Die vs. Dye

Die vs. Dye Die vs. Dye Die vs. Dye By Maeve Maddox Although referred to as a â€Å"hoax,† a recent false report of the death of a beloved celebrity was the result more of ignorance than of malice. The rumor may have stemmed from this headline above a story posted in September in the Empire News: Actress Betty White, 92, Dyes Peacefully In Her Los Angeles Home A pun that the headline writer must have thought was extremely clever is in fact an example of extreme bad taste. The story was about the fact that Betty White dyes her hair in the privacy of her home: â€Å"Betty is a solitary kind of person,† said Witjas [White’s agent]. â€Å"She likes to relax in her home with her animals, and she rarely likes to discuss the fact, at least in public, that she is actually a brunette. She has been dyeing her own hair in her home for decades. Betty  has often told me she feels it is relaxing and soothing to dye her own hair, peacefully in her home, where she can laugh and enjoy time with her animals. She’s said on more than one occasion that as a blonde, she has had ‘more fun’ in her roles, and in life.† Irresponsibility on the part of the publication, plus the weak spelling skills of some readers, produced the distressing rumor. The word die functions as both noun and verb. As a noun, it has more than one meaning: die (noun): a small cube of ivory, bone, or other material, having its faces marked with spots numbering from one to six. (The plural of the game piece is dice.) die (noun): an engraved stamp used for impressing a design or figure upon some softer material, as in coining money, striking a medal, embossing paper, etc. As a verb, die means, â€Å"to cease to live.† Its principal parts are: die, died, (have) died, dying. The word dye also functions as both noun and verb: dye (noun): color used to stain a substance. dye (verb): to impart a color to something (fabric, hair, etc.) The principal parts are: dye, dyed, (have) dyed, dyeing. The spelling distinction between dye and die is fairly recent. Dr. Johnson (1709-1784) spells both words die in his dictionary. Joseph Addison (1672-1719) spelled both words dye. The modern spelling distinction clearly serves a valuable purpose. As for punning headlines, they may be fun to write, but they can have unintended consequences. Related post: One Die, Two Dice Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What Does [sic] Mean?35 Genres and Other Varieties of FictionMood vs. Tense

Using a Collocation Dictionary to Improve Your English

Using a Collocation Dictionary to Improve Your English One of the least appreciated tools for learning English is using a collocation dictionary. A collocation can be defined as words that go together. In other words, certain words tend to go with other words. If you think about how you use your own language for a moment, youll quickly recognize that you tend to speak in phrases or groups of words that go together in your mind. We speak in chunks of language. For example: Im tired of waiting for the bus this afternoon. An English speaker doesnt think of ten separate words, rather they think in the phrases Im tired of waiting for the bus and this afternoon. Thats why sometimes you may say something correctly in English, but it just doesnt sound right. For example: Im tired of standing for the bus this afternoon. To someone whos imaging the situation standing for the bus, makes sense, but standing goes together with in line. So, while the sentence makes sense, it isnt really correct. As students improve their English, they tend to learn more phrases and idiomatic language. Its also important to learn collocations. In fact, Id say its the single most under-used tool by most students. A thesaurus is very helpful to find synonyms and antonyms, but a collocations dictionary can help you learn the right phrases in context.   I recommend the Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English, but there are other collocation resources available such as concordance databases. Using a Collocation Dictionary Tips Try these exercises to help you use a collocations dictionary to improve your vocabulary. 1. Choose a Profession Choose a profession you are interested in. Go to the Occupational Outlook site and read the specifics of the profession. Take note of common terms that are used. Next, look up those terms in a collocations dictionary to extend your vocabulary by learning appropriate collocations. Example Aircraft and Avionics Key words from Occupational Outlook: equipment, maintenance, etc. From the collocations dictionary: Equipment Adjectives: the latest, modern, state-of-the-art, high-tech, etc.Types of Equipment: medical equipment, radar equipment, telecom equipment, etc.Verb Equipment: provide equipment, supply equipment, install equipment, etc.  Phrases: the proper equipment, the right equipment From the collocations dictionary: Maintenance Adjectives: annual, daily, regular, long-term, preventive, etc.Types of Maintenance: building maintenance, software maintenance, health maintenance, etc.Verb Maintenance: carry out maintenance, perform maintenance, etc.Maintenance Noun: maintenance personnel, maintenance costs, maintenance schedule, etc.   2. Choose an Important Term Choose an important term that you might use on a daily basis at work, school, or home. Look the word up in the collocations dictionary. Next, imagine a related situation and write a paragraph or more using important collocations to describe it. The paragraph will repeat the keyword too often, but this is an exercise. By repeatedly using your key term, youll create a link in your mind to a wide variety of collocations with your target word.   Example Key Term: Business Situation: Negotiating a contract Example Paragraph Were working on a business deal with an investment company who carries on business with profitable businesses throughout the world. We set up the business two years ago, but weve been very successful due to our business strategy. The CEOs business acumen is outstanding, so were looking forward to conducting business with them. The companys business headquarters are located in Dallas, Texas. Theyve been in business for more than fifty years, so we expect their business experience to be the best in the world. 3. Use the Collocations You Learn Make a list of important collocations. Commit to using at least three of the collocations each day in your conversations. Try it, its more difficult than you might think, but it really helps with memorizing new words.

Justification and future work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Justification and future work - Essay Example In spite of the recent advances in treatment including chemotherapy, the survival rate of advanced colon cancer is rather poor. Hence, several institutions worldwide are funding high quality research on colorectal cancer every year to address some basic questions about the causes and ways to better prevent and treat this malignant disease in the future. One of the main reasons for taking up the present project was the grant received from a Saudi Arabian university, and the reason for choosing to study colorectal cancer (CRC) under this project is that CRC is a frequently diagnosed malignancy in Saudi Arabia (Mansoor et al., 2002), constituting 5.5% of all cancers reported (Yassin et al., 2010). Furthermore, the incidence of CRC is increasing in Saudi Arabia, and is ranked fourth among all cancers in the Saudi population (Aljebreen, 2007). Studies have revealed that the incidence of colonic and rectal cancers in Saudi Arabia has almost doubled between 1994 and 2003, with a four-fold i ncrease in these numbers being predicted in the next thirty years (Colorectal Cancer Awareness Campaign, http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=310957583707&topic=13732). Recent statistics reveal CRC to be the second most common cancer among Saudi males and the third most common among Saudi females (Al-Eid, 2004; Bavi et al., 2010). In the analysis presented by Aljebreen (2007), it is shown that Saudi patients present with CRC at a more advanced stage of the disease and at younger ages compared to Western populations. The excessive changes that have occurred in CRC incidence in recent times in Saudi Arabia suggest environmental factors, including obesity as important aetiological factors for the noted change (Uddin et al., 2009). Age-standardised death rate from colon and rectum cancers in Saudi Arabia according to WHO statistics for 2004 was 8.3 per 100,000 population [Centre for Arab Genomic Studies (CAGS), UAE, http://www.cags.org.ae/gme2cancersencolon.pdf]. Also, according to CAG S, the incidence of colon cancer among Arab populations is lower compared to other world populations. Yet in several Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, CRC incidence in people under 40 years of age has been found to be relatively high. Considering that colorectal cancer tops the list of causes of cancer-related death among Saudi population, it was deemed important to conduct research on CRC. Hence, this project chose to study the chemotherapeutic aspects of CRC, in particular the activity of platinum-based compounds as cytotoxic agents for treatment of CRC. Future work Platinum compounds are the usual first option against colorectal cancer. Oxaliplatin, a diaminocyclohexane-containing platinum analogue, shows significant cytotoxic effect in a wide range of cell lines. Clinical studies have demonstrated the efficacy of oxaliplatin monotherapy in several cancers, including colon cancer (Cvitkovic and Bekradda, 1999). Some desirable factors that are specific to oxaliplatin are its high potency even in sensitive cell lines (Woynarowski et al., 2000), and the absence of resistance due to mismatch repair deficiency (Sergent et al., 2002). Oxaliplatin activity and mechanisms of action and resistance are quite different from those of other platinum-containing compounds such as cisplatin. Peripheral neuropathy is the main side effect of oxaliplatin treatment. Satraplatin

International Students Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International Students - Essay Example These students' first language is Arabic and they were selected in their respective states for tuition at this college. As getting into Salisbury college was not a decision made by these individuals themselves hence they did not follow the normal procedure of submitting an application, which would have involved contact with Student Services, which would have helped them arrange their visas, police registration and other details. Due to all this they have several issues that includes isolation as their level of English is poor, no arrangements made to have them interacting with the other students of the college. This also reflects from their behavior at the college. This research proposal will notify the appropriate way to handle these students and will help in finding out the main causes of their problems and how to solve them. It will also help in finding out what ethical issues are arising while implying the rules and regulations that are implied on any international student at Salisbury College. The research philosophy of this project would be making it more quantitative rather than being qualitative. There are several reasons for this philosophy. The major reason being that it would be difficult to communicate with the students as their English is weak i.e. communicating with them would be not very easy and a conflict might arise in what they are telling and what we interpret. Therefore, analysing numeric data and leaving non-quantitative data would be more meaningful and applicable for further and future research. However, the utilization of all numeric data would also have certain issues, hence qualitative data will also be analysed. Another reason for emphasizing on numeric data is because all qualitative data leads to difficulty in comprehension and analyses, and thus, the conclusions and outcome becomes highly judgmental in nature. The judgmental approach may reveal biased outcome based on the observer knowledge and expertise. Methodology The data collection methodology would comprise of both the secondary published data along with the primary data thus the research would be a comprehensive mixture of primary and secondary research resources. The secondary research would not just include the journal data but also the published books available on the topic as well as the articles and other research data that has been written across the world on the topic. Different methods used by different international colleges will also be studied in order to get the clearest picture of the scenario. The primary data would be collected by conducting interviews, making the students fill out simple close-ended questionnaires

