Personal Finance Concepts Investing Essay

According to the finance researchers a portfolio refers to an appropriate collection of investments for an institution or a single individual. An investment portfolio is constructed by financial advisors or a retainer their main task involves investment analysis that are useful; during purchasing of stocks and bonds, and other business assets. . Cliff uses his present finances to determine his future holding and finance position. Cliff financial statement seems to spread in many fields, he invests in fixed assets and even before he could fully exploit his new investment strategy he is already investing in shares and bonds. Basically this is diversification and investing assets such as bonds and shares in such a scenario is exposing a high percentage of ones investment at risk (Grant 2005). Cliff is a risk taker hence he is more likely to invest in income securities and unwarranted investment such as the equities. Hence Cliff will tend to have very low cash holding and shares, in addition he is not expected to hold high levels of securities as savings since his age is allows him to have a long time to invest in most cases age is a great determinate in an individuals saving amount and investment, though Cliff will tend to save for his future plans such as his wedding plans, his marginal propensity to save will still be quite low. Since Cliff is earning an approximate of $340000 he I expected to distribute his earning to his present and future expenses, A great source of cliff’s finances is in terms of bonds and shares which are a good way to invest but the shortcoming with Cliff’s investment is the fact that he did not take a good research before imposing a big sum of his money into the investment, the investment in bonds and shares involve a high percentage of risk and for that reason if they are not carefully researched on they bring high degrees of losses or very little profits. In that light they are not included in the construction of a portfolio, instead the items that can be included in the construction of a portfolio are savings, cash at hand and revenue that is already attained or the degree of risk is not too high. Using Cliff’s example he can spread his earning such 30% of his total earnings is equities, 40% income securities, 20% sundry expenses and 10 % as savings. The assumption is that cliff is a young risk taker hence his securities will tend to be and also his savings and cash. Â  Below is an example of Cliff’s portfolio: References Frasca , R, (2006) – Personal Finances: An Integrated Planning Approach, 7th Ed – Pearson Prentiss Hall Grant, R (2005) – Contemporary Strategy Analysis – Blackwell Publishing Karnani, A (1981) – Business Portfolio: an analytical Approach – Harvard Publishing .

Impact of Technology on the Work-Life Balance Essay

Technology has done a lot for human beings. Without the development in technology it is possible that the pyramids would never have been built and neither would we be able to communicate with each other from remote places all over the world. Some say that these technological advances such as the internet and cellular phones are a boon on society and humankind yet there are also those detractors who say that it is has not simplified life in so much as it has complicated matters. While we enjoy everything that technology has to offer, it cannot be argued that there are times that we are more inconvenienced by it. There are times when one would rather turn his or her cellular phone off so that they can relax more and take it easy. There are also times when they wish they had battery power on their technological devices so that they can work more or accomplish more. The problem it seems is that as technology becomes more advanced and incorporates itself more in the daily lives of people it becomes more difficult to escape from it. The biggest difficulty nowadays is actually turning that piece of technology off without fearing that doing so will leave a person uninformed or make him feel so isolated and left out of this world which is moving at a very rapid pace. It is commonplace to see a person check his computer (either desktop or laptop) every few minutes or so just to make sure that they read the email as soon as it comes in. People bring their work with them almost everywhere they go these days. Work is no longer limited to the confines of a cubicle or an office but can now be performed virtually anywhere thanks to the technological advances that have enabled the invention of portable workstations such as blackberries, laptops and cellular phones. The introduction of teleconferencing has made travel to meetings all but obsolete and the push for more digital convergence has made it possible for people to work from their homes. The proper characterization of this phenomenon is not increasing worker productivity, as it is claimed, but rather invasion of privacy. There is no longer any place that is safe from the summons from work or the orders of a superior. Virtually every place on this planet allows people to perform work at any time and from any location. This means that since the day has still remained at 24 hours, unless scientists have found a way to alter that, and the more that time is devoted to work, the less time on that 24 hour clock is left for privacy and relaxation. Even certain studies have shown that the work hours have dramatically increased from the levels that it was at previously. More and more people put in longer hours with each technological breakthrough that is introduced. It has been argued that this is a good thing because people make more money and more money means happier people. While there is no arguing the fact that more money does make people happy, in general, the devices that have been invented to allow the generation of higher incomes has also reduced the time left to spend that hard earned money. The extra income that is generated by these devices now seems so meaningless and useless since it cannot be spent due to the lack of time to do so. Another problem is also the cost of worker burn out. While productivity is theoretically increased per worker, the added stress and workload that is given per worker leads to a faster deterioration of the human resource and means that in the long run the potential productivity gains are actually nullified by the deterioration of human capital. All of these time saving devices which claim to increase productivity were invented for a simple reason, to decrease work time. They were not really invented to free time up for other work but were envisioned to allow a person to do more with less. We should learn to keep it that way, be happy with doing more with less and do not fret about doing more with more.

China vs. Rome Compare and Contrast

China and Rome China and Rome were astonishing civilizations that managed to advance technology and civilations. Both civilizations were rapidly growing and making changes to the world. The two cultures were pretty similar, yet very different. Their religions were something to be modest about. When it came to religion it helped the decline of both societies, by religion changing. When it came to technology though, its change is what caused the societies to flourish. As for education the both leaders of China and Rome worked on making it easier, evident from the letters, for common people to gain knowledge. Changing things in their kingdom clearly took time. With politics being something of a fight in many respects; came as part living in an ancient society. Peaceful changes in power was a rare occasion in Rome but, highly common in China. Both societies treated each other differently, no matter if it was regarding slaves, or women. The underclass was not treated well not out of hate but out of a well beaten attitude that whoever they were, somehow they were always better. Both societies were similar yet highly different it’s surprising how it came about. When two societies emerge like the Romans and Chinese, we would expect conflict, yet none came about, here is a look into both societies as truly empires. The Han China and The Roman Empire were well-organized bureaucracies. In Han China their government was based on Confucian ideas a main one of which was; that a ruler should learn self-discipline, should govern his subjects by his own example, and should treat them with love and concern. An example of this is in document four when it calls a governor â€Å"he was a generous man and his policies were peaceful. † This shows how clearly the people loved their emperor. While in all but the last few years of the roman rule the religion was very scattered. Due to the vastness of the Roman Empire uniting them under one religion was impossible. But one of the things that did spread was the idea that the Emperor was a god. No one ever came out and bluntly said it but a change in ideals that came with Christianity led to the famous saying of Emperor Constantine which was â€Å"I am simply the first among equals. † This truly represented a new era for Rome that helped lead to its decline. The politics of Han China were all about the good of the people. Showing this is in document one where it is said â€Å"and supply enough workers to those carry out the repair work in each district. † Clearly this document is showing a want of the work to be done, for the good of the people. While in Rome it seems the Emperor had less respect for his people when even one of his advisors writes â€Å"I do not believe that tools for the crafts were invented by wise men. †(Document 7) This total lack of respect for the common people is rather disgusting. Even though the two had different political philosophies, both managed control over their vast empires. In technology there is so much to be said for these two empires they managed to change the world with their developments. Rome had many technologies that gave new life to their capital. The first of which is aqueducts, â€Å"The abundance of water is sufficient not only for public and private uses and application but truly even for pleasure. † (Document 8) The point of this is that they had enough water coming into the city to do whatever they wanted to do. That’s how Rome ended up with so many fountains, bath houses and other water related activities. Another accomplishment of Rome is roads level, and strait. It took a long process of building to achieve what they did; making something rival to The Great Wall of China. Traditionally known to the Chinese as the â€Å"Long Wall of Ten Thousand Li†, the stretch of formidable defensive structures built to ward off invasion of the Celestial Empire by barbarians from the North. If all the fortified walls built in the different dynasties around northern China are included, the total length would exceed 31,000 miles. This is so long and large that the Great Wall of China can even be seen from space. When it came to water like the Romans Chinese were controlling it like putty in their hands. The main thing was the grand canal which brought water from one city to another and acted as a road way. The Grand Canal is the world's longest man-made waterway, being 1,800 kilometers long. The canal connects the present cities of Beijing in the north and Hangzhou in the south, which served as dynastic capitals in the past, and contains 24 locks and 60 bridges. Since most of China's major rivers flow from west to east, the fact that the Grand Canal runs north and south provides it as an important connector between the Yangtze River valley and the Yellow River valley. A good example of their care for water is in Document 1 â€Å"I request that you establish water conservation offices in each district and staff them with people who are experienced in the ways of water. † When it says this you can tell how much they care about the water. Both societies clearly had a good grip on the control of water, for their benefit and their pleasure. The last topic that shows the intellect of the people and the emperor, it seems that these peoples were highly intelligent. When you are looking at Document 5 it says â€Å"all craftsman spend their time in vulgar occupations; no workshop can have anything enlightening about it. I take this as the upper class looking down on what their lower class does to support their lifestyle. Slavery was commonly practiced throughout all ancient history, but no other people in history owned so many slaves and depended on them so much as the Romans. Many Romans had slaves do their dirty and hard work for them. These slave s were bought and sold in the slave markets. Some slaves were soldiers who had been captured in wars, while others were the children of slave parents. If they tried to run away, they were whipped, burned with iron, and sometimes even killed. Slavery was accepted as part of life in ancient Rome by the slaves themselves and by the society. Women were treated differently, as time went forward. When a young woman married in the early years of the Roman Republic she left her childhood home and the authority of her father and entered not only the home of her husband but his power and control as well. In law her status was not very different from that of her husband’s daughter. As Rome’s empire grew and more and more money poured in things began to change. Any amendments to the law probably seemed quite insignificant at the time they were made, but the reality of day to day life gradually began to transform the way society viewed women and the way they viewed themselves. By the end of the First Century women had achieved a level of freedom they would not see again in Western Society until the last half of the Twentieth Century. While in China slaves were less prominent in history, they were simply people with debts to pay off, and people who created with, in some cases their lives and blood and sweat the greatness that was ancient China. Women in ancient China were considered inferior to men. This meant that their whole lives were spent being subservient to the men in their families. Generations of one family often lived in the same house together and older people were greatly respected. It seems that even though there are changes to society over time both treated others in their society badly. Even with the greatest of technology some societies just have issues with the idea of equality. Even though the quality of life was a concern as shown in document 3 â€Å"later, water power was also applied, and the benefit was increased a hundredfold. † This truly shows an attempt on improving quality of life.

