The market for health insurance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

The market for health insurance - Essay Example Rises in health insurance covers, has besmirched access to health cover (Berkowitz 30-45). Presently 7 percent of the United States nonelderly, acquire coverage through personal strategies bought frankly from insurance providers. Numerous plans at the national state and centralized, in addition to the standard propositions using the personal health insurance market as way of growing access to reasonable health policies. States license bodies that provide health insurance coverage and have determined laws that regulate their structure, finances, and responsibilities to the people that they insure (Berkowitz 46). Introduction Health care costs in the US, which have escalated quickly in actual terms in the last few decades, have put pressure on the state and national budgets. Future expansion in health insurance costs is estimated to threaten the monetary status of state and national governments unless primary strategy transformations take place. Also, for many American citizens, the la ck of health insurance coverage sophisticates access to health care. Health insurance markets are frequently focused on a single insurer accounting for over 50 percent of the market. Issues about focus on health insurance markets are connected to broader issues about the cost, value, and accessibility of health care. The market structure of the health insurance and hospital commerce may have helped is increasing health care costs and in restricting access to inexpensive health insurance and health care. Some debate market focus has amounted to higher care prices. Higher cost of health care or health insurance may then make health care less inexpensive and consequently less available for some homesteads. Patrons in the personal and small group markets characteristically face specifically challenging situations. Whilst health insurance purchased in the personal market has the advantages of being portable, and potentially being an enhanced match to an individual’s predilection f or health coverage than standards purchased via group strategies, it does have elements of essential concern. Amid these issues is how regulations and edicts surrounding the personal insurance market reflects is potential to meet numerous population needs. It is needed to comprehend these concerns to establish how market transformations would interrelate with these policies (Henderson 10-15). Others, nevertheless, agree that health care givers with strong bargaining weight should assist restrict health providers’ potential to increase costs, and that the advantage of minimal premiums coming from the potential to negotiate may be passed along to patrons. Some commerce analysts have expressed competition amid primary health care providers as strong, and some pricing trends show that competing has stalwartly impacted on insurers’ market plans. Additionally, some argue that economies of scale along with state and national control have contributed to the increasing level of focus on health insurance markets. The Obama government has made transformation of the American health insurance and health care structure utmost policy precedence. Numerous congressional attempt at broadening access to health insurance by rising the number of Americans with health care coverage, by minimizing the price of insurance faced by persons, by offering sturdy incentives for persons

Rohm and Haas Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rohm and Haas Case Study - Essay Example Allowing direct sales promotion besides advertising and sponsorship marketing will help in reaching out both small-scale and large-scale industries. Cons: Utilizing various media for spreading awareness would be a costly affair. Motivating the existing metalworking formulators to sell this product as individual package would be highly challenging because of low profit margin for large-scale dealers and less budget for this project. Recommendations: The second alternative best suits the present situation for improving sales of Kathon MWX. Considering the 1982 Census of Wholesale Trade that listed 14327 industrial supply houses, which supplied products from larger formulators to majority of the ferrous metalworking industries, no better option for improving promotion of Kathon MWX can be found. These industrial supply houses sell products from large-scale formulators to various segments of metalworking industries; in the formulations, they use Kathon 886 MW as a concentrate and for mai ntenance rather than Kathon MWX. The domestic market comprises mainly of non-ferrous metalworking industries that produce aluminum sheet, foil, and cans in large scale. This segment is well aware of Kathon 886 MW. However, this segment would not require Kathon MWX to treat their tanks of more than 15,000 gallons. In such situation, introducing Kathon MWX to the 14,327 industrial supply houses would help in ensuring it reaches more number of customers because of their customer base. These channels of distributors will also be aware of the requirement of various industries for Kathon MWX and Kathon 886 MW. Considering that the industrial supply houses sell Kathon 886 MW as a part of formulation package from other formulators/distributors, and that Kathon 886 MW is the... The paper proposed several alternatives that best suit the situation in Rohm and Haas for improving sales of Kathon MWX. Considering the 1982 Census of Wholesale Trade that listed 14327 industrial supply houses, which supplied products from larger formulators to majority of the ferrous metalworking industries, no better option for improving promotion of Kathon MWX can be found. These industrial supply houses sell products from large-scale formulators to various segments of metalworking industries; in the formulations, they use Kathon 886 MW as a concentrate and for maintenance rather than Kathon MWX. The domestic market comprises mainly of non-ferrous metalworking industries that produce aluminum sheet, foil, and cans in large scale. This segment is well aware of Kathon 886 MW. However, this segment would not require Kathon MWX to treat their tanks of more than 15,000 gallons. In such situation, introducing Kathon MWX to the 14,327 industrial supply houses would help in ensuring it r eaches more number of customers because of their customer base. These channels of distributors will also be aware of the requirement of various industries for Kathon MWX and Kathon 886 MW. Considering that the industrial supply houses sell Kathon 886 MW as a part of formulation package from other formulators/distributors, and that Kathon 886 MW is the most preferred biocide, it would be easier to convince them to sell Kathon MWX.