Poems, American Culture and Values Essay Example for Free

Poems, American Culture and Values Essay The poems â€Å"America† written by Allen Ginsberg and Langston Hughes’ â€Å"I, Too† are two of the most controversial pieces in American Literature. The two poems acquire such attention because of the subject they discussed and the points and issues they presented. Ginsberg’s â€Å"America† and â€Å"I, Too† by Hughes tackled values and ethics that is deeply embedded in the American Culture. They integrated in their writings issues about racism and various social problems that has plagued the American system, and has characterized American way of life. However, although the two poems raised identical issues, the manner in which they were presented was different. Furthermore, the prevailing emotion from the two poems was different as Ginsberg work showcased raged, anger, hatred and hopelessness to the system while in Hughes work hope for better future for things is evident. The poem America is conversational in tone and discusses the grievances and disappointments of the writer to the existing American System during that time. Ginsberg is a member of a group called the Beat Writers and the rage he expressed in writing the poem is the organization’s manifestation of hatred to the State of American Culture (Foster, 1992). As one reads the poem he may found himself lost to the illogical manner of presentation of different ideas of the poem. This hopeless illogical way of presentation, mirrors the hopeless and illogic state of American Culture. He even pointed out the insanity of American society going to war such as the â€Å"cold war†. He expressed the ridiculousness of the country, bragging itself as the â€Å"home of the free†, but is in the forefront of oppressing various countries and minority groups. All in all, Ginsberg presented irritations and frustration and how people have lost their individuality with the advent of mass media and technology. On the other hand, Hughes â€Å"I, Too† provided a different view of the social problems present in American Culture. The primary topic is oppression of minorities particularly the isolation of African Americans and whites. The use of â€Å"I† was empowering since it discusses separation and segregation of the American Culture. It iterates that African Americans are also citizens of America and should be treated equally with whites. Unlike the poem America, I, Too states that although the author understand and knew the current social dilemma he is not worried. Hughes stated that the society is slowly realizing the problems at hand, and thus soon everything will turn out write. He does not complain and instead patiently wait for the day that everyone will recognized them as part of America and eventually see how wonderful and beautiful they are as an integral part of the country. As Ginsberg’s work presented hopelessness to the present system, Hughes poem is a picture of great expectations as he viewed a better society for the American people. References Foster, E. H. (1992). Understanding the Beats. South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press.

A clash of cultures :: English Literature

A clash of cultures The two main stories which have a negative end are â€Å"The Train from Rhodesia† and â€Å"The Gold Legged Frog†. Both of these stories include the aspect of â€Å"a clash of culture† which acts as a catalyst for the negative endings. â€Å"The Train from Rhodesia† incorporates the aspect of two cultures from different parts of the world coming together. This story is an allegory and outlines the clash of cultures when white people come into black people’s land and exploit them. The story is about a young couple who are on holiday and they have bought lots of souvenirs. At the platform the young women is attracted to a skilfully carved lion. The young woman doesn’t buy the lion since she thinks that the price is too high. When the train starts to leave the platform the old black man comes running after the train and sells the lion to the young man at half the original price. The young man tells her wife about his success and tries to please her but the young women reacts differently; she is furious at her husband. The young women is angry at her husband for humiliating the old man and making him run after the train, on top of that giving him less than half price for the lion. She feels that the price paid does not reflect the creativity and time spent on carving the lion. An alternative interpretation of this situation could be that the young woman was actually angry at her self. â€Å"The heat of shame mounted through her legs and body and sounded in her ears like the sound of sand pouring†. This quote could mean that the woman was actually angry at her self for not buying the lion at full price in the first place, after all her husband was only trying to please her and didn’t think how he was exploiting the poor black man. In this story symbolism is also a main aspect; â€Å"†¦, and the lion, fallen on its side in the corner.† The lion symbolises the exploitation of black men, emphasises how inferior black man are thought of and that at the end of the day skilful work created by black men is just thrown aside. The writer presents the details of the surroundings and the black people living in poverty through the young woman’s eyes; â€Å"Out of the window, on the other side, there was nothing; sand and bush; a thorn tree.† This strong imagery which we discover through the woman’s eyes means that we feel even more sympathetic towards the black and poor people

My Mother, My Love Essay

Edwin Hubbell Chapin says, â€Å"No language can express the power, and beauty, and heroism, and majesty of a mother’s love. It shrinks not where man cowers, and grows stronger where man faints, and over wastes of worldly fortunes sends the radiance of its quenchless fidelity like a star†. From the moment we are born till we are cradled in the chariot of death, we come across many relations. Some are just for time being, some are to betray you, some are to leave you alone when you need their presence the most, some are with you just because of your attributes and some are compelled to stick with you due to blood relation compulsion and restrictions. But, there is one being who surpasses the love, care and affection of anyone related to you and she is ‘The Mother’. The love of a mother has no match nor can one replace her love. If a boy or a girl lover challenges a mother’s love will be defeated because they cannot love more than a mother can. A mother’s ageless love and care cannot be exemplified. When you were in her womb; she took every step so gently and carefully not to bother you from your sleep. This abysmal depth of a mother’s love is immeasurable. There are many precious things that Allah has bestowed on us however a Mother is one of the unique gifts of Allah. She is the embodiment of sacrifice and love. Life without mother is so dull and colorless. The beauty of life is in the lap and under the shade of mother’s love and care. Those who are bestowed with this gift don’t quit feel it but those who are deprived of this gift feel it from the core of their hearts. A mother turns a house into a home and home is the initial school of a child. Mother is our best teacher and trainer. She never gives up training us to speak â€Å"Am’ma (Mamma)†. She walks by knees to help us in our first steps. She teaches us the behaviors lessons. She never gives up on us. Mothers teach us how to love, cherish, and respect who we are, and what it takes for us to become the adults we will one day be. When a female becomes a mother, her heart gets filled with immense amount of love for her child. She carries her child for 9 months in her womb, bears all the pain and trouble in that process and when her child comes into her arms, she forgets all the pain and loves her child unconditionally. Before Islam, mother was not given any rights and respect but was only treated as a female who could be loved but not at the expense of self. But Islam gave the mother all the respect, love and status in the society she ever deserved. Holy Prophet P. B. U. H says, † Jannat lies under the feet of the mothers. † By this hadith we come to know the greatness and status of a mother in Islam. A mother holds a great respect in Islam. But in our today’s society few mothers are dealt with those of the housemaids. Order her, make her do work and in return give her nothing not even respect which is of no cost. As she bears too much pain and faces several troubles to fulfill our needs but when she grows old and weak and needs a shoulder, we just throw her away like a useless polythene bag. We tell her that she is now old and has now gone crazy. Not we think of our past? Not we take notice of the sleepless nights she had spent for us? Not we remember her support in every moment while we were young? Not we remember, while we were afraid of our own shadows and she was our only lifeguard? Not we even remember the way she wiped our tears when we used to cry over our broken toys? Respecting our mother must be our top priority as we were her top priority while we were young. Quran Says 17:23 â€Å"Say not a word of disrespect (to your mothers). † Allah Almighty strictly orders us not to say harsh and disrespectful words to your mother, for she is your best lover among your relations. After Allah and His prophets a mother is the most respectful person. She loves her child even more than a father does. She had cared and will always care for us as ever more than anyone related to us. We must never let her down. When we are born we are so helpless and dependent, and she is our only help in that stage. She shrills her voice and talks in a funny loving manner just to bring a smile on our face. While we are asleep in our comfortable warm cradle she sits aside, looks at us and curses herself a thousand times for us. She is ready to bear any pain but never wants a scratch onto us. She never feels boredom in our company. She is the supreme lover on this earth no one can surpasses her boundaries of love. How deep is her love! We must never let her down. We must always try our utmost to be the reason for her smile, not the reason for her sorrows and sadness. Muhammad P. B. U. H has ordered us to be good to our mothers. He has told us about the great rewards for that person who is good to his mother and punishments for those who are disobedient to their mothers. We must look after our parents even more when they are weak and old. We must be gentle to our parents and speak to them in a nice and polite manner. To me, my mother is my security blanket. No matter how bad of a day she had, she will always be there with a shoulder to cry on and a sympathetic ear for me. Even if she’s been screamed at all day, she will still be eager to hear my drama-filled gossips. My mom is my personal miracle. Whenever something becomes too much for me, she is there calming me down with just a hug and a kiss on my forehead. She is always there to company you. My lord mercy upon my parents the way they had mercy upon me when I was young.