Miranda Warning, How it changed Police Interrogation Term Paper

Miranda Warning, How it changed Police Interrogation - Term Paper Example The first major change in police interrogation - that is, from following the voluntariness test - occurred in state law. In 1966 the United States Supreme Court decided the case of Miranda. The Miranda decision has been the mirror for modern application of the Fifth Amendment’s privilege against compulsory self-incrimination in both federal and state criminal cases. Ernesto Miranda was convicted on charges of rape and kidnapping after providing police with a signed confession. Miranda's questioning by police lasted 2 hours and was conducted in an interrogation room without the aid of a lawyer. The three other defendants charged with the crimes experienced similar interrogation situations (Miranda v. Arizona, 1966; see Vignera v. New York; California v. Stewart; and Westover v. U.S., as cited in Oberlander & Goldstein, 2001). The Miranda Court, led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, believed a suspect automatically confronted a "compulsory" situation ("inherent pressure") when place d in a police interrogation environment. The Supreme Court believed there had been widespread abuse throughout the nation by law enforcement personnel, and thereby, †¦ concluded that without proper safeguards for the process of in- ­custody interrogation of persons suspected or accused of crime †¦ [the] inherently compelling pressures will work to undermine the individual's will to resist and [will] compel him to speak where he would not otherwise do so freely (Dunham , 2008: p. 540). Essentially, the Miranda decision established a new approach to the admissibility of suspects' confessions by rejecting a judicial case-by-case determination of whether a confession was voluntarily given. The Court ruled that... The Miranda decision established a new approach to the admissibility of suspects' confessions by rejecting a judicial case-by-case determination of whether a confession was voluntarily given. The Court ruled that any statement resulting from the interrogation of a suspect would be presumed involuntary and thus, inadmissible unless the police first provided the suspect with four warnings. Widely known as the Miranda warnings, these standards first state that the suspect has the right to remain silent. Second, any statements made by the suspect can be used as evidence against him or her. Third, the suspect has the right to the presence of an attorney during questioning. Finally, an attorney will be appointed if the suspect cannot afford counsel. In addition, the court determined that an individual may waive these Miranda rights if the waiver is "knowing, voluntary, and intelligent." Soon after the Miranda decision, police departments developed and instituted Miranda warning statements, the majority of which were patterned after the Court's suggested warnings provided in an appendix to the Miranda decision. These warnings were added to enhance the existing test for admissibility of a confession - the due process voluntariness test.

Corporate welfare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Corporate welfare - Essay Example In addition, at the time lenders and creditors were unavailable. Numerous corporations were facing closure due to huge financial debts. With an objective to sustain the economy, the government had to develop strategies that would keep these organizations open; thus the creation of corporation welfare (Cay 24). Since is initiation the policy has been effective. Numerous corporations have been bailed out of financial crisis. In addition, the modern day corporate welfare policies are created to enhance the sustainability of major companies (Roger 44). For instance, agricultural subsidies in the United States are used to sustain large corporations in the industry (Roger 44). These corporations are able to sustain their financial burden. The current corporation welfare strategies have been criticized. Majority of the people embrace the modification that the money could be more useful tothe poor not large corporations (Fisher& Peters 89). For instance, it could be more effective if agricultural subsidies are used to support farmers rather that the major institutions in the

New Business Propsal Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

New Business Propsal - Research Paper Example This strategy will enable the company to easily capture the older Chinese people. In general, fruits are good for the health. Therefore, it is a good business strategy to develop a wide-range of combined fruit juices to enable the company attracts a large population of health conscious individuals living in China. Executive Summaries and Business Pro Forma Executive summaries and business pro formas is about studying the market demand and analyzing the actual cost of establishing a business (The City of Victoria, 2011). In general, drafting an executive summaries and business pro formas is important part of designing a business proposal since the process of going through the proposed business plan would give the business owner a better insight whether or not the proposed business idea is feasible or not. Specifically the population of China is one of the highest around the world. As of July 2010, the total population in China is a little more than 1.3 billion (Central Intelligence Ag ency, 2011a). Regardless of gender and sexual orientation, the target consumer for this product is between the age brackets of 15 – 64 years old is 72.1% of China’s entire population or close to 965 million individuals (ibid). Aside from having a very low unemployment rate with only 4.3% as of the last quarter of 2010, makes the idea to operate the business in China more feasible and lucrative as compared to doing the business in the United Kingdom (Central Intelligence Agency, 2011b). To make the proposed fruit-, tea-, and coffee-based smoothies reach the target consumers in China, I intend to penetrate the target consumers by initially renting out a small booth or stalls in different malls in Shanghai. In line with this, the top 10 malls in Shanghai China which I intend to establish a small booth or stalls include: Carrefour, No. 1 Department Store, Friendship Store, Grand Gateway Mall, Orient Department Store, Plaza 66, Shanghai Westgate Shopping Mall, Super Brand M all, Westgate Mall, and Yaxin Plaza (World Guides, 2011). Aside from making it easier for me to pull out the stalls in areas wherein the volume of target consumers who will be purchasing fruit-, tea-, and coffee-based smoothies is low, one of the reasons why it is necessary to start the business in a small-scale includes cheaper rental fees and lower manpower cost. By cutting down the daily operational cost in each mall, it is possible for me to take advantage of economies of scale and easily make the brand name be known to the public consumers. When managing the proposed business, it is very important on my part to reach the level higher than the break-even point. By reaching the break-even point, it means that I will not incur either business profit or loss. When computing for the break-even point, it is important to determine the variable and fixed operational expenses. Regardless of whether or not the total volume of sales is high, the fixed operational cost is referring to fix expenses which I should pay each month. On the other hand, variable costs include expenses which may accumulate depending on the demand for the proposed product. The minimum monthly wage in Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin China is 1,120 yuan or 11 yuan per hour

