were randomly sampled from EKOS’ in-house panel (Probit1).
Most Canadians feel that sentencing guidelines are the best way to ensure a fair sentence and they believe that sentencing would be more consistent with such guidelines. Many Canadians also believe that Canada should consider having a sentencing commission, and that most important activity of this body would be to give judges guidelines for sentencing decisions.
What we also found:
Seven in ten (71%) Canadians indicated that the best approach to sentencing is to provide guidelines while sill allowing for a judge's discretion.
More than eight in ten (83%) thought that guidelines for sentencing would help making sentencing more consistent (only 4% did not believe that this would be the case) and that Canada should consider having set guidelines (81%). | https://search.open.canada.ca/en/od/?mlt_id=925a7d55-ef92-4987-bbed-e68ef9de2d2e |
The concept of restorative justice was entered into the Criminal Code in 1996. Legislators of the time understood that the process of incarcerating and re-incarcerating people was increasing the danger of recidivism and costing communities. People often re-entered the community with emotional issues that weren’t being addressed. By integrating the community into the justice system, better results could be obtained, especially for Aboriginal communities.
One facet of restoration that is not normally discussed in the context of restorative justice is the importance of pardons. Pardons are not considered a part of restorative justice, but, in fact, they should be considered the last link in the circle of healing.
Why should pardons be part of restorative justice?
Pardons, which are currently called Record Suspension in Canada, help the former offender reach a milestone and receive recognition of their accomplishment.
Meeting the conditions of a restorative justice sentencing or healing circle is one accomplishment. Once that accomplishment is met, the individual becomes accountable to oneself and to the community. However, this time, one does not have the direct supervision and conditions of the sentence and must prove an ability to succeed through only personal accountability.
When a person proves that they can do this by maintaining a clean record for a certain number of years, receiving a pardon serves as an acknowledgement and an important recognition.
On the other hand, not being able to apply for a pardon due to eligibility or finances can cause a sense of despair that can contribute to recidivism. Currently, the application alone costs $631 and there are many other associated fees. Many people who apply on their own are unsuccessful at even getting their application accepted for filing.
How are pardons similar to restorative justice?
The object of restorative justice is to generate healing in the community. In order to participate in a restorative justice process, the individual must accept responsibility for their actions in front of the community. This is similar to a pardon. One cannot receive a pardon if one continues to maintain innocence. When filling out the measurable benefit statement involved in the pardon process, applicants should be prepared to talk about how the crime happened and how the pardon will benefit them. A person who feels they are not guilty needs to seek remedies in the court system.
Many people who come before the justice system have faced numerous challenges in their lives, including abuse, unemployment, mental health issues and addictions. During the restorative justice program, these issues are considered alongside the actions of the individual. While traditional courts tend to only look at the actions of the individual, restorative justice circles will look at all of the social factors that contributed to the actions. They will often develop a plan to deal with these factors, such as counselling, treatment, participation in the traditional economies practiced by their communities, such as fishing.
Having this support is often invaluable to the participant as they start to feel like an accepted and important part of the community. However, once the person is rehabilitated, he or she may go on to apply for jobs, volunteer positions and other opportunities only to find themselves shut out by background checks.
A pardon is necessary to assist the person in their rehabilitation by allowing them to remain an active part of the community after their conditions are met. If opportunities are not available, they may become discouraged and return to the types of activities that led them to offend in the first place. They may leave the community and find more challenges trying to establish themselves somewhere else. Without a pardon, a record will follow them wherever they go.
The concept of restorative justice requires a different mindset than that of traditional justice. Restorative justice is only successful if the circle of healing can be completed. Traditional justice focuses mostly on retribution and rehabilitation, but does not address the root causes of the crime – disconnection from the community and a low sense of self-worth. It can only work if there are adequate supports for the offender in the community which may include government programs, non-profit programs and family and friend support.
How can pardons become part of a restorative justice program?
Pardons are important in both cases, but in the case of restorative justice, they can become part of the program:
- Although resources are limited, the community can help the offender obtain the pardon financially. This could be accomplished by donation or work in kind.
- The government could step in and provide support for communities that want to pursue restorative justice through to the stage where the individual is eligible for a pardon.
- The issue of applying for a pardon could be brought up during the sentencing or healing circle and the individual asked to create a plan for the future and how he or she may go about obtaining a pardon to support the restoration.
- One aspect that we feel is essential to making pardons more effective in rehabilitation or restorative justice is to reduce the waiting period that one most wait to apply. The current waiting periods of five years for a summary offence or ten years for an indictable offence are demotivating and could potentially contribute to recidivism.
If you run a restorative justice program or are interested in Record Suspensions and how they can benefit communities, please contact us for more information about the process.
If you would like to apply for a pardon (Record Suspension) contact AllCleared for a free consultation at 1-866-972-7366. | https://allcleared.com/blog/restorative-justice-pardons/ |
Restorative Justice Practice is slowly gaining ground in Lagos State as an integral part of the criminal justice system and this column urges other states in the country to quickly follow the example. Restorative justice can be described as an opportunity for the victim of a crime to meet with the offender who has pleaded guilty to the crime and is willing to offer physical and emotional restitution to the victim and others affected by his/her action.