Evaluation of Critical Theory in Tourism Essay Example for Free

Evaluation of Critical Theory in Tourism Essay In spite of the consensus on the importance of research, the existing literature in hospitality and tourism research does not contain any commonly agreed upon ways of evaluating research performance. The most frequently used proxy for assessing research performance is authorship and institution analyses by counting the number of published articles in selected research journals (Jogaratnam, McCleary, Mena, and Yoo, 2005; Malhotra and Kher, 1996; Sheldon, 1991; Weaver, McCleary, and Farrar, 1990; Zhao and Ritchie, 2006). 4 While counting the number of published articles in selected journals may be simple to perform and interpret, this approach is subject to many methodological problems. Wood (1995), as well as Losekoot, Verginis, and Wood (2001), argued that counting publications in selected journals as an indicator of academic productivity is too narrow and geographically-based. Similarly, Ryan (2005) and Hall (2005) stated that focusing on publications in research journals would exclude many researchrelated activities such as writing books, supervising postgraduate students, and taking on leadership roles in the international academic community. Likewise, the conjecture which this paper makes is that using the number of published articles in selected tourism and hospitality journals as an indicator of research performance is an incomplete, if not biased approach, as other research-related activities are simply excluded from consideration. Such a statement is made on the basis that many established academics do not publish in the selected journals. In addition, in order to obtain a more comprehensive measurement of research performance, other scholarly activities such as participation in research projects, editorship of research journals, membership of editorial boards and conference committees, participation in international conferences, and memberships of international/national organisations should also be incorporated into the overall evaluation process. In response to the absence of prior studies on determining research performance for tourism and hospitality academics in a comprehensive way, this exploratory study makes an attempt to fill the void by investigating the perception of university program heads on the importance of different research-related activities. Program heads are the academics who assume key responsibilities in academic departments or  divisions. Examples of these key responsibilities include research leadership and evaluations (Wikipedia, 2006). Findings are thus anticipated to lead to 5 further insights on research performance evaluation, which in turn help academics appropriately set their own career development plans.

Effects of Imperialism in Africa

Effects of Imperialism in Africa In the 1880s, the scramble for Africa began, which brought destruction to the continent. Europeans helped Africa in many ways but it was primarily for their benefits too. The westerners arrived with a main purpose of gaining for themselves with no regards for the effects they imposed on Africa. Although countries like Equatorial Guinea and Morocco improved slightly due to the Europeans, other countries, such as Nigeria and South Africa, suffered greatly. Morocco didnt have roads before it became a French protectorate. Roads, buildings, and other infrastructures were constructed when the French arrived in the early 1900s  [1]  . Railroads were built too to facilitate trade and transportation. France got Morocco started with their industries by building mining plants and influencing their music, food, and culture. Modern day Morocco has a lot of French style bakeries and universities teach math and science in French  [2]  . What France gave to this striving nation helped them. Various infrastructures were constructed; their culture was enriched by the Frenchs, and modern day Morocco is heavily influenced by Frances lifestyle and language. France didnt only leave behind a positive legacy, Spain too left favorable impacts on Equatorial Guinea. Historian and author Tim Harry said that Equatorial Guinea achieved some of the highest literacy rates amongst local people anywhere in the continent  [3]  due to the effects of Spanish imperialism. This is an amazing contribution to the country in terms of education and as historian Tunde Obadina analyzed, Colonialism laid the seeds of the intellectual and material development in Africans.  [4]  Economically, Spain improved the country tremendously as they created more jobs and it resulted in Equatorial Guinea having the highest income per capita rate compared to her bordering countries  [5]  . With the help of both these European countries, small nations such as Morocco and Equatorial Guinea were able to develop and further narrow the economic gap between their nations and the Europeans. As France and Spain occupied Morocco and Equatorial Guinea respectively, Nigeria saw themselves occupied by the British in the mid 1800s. Lagos, a fishing village, was colonized and made into a port in the 1960s. According to British historian, A.G. Hopkins, from the University of Texas , The purpose of these moves was to suppress the slave trade and to encourage instead the rise of legitimate commerce  [6]  , it means that they would like to continue the trade system without requirement of slaves. They put a halt on the slave trade because they wanted to improve the Afro-European trading relation so that they would be able to extract and export palm oil and palm-kernels, which were palm tree products that grew a lot in Lagos. Their real intentions were to benefit themselves. To achieve this, they balkanized the different oil producing regions in Nigeria and forced the local people to export their oils so that the British could produce things like railways, soaps, cooking fats, a nd pharmaceutical products  [7]  . By 1900, 89% of the nations export was their oil  [8]  . Aside from a lost to their economy, the Nigerians suffered a great loss of their lands and people. Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon, the Head of State back then said I receive complaints daily that up till now Easterners living in the North are being killed and molested and their property looted  [9]  . Not only did they lose their lands and people, the Nigerians rights were abused. To make governing easier and for the economic interest of the British, indirect rule and separate development policy were stationed in two sections of the country, one being in Lagos  [10]  . This created a large division in Nigeria as described by Sir Hugh Clifford, the Governor General of Nigeria (1920-1931), [Nigeria was] a collection of independent Native States, separated from one another by great distances, by differences of history and traditions and by ethnological, racial, tribal, political, social a nd religious barriers.  [11]  Each region of Nigeria developed different lifestyles and ideas. Furthermore, on the New Nigeria Newspaper in 1986, an Itobo Ojobo said that, It was the introduction of party politics by colonial administration that set off the fire of ethnic conflicts in Nigeria  [12]  , describing how the western powers elevated the conflicts in society. In 1967, the Biafrans wanted to fight for freedom and unification, thus began the Biafrans secession, more commonly known as the Nigerian Civil War. Britain sent over aircrafts to support the Nigerians and bombed densely populated towns and villages of the Biafrans. Scorpion tanks ran over troops, and flame throwers and gasoline bombs caused devastating effects that left the country and their people burned and wasted  [13]  . The civil war was so horrifying that the Red Cross members werent allowed in there for months. Famine and disease started developing fast and by the end of the war, over a million peo ple had died and thousands more were displaced into bordering countries  [14]  . The killings were so mass that historian Marcus Brooks described the scene as Burned, dismembered and mangled corpses littered villages, rivers, streams and everywhere else  [15]  . When the British left Nigeria, they left behind few rail lines, rudimentary infrastructure and a few thousand graduates, but other countries faced worst from their colonizers, like Mozambique, who had only about 40 graduates because of the Portuguese  [16]  . An evaluation of British imperialism in Nigeria would show that they took from the Nigerians for the improvement of their nation. They took Nigerias oil to produce products for their people and they banned slavery to improve relationships just so that they can continue with their export. When there was a revolt against their colonization, the British went all out on the African country, destroying lands and civilization. It took about 20 years to rebuild the nation. Economically, Nigeria lost a lot as the British exported a majority of their oils back to their home country and their nation was crushed by the war. Also, Britain contributed to the great seperation of Nigeria by dividing the nation through the oil producing regions. Nigeria lay in ruins because of the British. South Africa saw itself lay in ruins too due to British Imperialisms. The British wanted the fertile soils, diamond mines, and gold deposits of South Africa, but the Zulu tribe stood in their way. The British sent 30,000 troops led by Lord Chelmsford to battle the Zulu nation. As a result, 15,000 Zulus died reducing them to a small quantity. In the final battle in 1899, the British completely wiped out the Zulus and their civilization  [17]  . In effect, the rest of South Africa fell under British hands. Over in Kenya, the British fought and killed 12,000 Kenyans during the Mau Mau Rebellion, some of them died in confinement camps  [18]  . A few thousands more were displaced or driven away from the country, leaving their people scattered in neighboring countries. Europeans didnt only bring troops over, they brought diseases too. Rinderpest, a European livestock disease killed off 90-95% of the live cattle in Africa and other grazing animals  [19]  . The lack of grazing an imals changed the landscape that made it easier for tsetse fly to nest. The tsetse flies spread a sleeping sickness that killed about 200,000 Ugandans from 1902-1906  [20]  . African tribes were very dependent on their livestock; as a result, tribes like the Masaai in Tanzania lost two thirds of their population  [21]  . The livestock diseases also brought with it epizootic, a lung disease that hit many animals in South Africa  [22]  . Other diseases from the Europeans that affected the continent greatly were smallpox and malaria because the Africans didnt have much immunity to them. Disease became a huge factor in the deaths of the African continent, both directly and indirectly; without livestock comes no food, which leads to starvation. However, these werent the Britishs intentions. One of their main intentions of colonizing Africa was for their resources. Diamond mining was very profitable for the British in South Africa. They used slave labor force (the South Africa ns) to dig out the diamonds and left the higher and more important jobs like polishing the diamonds to the white people  [23]  . The mining was harsh work and that separated families, leaving women and children unsupported. Lands needed for mining displaced many people from their homes  [24]  . To make these lands appropriate for mining, erosion, and deforestation, flattening of mountains took place  [25]  . The mining released toxic chemicals that polluted the rivers and soils and the dust from the bulldozers and transportation caused air pollution. Families and lands were devastated. Over in Madagascar, French colonialism in 1986 caused deforestation when they started to modify the rice harvesting lands for the growth of coffee beans when the French found out they profited from the coffee more  [26]  . This resulted in a rice shortage in Madagascar in 1911. To feed themselves, the people started to grow more rice