Choose a topic that talk about a company Term Paper

Choose a topic that talk about a company - Term Paper Example Income statements and balance sheets are considerably two of the more important accounting instruments in reflecting the fiscal situation of companies. Hence, balance sheets and income statements are frequently used by companies. Accounts of a particular company are likely to get affected as a result of variation in assets of company at one hand and liabilities on the other hand, respectively (Helfert 40). These financial instruments are, therefore, helpful to configure both assets and liabilities. The income statement is the overall view of the company’s financial state and tends to vary with the variation in cash and expenses. On the other hand, the balance sheet reveals the true picture of the current financial status of the company. Likewise various other standards are part of the financial practices across the world but almost all of them, ultimately, serve the same purpose. This report precisely aims to give an insight on the use of financial instruments namely the 10 â €“ K for fiscal year ended December, 2012, by Yahoo! Inc., and the affect of different journal entries on EPS (Earning per share) & in net income. Earnings per share (EPS) serve as an indicator of a company's profitability. Allocating portion of a company's profit to each outstanding share of common stock is a standard activity. This report will also focus on multiple journal entries featuring the financial tool based on Form 10 K and their subsequent effects on net income and EPS. Journal Entries Journal entries are about reporting financial transaction in an accounting book of the company. These entries serve as source information to generate other financial reports (Wolfe). The financial statements (Form 10 - K) for Yahoo! Inc. for the year ended December, 2012, will remain the primary focus of analysis in the discussion ahead (Yahoo! Inc. 79). Duly consolidated Balance Sheet of Yahoo! Inc. is appended below, for referral, with regard to discussion on journal entries. Yahoo! Inc. Consolidated Balance Sheet December 31, 2012 ASSETS Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents 2,667,778 Short term marketable securities 1,516,175 Accounts receivable 1,008,448 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 460,312 Total current assets 5,652,713 Long term marketable debt securities 1,838,425 Alibaba Group Preference Shares 816,261 Property and equipment, net 1,685,845 Goodwill 3,826,749 Intangible assets, net 153,973 Other long term assets 289,130 Investments in equity interests 2,840,157 Total assets 17,103,253 LIABILITIES AND EQUITY Current liabilities: Accounts payable 184,831 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 808,475 Deferred revenue 296,926 Total current liabilities 1,290,232 Long term deferred revenue 407,560 Capital lease and other long term liabilities 124,587 Deferred and other long term tax liabilities, net 675,271 Total liabilities 2,497,650 Commitments and contingencies - Yahoo! Inc. stockholder's equity: Preferred stock, $0.001 par value, 1 0,000 shares authorized; none issued or outstanding - Common stock, $0.001 par value, 5,000,000 shares authorized; 1,189,816 shares issued and 1,115,233 shares outstanding as of December 31, 2012 1,187 Additional paid in capital 9,563,348 Treasury stock at cost, 74583 shares as of December 31, 2012 (1,368,043) Retained earnings 5,792,459 Accumulated other comprehensive income 571,249 Total Yahoo! Inc. stock

Fashion marketing research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Fashion marketing research - Essay Example The essay "Fashion marketing research" provides a research on fashion marketing. Due to short-lived nature of particular fashion trend, fashion marketers feel the pressure of continuously upgrading inventory and product offering to customers. Otherwise, it will be difficult for fashion marketers to ensure sustainable relevance to the customer based value proposition being offered by them (Kotler et al., 2001). In order to understand dynamics of fashion market, the study has selected two UK based fashion retailers as case organizations such as French connection and jigsaw. Objective of this study will be to analyze UK fashion market by comparing these two brands. In the last part, based on the analysis, suitable suggestions will be made for improving value proposition for French connection and jigsaw. In order to conduct primary research, author of this essay has visited Jigsaw store located in Duke Street, London and French Connection store located in oxford street, London. Objective of this study had been discussed with incoming customers in both the store. Convenience sampling (non probabilistic sampling) was used for selecting five respondents in each store. Open ended questions regarding perceptions of customers regarding profile/image of these two brands were asked to customers. In case of Jigsaw store located in Duke Street, London; marketer has integrated with juice bar, juke box and coffee shop inside the store while such types of additional amenities were absent in case.

Knowledge Management and the Competitive Strategy of the Firm Article

Knowledge Management and the Competitive Strategy of the Firm - Article Example The study reviews literature that tackles knowledge management in relation to the competitive advantage of an organization. The literature includes Porter ‘5 forces model’, and ‘Wernerfelt’s’ resource base view of a firm. The relationship between KM and strategy formulation by use of resource-based perception of the organization is established. The applicable literature that links KM with strategies is examined. The paper culminates with research findings, implications, and conclusions. Porter based his argument on SWOT analysis concept. Porter views that the five force model depends heavily on the competition level in the industry. The five forces include; the threats presented by new entrants in the market; suppliers bargaining power; threats offered by the substituting goods, and the jockeying among the existing contestants. When an organization has perfect information pertaining to the existence of the above factors they tend to conquer the market . This is because the organization will devise a strategic plan that counteracts the actions of the competitors. The strategy focuses on external factors that analyzing the opportunities and threats evident in the industry. Barney views that organizations that utilize their internal strengths to act on the opportunities at the same time weakening threats and avoiding internal weakness attain a significant value on the competitive competition. The theory argues that a firms’ success lies in its ability to incorporate its ability and resources. A firm’s resources must never be easily imitated by the competitors. Various researchers supporting the theory including Penrose, Barney, and Mahoney and Pandian asserts that; competitive advantage resources must be valuable, with no substitute and inimitable.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Essay Example for Free