This new approach will put the real victim in the driver’s seat, unlike the traditional criminal justice system wherein the state is treated as the victim and receives compensation where applicable, or sends the offender to prison as punishment. So, under the traditional criminal justice system, the real victim feels alienated from the processes since even when the offender admits to have the subject of crime in his custody, the magistrate or judge would order that the stolen item be returned to the state.
A training programme in restorative justice shows that it approximates closest to justice in the eyes of the ordinary man, and arguably to what was in practice in the pre-colonial criminal justice system. As part of the introductory process of restorative justice in Lagos State, trainings are going on, and this writer with other certified mediators, was privileged to undergo a rigorous one-week training organised by JSPL Consulting and the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) Programme of the British Council, sponsorship by the European Union.
Under the guide of very experienced faculty of mediators and arbitrators, led by Akeem Olajide Bello PhD, an associate professor at University of Lagos, Mrs Adeyinka Aroyewun, Director Lagos Multi-Door Court (LMDC), Mrs Achare Cole Deputy Director LMDC, and Mrs Sola Adegbonmire, chartered arbitrator, the mediators were taken through a rigorous training on the philosophical framework and fundamental concepts of restorative justice; interrelationship between the Lagos Criminal Justice System and restorative justice principles; roles, interests and rights of various actors in the restorative justice process; overview of the practice direction on restorative justice and procedural steps on arraignment at a magistrate court, and restorative justice programmes and process.
In the introductory remarks, Howard Zehr, described as the grandfather of restorative justice, defined restorative justice as “a process to involve, to the extent possible, those who have a stake in a specific offence to collectively identify and address harms, needs and obligations in order to heal and put things as right as possible.” Robert B. Cormier on his part defined restorative justice as “an approach to justice that focuses on repairing the harm caused by crime while holding the offender responsible for his or her actions, by providing an opportunity for the parties directly affected by crime – victims(s), offender and community – to identify and address their needs in the aftermath of a crime, and seek a resolution that affords healing, reparation and reintegration, and prevent future harm.”
As I have argued on other occasions on this page, the current criminal justice system has substantially failed to give justice to the state, the victim and the accused. The best example as it affects the common man is the tragedy of the so-called awaiting trial men which in some states constitute more than 70% of men and women languishing in jail, which has been rechristened correctional service centres. At the upper echelon of the society, is the fact that while billions of dollars of the Nigerian resources have been stolen over the years, less than 1% of the offenders are in jail.
So, every state should be interested in this innovative form of criminal justice practice which no doubt will ameliorate the debilitating practice on offer presently. Of course, it must be noted that restorative justice may not deal with serious crimes like murder, rape, armed robbery and the like, but it will help clear the clog of small crimes which also impact the society, and that will help the magistrates and judges concentrate on the big criminal cases. After all, every victim of a crime, regardless of the size will feel alienated and disconsolate when the system fails to give him/her what approximates to justice, for the harm done to him/her.
For while a few persons whose item has been stolen by a thief may be assuaged if the offender goes to jail, the majority will rather ask for restitution and perhaps an apology as recompense. Specifically, if a person whose goat has been stolen gets back his goat or the cost of another goat, he will feel better than that the culprit is serving a jail term. Also, the society which is scandalised by such a development would prefer to see the culprit engage in community work that will directly impact them.
From the training manual, we see that while in retributive justice the offender accountability is taking punishment, in restorative justice, the offender accountability is understanding impact of crime and helping decide how to make things right. Again, while under retributive justice the system is concerned with purely legal terms, devoid of moral, social, economic and political dimensions, under restorative system, the offence is examined in the whole context of moral, economic and political contexts. Furthermore, while retributive justice does not encourage repentance and forgiveness, restorative justice encourages such possibility.
The listed benefits of restorative justice for the victim include that he has opportunity to ask questions about the offender, tell the offender how he feels about his/her actions and what the impact of the crime has been, have his/her input on how to make amends, and understand the motivation for the crime. On the part of the offender, he has opportunity to take responsibility for the offence, have a voice to tell his/her story, hear first-hand the impact of the crime on the victim and community, have an opportunity to apologise to the victim and to put things right by carrying out the agreed actions.
The training manual also showed that the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011 (CLLS) make provisions for using restorative justice processes and outcomes in resolving criminal matters. Furthermore, that Administration of Criminal Justice Repeal and Re-enactment Law 2011 (as amended) (ACJL) make some provisions for restorative justice outcomes. Section 3(1) of the CLLS provides that rehabilitation and restoration is one of the guiding principles that should guide the interpretation and application of the law or any regulations creating offences. The other disposition measures listed in section 15(2) are compensation, restitution, community service orders, probation, curfew orders, binding over orders, rehabilitation and correctional orders, victim-offender mediation and other restorative justice measures.
There is no doubt that Restorative Justice Practice will bring a new dimension to criminal justice systems, and I urge other states to key into the programme.
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Current Research Project:
Examining Restorative Justice Supporter Dynamics: Reintegrative Possibilities, Disintegrative Risks
Alhan is interested in understanding the experiences of young offenders within restorative justice programs in comparison to traditional justice system processing. Restorative justice responses to youth crime have become central to Canada’s responses to youth crime, especially under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, which is seen as a crucial alternative to the formal criminal justice system (Tomporowski et al., 2010). Restorative justice offers benefits that are argued to instill more robust cognitive transformation (i.e., a change in thinking about one’s actions in relation to a crime and the harm it caused particular parties and the wider community), and ultimately make communities safer and prevent crime (LeBel et al., 2008). Research on restorative justice, however, often neglects the important role that supporting parties (social workers, counsellors, parents/guardians, police officers, etc.) play in restorative justice mediation. As a result, Alhan’s current thesis aims to fill this gap in knowledge.