Administrative Reform in Bd

[pic] ASSIGNMENT ON ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM SUBMITTED TO SHAMIMA AKHTER [pic] (JKKNIU) SUBMITTED BY SAIFUDDIN AHAMMED MONNNA Dept. of Public Administration and Governance (JKKNIU) Roll no-11123144, Session-2010-2011 Course code PA-122 {1th Batch (1st year) 2nd Semester B. S. S. Honours} Submission date-01. 22. 2012 Table of Contents Serial no | Subject |Pages | |1 |ABSTRACT |2 | |2 |INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND |31 | |3 |Brief Review of Administrative Reforms in Bangladesh |6 | |4 |Major Issues of Administrative Reform in Bangladesh |8 | |5 |List of Major Committees and Commission for Administrative Reform |20 | |6 | 25 | | |DISCUSSION ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS ELABORATELY IN THE FOLLOWING | | |7 |CONCLUSION: |36 | |8 |REFERENCES |37 | ABSTRACT This assignment explores the interplay politics and administrative reform in Bangladesh by drawing some perspectives from other developing countries. It covers the period both before and after democratization of the country, hinging around the even ts of 1991, and thus provides the opportunity for comparisons. It has sought to draw out the relative importance of political will (including the intentions and authority) of governments, and to critically assess their capacity, the degree of co-operation they gained from civil service actors, and to assess the relevance and appropriateness of international donor interventions. INTRODUCTION All countries strive to reform their administrative system in response to the challenge posed by socioeconomic posed, political, and technical environment. Bangladesh is no exception. Since its emergence as a nation- state, Bangladesh has been trying hard to reshape its administrative system. However, despite their perceived importance, administrative reform in Bangladesh has encountered serious hurdles over the last thirty years. Since 1971 after a civil war 17 reforms have been taken from which some reforms are very crucial. The major administrative reforms and their fate are discussed elaborately in the following†¦ BACKGROUND: Bangladesh bears a colonial legacy in its entire public administration system. Presentday Bangladesh was part of the British Empire for almost two hundred years. In 1947 Pakistani rulers replaced the British and dominated the area then known as East Pakistan until a bitter war in 1971 brought about an independent Bangladesh. A colonial imprint persists in Bangladesh especially in political and administrative Arrangements . The British tradition helped the bureaucracy to become an essential tool of governance. At the same time, it is accused of following the â€Å"Pakistani tradition of involvement in power politics† (Hague, 1995). The political system of Bangladesh has survived a series of transitions. A few years of democracy were followed by nearly fifteen years of military rule. In 1990, for the first time, Bangladesh achieved a fully functioning democratic structure. Ironically, the nature and role of bureaucracy in both the pre and post-democratic period remained almost the same except for an increase in number of ministries, divisions, departments and statutory bodies (Ahmed, 2002: 323-26). The role of government has changed in the course of Bangladesh’s development. After independence its focus was the attainment of development in all spheres of life by intervention and the use of administration in a constructive way. Government and administration were seen not merely as a regulator but as a facilitator. However, it can be argued that development, when considered as a multi-dimensional concept, cannot be attained and sustained without good governance. The term â€Å"good governance† has Acquired tremendous importance in the contemporary world, especially in the context of the developing countries. For example, many developing countries have prepared . Essential component in implementing the plans and strategies to achieve the targets set forth by PRSP; but good governance is a component that most developing countries seriously lack. Merilee S. Grindle points out that when determining their priorities and taking steps to ensure good governance, most developing countries go too far: they chalk out a plan or strategy far beyond the limited capacity of the institutions charged with implementation responsibilities. Grindle suggests redefining â€Å"Good Governance† as â€Å"Good Enough Governance†, that is, â€Å"a condition of minimally acceptable government erformance and civil society engagement that does not significantly hinder economic and political development and that permits poverty reduction initiatives to go forward† (Grindle, 2004: 526). In Bangladesh, a second-generation development challenge is to achieve â€Å"good enough governance†. No matter how much a government tries, success will not be attained if it lacks competent institutions to implement policies. Public administration is the key institution for policy implementation. If it is not functioning well, then PRSP targets are unlikely to be met. The state has to make sure that its administrative apparatus is functioning well, so that it can innovate and implement solutions and that it can ensure that the poor will not be excluded from the process and benefits of development. From the beginning of the 1990s, the role of government has changed from an intervener to a referee; instead of playing the game, its main duty is to make sure that a fair game is being played. This reinvented role of the government necessitates redefining the role of the bureaucracy. Bureaucracy can be considered as an â€Å"open† system that interacts with or is affected by the environment in which it operates. Traditionally, this environment consisted of only the â€Å"domestic economic, political and social context within which the organization is located. † Now, however, â€Å"public organizations are more often faced with global threats and opportunities that affect their operations and perspectives† (Welch and Wong, 2001: 372-73). The performance of a public organization depends largely on how the domestic political institution handles global pressures as well as how it interacts with the bureaucracy. In a country like Bangladesh, where global pressure is eminent and the domestic political institutions are ill structured, the colonial legacy places the bureaucracy in a difficult position. As globalization or market liberalization changes both the domestic context and the functioning of the bureaucracy, it is possible—but not necessarily desirable—that the two primary state institutions, politics and bureaucracy, forge an alliance. All countries strive to reform their administrative system in response to the challenge posed by socioeconomic posed, political, and technical environment. Bangladesh is no exception. Since its emergence as a nation- state, Bangladesh has been trying hard to reshape its administrative system. However, despite their perceived importance, administrative reform in Bangladesh has encountered serious hurdles over the last thirty years. Since 1971 after a civil war 17 reforms have been taken from which some reforms are very crucial. The major administrative reforms and their fate are discussed elaborately in the following Brief Review of Administrative Reforms in Bangladesh: Since the emergence of the country, a number of commissions and committees (for details, please see Annex-A) were constituted by different governments for administrative reform and reorganization to suit the needs of their respective policy declarations. The development partners also prepared several reports toward that end. A review of the major efforts is summarized below. The first political government in Bangladesh felt it necessary to rationalize and transform the provincial administrative system it had inherited into a national system which would be able to shoulder the responsibilities of a new born sovereign nation. Accordingly, the government constituted a Committee known as the Administrative and Services Reorganization Committee. The committee reviewed the administrative system thoroughly and proposed a comprehensive structure to enable it to undertake increasing development responsibilities. The recommendations were not, however, implemented due to resistance from different quarters. The subsequent military government in 1976 constituted a commission called as the Pay and Services Commission for recommending measures for administrative reform. The recommendations of the Commission were partially implemented. The Commission recommended for the introduction of an open structure system in the secretariat administration and creation of 28 cadres in the civil service. While the cadre principle was implemented, there was, in essence, a failure to introduce open structure system in the secretarial administration. The martial law government of General Ershad appointed a Committee for examining the organizational set up of the ministries/divisions, departments, directorates and other organizations. The Committee recommended reduction of the number of ministries/divisions, and of staff at the lower levels of secretarial administration, reduction in the layers of the decision making and fixing the supervisory ratio, formalizing and regularizing recruitment processes, emphasizing the principle of merit in promotion, delegation of financial and administrative powers down the hierarchy and providing training for officials. But major recommendations of the Committee were not implemented (Khan, 1991). Later, the martial law government appointed another committee, known as Committee for Administrative Reforms/Reorganization (CARR). The Committee recommended for renaming of Thanas as Upazilas (sub-districts), upgrading the Sub-divisions into districts and installation of elected local governments at district, Upazilla and union levels for the transfer of development functions to these elected local bodies. This time, the government implemented most of the recommendations of the Committee. It upgraded Thanas into Upazilas and sub-divisions into districts. It introduced democratic governance though limited in scope at the Upazila level. In 1987, a Cabinet Sub-committee was formed to recommend policy measures for implementing recommendations of the Secretaries Special Committee on the Structural Organization of the Senior Services Pool (SSP) and the Secretarial Committee relating to the problem of unequal prospects of promotion of officers of different cadre services. The Committee recommended the abolition of the SSP and certain other measures to improve prospects of promotion of officers of various cadre services. The government accepted the recommendations of the Committee and abolished the SSP in 1989. In the same year, another committee was constituted to reexamine the administrative structure and the man power position. The Committee found that 7000 officers and employees were surplus in 37 departments and offices. On the basis of its findings, the Committee recommended the abolition of 27 departments (Khan, 1991; USAID, 1989; Ali, 1993). During the tenure of the last government, an empirical study was conducted and two committees were constituted to look into problems of public administration and recommend measures for reforms. The Public Administration Sector Study was sponsored by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) with a view to suggesting an open, transparent, accountable and performance oriented administrative system to support parliamentary democracy. The Four Secretaries Committee and Committee for Restructuring Ministries/Department were constituted by the government. The areas of investigation of these committees and study included secretarial administration and work procedures, ministry-department relationship, ministry-corporation relationship, project cycle, organization and structure of government, decision making, accountability, human resources development, financial management and corruption. Recommendations made by them were of multifarious nature corresponding to the nature of the problems. The present government constituted the Public Administration Reform Commission in 1997 with the mandate to recommend policies, programs and activities to improve the level of efficiency, effectiveness, accountability and transparency in public organizations and to enable them to fulfil the government’s commitment to ensure socio-economic development and reach out its benefits to the people. The Commission made three types of recommendations, interim, short term and long term for administrative reforms in areas such as, defining of mission and functions of the public offices; affirming professionalism in the civil service; performance monitoring and result oriented performance, audit of government agencies; delegation of powers to subordinate and field offices; open and free access to government documents and reports for the sake of transparency and accountability; separation of judiciary from the executive; separation of audit from accounts; simplification of outdated laws, rules, regulations and forms (GOB, 2000). The Government has implemented some of the interim recommendations of the commission. The cabinet in a recent meeting accepted in principle the other recommendations of the commission. Major Issues of Administrative Reform in Bangladesh: The importance and significance of various reform efforts can not be denied as these have addressed to a large number of is sues relating to public administration in Bangladesh. But it is believed that the following issues should be taken into consideration while attempting for any comprehensive eform effort in the future. 