Merits & Demerits of EC Essay Example for Free

Merits Demerits of EC Essay The Electoral College is a process by which the voters elect representatives known as electors that in turn elect the president. It is governed by the laws and constitution of United States of America. This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the Electoral College the advantages include it is the foundations of federalism and democratic principles that does not allow central government to be in place. It distributes popular votes; enhance country cohesive nature and helps in political stability. The disadvantages are it gives room of electing president with simple majority, voters democratic rights are violated; the president may not show the will of the people and inability of some electors voting for the respective leaders they were elected for. The matters raised are weighty on either side but we conclude this by saying it is worth amending the Electoral College to correct its defects rather than changing to direct voting. MERITS AND DEMERITS OF ELECTORAL COLLEGE The electoral college of the United States of America is a process of electing presidential candidates based on the number of popular votes and representatives of congress. The voters elect the electors or representatives who will in turn elect the president candidate. Each state is allocated 2 senators irrespective of vote population while the members of the House of Representatives are elected based on the population of the states. The history of Electoral College dates back to the Roman Empire. It has been used in United States for over 200 years. It is considered a moderate way of checking the election by popular vote and congress (Electoral College, 2008) The Electoral College system is governed by several laws which include the Article 2 section 1; 12th amendment and US Code Title 3 Chapter 1 of the Constitution. There have been arguments for and against the Electoral College system since its introduction. Opinion polls have been conducted to determine its popularity over the years for example 69 percent of lawyers favored its abolition in 1987. It was earlier reported that 58 percent of voters in 1958 agreed to eliminate it. Similar results were recorded in succeeding years where 81% and 75% were obtained in 1968 and 1981 respectively. These opinion polls were associated with the system favoring biparty system and excluding third party (Electoral College, 2008). Leip (2003) discuss explicitly merits and demerits of the Electoral College system. We will highlight the merits of the Electoral College in the United States of America. First the Electoral College had significant contribution in ensuring there is fair distribution of support of the populace to each president thus bringing a cohesive country. This restrains highly populated states from determining the president elected every time. However this may favor election of president with votes slightly above the opponent even though it is checked by the requirement of popular distribution of votes against the support by popular votes. Indeed the EC system works to correct the defects arising from popular votes. Murphy (2003) adds by saying that the defects in EC are intentional and have a purpose because without it the smaller states will not be heard in national issues. Secondly the EC is ensures the status of smaller groups and minority interests are maintained such that the presidency is seen as an institution that takes account all interests of people and special groups in the country. Hence smaller states will also have a say in expressing their presidential choice (Leip, 2003). Third, EC help in stability of political parties by encouraging biparty system and excluding third party parties from unseating the majority. Although third parties are present in America they cannot raise the masses that cause national imbalance in the political climate. Hence the presidency is guarded against metamorphism of radical policies from third party. It then dictates the political coalitions at political level rather than governmental level. Otherwise if popular electorate is allowed there will be situations of regional and extreme divergent demarcations (Leip, 2003). Fourth, the federal system is essentially captured in the democratic principles which require sharing of power at all levels of government. With these we see the House of Representatives representing interests and issues of states based on the population strength while the Senate has equal number of representatives in the congress that articulate issues of the state on equal footing. The Electoral College then represents the institution of presidency and echoes the values and interest of minority and special interest groups. To eliminate the EC is like democratizing the political system and essentially rendering the structures of federal and letting the re-genesis of central government (Magleby, Light, Peltason, 2008). It worth to note that the political parties would not allow the change of the system to because of the interest they hold in it (Mmarks, 2000). This is reinforced by Murphy (2003) sentiments insisting that vote irregularities can only be halted by EC since it will only deal with states in question rather than the whole states which pose the question of financial and legal constraints. On the contrary opposition to the elimination of the Electoral College continues to mount fro example it was termed as either anchoritic or archaic or ambiguous because it allows for the winner to bag all votes thus