Her other areas of interest include corrections, alternative sentencing, role of specialized courts (drug courts), and recidivism (reoffending). During her honours undergrad, Alhan also completed a thesis focused on understanding the effectiveness of pet therapy programs within prisons and how such programs impact inmates’ daily lives as well as the extent that it reduced overall recidivism rates.
What motivated you to pursue this project?
Restorative justice involves youth and adults, but is arguably more prominently used with youth, given the emphasis of the Youth Criminal Justice Act on diversion and rehabilitation. It is also restorative justice sessions with youth where supporter roles are crucial to effectively administer, given that supporters are often parents and other close parties in young people’s lives. Therefore, for this research a combination of supporters such as police officers, social workers, parents as well as young offenders will be interviewed. The interviews will be based on a semi-structured format allowing comparison across interviews, but also the exploration of unique directions. Shedding light on the experiences of supporting members will help provide crucial knowledge to inform best practices going forward, and ultimately benefit all parties involved, as well as the wider community. I have always been really curious about the day-to-day experiences of inmates and especially how youth reintegrate back into the community. My interest also stems from my belief that offenders are also another group of marginalized individuals which society often tends to forget about.
What impact do you think the project will have?
My project will be beneficial for understanding the experiences of supporting members, which will help provide crucial knowledge to inform best practices going forward, and ultimately benefit all parties involved, as well as the wider community. Furthermore, it may also be beneficial for uncovering some of the needs of young offenders that are not currently being met by restorative justice programs. This can not only impact the development of future programs, but it can also provide information on what is working and what is not.
Alhan’s advice to other graduate students:
If you see your research just as a requirement that needs to be completed, you are making a mistake. Make sure you are passionate about what you do! | https://www.csa-scs.ca/files/webapps/csapress/student/alhan-yazdani/ |
Restorative Justice is a response to crime that offers an alternative method of justice to the traditional court system.
Through the Restorative Justice process, offenders, victims and other parties affected by the offence committed are invited to discuss the circumstances with the ultimate goal of coming to agreeable terms for resolution and repair the harm caused to the victim and community.
Results have indicated that offenders participating in the Restorative Justice process are less likely to re-offend or stop offending all together. The process has also resulted in increased satisfaction for both victims and offenders than the traditional criminal justice system approach.
How the program works in BC
Restorative Justice programs are coordinated, managed and funded at the community level.
RCMP officers who attend to calls for service will assess on a case-by-case basis and screen for suitability for referral to the community-run Restorative Justice program. Suitability for these referrals largely rely on the victim’s desire to take this route, as opposed to moving ahead with a criminal charge, as well as the offender’s willingness to be accountable for their actions and participate in the process.
Resources
- Crime Reduction Through Restorative Justice – Province of B.C.
- Victims Bill of Rights
- National Legislation and Policy
Questions
For support and more information about Restorative Justice programs in your community, please contact your local RCMP detachment.
- Date modified: | https://burnaby.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=23&languageId=1&contentId=66718 |
Sat Nam Dear Members of our 3HO, Sikh Dharma, and KRI Community,
As a community built on a shared vision of service, righteous action and goodwill to all, we are facing a time of challenge and polarization. The pain and division that our community is currently experiencing necessitates that we work together to find a place of understanding and healing. Towards that end, we are beginning a program of Compassionate Reconciliation based on the principles of restorative justice, conflict transformation, and other modalities. We hope to include all facets of our community in this effort, as each person is important and all voices need to be included to truly be successful.
We have engaged a team of restorative consultants to help guide us through this process. To find the right team of consultants, the Siri Singh Sahib Corporation (SSSC) created an interim commission with members from the SSSC and our legacy organizations to research the work that has been done in the area of restorative justice and conflict transformation. After vetting 17 teams from around the world, and conducting 12 interviews, three teams were selected for a second round of interviews before making a final decision. We are very happy to announce that our final choice, Just Outcomes, has been hired to help facilitate the Compassionate Reconciliation efforts for our community.
Just Outcomes is experienced in supporting communities who are responding to harmful and difficult situations. They will work with us to create a meaningful approach to the issues that we are facing. These include helping those who reported harm, resolving the issues that divide our community, and finding lasting and just solutions. This will not be a superficial process, and therefore will not be a quick process. We expect to be working with this effort for the next one to two years and we are committed to investing the time and energy required for this work to be successful.
As a first step, a Compassionate Reconciliation Commission will be formed to work directly with Just Outcomes. The commission will consist of members from various facets of our community, who will serve to guide us in this process.
Meanwhile, we invite you to get to know the Just Outcomes team.
Who is Just Outcomes
Just Outcomes is a team of restorative justice consultants who work with leaders in communities and organizations to build and improve systems of community safety, justice, and accountability. Just Outcomes specializes in achieving results that support collective leadership and incorporates the insights, aspirations, and needs of communities and groups.
Just Outcomes Mission
Our mission is to support communities and organizations in developing just responses to harmful actions or situations.
Just Outcomes Vision
We envision vibrant and resilient communities built on the strength of just relations.