resulting in the burning and clear cutting of the fo rests, which destroyed it  [27]  . Although the country tried to improve things by prohibiting shifting cultivation, they permitted forest logging in 1921 which increased the number of deforestation and illegal cutting of trees resulting in roughly 70% of the primary forest destroyed in the 30 years between 1895 and 1925  [28]  . The French imposed policies that made Madagascar importers of foods, which displaced local people from their homes and the resources fell under the control of the French. Coffee plantations caused a lot of erosions and the fertile lands cleared for it and replaced with monoculture (for coffee) was unsuitable for plants and animals from the previous forest to live  [29]  . Lack of food resulted due to the loss of plants and animals. From wars, diseases, and human and lands abuse, the African continent and its people saw itself devastated by the French and the British. From a period of about 30 years, the scramble for Africa became the destruction of Africa. Spain left the fewest but most positive effects in the continent. France improved Morocco slightly but their colonization in Madagascar left the tiny island wrecked. Britain found themselves topping the destruction level of Africa. From Nigeria to South Africa, people, lands, and resources were greedily mistreated for the benefit of the powerful European island. Overall, the prints that the westerners left behind were an ugly sight.

Torn and Confused, but I love You Essay -- Love Letters Dating Email R

Dear Michael, Love has taught me and has changed me since we've met. I knew you were the only man I have ever really loved and the only man I ever wanted to be with for the rest of my life. From the start I could see us together and I could hear my heart say, "I am going to marry him". I was shocked, but I was happy. Then my head and ego got in the way and my false pride took over and I played games. I began to see all the things about you that I wanted to change. False pride made me feel afraid that you did not love me and this caused me to feel insecure. Then ego gave you the "love test" and of course you failed. Now I know that false pride does not trust and ego does not know true love. When my expectations grew, my egotistical, selfish personality took over and my love for you...

desegregation historiography Essay -- essays research papers fc

Equality and equal opportunity are two terms that have changed or have been redefined over the last 100 years in America. The fathers of our constitution wanted to establish justice and secure liberty for the people of the United States. They wrote about freedom and equality for men, but historically it has not been practiced. In the twentieth century large steps have been made to make the United States practice the ideals declared in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The major changes following Rosa Park’s refusal to give up her bus seat to a young white man and the Brown v. Board of Education trial in 1954. These Supreme Court rulings altered American society and began the desegregation and integration movements. In the 1950’s many writers took interest in writing about segregation, desegregation, integration and black history in general. Many historians write about segregation still existing today and the problems in which integration never had the chance to corr ect. Many works about desegregation were written in the years to follow, was it a good idea and would it last? Murray Friedman, Roger Meltzer and Charles Miller put a collection of essays together in the mid 70’s discussing integration and the many different views pertaining to desegregation in its first fifteen years. Major changes have taken place in American lives that have not been fully absorbed in our thinking that cause confusion and bitterness. The authors agree that the original goal of civil rights forces was the dismantling of school systems segregated under law, despite the strong resistance, was successful in some places. Pennsylvania is one state that issued programs to integrate schools that were successful. Another topic addressed in New Perspectives on School Integration is the study of ethnic groups in schools. At the time programs only study the present or dominant ethnic group at a specific school. It changes from school to school rather than teaching ethnicitie s of many different American groups. The goal in teaching American ethnic culture should include a wide range of content. If schools were to teach all ethnicities to every child, no matter their race, it would benefit and prepare students whom will be entering an integrated society instead of a desegregated society. Desegregation effects on the achievements of black and white students show improvement. James Coleman ... ...States was founded on principles of equality, liberty and the right to exercise them freely. In the Constitution the ideals of the American Creed have thus become the highest law of the land. Kozol also describes the American Dilemma and brings it to life for his readers. The values of the American Creed have historically not extended on a equal basis. The fallacy lies in the ideals of American foundations, if Americans would live up to the lofty ideals, then the race problem in the United States would disappear. Segregating still does exist today and will keep living until we are able to go into cities and change their education program and make funding and instruction equal. Bibliography Friedman, M., R. Meltzer, C. Miller. New Perspectives on School Integration. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1979 Harris, Ian M. Criteria for Evaluating School Desegregation in Milwaukee. The Journal of Negro Education, Vol.52, No.4 (Autumn, 1983), 423-435. Kozol, Jonathan. Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools. New York, New York: Crown Publishers Inc., 1992. Samuels, Albert L., Black Colleges and the Challenge to Desegregation. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2004.