1Role of Government The role of government in terms of dimension and nature of involvement in various activities has direct bearing on any reform effort. With respect to size and functional involvement, the Government of Bangladesh has assumed an all pervasive character. The lack of private initiative, which is a historical phenomenon, as well as government’s compulsions, especially just after the emergence of the country, provided the basis for the extended role and functions of the government. As a result, the role and functions of the government in Bangladesh has become all encompassing from the centre to the grassroots level. Its traditional functions also termed as regulatory functions (maintenance of law and order, collection of revenue and administration of justice) now constitute only a small segment, though their importance has not been reduced at all; rather increased manifold, of the voluminous functions of public administration. But by the nineties of the last century, some major and qualitative changes have taken place both in the internal and external environment of the country. The thrust for the reduced and limited role of the government is recognized nationally and internationally. In the economic sector, local private, and international and multinational initiatives are quite successful in various ventures while the government is found unsuccessful in managing and running public enterprises. On the other hand, a large number of Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), national and international, are shouldering some service and development responsibilities and also demonstrating better performance in their own spheres (CDRB and DPC, 1995). All these realities are now considered as the reflection of the freedom of individual belief and rights-two lofty ideals of modern day democracy. Thus there are both objective and subjective reasons to review the role and functions of the government. 2Public Policy Commitments Public policy commitments generally reflect the hopes and aspirations of the people and the demands of the time. These commitments are made in a democratic polity by the political parties both in power and aspiring to go to power. Public policy commitments are later translated into administrative actions. In Bangladesh, it has been observed that the public policy commitments made by the government are not pursued wholeheartedly. The institutional mechanisms, both internal and external, are also weak to monitor the translation of these into concrete administrative actions. Internal mechanisms include, administrative and political will of the government and effective administrative monitoring system. On the other hand, external mechanisms are specific parliamentary standing committees and effective role of the political parties in parliament and constructive role of the press and media. Moreover, public policy commitments lack consensus especially of the opposition political parties. As a result, public policy commitments made by one government are, in many cases, scraped or set aside by the next government that comes to power. 3Neutral Governance Currently neutral governance has become a common concern of politicians, administrators, academics and common people as every body are beneficiaries of it. Neutral governance is essential for the sustenance, growth and development of democratic polity. Modern day parliamentary democracies are based on multi party system. Under the system, a number of political parties with varying ideologies and agenda compete for assuming the state power or forming the government through the electoral process. Political parties stay in power so long as they enjoy the support and confidence of the people. The public administrative system that symbolizes permanency and continuity has to function under and at the direction of different political parties at different points of time. Under the above reality, the administration must ensure neutral governance. The concept of neutral governance with respect to a developing country like Bangladesh could be viewed from the perspective of Maintenance of Law and Order/Enforcement; Administration of and Access to Justice; and Planning and Execution of Development Programs. 3. 1Maintenance of Law and Order/Enforcement Maintenance of law and order is essential for ensuring neutral governance. Broadly speaking, maintenance of law and order has two aspects viz. maintenance of public peace, investigation and trial of criminal cases (GOP, 1960). The above involves both executive and judicial functions. Three elements are involved in it, the police, the magistracy and the judiciary (Ali, et. al. , 1983). The maintenance of public peace does not mean pre vention and control of any special type of crime. This deals with general law and order situations that may even be disturbed by non-criminal activities. Though crime may be committed, the real nature of the emergency here may be political or economic or communal. On the other hand, the investigation and trial of criminal cases may be described as prevention; investigation and detection; and prosecution of crime. It is believed that first of all crime should be prevented. If not prevented then the crime is committed. Once a crime is committed it must then be investigated and detected. The successful investigation leads to prosecution. Besides these, the police perform many other functions that have direct or indirect bearing on the maintenance of law and order/enforcement. Some of these are: execution of processes of criminal courts, regulation of crowds and traffic and other duties to meet emergency situations. To ensure neutral governance with respect to the maintenance of law and order/enforcement, the police administration should enjoy freedom from interference from any quarters. If interference are made Police administration can not function or discharge its duties and responsibilities without fear or favour. But in recent years, it has been alleged that the law enforcing agencies have been subjected to influences of various kinds to meet the political ends of the parties in power. Such practices seriously erode the confidence of the people and directly violate the principle of neutral governance, above all, they encourage the police particularly at the lower echelons, to take advantage of such biased position of the authorities to convert the opportunity for unrestrained personal gains. And this is what has happened in Bangladesh. 3. 2Administration of and Access to Justice-Rule of Law Administration and access to justice is a primary requirement for establishing the rule of law in the country. Again, the rule of law must be considered as an important dimension for sustainable democracy, accountable administration and equitable development. In the area of administration of justice in Bangladesh, the judicial system is subjected to some fundamental and procedural problems. Although there is constitutional provision for the separation of judiciary from the executive, concrete steps are yet be taken to separate the two especially at the lower level. It has been reported that now a bill proposing the separation of the judiciary and the executive is pending in the parliament for enactment. The combination of the executive/police and authority of criminal justice in the hands of the executive government was the innovation of the colonial power and it was specifically designed to meet the colonial purposes. However, non-action to separate the judiciary from administration helped accentuate bureaucratic authoritarianism and interference in the judicial process especially at the lower levels. Moreover, certain constitutional provisions require collaborative efforts of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and the Supreme Court in the area of personnel management of the judges. Interference of the executive branch in the personnel management of the judiciary hampers judicial independence. In Bangladesh, successive governments meddled with the affairs of the judiciary to serve their narrow political ends. This state of affairs has seriously eroded the confidence of the people in the impartiality of the judicial process. Access to justice is another precondition for establishing rule of law in the country. Easy and timely access to judicial redress is essential for limiting or arresting the high handedness of the executive organ of the government. Repressive and sweeping laws also limit the private citizens’ access to the judiciary. Moreover, the structural and institutional inefficiency of the judicial system has created manifold problems which fails to check the excesses of the executive arm and the bureaucratic authority and to safeguard the civil rights of the people at large. 3. Planning and Execution of Development Program Another dimension of the concept of neutral governance is the neutral or impartial planning and execution of development programs. In developing countries like Bangladesh, initiatives for balanced development of the different parts of the country should come from the government. Moreover, for obvious reasons, the government has to shoulder the major responsibility with respect to economic and social sector development. But it has been observed that, in many cases, development programs are undertaken and executed to serve the narrow party interest of the political party in power at the expense of the national interest. The other phenomenon that is very much in existence in Bangladesh is that the people who are associated with the ruling party are awarded with various contracts relating to the execution of the development programs. Such practices breed corruption and the quality of the execution of the development programs also suffers. Sometimes, a nexus is developed between the political parties, government executing agencies and the implementers/contractors that results in waste and unnecessary cost escalation of development projects. But the concept of neutral governance with respect to planning and execution of the development programs suggests that national, not narrow party and or other interests, should come into prominence in the planning and execution of the development programs. The legitimate policy bias should not pervade the concept of neutral governance with respect to planning and execution of specific development plans and projects. It is natural that different political parties will have different policies and programs but this does not mean that their implementation should any way suffer from any partisan application. .4. Provider of Services Government’s role has changed with the passage of time. In the beginning, the basic purpose was to maintain the steady state. As such, the role was basically regulatory in nature. The concentration was on revenue collection, maintenance of law and order and administration of justice. The administrative system that Bangladesh inherited from the British in 1947 was developed for assuming the above stated roles. Then the government for the first time was called upon to shoulder new responsibilities in addition to its earlier role in traditional/regulatory administration. In the sphere of traditional administration, the emphasis was on maintaining steady state so that the nation can strive for better life both at the individual citizen’s level and also at the national level (Hussain, 1986). With the changed scenario, a new dimension was added to the role of the government, i. e. , development administration. The assumption of this new role was necessitated with the rising expectations of the people. Government at this stage, in the absence of any other alternative choice, had to intervene in different sectors (broadly, economic and service) of the national life to ensure all round national development. The situation in 1947 was such that there was virtually no private sector and entrepreneurial capacity of the private citizens was almost non-existent. Under compulsion, the government had to intervene in all sectors. This phenomenon continued through out the Pakistani period. Another point should be noted here that during this period whatever capacity developed in the private sector was confined mostly to the erstwhile West Pakistani (now Pakistani) nationals (Ahmed, 1980; Jahan, 1977) After the emergence of Bangladesh the situation was even worse. The institutional business enterprises and industries were mostly owned by the Pakistanis and these were left behind by them. The government had no choice but to nationalize those. On the other hand, government of the time also opted for a mixed economy. Consequently, the government’s roles and functions increased manifold. Besides, this period also witnessed the creation of a number of public enterprises especially in the economic sector (Sobhan and Ahmed (1980). In the service sector the government’s role and functions also increased considerably. The government ultimately became the main provider of services to the people. After the change of government in 1975, Government’s policies regarding its role underwent fundamental changes. Emphasis was put on the development of private initiatives in all sectors of national life. In the economic sector, thrust was given for the development of private entrepreneurial class (Ahmed, 1980). At the same time, the government went for the denationalization of different state owned enterprises. This period also saw the rise of a large number of Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs). These organizations started to take active part in development and service sectors especially at the grassroots level. In spite of all these developments, the government in Bangladesh still remains the primary providers of services in all sectors. The all encompassing role of the government resulted in mismanagement and overburdening of the administrative system. Now the time has come to redefine and delimit the role of the government as provider of services and also to look for alternative strategies for providing these to suit the demand of time. 5Civil Service An efficient and effective role of civil service in a developing democratic polity is of vital importance. The efficiency of public servants is a sine qua non for managing the affairs of the state. On the other hand, the involvement of the public servants must not transcend the boundary of the democratic framework. However, bureaucratic efficiency depends on conducive political and bureaucratic environment and culture suiting the needs of the hour; existence of the democratic values in the administrative system; and existence of mechanisms to have checks on bureaucratic excesses. 