Founders and Core Just Outcomes Team
Catherine Bargen
Catherine Bargen has been working with communities to develop restorative justice programs for over 20 years. Working across Canada and internationally, she consults, trains and facilitates restorative justice and conflict transformation processes for schools, communities of faith, Indigenous communities, governmental and non-governmental organizations. Prior to co-founding Just Outcomes, Catherine served for 9 years as the Restorative Justice Coordinator within the Victim Services and Crime Prevention Division of the Government of British Columbia, Canada. She has written and co-authored several widely-read resources on restorative justice, and in 2019 was honored with BC’s Community Safety and Crime Prevention Award. Catherine holds a master’s degree in Conflict Transformation from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding in Virginia, USA. She brings an upbeat style to her work, while offering her genuine care and compassion for all those she works with.
Matthew Hartman has over 20 years multisector experience as a facilitator, trainer, program administrator, and consultant within the restorative justice movement in the US and Canada. His experience includes facilitation of restorative justice processes within varied contexts; work within non-profit and governmental sectors to redevelop and administer restorative justice programming; and, partnering with communities and agencies to align their responses to harm with restorative and universal human values. A highly principled practitioner, Matthew has a longstanding passion for human and organizational development. Blending his curiosity and empathy with exceptional organizational and technical skills, Matthew offers an empowering and collaborative approach to working with people and groups. He holds a master’s degree in Conflict Transformation.
Matthew Hartman
Aaron Lyons
Aaron Lyons is an experienced and passionate peacebuilder and restorative justice specialist with 17 years’ international service in facilitation, consultation, coaching and training. Holding a Masters’ Degree in Conflict Transformation from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, Virginia, he brings years of facilitation practice in restorative dialogue in the aftermath of crime and trauma. Aaron supports a spectrum of governmental and non-governmental agencies to design and implement values-driven, trauma-informed and culturally sensitive approaches to addressing conflict, harm and injustice. He is a strong believer in the ability of people to grow and discover their own creative ways through even the most difficult life experiences. A natural facilitator, writer and instructor, Aaron brings an insightful, engaging, and steady presence to all his work.
If you want to read and learn more about Just Outcomes and their work please click on the following link:
https://www.justoutcomesconsulting.com/
We are currently setting up the systems for inquiries and communications and we will keep the community informed as the work progresses. We are also setting up a new Compassionate Reconciliation website which we plan to have up and running within the next few weeks.
We look forward to beginning this process and joining with our community in this endeavor. We look to the healing light of Guru Ram Das to open our hearts, heal our spirit, and transform our consciousness.
In Service and Consciousness, | https://compassionatereconciliation.com/2020/10/23/october-23-2020/ |
Judge Swain yesterday granted a motion for judgment on the pleadings in favor of PricewaterhouseCoopers and certain other defendants with respect to certain Securities Act claims in a class action relating to AIG’s subprime exposure. The complaint alleged that certain accounting statements in offering documents were false, but expressly disclaimed that they were fraudulently made – presumably to avoid having to plead fraud with particularity. Under the Securities Act, false statements in offering materials can be actionable even without fraudulent intent. After the complaint was filed, the Second Circuit decided Fait v. Regions Financial, which held that plaintiffs challenging statements of opinion in offering materials must plead and prove that the speaker subjectively disbelieved the claims to recover under the Securities Act. Judge Swain’s ruling was largely based on Fait. She concluded that the accounting statements were opinions within the ambit of Fait and also concluded that disputes concerning accounting standards could be decided on the pleadings:
By repeatedly disclaiming fraud and intentional or reckless misconduct in the Securities Act section of the Complaint, Plaintiffs have disavowed any allegation that the Defendants knowingly misstated any opinions they may have implicitly or explicitly communicated in the offering documents and SEC filings. Therefore, the key inquiry is whether the … allegations are opinions subject to Fait’s subjective falsity pleading requirement. The Court finds that they are. … FIN 45 requires disclosure of the “maximum potential amount of future payments” for arrangements that qualify as “guarantees.” However, the Moving Defendants contend that whether a contract qualifies as a guarantee subject to the FIN 45 requirement necessarily requires a complex series of judgments as to whether it fits the criteria set forth in FIN 45 ¶ 3. (Tr. 18-21.) In response, Plaintiffs argue that their allegation that the contracts fell within FIN 45’s ambit should be taken as true on a motion for judgment on the pleadings, thus rendering the disclosure failure one of computational fact rather than one of failure to reach or disclose an opinion. (Tr. at 47-48.) However, they have not presented the Court with any authority supporting their assertion that courts should accept as true a complaint’s interpretation of financial regulations or auditing standards as opposed to purely factual contentions, and the Court’s own research has disclosed none. It is beyond question that legal conclusions need not be accepted as true in evaluating the sufficiency of a complaint; interpretations of accounting principles – which, like laws, define and govern the conduct of aspects of human endeavor – are properly treated in the same way. The Court therefore concludes that the FIN 45 allegations are subject to the Fait requirement and will dismiss them for failure to plead subjective falsity.
Prior coverage of a similar Fait dismissal is in this post. Reuters’ Alison Frankel also discusses, in this post, the impact of Fait in cases where plaintiffs had initially decided to disclaim any allegation of fraudulent intent. | https://www.sdnyblog.com/judge-swain-dismisses-securities-act-claims-against-pwc-citing-recent-subjective-falsity-standard-from-second-circuit/ |
May 2017 • Volume 105 • Number 5 • Page 10
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LawPulse
Accusations against judges: Balancing lawyer ethics and the First Amendment
If you accuse a judge of misconduct, make sure your accusation is based on facts, not your subjective belief. Otherwise, you can run afoul of ethics rules.