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Essay Stability in the Arabian Peninsula region has been a concern for the United States for some time now. AQAP poses a direct threat against the U.S. and U.S. interests of Stability and Security in the Arabian Peninsula. This instability and threat is why I have chosen the AQAP as the FTO to research making the next attack. The AQAP comes from the merging of the al Qaeda cells from Yemen and in Saudi Arabia. There are approximately one –two hundred members, with thousands of supporters. The merger took place in January 2009, due to the success of the Saudi Arabian government in destroying al Qaeda’s infrastructure in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. AQAP is a subsidiary of the al Qaeda, whose center of gravity is in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but works independently of its parent organization. Since formation occurred, they are responsible for a number of attacks on the â€Å"West† and are considered responsible parties of the â€Å"UPS and FEDEX cargo bombing attempts† (Kurczy, 2010). They were deemed a terrorist organization on December 14, 2009, by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. (Gerstein, 2010). Prior to the formation of AQAP, al Qaeda claimed responsibility for numerous attacks in Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Those attacks include: the 1993 attack on World Trade Center, 1998 suicide bombings of Embassies, the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, and the 2008 car bombing outside the U.S. Embassy in Sana’ killing 19 people including 6 of the terrorists (Poland, 2005 ). AQAP has claimed to plan on targeting oil facilities, tourists, and security forces in the future. It is believed though that AQAP provided spiritual guidance by U.S. Citizen Anwar al Awlaki to U.S. Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who was the gunman behind the 2009 Ft. Hood killings and the December 2009 attempt to down a passenger airline to Detroit. Responsible parties to these terroristic events are said to be that of the top five â€Å"key leaders† of AQAP. These men include are in order of their rank from the top spot of leaders to the last. 1. Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, aka the bomb maker. He is believed to be the creator of the bombs intercepted in October last year on cargo planes. 2. Anwar al-Awlaki, aka the chief ideologue. He is suspected of being part of three unsuccessful terrorist attacks to include the Fort Hood Shootings (Bryant, C., Kasinof, L., 2010), bombing attempt on airliner jet on Christmas, and the Times Square bombing on May 2. 3. Said Ali al-Shihri, deputy chief of AQAP. He is suspected of participation in  September 2008 US Embassy attack and the kidnapping of nine missionaries in June 2009 according to Fox News. 4. Qasim al-Raymi, military commander. He followed Osama bin Laden’s lead on media releases â€Å"building an ever-more sophisticated propaganda arm for al Qaeda in Arabian Penin sula† (Kurczy, 2010). 5. Nasir al Wuhayshi, head of AQAP. Known as the personal secretary of Osama bin Laden (Kurczy, 2010). Most of AQAP is made up of fighters that returned from Afghanistan during the Russian invasion and fighters that have been serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. They lure new recruits who are sympathetic to al Qaeda and have animosity towards the U.S. and western nations. The recruiting pool is vast in the region with fighters fleeing Iraq and Afghanistan and relocating to Yemen and Somalia. Both countries have weak central governments that are conducive for lawlessness in the region and have vast ungoverned territory. Government cooperation with American counter-terrorism efforts has historically been spotty and portions of both populations are hostile to the United States. (Kerry, 2010) AQAP aims to overthrow the Yemeni government for its support to the U.S. and its offensive operations against al Qaeda. The group also emphasizes its global ambitions and desire to target western interests within the region. Additionally, AQAP has stated it will focus on cutting supply lines of western nations supporting Israel and looks to expand its influence throughout the region (Boucek, 2010). The animosity against the western nations continues to grow, as does the technology and ideas for new weapons. The newest information is that a poisoned perfume plot against religious and government officials was prevented due to arrest of 149 al Qaeda suspects. This is just an example of the creativity AQAP has come up with. Last summer the country’s Deputy Interior Minister had been attempted to be assassinated by a bomber with the weapon in his anus (Rawnsley, 2010). These weapons are just the newest form used by AQAP. Yemen has emerged as a major staging base for al Qaeda and other likeminded groups for attacking American targets within Yemen as well as to reach targets outside of Yemen including the United States. U.S. officials have warned that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was a growing threat even before the failed 2009, Christmas Day airline bombing attempt (Kerry, 2010). In February 2009, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair stated that, â€Å"Yemen is reemerging as a jihadist battleground and potential regional base of operations for Al Qaeda  to plan internal and external attacks, train terrorists, and facilitate the movement of operatives.† (Rollins, 2010). The threat coming from AQAP is greater than the threat coming from al Qaeda’s central leadership located in Pakistan. AQAP is increasingly a more pressing concern for U.S. national security. AQAP has relative freedom of movement in the Arabian Peninsula and region which allows for its ability to increase its ranks through recruitment as well as its ability to train new recruits. Additionally, AQAP has also shown its ability to influence other like-minded individuals to conduct attacks to our homeland with little to no warning. AQAP has proven it has the means and capability to attempt to conduct attacks globally although it has yet to be successful. It is only a matter of time before they possess the ability and trained personnel that are able to conduct something equal to or greater than the attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001. AQAP poses a direct threat to the U.S. and U.S. interest of stability and security in the Arabian Peninsula. AQAP is capable of every threat that has been uttered against the US and western countries. The US as well as the other western territories that are considered allies against AQAP, can end or at least moderate the terroristic threat by â€Å"interdicting terrorists, disrupt their planning, restrict their travel, reduce the flow of financial (EO 13224 signed 9/23/01) and material support to terrorist groups, and enable partner governments to assert control over weakly governed territory where terrorists find sanctuary† (US Department of State, 2005). The Antiterrorism Assistance program is a well used deterrent against FTO’s such as AQAP. The AQAP became a bigger threat than al Qaeda, and the instability and security issues within the Arabian Peninsula are threats we must contend with. With the knowledge and training gained since the imperative attacks on American soil in 2001, we can deter and detain these terrorists and protect our homeland and allies. The ideologies and animosity against the US and other western nations are targeted towards the recruiting of others who sympathize with al Qaeda. Preemptive and retaliatory methods are other forces to use to impede the AQAP’s threats and/or attacks. It is also noted in the Country Reports that by American’s helping partner nations in the quest for improving their abilities to detect and prevent terrorist activities this will clearly enhance the overall security of all nations (US Department of State, 2005). References Boucek, Christopher (2010). Terrorism out of Yemen. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved from http://carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=viewid=41705 References Bryant, C., Kasinof, L. (2010, October 29). Suspicious UPS, FedEx packages raise new concerns about Al Qaeda in Yemen. Christian Science Monitor. p. N.PAG. Retrieved from EBSCOhost CPJ. (2008, April 15). Iraq: Journalists Abducted 2003-09. Retrieved March 15, 2011, from Committee to Protect Journalists: Defending Journalists Worldwide: http://cpj.org/reports/2008/04/abducted.php. Gerstein, Josh (2010). Clinton named Al Qaeda Yemen as terror group. Politico. Retrieved from http://www.politico.com/blogs/joshgerstein/0110/Clinton_named_AlQaeda_Yemen_as_terror_group_a_month_ago.html Kerry, John (2010). Al Qaeda in Yemen and Somalia: A ticking Time Bomb. Committee on foreign relations United States Senate. Retrieved from http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2010_rpt/sfrc-aq.pdf Kurczy, S. (2010, November 2). Five key members of Al Qaeda in Yemen (AQAP). Christian Science Monitor. p. N.PAG. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Poland, J. (2005 ). Understanding terrorism: Groups, strategies, and responses 2nd edition. Upper Saddle River: Pearson. Rawnsley, A. (2010, December 7). Danger Room Whats Next in National Security. Retrieved March 15, 2011, from Wired: http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/12/al-qaedas-latest-weapon-poison-perfume/ Rollins, John (2010). Al Qaeda and Affiliates: Historical Perspective, Global Presence, and Implications for U.S. Policy. Congressional research Service. Retrieved from http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/terror/R41070.pdf US Department of National Security. (2006). The National Security Strategy of the United States of America. Washington DC: USDOS. US Department of State. (2005). Country Reports on Terrorism 2004. Washington DC: US Government.