5. 1Bureaucratic Norms In multi-party democracy, public servants have to perform functions, such as, to inform the ministers and parliament with complete and accurate data presented objectively and in time; to advise ministers by analysis of data and appraisal of options in which they can have confidence; to implement ministerial decisions and to administer resultant decision; and to be responsible to minister and parliament for their actions (or inaction) with particular reference to the safeguarding of public funds and ensuring effective value for money (Stowes, 1992). With respect to the bureaucratic norms of the civil service in Bangladesh experience reveals that these are adhered to a very limited scale. A number of socio-economic and political factors, including historical peculiarities have impeded the growth of accountable structure of administration in Bangladesh. As a result, the ‘high office arrogance’, unethical behaviour, gross inefficiency, failure to respect legislative intent a nd failure to show initiatives have become apparent in the civil service of Bangladesh (Hussain and Sarker, 1995). 5. 2Decision Making Process Efficient decision making procedures are part of the professional and result-oriented administration. The organization and structure of the government and public service and administrative culture have bearing on the decision making system. In Bangladesh, the Rules of Business outline the basic provisions relating to the distribution of responsibilities among different units of government. Under the existing arrangement of the governmental administration, the ministry is responsible for formulating policies. The directorates/departments/statutory bodies and field offices implement policies. In fact, the existing arrangement implies a policy formulation-implementation dichotomy. Interestingly, such a dichotomy has a corresponding relationship to the structural arrangement of the system, resulting in the conflicting relationship between generalists and specialists. There is also confusion about the nature of decisions. It is difficult to draw a demarcation line between the policy decisions and the operational decisions. This confusion complicates the disposal of cases. This, along with centralized tendency in administration causes delay in decision making. Jurisdictional infringement, buck passing, distortion of priorities, employee disorientation and misallocation of resources are many of the factors responsible for such a state of affairs (Huda and Rahman, 1989). The other important aspect that may be noted here is that the discourse on decision making is confined only to the bureaucratic structure. For instance, there is no indication in the Rules of Business regarding the role of parliament members in decision making particularly at various administrative levels, without violating the separation of power policy. 5. 3Corruption Corruption has been and continues to be an unfortunate integral part of administrative culture in Bangladesh. But in recent times, it has taken an all pervasive form. A recent donor sponsored study reflecting on the harmful effect of bribery, corruption, kickbacks and under the table payments for various administrative decisions and actions noted that the per capita income in corruption free Bangladesh could have nearly doubled to US$ 700 (currently it is estimated to be US$350) (Transparency International, Bangladesh, 2000). Government officials especially, involved in development projects, service delivery, enforcement and regulatory agencies at all levels are reported to be colluding with private bidders and contractors and service seekers and consequently amassing vast illegal incomes in the bargain. The reasons for such corruption can be summed up: Firstly, because of institutional weaknesses, civil servants involved in corrupt practices, in most of the cases, are not taken to task and they indulge in corruption with impunity. Moreover, even if found guilty, they have never been adequately punished nor compelled to return to the state their ill-gotten wealth. Secondly, for quick service delivery, citizens in general, now do not mind to pay bribes and kickbacks. Thirdly, there is now social acceptance of corruption. Fourthly, barring occasional public procurements, the representatives of the people, i. e. politicians especially those who are in power, are not very enthusiastic to take effective measures to curb corrupt practices in public dealings. Rather in many cases, it is alleged that they have become party to various dubious deals. 6. Administrative Accountability Government policy decisions are implemented through bureaucratic mechanisms; as such, administrative accountability is essential for good government. In developing polity, there is a tendency on the part of the public bureaucracy to exercise power in an authoritarian manner. Bangladesh bureaucracy is also no exception to that. Authoritarian organization culture still persists. Democratic values are still lacking in the bureaucracy. This is due to the colonial legacy that the administration inherited and lack of experience of the bureaucratic system to function under broader democratic political environment. There is a marked lack of clarity and in deed there is an imbalance between the role of bureaucracy and the role of public representatives and political leaders in the policy making and overall governance system. No systematic measures have been taken so far to streamline the institutional integration of popular interests and technical expertise at all levels of government. As a result, efficiency and accountability suffer under democratic political leadership. The arrogance of high office, unethical behaviour, failure to respect legislative intent and apathy towards work have been rampant (UNDP, 1993). However, elaborate measures should be undertaken to curtail bureaucratic excess. Its role should not go beyond the limits that may thwart democratic ideals and practices. Some of the measures could be through the effective roles of the parliament, media and the civil society. . 1Role of Parliament Bangladesh has again gone back to the parliamentary form of government after amending the constitution (GOB, 1998). Under the present system, the executive branch is responsible to the parliament and that the peoples’ representatives must have sufficient voice in the design and formulation of public policy. In Bangladesh, the parliament is primarily concerned with enacting legislation and ratifying decisions that the executive has already taken. Thus, it is clearly observed that peoples’ representatives have no substantive role in policy formulation. The role of parliamentary committees is very significant in this regard. These statutory committees are expected to scrutinize various aspects of government actions. Moreover, they should function in such a manner so as to ensure transparency of vital government businesses. However, in Bangladesh, the parliamentary committees so far have failed to play the vital role in making the administration accountable. Some important committees such as, Public Accounts Committee, Committee on Estimates, Committee on Public Undertaking and other standing committees on various ministries are not performing well enough to ensure accountability of executive government. Committee meetings are not held regularly and ministers in many cases do not attend the meetings. More importantly, the decisions of the committees are not followed by actions. The other feature of Bangladesh politics is the excessive reliance on exercising executive authority by keeping the parliament in the dark. In most cases, policy issues are not discussed in the parliament. This weakens parliament’s authority to hold the executive accountable to it. Another interesting feature of Bangladesh politics is that the opposition political parties oppose the ruling party for the sake of opposition only. Moreover, boycotting/non-participation in the sessions of the parliament has also become a regular practice of the opposition political parties. But to have healthy political environment and to hold the party in power responsible for the actions/inaction, opposition political parties should play a positive role both within and outside the parliament. 6. 2Role of Media Role of media is very important in ensuring administrative accountability. Information about government actions are largely reported through the media both electronic and print. By ensuring free flow of information, the media also ensures transparency of administrative actions. Currently, the print media is enjoying considerable freedom in Bangladesh. They bring lapses and excesses of the executive to the notice of the public and thereby making them accountable. But exclusive government control over state run mass media like radio and television run contrary to the concept of free flow of information and transparency. Such exclusive control has negative bearing on ensuring administrative accountability. In Bangladesh, both radio and television are solely owned and controlled by the government. As a result, these two media are acting as the spokesmen of the government or rather the party in power. Impartial information and views, in most of the cases, are not usually broadcast. Moreover, views of the opposition political parties and groups do not receive proper and adequate attention of the state run radio and television. As we know, the role of media by facilitating the free flow of information of all government actions is very essential for ensuring executive and administrative accountability. The reforms which, according to the press reports, are on the anvil appear to fall short of expectations of the nation in as much as the government control on the state run electronic media remains virtually overlooked. 6. 3Role of Civil Society From a functional perspective, there is a general tendency to treat civil society as one of the three sections that constitute a nation – the other two being the public sector or the government and the private sector or the profit-seeking enterprises. Very broadly, civil society can be defined as those organizations that exist between the level of the family and the state and enjoy a degree of autonomy from the state and the market, and provide a counter-balance to the power of the state and the market. Civil society may also be viewed as organized activities by groups or individuals either performing certain services or trying to influence and improve the society as a whole, but are not part of government or business (Jorgensen, 1996). In Bangladesh, civil society includes indigenous community groups, mass organizations, cooperatives, religious societies, trade unions, and professional bodies. Given the dynamics of the political process, it is indeed difficult to set a prescribed role for the civil society in Bangladesh. The role of civil society, in fact, depends on the nature of the demand and prevailing conditions of a polity. However, areas of involvement of the civil society in the context of Bangladesh are policy advocacy, mobilization of public opinion, demand creation, active participation in policy formulation process, bridging the gap between citizens and government, pressurizing the government with the help of the media, supporting the popular movement in favour of a given policy issue, lobbying with the donor groups/development partners, playing the role of mediator/ arbitrator between citizens and government, and policy analysis, etc. Civil society, by its actions, performs as pressure group in the polity in attaining administrative accountability. In the true sense of the term, the civil society is only emerging in Bangladesh. In recent years, the civil society has made some limited but positive contributions towards ensuring executive and administrative accountability. But it has been observed that some groups of the civil society movement are politicized and divided on political lines. Though there has been a steady and random growth of the civil society organizations, there is virtually no active network of them to look after collective interests of the people. More concerted efforts are needed to organize and further develop the civil society institutions so that they can play an appropriate role in making the executive and the administration accountable to people. MAJOR ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS The major administrative reforms and their fate are discussed elaborately in the following List of Major Committees and Commission for Administrative Reform |S. n. |Name of the Committee/Commission |Focus Areas |Major Recommendations |Observation | |1 |Civil Administration Restoration |Organizational set up for the |Establishment of 20 Ministries, 3 other secretariat organizations and|Secretariat administration was reorganized with 20 ministries. | |Committee, 1971 |Government after the emergence of |7 constitutional bodies |Constitutional bodies like Supreme Court, the High Court, the Public | | | |Bangladesh |Detailed specification of functions of civil servants at the |Service Commission, the Election Commission and the Office of the | | | | |Div ision, District, Sub-division levels |Comptroller and Auditor General were established | | | | |Providing appropriate status and respect to the officers and staff of| | | | | |civil administration as lawful organs of the Government | | |2 |Administrative and Services Structure |Civil Service Structure |Unified civil service structure with a continuous grading system |The report of the Committee was not published | | |Reorganization Committee, 1972 | |from top to the bottom. Division of all posts into two broad | | | | | |categories: Functional and Area Group Posts. Top 3 grades, i,e. I, | | | | | |II and III to be designated as Senior Policy and Management Posts | | |3 |National Pay Commission, 1972 |Pay Issues |10 scales of pay in line with the recommendation of the ASRC |New national pay scale with 10 grades was introduced | |4 |Pay and Services Commission, 1977 |Civil Service Structure and Pay Issues |52 scales of pay and equal initial scales of pay and equitable |The New Na tional Grades and Scales of Pay was introduces with 21 | | | | |opportunities for advancement to the top for all |scales of pay | | | | |Introduction of Superior Policy Pool at the top of the civil service |28 services under 14 main cadres were created within the civil service| | | | |Establishment of Civil Service Ministry by abolishing Establishment |A Senior Services Pool was constituted | | | | |Ministry | | |5 |Martial Law Committee for Examining |Reorganization and Rationalization of |Reduction in the number of ministries/divisions/directorates and |Number of ministries were reduced from 36 to 19 | | |Organizational Set up of |Manpower in Public Sector Organizations|sun-ordinate offices |Number of other offices were reduced from 243 to 181 | | |Ministries/Divisions/Directorates and | | |Number of constitutional bodies were reduced from 12 to 9. Number of | | |other organizations, 1982 | |Reduction of layers for decision making |officials and employees mostly working at the lower levels was reduced| | | | | |from 9,440 to 3,222 | | | | |Delegation of administrative and financial powers down the hierarchy | | |6 |Committee for Administrative Reform and |Reorganization of Field Level |Up gradation of Thanas with Thana Parishads as the focal point of |The new system of administration and local government was introduced | | |Reorganization, 1982 |Administration |local administration |in 460 Thana’s (Thanas were later renamed as Upazilas) | |7 |National Pay Commission, 1984 |Pay Issues |New National Pay Scale with 20 grades |The New National Scales of Pay was introduces with 20 scales of pay | | |Secretaries Committee on Administrative |Promotion Aspects |Maintenance of status quo for 10 cadre services as promotion prospect| | | |Development, 1985 | |had been satisfactory | | |8 |Special Committee to Review the Structu re |Structure of Senior Services Pool (SSP)|Continuation of SSP as a cadre |Recommendations were referred to the Cabinet Sub-committee for | | |of Senior Services Pool, 1985 | |Entry into the SSP only through examination to be conducted by the |examination | | | | Public Service Commission | | | | | |Tenure of Secretaries be limited to 8 years | | |9 |Cabinet Sub-committee, 1987 |Review of SSP and Promotion Aspects |Creation of 50% of posts of Deputy Secretaries within the pay scales |Recommendations were referred to the Council Committee for | | | |Rules of Business |of Taka 4200-5200 for making SSP more attractive |examination. The recommendations of the Council Committee were not | | | | |Tenure of Secretaries should not be limited |approved by the President | |10 | 1996Committee to Re-examine the necessity|Necessity or otherwise of keeping | | | | |of keeping certain Government Offices in |certain Government Offices | | | | |the light of changed circumstances, 1989 | | | | |11 |National Pay Commission,1989 |Pay Issues |Revised National Scales of Pay |20 revised Nation Scales of Pay was introduced | |12 |Administrative Reorganization Committee, |Administrative structure and staffing |Reduction of the number of ministries from 35 to 22 and the number of|The report of the Committee was not made public | | |1993 |patterns |administrative organization from 257 to 224 | | | | | |Provisional structure for the Office of Ombudsman | | | | |Creation of a Secretariat for the Supreme Court | | |12 |National Pay Commission, |Pay Issues |Revised National Scales of Pay |20 revised Nation Scales of Pay was introduce d | | | |Structure and reorganization of | | | | | |manpower across | | | | | |Ministries/Departments/Directorates, | | | | | |etc. | | |13 |Administrative Reorganization Committee, |Administrative structure for improving | | | | |1996 |the quality and standard of service, | | | | | |achieve transparency and efficiency | | | |14 |Public Administration Reform Commission, | |Determination of Missions and functions of the public offices |Some of the interim recommendations have been implemented | | |1997 | |Formation of a professional policy making group â€Å"Senior Management |The recommendations of the Commission have been accepted by the | | | | |Pool† Lateral entry into the civil service |government in a recently held cabinet meeting | | | | |Reduction of the number of ministries from 36 to 25 and the abolition| | | | | |of 6 organizations. Establishment of the Supreme Court Secretarial. | | | | |Establishment of the Office of the Ombudsman | | | | | |The local co uncils/Parishads at the district, Upazila and Union | | | | | |should have overall authority of coordination of development | | | | | |activities . Establishment of an Independent Commission Against | | | | | |Corruption, Establishment of a Criminal Justice Commission | | | | | |Magnetization of public service benefits; Establishment of a Public | | | | | |Administration Reform monitoring Commission | | DISCUSSION ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS ELABORATELY IN THE FOLLOWING†¦. Administrative and service structure reorganization committee(ASRC): On 15 March 1972 a four members administrative and service reorganization committee (ASRC) was appointed and submitted its report in two phases in April 1973 and in May 1974. Mission of ASRC: The ASRC was asked – To consider the present structure of various service†¦.. And determine the future structure keeping in the view fundamental needs. To consider the amalgamation of all civil services †¦.. Into one unified service. To determine the principle of integration of the personnel of various service in the new structure and to determine inter seniority of personnel in different service. To determine the future recruitment policy in the government service and various levels. To prepare and recommend a comprehensive scheme for administrative reorganization. Significant recommendation: The ASRC have done some important recommendations. As like- The committee felt that division between former all Pakistan and other central superior services and the former provincial service as well division between higher and lower classes be abolished and a continuous grading system from top to bottom should be substituted in each occupational group. The committee suggested that reservation of posts for various groups within the public service should be discontinued. All public servants, the ASRC recommended, should be organized in a single classes unified grading structure (UGS) covering the whole public service. To inculcate professionalism in the public service, the committee suggested, division of all posts within it into two broad categories to be designated as functional posts and area group posts. The ASRC called for designating posts in top three grades, i. e. I. II and III as senior policy and management posts and tightening selection procedure for entrance into senior management positions. The committee also suggested a detail plan as to how its proposal for UGS be implemented throughout the public service. The ASRC felt that individuals should be recruited to various grads as in the public service on the basis of merit as tested by their performance in competitive public examination. The ASRC also made a number of specific recommendations to democratize the governance and reduce the powers. As like- Increasing devolution of power and authority to elected local governments at different levels district, Thana, and union was forcefully argued to enable locally elected officials to provide leadership in developmental activities without interference from central government officials placed in the field. Different local levels field tiers had to be rationalized with upgrading of subdivisions into districts and abolition of division. Separation of the judiciary from the executive had to be ensured for successful functioning of a democratic policy. At the central levels the role o the secretariat needed to be restricted to policy formulation, planning and evaluation of the executed plans and programs. Fate of ASRC The ASRC submitted its recommendations to the government in two phases. But there was no official response to the committee’s work till the end of the Mujib government. It is difficult to understand why far- reaching recommendations of ASRC was shelved in spite of the fact that accepting the members. All members including the chairman were close to Mujib both politically and personally. It is on record that Mujib was unhappy with the poor performance on lack of commitment of many senior civil servants. He knew the problems but did not want to go all the way to solve the malices. That created the paradox and consequently Mujib’s lack of action. National pay commission(NPC): A nation pay commission (NPC-1) was appointed on 21July 1972 under the chairmanship of a retired secretary to the government. Besides the chairman, there were nine members. The membership of the commission included full –time and five part-time members. Mission: The national pay commission (NPC-1) was assigned with a number of tasks. These included: Reviewing the pay structure of all employees in the public sector keeping in view the government’s policy of socialism. Recommending rationalization and standardization of pay scales of those who served under erstwhile central and provincial governments. Significant recommendations: The guiding principles followed by NPC-1 in recommending a rational pay structure were a livable wage, social acceptability, functionally distinguishable levels of responsibility matched with standardized pay levels and motivation based on patriotic grounds. The NPC-1 felt that a nine tiers administrative structure with corresponding pay scales could meet the requirements of a rational structure in Bangladesh during next five years 1973-1978 of the nine scales for would be normal direct entry tiers, three promotion tiers and two conversion ties but the commission’s plan had to be modified to bring it in line with ASRC recommendation. Fate of NPC Some of the recommendations f the commission were partially implemented however, majority of the recommendations of the NPC-1 were not implemented. Reasons can be offered as to why the commission’s recommendations suffered such a fact: Compression of 2200 scales into 10 scales was very difficult task and it proved to be at the implementation stage. No major segment within the civil service supported the recommendations. Rather almost everybody who mattered opposed it. Pay and service commission(P&SC): The pay and service commission (P&SC) was appointed on 20 February 1976 consisted of thirteen member including the chairman, headed by retired secretary who was changed in mid-way and replaced by another senior civil servant. Mission: The P&SC was asked to examine the existing pay and service structure of public sector except defense service and university’s teaching posts, recommend suitable service structure and pay structure including fringe benefits for civil service. In marking its recommendation, the commission had to consider some factors such as: Functional needs and requirements of the government, job requirement or various service and posts, cost of living, resources of the government and public sector enterprises, reduction of disparity between the highest and the lowest salary levels, demand and supply of various profession and occupation. It had another main business to examine both service and pay matters of all employees in the traditional public sector and this had to be accomplished within a given set of constraints. Fate of P&SC: The government slowly and implemented some of the recommendations in modified form and it took two years. Creation of twenty eight services under fourteen main cadres within the civil service. The government in 1977 provided for twenty –one scales of pay through the introduction of new national grades and scales of pay (NNGSP). In the process the government drastically scales down the number, that is fifty scales of pay which P&SC recommended but the NNGSP satisfied very few people. Constitution of senior service pool (SSP) by the government. The (SSP) was modeled in light of the P&SC call for creation of a superior policy pool (SSP), but the SSP order was formulated and implemented in such a manner that the objective behind SSP was willfully ignored. Martial Law Committee -1(MLC-1): A five – member martial law committee for examining organization set up of ministries /divisions , departments , directorates and other organization under them (MLC) was appointed on April 18,1982 under the chairmanship of a Brigadier . The other members of the committee were two lieutenant colonels, one major and one mid ranking civil servant. The latter was made secretary to the committee. Mission of MLC-1: The committee’s responsibility included: To review and recommend charter of duties of various sectors, branches, wings, divisions and departments. To scrutinize existing and