All attorneys have opinions about judges. Those opinions are sometimes negative and are often shared around the office, or when talking shop with a colleague.
But lawyers should beware of voicing those opinions in a more public forum. Rule 8.2 of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct prohibits attorneys from knowingly making false statements concerning the qualifications or integrity of a judge.
So when do opinions become lies? The First Amendment protects people who are stating opinions. It doesn't protect defamatory speech. And the issue gets even more complicated when that speech is part of a document filed with the court.
Some years back, the seventh circuit considered the nexus between the First Amendment and ethical rules in In re Palmisano, 70 F.3d 483 (7th Cir. 1995). There, the court reviewed a rule to show cause why an attorney who had been disbarred in Illinois should not be disbarred by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois as well.
The Illinois Supreme Court disbarred Palmisano for making "baseless accusations of crime (and lesser wrongs) against judges.…" Palmisano, 70 F.3d at 485. He referred to specific judges as "crooks" and "fixers." Id. He made these statements in pleadings as well as in correspondence to other judges. The seventh circuit noted that Palmisano provided no factual basis for his statements.
Chicago attorney Mary Robinson says that Palmisano is instructive because it stands for a basic proposition: "When lawyers say that a judge is crooked, the public assumes it's true because a lawyer wouldn't say so if it wasn't the case." The First Amendment doesn't protect defamatory speech, she said. Similarly, it doesn't protect reckless statements about a judge. "If you're going to accuse someone of an intentional criminal act, you need to have a factual basis."
Robinson, who was the Administrator of the ARDC from 1992-2007, points out that the majority of disciplinary cases regarding attorneys speaking out all involve a "line being crossed." That line, she says, is similar to the one that distinguishes opinion from defamation.
The Walker case
A recent case that implicates this distinction between a protected opinion and an ethical violation is that of Bloomington attorney James Walker. According to the Pantagraph (http://bit.ly/2oTdqms), Walker, who is now retired, is asking the Illinois Supreme Court to dismiss his two-year suspension for statements he made about judges in Illinois' third appellate district.
Walker had accused the justices of the third district of engaging in official misconduct, which is a crime in Illinois. Walker told the ARDC Hearing Board he believed the misstatements made by the third district could have been corrected but weren't. In re James Walker, 14 PR 0132, at p. 6. Walker believed that the only reason the court did not correct itself was official misconduct. The Hearing Board disagreed.
The Report and Recommendation of the Review Board in Walker stated that "[a] reasonable belief must be based on objective facts; a subjective belief, suspicion, speculation, or conjecture does not constitute a reasonable belief." In re Walker, p. 8.
When attorneys voice a subjective belief about misconduct, they cross the line from "voicing appropriate criticism or disagreement" to "making improper, unsupported accusations that impugn the integrity or motivation of a judge." Id. at p. 9.
According to the Palmisano court, unsupported accusations "do not enjoy Constitutional protection." Palmisano, 70 F.3d at 487. Attorneys are held to a higher standard than "participants in a public debate." Id. What's more, the Palmisano court pointed out, even a journalist making such statements about a public figure could be sanctioned.
Robinson notes that this can be a problem for attorneys who are dissatisfied with a result. "There is a big gap between being [a judge being] wrong and [committing] criminal conduct."
"The fact that judges rule against you does not mean that you can call them corrupt," Robinson said. Lawyers must play by the established ethical rules because otherwise, the public would not trust the system.
At the end of the day, attorneys who suspect that a judge has behaved unethically should ensure that they have objective facts to prove their assertions before making them public. Any other talk is best saved for the office or not said at all. | https://www.isba.org/ibj/2017/05/lawpulse/accusationsagainstjudgesbalancingla |
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United States District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania
April 17, 2018
JULIA MATEO, Plaintiffv.NANCY A. BERRYHILL, Defendant
MEMORANDUM
MALACHY E. MANNION UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Pending
before the court is the report of Magistrate Judge Martin C.
Carlson, which recommends that the decision of the
Commissioner of Social Security denying the plaintiffs
application for benefits be affirmed. (Doc. 11). The
plaintiff has filed objections to the report. (Doc. 12).
Based upon the court's review of record in this matter,
the report of Judge Carlson will be adopted in its entirety;
the plaintiff's objections will be overruled; and the
decision of the Commissioner of Social Security denying the
plaintiffs claims for benefits will be affirmed.
When
objections are timely filed to the report and recommendation
of a magistrate judge, the district court must review de
novo those portions of the report to which objections
are made. 28 U.S.C. §636(b)(1); Brown v.
AstrueT 649 F.3d 193, 195 (3d Cir. 2011).
Although the standard is de novo, the extent of
review is committed to the sound discretion of the district
judge, and the court may rely on the recommendations of the
magistrate judge to the extent it deems proper. Rieder v.
Apfel 115 F.Supp.2d 496, 499 (M.D.Pa. 2000) (citing
United States v. Raddatz, 447 U.S. 667, 676 (1980)).