Comparing Criminal Justice Systems: Venezuela vs Denmark

Background Denmark The small, European country of Denmark lies just on the border of the North and Baltic Seas upon the peninsula of Germany, also flanked by Norway and Sweden. It is less than twice the size of Massachusetts at 43,094 square kilometers. The weather is generally temperate, humid and overcast with windy winters and cool summers. Denmark’s natural resources include petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, chalk, stone, gravel and sand. Denmark has a population of 5,484,723 with 65. 9% between the ages of 15 and 64 years old. The population growth rate is 0. 95%; they have a birth rate of 10. 71 per 1000 people and a death rate of 10. 25. The migration rate is 2. 49 per 1000 people and the residents have a life expectancy of 78. 13 years. The nationality of the people of Denmark is Dane, or Danish. The Danish ethnic groups include Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, and Somali. As far as religious beliefs, 95% of Denmark are Evangelical L utheran, 3% other Christian including Protestant and Roman Catholic and 3% Muslim. The main languages spoken are Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic and German and the predominant second language is English. The Danes have a 99% literacy rate and the school life expectancy is 17 years. (CIA: World Fact book) Venezuela Venezuela is a much larger country of 912,050 square kilometers and population 26,414,816 in Northern South America bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. It lies flush with Columbia, Brazil and Guyana. It is slightly more than twice the size of California with a tropical climate—hot and humid. 63. 8% of the population is between the ages of 15 and 64 years old. The population growth rate is 1. 98% with a birth rate of 20. 92 per 1000 population and 5. 1 deaths per 1000 population. The net migration rate is -. 084 per 1000 population and their life expectancy from birth is 73. 45 years. Their nationality is Venezuelan and their ethnic groups are Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African, and indigenous people; Spanish is the official language. 96% of Venezuela is nominally Roman Catholic, 2% Protestant and 2% other religions entirely. 93% of Venezuelans are literate and the average school expectancy rate is 12 years. Law Denmark Denmark is a constitutional monarchy, with the Queen fulfilling the role of head of state, and the government formed out of the parliament. Denmark has a unicameral (single chamber) parliament, with deputies elected through a system of proportional representation, though each member also represents a constituency. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Demark) The political system of Denmark is a multi-party structure, where several parties are represented in the Parliament. Danish governments are most often minority administrations, governing with the aid of one or more supporting parties. This means that Danish politics are characterized by inter-party compromising. Since 1909 no single party has had the majority of parliamentary seats. A popularly elected parliament, Folketinget, governs the country and the prime minister, the nation's chief political officer, usually comes from the ranks of the majority party. The Faroe Islands and Greenland come under nominal rule from Denmark. (Visit Denmark) The capital of Denmark is Copenhagen and the chief of state is Queen Margrethe II since January 14, 1972, and Heir Apparent Crown Prince Frederik, the eldest son of the monarch. The head of the government is Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen since 27 November 2001. The monarch is hereditary, however following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch. Supreme Court judges are appointed by the monarch for life terms. Criminal offenses are defined either in the special part of the Criminal Code or in separate statutes. The general conditions for imposing criminal penalties are found in the general part of the Criminal Code which also apply to separate statutes. The sanctions described in the general part of the Criminal Code are the same whether the criminal offense consists of a violation of the Criminal Code or of separate statutes. The substantive Danish criminal law is monistic, meaning that violations of the law never have been divided into categories like felony/misdemeanor, crime/delicts or the like. It does not mean, however, that major offenses are treated in the same manner as petty offenses in all respects. (Ravn, Lene) The age of criminal responsibility is 15 years old. According to the Criminal Code the mere possession of narcotic drugs is criminalized. However, the law is not enforced regarding possession of very small amounts meant for the drug addict's own consumption. Possession and selling is penalized in a special law on drugs containing the possibility of imprisonment for a period of up to two years. Serious cases of trafficking of drugs are punished with imprisonment within a range of one month to ten years according to the Criminal Code. Venezuela Venezuela’s political system is a Federal Republic. The current Venezuelan constitution was adopted in 1999. Important changes were made regarding the structure of the government as well as in human rights and community participation. Since the approval by referendum of this constitution, the government consists of five branches, the Executive, Legislative, Judicial, Citizen and Electoral. The Executive Branch: The President and his cabinet. The President is elected by universal, direct and secret ballot for a six-year term. The President may be re-elected