The Holy Land

The Holy Land The region generally encompassing territory from the River Jordan in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, and from the Euphrates River in the north to the Gulf of Aqaba in the south, was considered the Holy Land by medieval Europeans. The city of Jerusalem was of especially sacred significance  and continues to be so, to Jews, Christians and Muslims. A Region of Sacred Significance For millennia, this territory had been considered the Jewish homeland, originally encompassing the joint kingdoms of Juda and Israel that had been founded by King David. In c. 1000 B.C.E., David conquered Jerusalem and made it the capital; he brought the Ark of the Covenant there, making it a religious center, as well. Davids son King Solomon had a fabulous temple built in the city, and for centuries Jerusalem flourished as a spiritual and cultural center. Through the long and tumultous history of the Jews, they never stopped considering Jerusalem to be the single most important and holiest of cities. The region has spiritual meaning for Christians because it was here that Jesus Christ lived, traveled, preached and died. Jerusalem is especially sacred because it was in this city that Jesus died on the cross and, Christians believe, rose from the dead. The sites that he visited, and especially the site believed to be his tomb, made Jerusalem the most important objective for medieval Christian pilgrimage. Muslims see religious value in the area because it is where monotheism originated, and they recognize Islams monotheistic heritage from Judaism. Jerusalem was originally the place toward which Muslims turned in prayer, until it was changed to Mecca in the 620s C.E. Even then, Jerusalem retained significance to Muslims because it was the site of Muhammads night journey and ascension. The History of Palestine This region was also sometimes known as Palestine, but the term is a difficult one to apply with any precision. The term Palestine derives from Philistia, which was what the Greeks called the land of the Philistines. In the 2nd century C.E. the Romans used the term Syria Palaestina to indicate the southern part of Syria, and from there the term made its way into Arabic. Palestine has post-medieval significance; but in the Middle Ages, it was rarely used by Europeans in connection with the land they considered sacred. The profound importance of the Holy Land to European Christians would lead Pope Urban II to make the call for the First Crusade, and thousands of devout Christians answered that call.