the need for reforms or abolition of it all together. These are some of the reasons for eliminating the EC and allow the electorate popularity. One is that a president can be elected by minority votes for instance where three candidates or more share votes and cause a situation which no candidate is able to garner more than 50 percent of the votes like the elections of 1824, 1948 and 1968. This can result to cases where one candidate votes are given to another or absentee of significant votes in the Electoral College. The resultant scenario will cause the EC to use the 12th Amendment. This may lead to conflict of interest (Leip 2003). Second, the EC has given leeway to voters transferring their rights to electors who later do not vote according to their wishes commonly referred as faithless fathers. For example in 1988 Lloyd Benson was voted for by a democrat elector from West Virginia. Although past experiences has shown that the votes of faithless fathers do not have significant impact on the presidential election but sends negative signals to the electorate. Mmarks (2000) states that the American government has violated the basic principle of democracy of vote counts similarly the EC makes other votes irrelevant. For instance in it gives too much power to local constituencies than other others. Third is that the EC has an element of disincentive to electorates because there is no difference between populous state and low populated states. Hence voters are likely not to turn out in large numbers. However this fact does not take account other elections in the states such as governors and legislators (Leip 2003). Fourth the Electoral College does not reflect the will of the voters because it seems to under represent other regions especially urban than the rural. For example the electoral voters of six states in 1988 had same 3. 1 million votes and 21 electors’ similar to 9. 6 million votes from Florida. This shows discrepancy in representation making votes from this populous state less significant (Magleby, Light, Peltason, 2008). In the same line Electoral College seems to have bias towards the exclusion of third party making it difficult to rise above regional or state precincts. This is because it cannot garner majority votes to give it the strength to be allocated electoral votes. The mechanisms applied gives the winner of majority votes to walk way with all votes rendering this party irrelevant. In order to be able to articulate its issues it has to relax its divergent views and collaborate with popular political party. Maxwell Hardaway (2004) argue that during the writing of the constitution by the founding founder in the 18th century most voters were illiterate, but at the present time the citizens are educated and well informed to make a choice of their own so it is better to have direct counting. They also add their sentiments on the need to reduce the due advantage of small states over big states instead all votes should count in the elections. This will make candidates to value each vote and concentrate of pulling gaining support of all voters (Maxwell Hardaway, 2004; Magleby, Light, Peltason, 2008). However the supporters of the EC argue that despite the few defects noted during 2000 presidential elections the EC does not need to be abolished but strengthened. This is because it has stayed for long time and had the principle of unifying the country able to rally a broad support and gain extensive roots of political parties. This in turn gives reduces the time which could have been used for vote recounting as in the case of 2000 presidential elections (Maxwell Hardaway, 2004). CONCLUSION The Electoral College is a process by which the voters elect representatives known as electors that in turn elect the president. The Electoral College is governed by the laws and constitution of United States of America. Although defects have been sited in the application of the Electoral College arguments have been raised in support and against it. Propositions for its abolition include chance of electing president with simple majority, voters democratic rights violated; the president may not show the will of the people and inability of some electors voting for the respective leaders they were elected for. While supporters for not abolishing it reason that it is one of the foundations of federalism and democratic principles that does not allow central government to be in place. It distributes popular votes; enhance country cohesive nature and helps in political stability. The matters given are weighty it can be concluded that amendment to the Electoral College is necessary to correct its defects rather than changing to direct voting. REFERENCES Electoral College. (2008). U. S. Election College. Retrieved April 21, 2008, from http://www. archives. gov/federal-register/electoral-college/faq. html#qualifications Leip, David. (2003). Pros cons of EC. Retrieved April 21, 2008 from: http://uselectionatlas. org/INFORMATION/INFORMATION/electcollege_procon. php Magleby, O. Light, B. , Peltason, C. (2008). Government. 7th ed. USA: Pearson. Maxwell, K. J. , Hardaway, R. (2004). 2000 aftermath. New York Times. Retrieved April 21, 2008, from http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m0BUE/is_3_137/ai_n17207622 Mmarks. (2000, November 17). Princeton news. Retrieved April 21, 2008 from: http://www. princeton. edu/main/news/archive/A94/81/30Q00/index. xml Murphy, K. (2003 December 11). EC is necessary. Retrieved April 21, 2008, http://www. interocitor. com/archives/000159. html