for one additional consecutive term only. Legislative: One chamber National Assembly composed by 165 deputies elected for a five- year term. Deputies may be re-elected for up to one additional consecutive term. Judiciary: The new constitution renamed the Supreme Court as the Supreme Tribunal of Justice. Justices are nominated by the civil society. Final appointment requires the approval of at least two thirds of the legislative branch. The Citizens Branch: Created to safeguard public ethics, to ensure respect for the principle of legality in the Administration, and to assume the defense of human rights. The Ombudsman or Defender of the People, the Attorney General and the Comptroller General form this power The Electoral Branch: This authority is independent from other Government Branches and is appointed by nominations from the civil society. Administrative Division: 22 states, 1 federal district and the federal dependencies. State Governors are elected for a four-year term and may be re-elected for one additional consecutive term only. Most Venezuelans are Roman Catholic. The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. All faiths have churches and people may worship freely. Venezuela’s people result from the mingling of European, Amerindian, and African cultures. Traditionally a haven for people of all origins, Venezuela received large waves of immigrants from Europe following World War II and from other Latin American and Caribbean nations during the 1970s. (Embassy) The Venezuelan chief of state and head of government is President Hugo Chavez Frias since February 3, 1999. The Executive Vice President Ramon Alonzo Carrizalez Rengifo since 4 January 2008. The Venezuelan Penal Code distinguishes between crimes, punishable by imprisonment, and misdemeanors (faltas), punishable by arrests or fines. In the Penal Code, crimes are classified by major types, as follows: * Crimes against national sovereignty and national security — treason; crimes against national and state government; crimes against international law * Crimes against liberty — crimes against political, personal, religious freedom, etc. Corruption — these are defined in a special anti-corruption law, enacted in 1982 * Crimes against the administration of justice — simulating crimes, false testimony, collusion, concealment, etc. * Crimes against public order — conspiracy to commit crime; incitement to crime; manufacture and carrying of weapons, etc. * For gery — false currency; forged seals, fiscal stamps, documents, passports, licenses, etc. * Crimes against public and private interests — arson, causing floods, etc. gainst public health and nutrition * Crimes against public morals and the family — rape, seduction, prostitution, corrupting minors, adultery, bigamy, etc. * Crimes against persons — homicide, battery, abortion, abandoning children, slander, etc. * Crimes against property — theft, robbery, extortion, kidnapping, fraud, etc. (Birkbeck, Christopher) Until 1998, the age of criminal responsibility was 18. In that year, a new Children's Code (Venezuela, 1998c) established criminal responsibility for adolescents (ages 12 to 17). However, the adolescent criminal justice system is administratively separate from the adult criminal justice system. Adolescents who turn 18 during adjudication or sentencing continue under the adolescent justice system. (Birkbeck) Police Denmark The state police is a department of the Ministry of Justice. There is no longer a municipal police and the military police only has authority over soldiers according to the Military Criminal Code. Denmark is divided into 54 police districts (excluding the Faeroe Islands and Greenland), each headed by a local chief of police. The National Commissioner reports to the Minister of Justice. For administrative purposes the police are subdivided into plain-clothes criminal investigators, uniformed patrolmen, traffic police officers, immigration police, and other categories. (Ravn) The common police of Denmark consist of 12 districts each managed by a director and two minor districts in Greenland and the Faroe Islands, run by a chief of police. The mission statement of the Danish police is as follows: The police must work in order to ensure security, safety, peace and order in the society. The police must promote this purpose through preventive, helping and enforcing work. In addition to the regular districts, there are three other organizations that work outside the common police. Rigspolitiet is the state national police for Denmark. Politiets Efterretningstjeneste, also called PET, is the national security intelligence agency of Denmark. The agency focuses solely upon domestic security while foreign intelligence operations are handled by Forsvarets Efterretningstjeneste – an intelligence branch under the Danish military. The stated overall purpose of PET is to prevent, investigate and counter operations and activities that pose or may pose a threat to the preservation of Denmark as a free, democratic and safe country. The three main duties of the PET are counter terrorism, counter extremism and counter espionage. Politiets Aktionsstyrke (AKS) is the Special Forces unit of the Danish police; a national SWAT team. It is meant to handle extraordinarily difficult or life-threatening criminal situations, such as terrorism, hostage situations, and kidnapping. It also deals with emergency rescue situations that would be too dangerous for others to handle. The AKS holds responsibility for all anti-terror and counter-terrorism missions in Denmark. (Wikipedia) New recruits are required to be in good physical condition; good personal and economic condition, and