Catalonia: History of Independence

Catalonia: History of Independence 1.0 Abstract Catalonia is a historically supressed region within Spain. After 1975, when the dictator Francisco Franco died it allowed for a new democratic Spain. This has resurfaced Catalan Nationalism. Most recently the Catalan region has called for a legal referendum in 2017, as the one held in 2014 was deemed illegal. Democracy takes priority within the region which has created increased tensions and potential for violence. The report showed there has been an increase in violence and that the governance and future threats are key concerns. The report highlights the grievances within the region, that have been accumulating. 2.0 Introduction   Europe is experiencing modern day separatism, with currently over 25 active separatist movements. Spain is the most divided ‘nation’ within Europe having experienced the most civil wars of any country. Catalonia is the most profitable region in the north west of Spain making around 20 billion a year (BBC news 2013). They have recently called for another referendum in 2017 after having achieved an attendance rate during the last referendum in 2014 from the population of 30% of the 7.5 million. The polls from 2014 gaged an opinion that is in favour of independence for the region. The poll was deemed illegal by the Spanish government, which resulted in Arthur mass, Catalonia’s president, being arrested and numerous other legal cases against the Catalan politicians (The Guardian 2016). The protests, so far, have been peaceful however it has been assumed that this may not continue as an emergence of separatism could continue as theorised based upon the past and become violent. Many other places such as Scotland, who are allied in methods with Catalonia, called for a referendum in 2014 with a concluding vote of no and to stay within the United Kingdom (The financial times 2014) Most recently with 2016 the United Kingdom parted with the European union, in an event termed Brexit. The votes for Brexit were broken up into regions, Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to stay within the European union which has resurfacing a call for a referendum from Scotland to be held in 2017. Within Northern Ireland the vote has caused talks around a united Ireland or for Northern Ireland to become independent. With the success of Brexit, the European union is not being presented in a positively. Within this report the tern nation is going to be examined within theoretical and historical contexts to better understand the separatist movement within Catalonia. A field based analysis was conducted to gather the opinions of the Catalan population on the notion of independence and whether they think it will be obtained peacefully. 3.0 Research context To understand the current situation within Catalonia its place within theories must be examined. Nationalism is defined as a political programme. It consists of groups of people who define as nations who form territorial states that have a single language (Hobshawm and Kertzer, 1992). Renan in (1882) said within his speech that a nation was â€Å"a group of people united by a mistaken view about the past and a hatred of their neighbours†. This nation joins biographies to have one common historical narrative (Calhoun 1993).   Nations and nationalism can be a complex definition with many theories on how it happens. Benedict Anderson (1983) differs in views with many scholars by seeing nationalism as an â€Å"imaginary political community†. He states that Communities are to be distinguished, not by their falsity/genuineness, but by the style in which they are imagined Ernest Gellner (1983) said that â€Å"nationalism is primarily a political principle that holds the political and the national unit should be congruent†. Gellner believes that nationalism was something that the modern world needed sociologically and mainly focuses on modernisation and industrialisation. Anthony smith was a critic of Gellner saying that he had misread the relationship that is between industrialisation and nationalism (Smith 1989). Smith (1989) is quotes to say that â€Å"the modern world had become inconceivable and unintelligible without nations and nationalism† Bruielly (1982) shows more of an academic approach and states that when intellectuals or professionals miss out on important career opportunities this may lead to a rise in national ideology. Nationalism to him is portrayed through intellectuals as unsuccessful professionals. This is like Kedourie’s theory about indigenous intellectuals in colonial societies and how they too turned to nationalism. The abundance of intellectuals and inability for society to find them suitable roles may explain why they turn to nationalism. (Kedourie 1960)   Nairn (1977) however, approaches nationalism in a study from a Marxist perspective. He considers nationalism to be a bourgeois phenomenon which can be seen to be a product of the disparities within capitalism (Nairn 1977). The continuation of nationalism is linked with the interests of the bourgeois (Anderson 2006). Focusing on Europe, Woodrow Wilson’s had a large impact on the Versailles Peace Conference that began outside of Paris in 1919. He had a plan to divide Europe it into ethnic-linguistic territorial states. The project was impracticable as well as dangerous, the cost of this feat would have been mass expulsion and genocide (Hobshawm 1992). However, a nation cannot be born they’re made in response to international incentive and power policies (Fearon 2004). Nationalism has been the source of anxiety and conflict in European history (Coppieters 2010). Borgen (2010) states that there were currently twenty to twenty-five separatist movements across the continent. The movements may be based upon cultural and political issues and the majority are non-violent. Separatism is mainly linked to nationalism and their ideologies. There have been two consecutive waves of separatism. In the 1950’s the first separatist movement began with the decolonisation of the world, this questioned the legitimacy of boundaries that establish under colonialism. This was closely followed by the second which happened at the end of the cold war in the 1960s toward the beginning of democratisation in the 1980 and 1990’s. The second wave was surrounded by the suppression of people’s rights and liberties under the communist regimes (Schaeffer 1998, Agnew 2001). Recent separatist movements like that in Yugoslavia from 1991- 2001 were driven by the common notion of an economic disparity. This movement was against the state as they failed to deal with this, however there was also territorial divisions within the state that showed internal colonialism based upon ethnicity and nationality (Agnew 2001) Guibernau (2000) sees nation states as a cluster of institutions that are defined and governed by the state. Stateless nations can enjoy cultural or political autonomy based upon the state’s decision. In most cases within a region that is trying to be separate their nation, the political issues that have arisen are based upon previous governmental experiences of nation building. States and nations that are trying to establish are understood to be real communities with enduring collectivises. (Brubaker 1996) To establish social cohesion for a nation building project a common identity must be established, linguistic campaigns are a powerful tool in doing this. It allows for people to bring the communities fears together by reducing embarrassment about speaking a native language.   (Webber 1991; Trueta 2008) The Catalan region in the North West of Spain during the Franco regime (1939-1975) had languages and identities supressed along with other regions. This then meant that Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, had suffered neglect. His regime created tensions in the country’s political system. It believed that Spain consists of ethnically defined identities in several regions (Bylan 2014). When democracy was restored after 1975, there had been a shift towards expressing the regional identities. The Catalan region sees itself as an independent metropolis (Mellon,2008) In history by 1898, the nationalist movements of Catalonia and the Basque country had emerged in wanting their own identity, these sources of national identity threatened the hegemonic position of Spanish nationalism (Muro 2005; Pozo Andrà ©s and Braster 1999). Basque and Catalan nationalist movements however in more recent times within Spain have unified this Spanish nationalism again (Muro 2005).   Spain is not however a formal federation it is a unitary state that has given devolving power to seventeen autonomous communities and two autonomous cities in a system that is called the state of autonomies (Bylan 2014). This is consistent with the theory that contemporary separatism is the product of the rise in modern nationalism and that they are overcoming the previous nation building project. Today in Catalonia, the current project is to build true Catalan culture through language as this is the ultimate expression. (Illas, 2014). Catalonians also express this through rituals and festivities such as human towers (Castells) (Giner 1980). The separatist movement had been mainly led by linguistics and a traversed class with rallies in 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014 that have staged a transformation in separatism (Illas 2014). The modern-day disparities of the Catalan people are based upon their history. 4.0 Historical context To understand fully where Catalonia fits within the nation-building theories it is important to understand the common historical narrative within the state. Starting with the 14th century within Catalonia, there was political and economic decline, due to the successive waves of the great plague. By 1365 Catalonia has lost half a million people, and in the 15th century Barcelona had its lower ever population. (Giner 1980). During the 15th century the Catalan capital was gripped by the civil war. The maritime power that once existed there was starting to decline. (Giner 1980). Now, there was a transition from early medieval contractually to liberal societies who have more of an individualistic approach. Elliot (1963) mentions the revolt of the reappears between 1640- 1652, when the Catalan people united due to castile giving them harsh treatment. The war of succession in Spain happened between 1702 to 1714. Barcelona resisted unification and was besieged in march 1713 (Guibernau, 2000) Felipe V built a fort (the Ciutadella) so Barcelona could be watched. He banned writing and teaching in Catalan and distributed Catalonia’s possessions to great powers (Webber, 1991) This abolished Catalan rights and liberties and they were subject to regime occupation (Gibernau 2000; Gibernau 2014). The events that took place started the process of national integration and state-building within Catalonia (Moreno 1988) In the 18th century the Spanish economy was based around agriculture. The Napoleonic invasion devastated the country and lead to political instability (Patrick 2016). Catalonia made positive gains with the urban middle classes and created confidence. Barcelona was then transformed into the capital of a society that was industrialising and modernising (Webber 1991). Defeudalization was happening around this time. Spain was in the process of homogenisation under the bourbons. They forcibly generalised the Castilian law and the institutions, they were creating a modern centralised state and this was completed in 1812. (Giner,1980) The trade union movement after World War One was led by the Confederacià ³n Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) which had 80& of the cities workers. Between 1919 and 1920 there was a wave of strikes and union leaders were eliminated. Dictator General Miguel primo Rivera had conflicting views on the working-class radicalism (Giner 1980) Rivera’s repression ended in 1930, he did not successfully stop the unity in Catalonia. In 1931 the formation of a Spain’s republic this was driven by the Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya. The leftist popular front in 1936 won genuine autonomy (Guibernau 2014; Illas 2014). The class system of the society at that time was a product of the successive waves of industrialisation and advances in urbanisation. (Giner 1980).   