The Complete List of SAT Subject Tests

The Complete List of SAT Subject Tests SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The SAT Subject Tests are a chance for you to show where you have specialized knowledge. With these tests, you can indicate to colleges which subjects interest you and which you've taken the time to get to know well. With that being said, how can you decide which SAT Subject Test to take? First, let's take a look at all the SAT Subject Tests from which you can choose. List of SAT Subject Tests In total, there are21 SAT Subject Tests (we're counting Biology E and Biology M as two separate tests). Nine of these tests cover four core subject areas- English literature, history, math, and science: Literature US History World History Math Level 1 Math Level 2 Biology - Ecological Biology - Molecular Chemistry Physics The other12 Subject Tests cover nine different languages. Half of these tests have a listening component: French French with Listening German German with Listening Spanish Spanish with Listening Modern Hebrew Italian Latin Chinese with Listening Japanese with Listening Korean with Listening Simply put,there are 21 different variations of tests to choose from. All SAT Subject tests cover 13 subject areas- four core courses and nine languages. Now, let's take a look at how many students take each SAT Subject Test, from most to least. We'll also show you the average scores these students achieve on the tests: SAT Subject Test Average Score # of Test Takers (2016-18) Math Level 2 693 427,765 Chemistry 666 208,588 US History 640 178,258 Physics 667 169,950 Math Level 1 605 162,998 Literature 607 150,361 Molecular Biology 650 116,622 Ecological Biology 618 91,866 Spanish 647 51,808 World History 622 43,660 French 628 18,725 Chinese with Listening 760 13,173 Latin 626 7,088 Spanish with Listening 662 6,937 Korean with Listening 761 5,364 French with Listening 668 3,819 Japanese with Listening 703 3,436 German 620 1,875 Italian 666 1,396 German with Listening 618 1,297 Modern Hebrew 612 980 Source: SAT Subject Tests Percentile Ranks As you can see, the tests based on core courses- i.e., literature, math, history, and science- tend to attract the largest number of students. When it comes to tests that have listening and non-listening options, more students typically opt for the non-Listening option. You'll also notice a large variation in the average scores of SAT Subject Tests. A higher mean score does not necessarily mean that the test is easier; instead,it likely means that students who opt for that test know that subject really, really well. Check out our analysis of which SAT Subject Tests are the easiest based on their average scores and other factors. Now that you know what options you have, how can you decide which Subject Test to take? How to Decide Which SAT Subject Tests to Take In order to decide which Subject Tests to take, you'll need to think about a variety of factors, from what kinds of tests colleges want to what subjects you're especially skilled at. We introduce three important questions to ask yourself before you commit to a particular Subject Test. #1: What Do the Colleges You're Applying to Want? First off, you need to know the testing requirements of the colleges you're applying to.How many Subject Tests does each of your schools want you to take? Is one a technology school that'll take a close look at your knowledge in math and science? Or is one a liberal arts college that wants you to demonstrate a range of abilities by taking one test in literature and another in math? Some colleges have adoptedtest-optional or test-flexible policies,which means you might be able to submit scores from Subject Tests in place of scores from the general SAT or ACT. Check out our article for the full list of colleges with these policies. These approaches can be really helpful for you to know as they let you shape your application in a way that's best for you. Another factor to consider is placement in college classes. Some colleges might prefer listening language tests to non-listening language tests, for example, because they demonstrate that extra dimension of fluency. If you're a native speaker, the listening language test will likely be pretty easy for you to achieve a great score on. If you're not a native speaker, however, you want to make sure that your language skills have reached a very high level before taking a language Subject Test. College requirements and expectations play the biggest role in which SAT Subject Tests you decide to take. But within those requirements, you might still have several options. Now you have to consider where you can best demonstrate your subject mastery. #2: Which Subjects Do You Know Best? The SAT Subject Tests test your knowledge of a particular subject rather than your reasoning skills. In this way, they're closely aligned with your high school classes and the finals or AP exams you take to demonstrate your content and conceptual knowledge. Since people often devote more time to learning about things that actually interest them, the SAT Subject Tests essentially tell a story about you- what you're interested in and have dedicated time to understanding. For instance, ifyou love reading and analyzing books, you should probably take the Literature test. Not only will you be more likely to get a high score on it, but you'll also be indicating your personal interests to admissions officers. As you can see, the SAT Subject Tests offer one more way you can individualize your college applications and tell a story about your personality and identity. By the way, did you know you have six chances a year to take a Subject Test?In other words, you don't have to wait until your junior year to take one. You might be ready to take the Biology or Chemistry tests, for example, at the end of your freshman or sophomore year. The two Math tests, on the other hand, typically require several years of high school-level math. Despite the many opportunities you have to take an SAT Subject Test, generally speaking,the best time to take one isnear the end of the school year,when you've been studying all the relevant material and the content is still fresh in your mind. #3: Which Format Is Best for You? The third and final factor has to do with the format of the Subject Test. As we've touched on above, some tests have language components while others don't, and others- such as the Biology tests- have two different versions to choose from. Language Tests As mentioned previously, the French, Spanish, and German language tests offer listening and non-listening options. If you have strong listening skills, the listening versions of the tests will be a great way to demonstrate fluency. They might also place you in a higher level once you get to college. (Check with the individual college on this policy as some have their own placement tests.) If you don't feel confident in your listening skills, on the other hand, your best bet would be to take the non-listening option or another SAT Subject Test altogether. The language tests tend to be difficult to score highly on if your language skills are limited to a classroom environment. Biology Are you intrigued by populations and energy flow within systems? Or do you prefer to know how cells work and talk about the ins and outs of photosynthesis? There are two options for the Biology Subject Test: Ecological Biology and Molecular Biology. While both tests share a core 60 questions, each also has an additional 20 questions with either an ecological or molecular focus. You can further explore the differences between these two tests and try practice questions here. Math If you're taking a math Subject Test, you have to decide between Math Level 1 and Math Level 2. For Level 1, you'll need to have taken at least two years of algebra and one year of geometry. By contrast, for Level 2, you should have taken these plus some trigonometry and pre-calculus. Both tests require you to use a graphing calculator, but Level 2 requires more complex use of the calculator. You can learn more about the Math Level 1and Math Level 2tests by visiting the College Board website. As is the case with the listening language tests, Math Level 2 has a higher mean score and lower standard deviation, meaning most students who take it score near the relatively high mean score of 693. Therefore, if you're not super confident in your math skills, it'll likely be harder to score in a high percentile. And don't be alarmed if you score an 800 on SAT Math 2 and see you're only in the top 79th percentile- getting a perfect score matters more than what percentile it is! Conclusion: Finding the Best SAT Subject Tests for You Ultimately, you're the expert on your own learning. You know what captivates you or makes you fall asleep. You also know whether you learn best by seeing, listening, doing, or combining some of these methods. You've probably already been drawn to and chosen the high school classes that'll determine which exams on this list of SAT Subject Tests you should take. You know yourself better than anyone else, so as long as you research the Subject Tests and have a strong sense of what'll be on them- and know what your colleges' requirements are!- you will make the right decision about SAT Subject Tests. What's Next? Another important consideration about SAT Subject Tests is when to take them- especially when you have to schedule them around the regular SAT/ACT and all your other activities. Check out our article on thebest dates to take the SAT Subject Tests. Are you also studying for the SAT or ACT?Read all about when you should start preparing and how you can design a balanced SAT/ACT schedule. Want that coveted 1600 SAT score or 36 ACT score? Read our famous guides to scoring a perfect SAT score and a perfect ACT scoreto get started! Need a little extra help prepping for your Subject Tests? We have the industry's leading SAT Subject Test prep programs (for all non-language Subject Tests). Built by Harvard grads and SAT Subject Test full or 99th %ile scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so that you get the most effective prep possible. Learn more about our Subject Test products below:

American Constitution Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

American Constitution - Research Paper Example The details of this amendment make it necessary for a search warrant to be issued before the personal life of any American citizen is subject to view. These search and arrest warrants also have to abide to certain requirements to make them plausible and usable. Not only do they require judicial approval but the warrant must also have a suitable cause initiating the search or arrest. Thus, these warrants are created according to the knowledge of a specific person, mostly a law enforcement officer, who have sworn to it and are therefore responsible and accountable for it to the issuing court. In 1885, the Murray v Hoboken land law determined that the fourth amendment applied only to criminal law and not any kind of civil law (Encyclopedia Britannica). The federal government then ensured that areas like narcotics were also included in the realm of criminal jurisdiction. However, the Supreme Court soon ruled that some searches and seizures were violating the Fourth Amendment despite the warrant carrying a probable cause and a limitation in scope (US Supreme Court 1967). Yet, at the same time the Court has also allowed innumerable seizures and searches to be carried out without any form of warrant, only because they feel a probable cause to exist that a criminal offense has been or is being committed (US Supreme Court 2004).This a clear portrayal of how the reasonableness and issuing of the warrant are often vastly different. The ACLA v NSA case relates back to the creation of a classified foreign intelligence program, now known as the Terrorist Surveillance Program. This agency could intercept international telephone and internet communications from numerous persons and organizations without needing to issue a warrant. The plaintiff in this legal case included, ACLA, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and Greenpeace along with five individuals who are authors and journalists. These included Christopher Hitchens, James Bamford, Tara McKelvey Larry Diamond: a democracy scholar of Stanford University and the Hoover Institution, and Barnett Rubin: an Afghanistan scholar of New York University. All these individuals claimed to have a history of communicating with people located inside or from the Middle East. They held the opinion based on a secure belief that their communications had been targeted by the TSP. This idea was because of the public kn owledge that had been attained by the workings of this program. ACLA v NSA was one of the first lawsuits produced that challenged the Terrorist Surveillance Program (Hibbits 2006). The District Court presented its own opinion. Judge Taylor wrote a forty-four page and eleven part opinion which was responsible for examining the defendant's claims over the part played by the NSA in this movement. It was discovered that according to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act the NSA violated that laws that had been decided. According to FISA, the Terrorist Surveillance Act was passed in 2006 through which President Bush gave additional power to the authorities to conduct electronic surveillance on suspected terrorists in the United States subject to the view of the Congress. Judge Taylor also felt the NSA responsible for violating not the fourth

Transracial Adoption Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Transracial Adoption - Essay Example (Fogg-Davis, 2002) Adoption has basically been seen as another way of making sure that the children who are placed at nurturing homes will have a home for themselves. A census was taken for the amount of children who are homeless, came out to be 900,000 by the beginning of 2000. There are quite many reasons for such a situation to occur. The main and most essential reason is poverty. Secondly, the mothers and fathers of the African-American children have no manners of how to keep their children. The particular styles of the African-American were a subject of debate. The African-American and White-American were compared and the particular styles of the African-American were personalized as harsh, stiff and in a few cases very corrupt. The children of African-American stay at a nurturing home for a longer period as compared to White-American children. The White-American children are allowed to have visitors; on the other hand, African-American children are not allowed to have any visitors. Due to having a decrease, in African-American adoptive families and less White-American children provided for adoption, some African-American children have been sent with White-American parents. Separate races being placed together is a process called, "transracial adoption". ... e majority of babies are adopted from North America, Asia, South America and Oceania, while the majority of children over 5 years of age are coming from Africa, Oceania and South America. (Conceive Magazine, 2005). The problem of discussion whether White-American parents should adopt African-American children has been going on for long. In 1972, the National Association of Black Social Workers (NABSW) was much worried about the Black/ African American children who were being placed with the white race of mankind. NABSW has stated that "Black children should be placed with only Black families whether in foster care or for adoption. Black children belong physically and psychologically and culturally in Black families in order that they receive the total sense of themselves and develop a sound projection of their future." (NABSW) After the sayings of NABSW, there was an argument which lasted for nearly two decades. Criticism of transracial adoption is not bound only on NABSW, but also the Third World countries. Americans have adopted many children from Third World countries. These statements have made the researchers to find the validity time of the claims. Legislation has been introduced into dispute in the form of the Metzenbaum Multiethnic Placement Act (MEPA) of 1994. MEPA along with 1996 provisions for Removal of Barriers to Interethnic Adoption (IEP) were made to decrease the practice of matching the races in adoption of children. MEPA-IEPA were arranged to decrease the amount of time children wait for adoption placement, to improve and help in problems and keep successful nurture and parents, and to remove degrading according to race, color, or national origin. In 1987 National Health Interview Survey (NAIC, 2000) found that approximately 8% of all adoptions