For
those sections of the report and recommendation to which no
objection is made, the court should, as a matter of good
practice, "satisfy itself that there is no clear error
on the face of the record in order to accept the
recommendation." Fed.R.Civ.P. 72(b), advisory committee
notes; see also Univac Dental Co. v. Dentsply Intern..
Inc.. 702 F.Supp.2d 465, 469 (M.D.Pa. 2010) (citing
Henderson v. Carlson. 812 F.2d 874, 878 (3d Cir.
1987) (explaining judges should give some review to every
report and recommendation)). Nevertheless, whether timely
objections are made or not, the district court may accept,
not accept, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or
recommendations made by the magistrate judge. 28 U.S.C.
§636(b)(1); Local Rule 72.31.
In this
case, the plaintiff filed claims for Social Security
Disability Insurance Benefits, ("DIB"), and
Supplemental Security Income, ("SSI"), benefits
claiming disability due to bipolar disorder, depression and
anxiety. In the Commissioner's latest
decision, it has been determined that the plaintiff
has the residual functional capacity to perform her past
relevant work activity as a warehouse worker with various
non-exertional restrictions. The instant action is the
plaintiffs appeal of the Commissioner's decision. In his
report, Judge Carlson found that the Commissioner's
decision is supported by substantial evidence and should
therefore be affirmed. The plaintiff disagrees and has filed
objections to Judge Carlson's report.
In her
objections, the plaintiff initially argues that both the ALJ
and Judge Carlson gave undue weight to the Global Assessment
of Functioning, ("GAF"), scores in her medical
records. A GAF score is a subjective scale previously set
forth in the American Psychiatric Associations'
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health,
("DSM"), which "assesses how well an
individual can function according to psychological, social,
and occupational parameters, with the lowest scores assigned
to individuals who are unable [to] care for themselves."
Falcone v. Berryhill, 2018 WL 638453,
at**4-5(M.D.Pa. Jan. 31, 2018) (citing Pounds v.
Astrue. 772 F.Supp.2d 713, 716, n.2 (W.D.Pa. 2011));
DIAGNOSTIC & STATISTICAL MANUAL OF MENTAL DISORDERS
(FOURTH).
A GAF
score allows a clinician to indicate his judgment of a
person's overall psychological, social and occupational
functioning, in order to assess the person's mental
health illness, and is set within a particular range if
either the symptom severity or the level of functioning falls
within that range. DIAGNOSTIC AND STATISTICAL MANUAL OF
MENTAL DISORDERS 3-32 (FOURTH). A GAF score of 31-40
represents some impairment in reality testing or
communication or major impairment in several areas, such as
work or school, family relations, judgment, thinking or mood;
a score of 41-50 indicates serious symptoms or any serious
impairment in social, occupational or school functioning; a
score of 51-60 represents moderate symptoms or any moderate
difficulty in social, occupational, or school functioning;
and a score of 61-70 indicates some mild symptoms (e.g.
depressed mood and mild insomnia) or some difficulty in
social, occupational, or school functioning (e.g. occasional
truancy, or theft within the household) but generally
functioning pretty well, has some meaningful interpersonal
relationships. Id.
In the
past, the GAF score was seen as useful in planning treatment
and predicting outcomes. Id. The law, however,
provides that "[a] GAF score does not have a direct
correlation to the severity requirements of the Social
Security mental disorder listings." Falcone,
supra (citing Pounds v. Astrue. 772
F.Supp.2d at 723; Gilroy v. Astrue. 351 Fed.
App'x. 714, 715 (3d Cir. 2009)). Moreover, the latest
edition of the DSM recommended that the GAF scoring scale be
discontinued explaining that the GAF scale has a conceptual
lack of clarity and "questionable psychometrics in
routine practice." DIAGNOSTIC AND STATISTICAL MANUAL OF
MENTAL DISORDERS (FIFTH) at 16. Thus, the latest edition of
the DSM does not contain the GAF scale. It is apparent that
GAF scores are of limited value in determining whether an
individual is disabled.
Here,
however, despite the plaintiffs objections, the court finds
that the discussion of her GAF score did not unduly prejudice
the plaintiff. The plaintiffs GAF score was just one element
of the evidence considered. Other evidence included,
inter alia, the medical opinions and objective
evidence of record, as well as the plaintiffs subjective
complaints and activities of daily living. As such, the court
finds that the ALJ's and magistrate judge's
discussion of the plaintiffs GAF scores does not negate the
conclusion that substantial evidence supports the ALJ's
decision.
The
plaintiff further argues that the ALJ failed to consider her
inability to perform sustained work activity and her
inability to tolerate any stress. Specifically, the plaintiff
argues that her treating psychiatrist, Dr. Cohen, opined that
she was markedly limited in completing a normal workweek and
would be expected to be absent from work more than three
times per month and that she usually reacts "extremely
when [she] feels frustrated or to minor irritants". She
further points out that the state agency psychologist, Dr.
Morcos, wrote that her psychiatric impairments "may be
significant enough to interfere with [her] ability to
function on a daily basis" and that she "cannot
appropriately deal with stress".
Despite
the foregoing assessments, as thoroughly discussed by Judge
Carlson, there is a process by which an ALJ is to evaluate
and weigh medical opinions of record. In fulfilling its role,
the court is to recognize that where there are factual issues
"[t]he ALJ - not the treating or examining physicians or
State agency consultants - must make the ultimate disability
and RFC determinations." Chandlery. Comm'r of
Soc. Sec. 667 F.3d 356, 361 (3d Cir. 2011). As long as
the ALJ provides an adequate rationale for the weight given
to medical opinions, it is the province and duty of the ALJ
to determine the weight to be given to the medical opinions
and evidence. As discussed by Judge Carlson, in assessing the
medical evidence of record, the ALJ need not credit the
entire opinion, but may credit only parts of an opinion.