The genuine autonomy that was gained by the Catalonians was short lived as the result of the Spanish civil war between 1936-1939.After Francisco Franco’s Victory in the war he imposed a pro-fascist and militarised Spain, laying emphasize on Castile as the ‘ethnic core’ of the nation (Muro 2005). The Franco regime between 1939-1975 supressed the languages and identities of the Catalonian people (Webber 1991). During this time persecutions took place of Intellectuals and language speakers. The education system featured no Catalan and the street names were changed to Castilian Spanish (Marinzel 2014). Francoist propaganda changed the narrative of the civil war to be that of a crusade and associated leftists and anti-Spain figures as a ‘cancer’ of the nation that needed to be cured (Richards 1998) The Catalonian population increased with massive migrations from deprived areas in other parts of Spain during the 1960’s and 1970’s (Serrano 2013). During this time, Catalonian separatism was emerging again as a political opposition to the dictatorship. They rivalled in literature and the arts which moulded the Catalan identity (Muro 2005). After Franco’s death in 1975, a central part of the regional policy was to promote the Catalan language. In 1978 Catalonian was defined as a democratic state within the new Spanish constitution which had granted autonomy (Giberneau 2000). This allowed for the Catalan people to change the educational system and policies within the region. In 1975 online 60% of people in Catalonia spoke Catalan whereas in 2001, 76% of Catalonians spoke Catalan (Borgen 2010). Regional feelings for Catalan nationalism rose in the 1990s and early 2000s, with it being rated sixth amid Spanish autonomous communities (Moreno 2001). Patterns of similar relationships between identity and independence emerge (Muro 2005; Serreno 2013). 5.0 Discussion Nationalism changes all the rules; a nations existence is based upon the past experiences and it challenges historians to decide a nations existence. History however is not as clear as would believe and interpretations and narratives can be different (Marino 2002). Modern day nationalism may be overcoming the previous nation-building project. Catalonians hope to achieve this by assertion of their own culture (Illas 2014). The region has been suppression numerous times as mentioned and the clear territory and history that define it as a nation are evident (Smith 1998). In the fight for independence Catalonia is aware that that staying a part of the European union is important, as there are strong ties with Spain and the European single market. With the situation in Catalonia baring resemblance to that in Scotland and the Catalan foreign affairs minister recognises that it should too have the right to vote in a legal referendum as that would stay true to democracy and a constitution is a text that is written under certain circumstances, these circumstances can change. (The guardian 2016) Brexit in the UK isn’t good news as it questions the European project. An MP called Ciudadanos accused the separatist movement of removing the state out of the 21st century. Previously however other politicians such as Mr Fernandez would welcome an exit from the EU as he sees it as being ruled by capitalists. (The Independent 2015) The rise in separatism and the need for independence grows stronger as the Catalan government fight for responsibility for taxation and spending policy (Boylan 2015). Previous grievances have shaped Catalonia culture and the desire to return to being an autonomous region is still wanted. The Catalans may fall into Renan’s definition in 1882 of a nation â€Å"a group of people united by a mistaken view about the past and a hatred of their neighbours† as the public polls reflect a rise of opinion of violence in the region. Arthur Mas the former president hopes that his prosecution for the illegally deemed poll will also be a cry for the cause of independence from Spain (The Financial times 2017). 6.0 Field based analysis 6.1 Methodology   Ã‚  Ã‚   6.1.1 Day 1 Observational study of landscape Figure 1: The route that was taken on the first day during the streetscape observational exercise The streetscape of Barcelona needed to be understood. A transect of the area was carried out in small groups. These groups covered different areas all meeting back at the same point at the Sagrada Familia, the route can be seen in figure 1. The results of the small groups were combined to gain a large-scale view of the area. Along this route elements that are seen to represent the Catalan conflict were taken note of. The different types of flags, graffiti, street names and political posters and murals along with anything else that could be seen to potentially represent the conflict were recorded. Within a table format the route walked was recorded along with where the observation occurred and a small discussion was help to note the implications of what we had seen. The differences in areas we walked through was noted as the route lead to a tourist area however was through mainly residential streets. 6.1.2 Day 2 Historical Narrative A guided walk through the city was undertook to identify the monuments that may commemorate previous conflicts. Along the walk the date in which the monument was erected was taken down, along with what it was and what it is commemorating. The reason behind doing this was to analyse how culture and history is remembered within Barcelona. Certain aspects of the monuments were noted such as what way the history is shown and If the monument represents one side more. To gauge an idea of the historical narrative Barcelona was trying to perceive, 3 historical sites were visited. These were the Catalan museum, El Borne centre and memorial democratic. The sites were visited to understand the story they are telling. A similar study was undertaken by Breen et al (2016), and observations were noted such as, is there anything that is not present within the museum? Is there any important messages they are trying to highlight? Is there a main language? To see whether the people within the museum either working or visiting understood its role, a semi structured interview was carried out.   The questions asked recorded their understanding of the role, if heritage plays a role in Catalan separatism and whether any part of the centre was controversial. 6.1.3 Day 3- Semi- Structured Interviews A method of semi structured interviews was carried out to collect qualitative data on the publics perceptions of important issues with Catalonia whilst gathering information about the person in question. The questions that were asked were: Are you from this neighbourhood?What is your first language?Did you vote in the last referendum?Were you happy with the outcome?Do you think Catalonia will gain independence? Do you think this will be achieved peacefully? These questions were asked to gather information on, the nationality of the person, the language in which they see to be their language, their political participation, their views about the last referendum and views on future independence for the state along with how possible violence will be. Cohen and Crabtree (2006) have shown the benefits of using semi structured interviews as you will only get to speak with that person one time. They also highlight the importance of it being undertaken by small groups as they collect the same information to show the varied opinion over a large area. The results are comparable and the results are collated. With a large sample taken the results could be representative public opinion and could be compared with polls that have been previously taken. This will show how the opinions in the region have changed over time. The route that was taken can be seen in figure 2. Figure 2:   Route taken and main stops while conducting semi structured interviews. 6.1.4 Day 4- Quantitative Data A quantitative data collection in the form of a social vulnerability survey. Social vulnerability shows which elements of society are worrying the most. The survey had a scoring system included the value 1 meaning that they strongly agree with the statement and 5 representing strongly disagree. The statements represented the social, economic, environmental and political situations along with opinions on the future of Catalonia.   This type of survey was conducted in small groups again and allowed the results to be combined and numerically represented. The triangulation of multiple methods stated within Duffy’s (1987)’s papers shows that this method gives a complete collection approach. 7.2 Observations and Results 7.2.1 Street Observational Survey From the transect that was carried out general observations were made. The city has undergone times of suppression and conflict and from the observations generalities were made as things observed could be expressions of nation-hood. Hans Christian Andersen in 1862, commented on Barcelona by saying that the city was the â€Å"Paris of Spain†. The first notable feature was that of the layout of the streets, the city consists of grand octagonal blocks. Antoni Gaudi has a huge influence on the architecture of Barcelona, with many Catalan people they associate his work with a period called Renaixenà §a, which tried to show better times (Giner 1980). He has become a symbol of the city. The Flags that were on the residential buildings held much significance to how they stood politically. The flags that presented Catalonia were mainly flown on buildings that were residential with the souvenir shops that sold the flags only stocking Catalan related items. The flags within the residential area differed, from the slogan that was upon it to whether it had a star present. They can send a political message and are used in campaigns. It is a tool in which the Catalan people are not afraid to change, with a flag holding great significance to a group of people, they are willing to alter the flag to send a strong political message (Borgen, 2010). Alongside the Catalan flag EU flags were found, this says that the Catalan people are scared that with independence come an exit from the single market. This is a strong incentive to stay within the unified state of Spain (Patrick 2016). Scotland holds close parallels in situations with Catalonia. The British government has also driven nationalism in the last referendum with the fear of leaving the European Union. The Scottish flag was observed on the transect showing the close similarities. The Catalan flags declined in numbers when leaving the residential area heading towards the centre. The buildings in the centre had more Spanish flags as these were mainly political or service providing premises such as hotels (figure 3a). The Spanish flag should be flown on a Spanish building and if that place is not meant to have a political view, then both flags would be outside of the building. Both flags were observed on hotels and tourist areas.   