should have achieved good grades in school. New recruits are usually required to be between 21 and 29 years of age, of Danish citizenship or have applied for Danish nationality/citizenship, and without any convictions. The basic training of police personnel takes 3 years. The training comprises both school education and training of a more practical nature. School education, which consists of 2 courses of 8 months each, takes place at the Police Academy in Copenhagen. The rest of the training time is spent on the job. The Police Academy also presents special courses and leadership courses. All chiefs of police hold a master's degree in law from a university. (Ravn) Venezuela The national Venezuelan police are the Cuerpo Tecnico de Policia Judicial, or PTJ. They were founded almost immediately after the overthrow of Dictator Marcos Perez Jiminez in 1958. The PTJ is the primary judicial police force in the country, charged with the reception of crime reports made by citizens, the investigation of crimes, gathering of evidence and arrest of suspects. In all these tasks, the PTJ is subordinated to the public prosecutor's office. Administratively, the PTJ is attached to the Ministry of the Interior and Justice. The national headquarters are in Caracas, and there is one office in each state capital, with additional offices in some other cities. The PTJ's name was recently changed to the National Directorate of Criminal Investigation. The traffic police (Cuerpo Tecnico de Vigilancia del Transito y Transporte Terrestre), administratively attached to the Ministry of Infrastructure, are responsible for surveillance, preliminary investigation and occasionally arresting suspects, in traffic offenses that involve violations of the criminal law. The state police are responsible for patrol work and public order, arrests (when offenders are caught in the act), and community service. They may also serve as auxiliary judicial police. Each force is regulated by a local Police Code. To further complicate the institutional environment, state police forces are also coordinated by an office in the Ministry of the Interior and Justice that compiles selected statistics and sets guidelines for internal procedures. Beginning in 1990, wealthier municipalities in the country's largest cities set up municipal police forces. By July 2001, there were 77 municipal forces in the country. They are attached to the mayors' offices and regulated by the state's Police Code and by municipal ordinance. With so many different uniformed police forces, there are obviously difficulties in coordination and efficiency. For that reason, since at least 1977 there have been diverse proposals to create a unified national police force. The most recent is the National Police Law, which is currently being debated in the National Assembly. This law would join all uniformed police forces (state, Capital District, municipal), together with the traffic police, into one national force. (Birkbeck) Courts Denmark The independent courts constitute a part of the division of power in Denmark. Generally speaking, cases are dealt with in the first instance by a local or city court; appeals against the judgments of city courts are made to one of the country's two High Courts. A few big cases and cases touching on administrative matters are dealt with by one of the high courts in the first instance. The highest court in Denmark is the Supreme Court, and the Queen appoints judges. (Ministry) The Danish Supreme Court is the highest civil and criminal court responsible for the administration of justice in Denmark. The Kingdom of Denmark, consisting of Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, does not have a single unified judicial system – Denmark has one system, Greenland another and the Faroe Island a third. However, ecisions by the highest courts in Greenland and the Faroe Islands may be appealed to the Danish High Courts. Venezuela Venezuela has three types of main courts: Trial courts: The 395 trial courts are divided into first instance trial courts and instructional criminal courts. In addition, 667 departmental and municipal courts are assigned the lowest level cases. Superior Courts: There are 173 Superior courts that primarily act as interme diate appellate courts. The dispersion of these courts throughout the country is based on population and political needs. Supreme Court: The Supreme Court is the court of last resort. It is composed of 15 justices who each serve a nine-year term. This Court is divided into three chambers: civil, criminal, and civil rights. (Salas, Luis) They also have several types of special courts: Military Courts: Military courts exercise a considerable amount of authority since their jurisdiction extends to all crimes committed by members of the armed forces and on-duty police officers. Many persons have criticized this system, viewing it as a barrier to the successful prosecution of human rights abuses committed by the police and military. Military courts extend their jurisdiction to civilians accused of crimes under the military code, for example treason or subversion. Anti-corruption Court: The anti-corruption court (Tribunal de Salvaguardia Del Patrimonio Publico) was established with specific and sometimes extraordinary powers, to investigate and punish corruption. While corruption cases may be tried in the first instance by the traditional court system, these special courts have second instance jurisdiction. They also serve as trial courts for cases involving corruption by high-level officials. Even though their jurisdictional powers are extensive, they have been afforded meager resources to carry