See Durden v. Colvin. 191 F.Supp.3d 429, 455
(M.D.Pa. 2016) (citations omitted).
Upon
consideration of the ALJ's decision and Judge
Carlson's report reviewing that decision, the undersigned
agrees with the report of Judge Carlson that the ALJ's
evaluation of the medical evidence complied with the dictates
of the law. The ALJ considered each of the medical opinions
of record and provided his rationale for the weight accorded
each decision. Relying on his reasoned assessment of the
evidence, including the medical evidence of record, the ALJ
determined the plaintiff's residual functional capacity.
The court agrees that ALJ's assessment of the medical
evidence and his residual functional capacity determination
are supported by substantial evidence.
Finally,
the plaintiff argues that her subjective complaints of
fatigue, which are noted in various parts of the record, were
not given adequate consideration. With regard to this claim,
there is, again, a framework under which the ALJ must assess
the plaintiff's subjective complaints. Ultimately, the
ALJ's assessment of a claimant's credibility is to be
accorded great weight and substantial deference. Szallar
v. Comm'r Soc. Sec. 631 Fed. App'x 107, 110 (3d
Cir. 2015) (citing Zirnsak v. Colvin. 777 F.3d 607,
612-13 (3d Cir. 2014)).
Here,
the ALJ did reference the plaintiffs subjective complaints of
fatigue in her discussion. However, in considering the record
as a whole, including the plaintiff's self-report
activities of daily living and abilities, the ALJ did not
include the plaintiff's fatigue in her functional
limitations. Considering the record as a whole and giving the
substantial deference due, the undersigned finds, as did
Judge ...
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What is subjective preference?
Subjective preference includes integrated sensory impressions based on the past experience of the wearer, together with psychological desires and physiological status, all combined to form a final assessment of clothing.
What is the relationship between social roles and authenticity?
Measured using this approach, authenticity has been shown to be related to reduced defensiveness, improved coping, better self-concept, better social role functioning and pursuit of goals, and increased well-being.
What is theory of subjectivity?
Formation of subjectivity reflects the social process that constitutes us as subjects. A Subject is not born but is transformed into one from a concrete being by his immersion into culture. Subjectivity is precisely the condition of our being which enables us to recognize ourselves as subjects or persons.
What are preferences in psychology?
In psychology, preferences refer to an individual’s attitude towards a set of objects, typically reflected in an explicit decision-making process (Lichtenstein & Slovic, 2006).
What is the difference between subjective and objective examples?
objective/ subjective
Anything objective sticks to the facts, but anything subjective has feelings. Objective and subjective are opposites. Objective: It is raining. Subjective: I love the rain!
What is the difference between subjective and objective?
Based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions. Objective: (of a person or their judgement) not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts.
What is subjectivity based on?
Definitions of subjectivity. judgment based on individual personal impressions and feelings and opinions rather than external facts.
What is an example of subjective?
The definition of subjective is something that is based on personal opinion. An example of subjective is someone believing purple is the best color.
What do you mean by subjectivity?
Three common definitions include that subjectivity is the quality or condition of: Something being a subject, narrowly meaning an individual who possesses conscious experiences, such as perspectives, feelings, beliefs, and desires.
Why is it important to know the difference between subjective and objective information?
When evaluating information, it’s very important to be able to separate fact from opinion. Objective information is based on unbiased facts, whereas subjective information is based on opinion and conjecture. Both types are valuable, as long as the difference between objective vs. subjective information is clear.
How do you remember the difference between subjective and objective?
There are several tips for remembering the difference between subjective and objective. One way to remember the difference is to concentrate on the o in objective and observation. Another way to remember is by connecting the s in subjective and the word standpoint (meaning viewpoint or opinion).
What is one of the primary differences between subjectivity and objectivity quizlet?
A Subjective statement has opinions about a subject while Objective statements are factual with no opinions.
What is the difference between objectivity and subjectivity quizlet?
What is the difference between objectivity and subjectivity? Objectivity is mind-independence while subjectivity is mind-dependence. Beliefs about objective matters are made true by facts in the world. Other influential factors of the world that would affect your opinion.
Which best describes the difference between objective and subjective claims?
A subjective claim cannot be proved right or wrong by any generally accepted criteria. An objective claim may be true or false; just because something is objective does not mean it is true.
What is the difference between subjective and objective thinking quizlet?
Subjective thinkers deal with interpretations, while objective thinkers deal with facts.
What are the three elements in the pyramid of authority?
Name the three elements in the Pyramid of Authority. Unity of Command, span of control, and chain of command.
What are the three things you must do to exhibit the value of duty?
A) Overcoming fears other than of bodily harm to do your job. B) Willingness to put the safety of others before your own safety. C) Overcoming fears of bodily harm and doing your duty. | https://goodmancoaching.nl/what-are-correct-relationships-between-subjective-preferences-and-collective-needs/ |
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As recently discussed, contract interpretation is, relatively, easy when the words are very clear. But once a potential ambiguity is identified, it becomes necessary to look at what makes commercial sense, as well as what has been described as the factual background, or the “matrix of fact” referred to in Prenn v Simmonds.