In some areas both flags of region and state were also seen, this shows loyalty to an area. For example, a bacelonetta flag seen in figure 3b Figure 3: (A) Spanish flag being flown outside of the Military building in Las Ramblas. (B) Barcelonetta regional flag. The street names were in Catalan with many commemorating people who have been influences from Catalan (figure 4a). The Sagrada Familia has taken a century to complete, still not being finished. The architect of the building is Antoni Gaudi; it is a statement of the Catalan culture and is the most visited place within Spain.   Throughout the streetscape we encountered political graffiti that was around the city voiced the political opinions of people within the community who wanted that message to be shown (figure 4b). Figure 4: (A) street sign with dedication to a self-acclaimed Catalonian. (B) Graffiti that reads â€Å"Anti-Fascist Area†. 7.2.2 Monuments Monuments play an important role in who society idealises as symbols of culture. Barcelona has many monuments that were observed to understand their political message for an independent Catalonia. The plaza de Torro monumental is a bull fighting ring that existed in the 20th century. The building is influences by Islamic design replicating dà ©cor from the previous 8th century invasion from north Africa. The building today has been repurposed as a museum due to the recent ban from Catalonia in 2012 for bull fighting (The guardian 2011). This is extremely important as they had ended a 600-year-old tradition within Spain, stepping away from the culture. The Universal exhibition was held in Barcelona in 1888. The triomf was to symbolise victory and national pride. The Arc links Barcelona’s medieval past with its future. Beyond the arc lies the park, with the Catalan parliament building residing within the parks grounds. The park has a Zoo and an elaborate fountain which at the time was put in place to show how advanced the people of Barcelona were. Like many other cities have done in the past, such as Paris. The Main Cascada monument is a grand project that took place for the 1888 universal exposition and a small contributor to it was Antoni Gaudi. The grand waterfall features goddesses showing idealising women and sexism that existed at that time.   A band stand within the Cuitedella Park was dedicated in 1991 to a transgender teen who was killed. This emphasized the cities progressive attitudes to social problems. The Als Voluntaris Catalan statue in the Cuitedella park is dedicated to the volunteers of the first and second war. The monument was subject to violations during the Franco regime with its arms being cut off in 1952. The internal flame (Fossar de les Moreres) was observed within in gothic quarter and is a contested symbolism, as it is seen to be site of the graveyard for the fallen during the siege of Barcelona in 1714. This site for Catalonians is a reminder of the homage. On the 11th of September (ladeada) people gather to this space to remember the battle. The symbolism is contested but it is used to further the nation building project. 7.2.3 Museum overview To understand the historical narrative that was being projected upon the Catalan people, three institutions were visited to understand how they were representing the history of their culture. The first site visited was the Christopher Columbus statue. This statue was erected for the Universal expedition in Barcelona in 1888. Groups of anti-capitalist councillor in Barcelona however said that the city â€Å"should not be celebrating the explorers’ colonial legacy† (The Guardian 2016). The emphasises the Catalonians feelings toward colonialization and suppression. The second Museum that was visited was the Catalan museum, the levelled institution has 3 floors which displayed a different time within Catalan history, from the bottom floor up it contained the history from the roman times to the top flow having recent achievements from the 21st century. An observation made was the fact that within the Catalan museum the paint on the walls were red and black, the colours of the anarchists. This may not have been intentional but could be a subliminal message as within the museum the Catalan culture was celebrated. Franco is not liked within the museum. From the semi, structured interviews conducted a worker of the museum stated that Spanish people will say that the museum is a lie, however the intended audience is the Catalan people and the international community. A museum worker was quoted in saying that the museum â€Å"celebrated† his heritage and that it has influence in the separatist movement. Sympathetic language was used within the Catalan museum a phrase observed in the Franco dictatorship section said ‘the unmistakable aim of Francoism was to strip Catalonia of its nationhood’ strong language was focused upon within the museum. Descriptive words were mentioned in nearly every time that contained suppression of Catalonia’s identity. Another example of this read in the museum was â€Å"language was a slow and uneven process†. The Catalonian history is showing the notion of separatism by identifying themselves as different from the Spanish, A person at the museum was quoting in saying that the Spanish â€Å"believe that this is all made up† showing Spain’s undeniable unwillingness to accept Catalonia as a nation. Whereas museums are understood to be some of the key places that deliver the message of what a nation is (Ashworth et al 2007) The el born centre showcases the streetscape within Barcelona during the 18th century. This streetscape represents Barcelona in a time when they had independence from Spain, the archaeologists could have kept excavating and gotten to a roman street. They stopped on purpose to give a utopian image of a time of independence when it was a vibrant multicultural marketing town. This gave the visualisation that there were greenspaces with music and food in the once internationally trading town. This is a clear political message of culture and heritage used at the El Borne (Breen at al 2016) It has been argued that the visitor of a museum will connect to the personal account of the narrative that is being told (Fladmark 2015). People had been quoted in saying that the centre had been â€Å"controversial†. An exhibition was spoken about that featured Franco and his dictatorship, the Exhibition was meant to last for a couple of months however it took the Catalan 4 days from when it started to have it removed. The hostility and want to forget the dark period of Franco’s dictatorship is evident in their actions. The importance of these institutions is to promote culture. These centres could be understood to b a part of the nation-building narrative which are in line with the core set of grievances that are within Catalonia (Breen at al 2016) 7.2.4 Grievances Catalonia has a key set of grievances towards the Spanish state shown in Figure 5. A few of these issues are going to be discussed. Figure 5- grievance model visually showing the key set of grievances within Catalonia. A key issue in the region is how the money that the state produce is used. Economically Catalonian has had historical grievances with the state, first starting with the Catalan bourgeois and modern industrialisation in the 19th century. Spain believe that Catalonia are â€Å"financial parasites† that don’t provide enough for Spain. Catalonia today has a fiscal deficit of 9.76%, this is highest taxed region in Europe. The people of Catalonia feel exploited as they cannot control their own funding when new services are needed within the state. Barcelona is the most visited region within Spain. The media and television play a large part in left and right wing narratives. A nation state emphasize political views this way. Gellner stressed the importance of communication in societies, the power to control the media modifies culture and is necessary for the homogenisation of the state. (Gellner 1983) Sport is an important cultural event for Catalan people. The Barcelona football club during Francoism was a representation of the Catalan nationalism and resistance against the dictatorship (Giberneau 2000) Sport is a powerful means of expressing identity (Trueta 2008). At the 17th minute and 14th second, the crowd will stand and shout ‘Independence’ as this date is representative of the last year they were an autonomous state. Language is important when expressing culture and the use of a language can indicate your current feelings politically (Woolard 1984). The Catalan language as mentioned through the report has been supressed, driving the need for the language to be expressed and recognised internationally. 7.2.5 Survey results A qualitative survey method was undertaken to test the hypothesis of will Catalonia resort to violence to gain independence. The results of the surveys are below (Table 1) Table 1: Combined group results of qualitative survey. Table 1: Combined group results of qualitative survey. The results obtained from the combined groups matches those gathered from the Catalan government in their recent poll. With the representative sample size and closely comparable results the figures gathered are reliable. The survey was conducted in English however the fluency in Catalan and birthplace determined majorly their identity (Webber 1991) which would be closely linked with how they would feel about independence. The difference in percentage between the two opposing opinions (independence vs no independence) is not that high. The surprising figure is that of violence, with many key events happening in the last 12 months such as the arrest of Arthur Mas, change would be assumed. Triggers such as that would provoke a sense of undermining and this may increase the likely hood of violence. Historically within Catatonia has had such events. Figure 6 shows an ice berg model, which is a visual representation of some key events in Catalan history. From the results obtained the mediation stage was considered as the point of conflict Catalonia as both sides have not yet concluded what they want. Figure 6: Key moments in recent Catalan history that has led to a rise in separatism within the state, key events are symbolled.    5.2.6 Social Vulnerability Survey These results are those obtained from quantitative surveys (figure 7). The total number of respondents was 139. Figure 7: Social vulnerability pentagon, highlighting main worries. The closer the result is to the centre the more of an issue they feel as though it is. With the survey showing that people are worried about the governance, environment and future threats gives an idea of the key grievances today. The economy is not a worrying factor as there has been on the rise since 2008 after the recession. The social aspects of life are not worrying factors in society. In regards to the environment, water is not evenly dispersed across the region. The summer months also bring a lot of pollution as tourists leave litter, which was pointed out by a shop keeper during an interview. 