out their responsibilities. Family/Juvenile Courts: Another set of courts handle family matters and juvenile cases. Juveniles are processed through special courts and then remanded to juvenile correctional facilities. (Salas) Corrections Denmark In Denmark, the correctional service controls 15 prisons, one institution for inmates needing psychiatric treatment, and 40 local jails. Five of the prisons and the psychiatric institution are closed in that they are secured by an external ring wall as well as by internal precautions like secured buildings, and electronic security systems combined with relatively dense staffing. The staff does not carry arms. Being used as remand detention institutions, the local jails are also closed. The remaining nine prisons are open institutions which actually means that the inmates are physically able to leave the institution. Two of the closed prisons have both male and female inmates. In one of these prisons there is cohabitation between men and women within units. There are also two open prison departments for women. While serving his sentence the inmate is obliged to work for which he is paid a small hourly salary. The prison administration tries to ensure that the working places equate those found in modern society. In order to encourage inmates to educate themselves the same amount is paid to inmates who choose to go to the prison school instead of going to work. The prison provides health care and necessary dental care. Sick inmates will be hospitalized in ordinary hospitals. The policies of the correctional service are governed by the following three principles: A. Normalization. As a starting point the inmate is placed in the open prison closest to his home in order to preserve family contacts and to pave the way for a gradual release from the prison. There must be specific reasons for instituting control of inmates' correspondence. Visits by next-of-kin take place in secluded visiting rooms with a couch. In the open prisons weekend leaves are granted every third week to prisoners with a low risk of recidivism. A prisoner in a closed institution may obtain similar rights to weekend leave when he has served one fourth of his sentence. At some time during incarceration about one third of the prisoners in closed prisons are granted occasional leaves. The total number of leaves per year is about 57,000. More than half of these are so-called work leaves where an inmate leaves the prison to go to work or to take part in educational activities in society. B. Self-administration. The inmate is responsible for his own daily life. Important elements of this approach are that food must be bought and cooked by the inmate to which end he is paid a fixed amount of money per day. The inmate is also responsible for his personal hygiene, clothes' laundry and repair. The prison encourages the inmates to make meaningful use of leisure hours by providing opportunity for sports and other structuralized activities. C. Release on parole and after-care. According to a provision of the Criminal Code more than 90% of the inmates are released on parole after having served two thirds of their sentences. Almost 10% of these will be released after serving between one half and two thirds of the time, due to special grounds. Royal pardon is possible according to the Constitution, but rare. Outside of imprisonment for life which necessitates the use of pardoning, royal pardon is more commonly used in connection with short-term sentences where the convicted cannot endure the prison stay because of severe illness or the like. In such cases the pardon is normally conditioned on the payment of a fine. (Dr. Winslow, Robert) Venezuela Typical penalties in Venezuela include fines, restitution, probation, and incarceration. Some crimes carry mandatory prison sentences which prohibit early release. The death penalty in Venezuela was abolished in the mid 1860s. The prison population in Venezuela is 40% over its stated capacity. Overcrowding is regarded as a primary factor in the high level of violence within prisons, which resulted in an average of 3 prisoner deaths per week in 1992. Venezuela, like many of its Latin American countries, has incorporated the United Nation's â€Å"Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners† in its national legislation. However, a recent human rights director of the Venezuelan Attorney General's Office has criticized the conditions of the nation's prisons. As a consequence of government neglect, the prisoners live in overcrowded and unhealthy quarters, without access to education, and lacking incentives to seek jobs once they are released. (Salas) References Birkbeck, Christopher Venezuela World Fact Book of Criminal Justice Systems http://www. ojp. usdoj. gov/bjs/pub/ascii/wfcjsvz. txt CIA: World Fact Book https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/da. html Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela In the United States of America http://www. embavenezus. org/? pagina=kids. venezuela/political. system. tm=Venezuela%20for%20Kids Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark http://www. ambmoskva. um. dk/en/menu/InfoDenmark/danish+political+and+social+affairs/ Ravn, Lene Denmark World Fact Book of Criminal Justice Systems http://www. ojp. usdoj. gov/bjs/pub/ascii/wfbcjden. txt Salas, Luis Florida International University Venezuela World Fact Book of Criminal Justice http://www. ojp. usdoj. gov/bjs/pub/ascii/wfbcjve n. txt Visit Denmark http://www. visitdenmark. com/uk/en-gb/menu/turist/turistinformation/fakta-az/ Wikipedia www. en. wikipedia. org Dr. Winslow, Robert San Diego State University Crime and Society