More recently, this was described as “the background knowledge which would reasonably have been available to the parties in the situation in which they were at the time of the contract” (Rainy Sky v Kookmin Bank). Identifying the knowledge reasonably available to the parties seems easier than identifying what makes commercial sense, which I looked at in February.
When is knowledge reasonably available?
This was one of the issues in Lehman Brothers v Exotix Partners, a case that concerned the sale of a debt instrument (Peruvian Government global depository notes), executed orally over a recorded telephone line. The parties understood the sale to cover ‘scraps’ of such notes worth around $7,000 when in fact they were worth over $7million. The defendant sold the notes and kept the windfall. If you want to know how this came about, the judgment is certainly worth a read.
One of arguments concerned the interpretation of the agreement and whether the parties should be taken to know that each note was worth 1,000 Sol and not 1 Sol. Mr Justice Hildyard observed that:
“…the question as to what knowledge or information is to be treated as being ‘reasonably available’ to the parties for the purposes of constructing the words they used remains, to my mind, a particularly difficult one. … the test of ‘reasonable availability’ is not always easy to apply and requires restraint in its application: and all the more so given the almost unlimited information and knowledge now available through the internet.”
The point is that identifying what is reasonably available is not that easy, because the reality is that there is now a huge amount of accessible information available on the internet, all of which is arguably reasonably available. So are parties expected to know all that information or use internet search engines to look for every single piece of potentially relevant information?
Mr Justice Hildyard referred to guidance he provided in an earlier case, Challinor v Juliet Bellis, where he identified the following principles:
- If there is no direct evidence, the question is what knowledge a reasonable observer would have expected and believed both contracting parties to have had and each to have assumed the other to have had, at the time of their contract;
- This includes specialist or unusual knowledge or knowledge to be inferred, from the nature of the actions they have in fact undertaken;
- It does not include information that a reasonable observer would think that the parties merely might have known: that would open the gate too far to subjective or idiosyncratic speculation;
- The fact that material is readily available or notorious may support an inference as to what the parties actually knew;
- But (subject to the point below) where it is demonstrated that one or more of the parties did not in fact have knowledge of the matter in question such knowledge is not to be imputed; nor is the test what reasonable diligence would or might have revealed: in either case that would be inappropriately to introduce impermissible concepts of constructive notice or a duty (actionable or otherwise) to make inquiries or investigations;
- The exception is that a reasonable person cannot be assumed to be ignorant of clear and well known legal principles affecting or incidental to the contractual engagement in question.
The fifth point is the interesting one, as it suggests a subjective approach. Mr Justice Hildyard acknowledged that point and noted that it was referred to in Lewison on The Interpretation of Contracts 7th edition, which observed that:
“It is not entirely clear how this proposition sits with the objective theory of interpretation.”
His response was that the fact, as a matter of evidence, that a party was not aware of certain facts or circumstances was part of the matrix of fact which could therefore be taken into account when interpreting a contract.
Applying the subjective knowledge
Mr Justice Hildyard made the point that:
“More generally in this context, it seems to me that the Court should take care not to import notions of reasonable care and negligence into questions of contractual construction. It is a slippery slope between identifying what the actual context of a contractual engagement was, and (by contrast) what parties exercising reasonable care might reasonably have been expected to seek to make enquiries about. The proposition that the admissible factual matrix should include information ‘reasonably available’ to the parties is not, in my view, intended to impose or connote a duty to enquire as to matters which on the basis of their shared understandings did not merit inquiry.”
It is easy to see the type of argument that the judge was keen to avoid. It is possible to argue that with all the information that is available out there a party should make all necessary enquiries and be taken to have knowledge of all such information. What knowledge is regarded as reasonably available will therefore still have to be decided based on the facts in each case, but taking a pragmatic approach and looking at what the parties actually knew.
Subjective carelessness?
As he went on to point out, this means that:
“The contractual intentions of careless parties should be honoured, and their bargains should not be corrected by reference to what they would or might have intended to do had they been less careless.”
To be clear, this should not be seen in any way as encouragement for parties to be careless. Any party considering entering into a contract should review what information may assist it in understanding its obligations and what the contract means and take any investigations which would be prudent in the circumstances. The judge’s point is that this should not mean engaging in endless enquiries into every possible avenue. All the more so when, especially with the benefit of hindsight, it is easy to identify a source of information which may have been reasonably available at the pre-contractual stage.
How to approach interpretation?
Determining the precise factual matrix is not as easy as it seems. In Chartbrook v Persimmon Homes, Lord Justice Hoffmann stated that “there are no conceptual limits to what can properly be regarded as background” before deciding pre-contractual discussions were excluded from the admissible factual background. However, a year later, in Oceanbulk v TMT Asia the Supreme Court held that without prejudice communication could be admissible as part of the factual background to assist interpretation. In this case, subjective knowledge was relevant as part of the factual background.
If identifying the relevant factual background is not so easy, and finding out what makes commercial sense creates its own difficulties, it is easy to see the attraction of limiting any arguments to the plain and ordinary meaning of the words used. Easier said than done, because as Lord Diplock eloquently stated in Slim v Daily Telegraph: | http://constructionblog.practicallaw.com/the-subjective-objective-theory-of-contract-interpretation-and-google/ |
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