5.3 Conclusion To conclude, Catalonia has been experiencing separatism for many generations. The conflict so far within the state has remaining non-violent however this figure could change. The rise in percentage of people who believe violence will start echoes the increasing political tensions however 15% is not enough to accept the hypothesis stated as 85% do not believe there will be a need to resort to violence. The politicians are becoming impatient waiting on a referendum when other democratic places such as Scotland have been allowed to do so, with them not being allowed it feels as though the Franco influences have not yet disappeared. This is reflected on the social vulnerability results with governance scoring low. 5.4 Recommendations The key recommendations for peace within the region are: Allowing the Catalan government, the ability to reinvest the budget which will help in improving infrastructure. The media needs to have an unbiased opinion. Fiscal deficit needs improved and there’s a lot of tension towards Spain and the uneven taxingGentrification of city centre, leaving the city centre inhabitable by people who would be working in the city. 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AQM: A Mechanism of Congestion Control in Networks AQM: A Mechanism of Congestion Control in Networks Saira Saeed, Bilal Shams, Abstract: Congestion in the network occurs when node or link carries so much data that its quality of service downgrade. Active queue management is the most well-known algorithm to control congestion in the network. This paper discussed some of the queue length based and load based algorithms in AQM, we also highlighted its pros and cons. Keyword: congestion, Active queue management 1. Introduction: Congestion can take place at sensors that receive more data than its maximum forwarding rate. These consequences in long delay in data delivery and wasting of resources due to lost or dropped packets. When congestion occurs in network the Quality of service will disturb which is an important feature in sending data from node to another. When buffer overflow the packet drops so it would increase the energy consumptions of a sensor as the packets need to be retransmitted. Higher packet drops will also reduce the throughput of the data. Some multimedia data such as voice and video are critical to time delay [1]. Thus, congestion needs to be controlled to ensure that the end-to-end delay is also minimized. 2. Active queue management (AQM) The role of Active Queue Management (AQM) in IP networks was to balance the work of end-system protocols such as the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) in congestion control hence to enlarge network utilization, and limit packet loss and delay.[2] AQM is a scheme which shares bandwidth fairly and control congestion over the routers/internet. According to the congestion metric active queue management has classified in to queue length based, load based and queue length and load based. Fig.2. Classification of AQM scheme. [3] Congestion is observed by average queue length in queue based schemes, and the control aspires to stabilize the queue length. The downside of queue based scheme is that a backlog is inherently required. Load based schemes precisely predict the utilization of the link, and determine congestion and take actions based on the packet arrival rate. Rate-based schemes can grant Early feedback for congestion. The goals of the load based AQMs are to alleviate rate mismatch between enqueue and dequeue, and achieve low loss, low delay and high link utilization. The third AQM scheme is the combination of load based and queue length which measure congestion and get a tradeoff between queues stability and responsiveness. [3] In this paper we just discussed the queue length based and load based briefly. 3. AQMs Based On Queue Length Merit. 3.1. Random Early Detection (RED). The main objectives of RED is to minimize packet loss and queuing delay, avoid global synchronization of sources, maintain high link utilization, and remove biases against bursty flows. RED avoids congestion early and delivers congestion notification to the end source and allows them to reduce the transmission rate before overflow occurs. To reduce the delay of flows RED keeps the queue size full. RED maintains an exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) of the queue length which is used to detect incipient congestion. When average queue length greater than min threshold, packets are randomly dropped or marked with explicitly congestion notification (ECN). [4][5] When average queue length greater max threshold all packets are dropped or marked. Fig.3. RED algorithm [3] 3.2. FRED (Fair random early detection) FRED is modified version of RED therefore it reduces the unfairness of RED. Inside the internet route FRED maintains state information for every flow. When different types of traffic shares one link, RED allows unfair bandwidth sharing because RED does not take the bandwidth utilization of the flow into account when dropping packets. The author proposes FRED as solution. The main objective of fair random flow is to provide different strategies of dropping to different kind of flows. Flows that take more bandwidth shall be isolated where as low speed and bursty flows should be protected and safe from dropping. [survey2]FRED maintains queue size of per flow and drops packets conditionally comparing per flow queue size with average per flow queue. Fig.4. FRED Algorithm [4] 3.3. CHOKE (Choose and Keep for responsive flows, Choose and Kill for unresponsive flows) In the CHOKE algorithm a packet is drawn randomly from FIFO buffer whenever a new packet arrived at congestion router. This packet is compared with newly arriving packet. Both packets are dropped if it belongs to the same flow, otherwise the new incoming packet is confessed into the buffer with a probability that depends on the level of congestion and the randomly chosen packet is kept intact. CHOKE is simplest and stateless algorithm which does not provide any special data structure. However when the number of flows is large compared to the buffer space than this algorithm performance is not well. [6] Fig.5. CHOKE algorithm 4. AQM on load based. 4.1. BLUE: A New Class of Active Queue Management Algorithms. RED queue length gives very little information about the number of competing connections in a shared link. BLUE overcome the drawbacks of RED by using packet loss and link idle events for protecting TCP flows against non-responsive flows. [1] BLUE, basically is a different active queue management algorithm which uses packet loss and link utilization history to manage congestion. BLUE keep up a single probability, which it uses to mark or drop packets when they are queued. If the queue is frequently dropping packets due to buffer overflow, BLUE increments the marking probability, therefore increasing the rate at which it sends back congestion notification. On the other hand, if the queue becomes empty or if the link is idle, BLUE decreases its marking probability. The main purpose of using BLUE is that congestion control can be performed with a least amount of buffer size. Other algorithms like RED need a large buffer size to attain the same goal. [7] Fig.6. BLUE Algorithm. 4.2. SFED: Selective Fair Early Detection Selective fair early detection is an easy to implement rate control based AQM discipline which can be joined with any scheduling discipline. It maintains a token bucket for every flow or comprehensive flows. The token filling rates are in proportion to the allowable bandwidths. The tokens are removed from the corresponding bucket whenever a packet is enqueued. The decision to enqueue or drop a packet of any flow depends on the occupancy of its bucket at that time. A sending rate higher than the permitted bandwidth results in low bucket occupancy and so a larger drop probability thus indicating the onset of congestion at the gateway. This ensures the adaptive flow to attain a steady state and prevents it from getting penalized severely. However non-adaptive flows will continue to send at the same rate and thus will suffer more losses. The rate at which the tokens are removed from bucket of a flow is equal to the rate of incoming packets of that flow, but the rate of addition of tokens in a bucket depends on its permitted share of bandwidth and not on the rate at which packets of that particular flow are dequeued. In this way token bucket controls the bandwidth consumed by a flow.[8]. 4.3. FABA: Fair adaptive bandwidth allocation: FABA is the extension of SFED and can be coupled with any simplest scheduling discipline like FCFS first in first served). FABA has many objectives like It allocates fair bandwidth amongst flows. It can avoid congestion by early detection and notification, It has low implementation complexity. Easy extension to provide differentiated services. FABA deals with both adaptive and non-adaptive traffic while providing incentive for flows to incorporate end-to end congestion control. It uses a rate control based mechanism to achieve fairness amongst flows at a router. [9] As in random early detection (RED), congestion is detected early and notified to the source. Table.1. Strength and Weakness of AQM Algorisms. It had any scheduling discipline FABA Very high complexity, computation. 6. Conclusion: In this paper we have state the term AQM and its algorithms. We have highlighted some of queue length based and queue based algorithm with its strength and weakness. References: [1] husna zainol abidin , yuslinda wati mohamad yusof,saiful izwan suliman,† network using fairness bandwidth allocation. â€Å"october 2008. [2] richelle adams, â€Å"active queue management: a survey†, ieee communications surveys tutorials, vol. 15, no. 3, third quarter 2013 [3] c.dhivya1, e.george dharma prakash raj2,† survey on load based aqm algorithms†, vol.1.issue.2.;2013 [4],Ningning Hu, Liu Ren ([emailprotected]) Jichuan Chang, â€Å"Evaluation of Queue Management Algorithms†, Course Project Report for 15-744 Computer Networks [5] dive et al.. â€Å"Classification and Performance of AQM-Based Schemes for Congestion Avoidance† (IJCSIS) International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security,Vol. 8, No. 1, 2010 [6] CHOKE,a statless queue management scheme for approximating bandwidth allocation. [7] BLUE: A New Class of Active Queue Management Algorithms, Shiny Department of EECS zNetwork Systems Department University of Michigan IBM T.J. Watson Research Center [8]Wu-chang Fengy Dilip D. Kandlurz Debanjan y Sahaz Kang G.†SFED: A Rate Control Based Active Queue Management†. IBM India Research Laboratory, New Delhi, India Block 1, Indian Institute of Technology, [9]Abhinav Kamra a,1, Huzur Saran a, Sandeep Sen a, Rajeev Shorey.† Fair adaptive bandwidth allocation: a rate control based active queue management discipline†. Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India. July 2003