The Workplace and Title Seven Essay -- essays research papers

The Workplace and Title VII The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the catalyst in abolishing the separate but equal policies that had been a mainstay in our society. Though racial discrimination was the initial focal point, its enactment affected every race. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in housing, education, employment, public accommodations and the receipt of federal funds based on certain discrimination factors such as race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age or religion. Title VII is the employment segment of the Civil Rights Act and is considered one of the most important aspects of legislation that has helped define the employment law practices in this country. Prior to Title VII, an employer could hire and fire an employee for any given reason. Title VII prohibits discrimination in hiring, firing, training, promotion, discipline or other workplace decisions. (Bennett-Alexander-Hartman, Fourth Edition, pp 85) Though it applies to everyone, its enactment was especially signifi cant to women and minorities, who until its passage had limited recourse in harassment based discriminations in the workplace.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the federal agency that enforces the federal laws, policies and regulations as it relates to employment discrimination. Over the course of years, Title VII has been amended to reinforce its prohibitions to include pregnancy as a type of gender discrimination, jury trials, compensatory damage and punitive damages. Its amendments have also strengthened the enforcement policy of the EEOC. An employer and employee need to be aware of those areas that are and are not covered by Title VII. It applies to employers, unions, joint labor and management committees as well as employment agencies whose functions include referral and training decisions among others. It applies to all private, federal, state and local governments who employ 15 employees or more. An employer with less than 15 employees is not required to comply with the guidelines set by Title VII. Title VII covers all levels and types of employees. In 1991, t he act was further extended to include United States (U.S.) citizens who are employed outside of the U.S. for American employers. Non U.S. citizens are also protected as long as they are employed in the U.S. Title VII however, does not a... ...overlooked in the workplace. Title VII has changed the pre-employment process in that the interviewer must be careful in the questions that are posed to the interviewee. The interviewer should not ask questions that can be deemed discriminatory. A rule of thumb is to limit questions that have to do with a person’s private life. As an employer, it must be made clear that discrimination will not be tolerated in the workplace. Employers and employees need to become familiar with what constitutes discrimination. Employees need to be informed of the employer’s position as it relates to workplace discrimination. An employer should adopt policies that address this issue in the form of employee handbooks and/or in house training for all employee levels, including what steps will be taken for violations. If the employer and employee work together to prevent these forms of discretions, it can help curtail some of the litigiousness surrounding this issue. References Anheuser-Busch, Inc., v. Missouri Com’n on Human Rights, 682 S.W.2d 828 (Mo.App. E.D. 1984) Bennett-Alexander-Hartman, Employment Law for Business, 4th Edition, 85, 95, 97, Griggs v. Duke Power, 401 U.S. 424 (1971).

Chemical Reactions

Chemical Reactions Chemical Change †¢ reorganization †¢ original substances form new substances with different formulas †¢ may or may not involve a change of state †¢ symbols used to describe chemical reaction are known as a chemical equation †¢ Chemical equations do not have equal signs (=) they have an arrow Chemical Equations †¢ Must follow the Law of Conservation of Matter †¢ atoms can neither be created or destroyed during a chemical reaction †¢ What goes in must come out! Chemical Equations †¢ Reactants = Products same number of atoms of each element on each side of the reaction arrow Equations must be balanced! †¢ other symbols †¢ (s)solid †¢ (l)liquid †¢ (g)gas †¢ (aq)aqueous, dissolved inwater Balancing Chemical Equations †¢ First check all ionic formulas to see if they are correct! Five steps to balancing equations 1. Count the number of atoms of each element (or polyatomic ion) on the reactant side and then on the product side. You may want to use a chart or table. 2. Determine which are out of balance – these need to be balanced 3. Pick an element or polyatomic ion to start with†¦ †¢ Balance using coefficients. †¢ Do not use coefficients of 1 †¢ No changes may be made to the subscripts †¢ use least common multiples 5. Check and recheck! †¢ Practice balancing these equations †¢ H2(g) + O2(g) > H2O †¢ KCl + BaSO4 > K2SO4 + BaCl2 Types of Chemical Reactions †¢ Combination /Direct Combinationsynthesis †¢ 2Na(s) + Cl2(g) > 2 NaCl(s) Single Displacement †¢ single substitution †¢ anion always replaces anion †¢ cation always replaces cation Mg + 2 HCl > MgCl2 + H2 †¢ Complete the following Single Displacement (formula is correct) Al + CuSO4 Double Displacement †¢ 2 substitutions †¢ ion-exchange †¢ MgSO4 + BaCl2 >BaSO4 + MgCl2 †¢ Types of Chemical Reactions †¢ Double Displacement †¢ What are the expected products of MgSO4 + BaCl2 †¢ Types of Chemical Reactions †¢ KOH + MgCl ( †¢ check formulas and complete) Decomposition †¢ HgO > Hg + O2 (balance) †¢ 2 HgO > 2 Hg + O2 †¢ carbonic acid in lab activity Oxidation / Reduction †¢ oxidize iron into rust 4Fe + 3O2 ( 2Fe2O3 Oxidation reactions †¢ add O (or remove H) Reduction reactions †¢ add H ( or remove O) Redox reaction †¢ Combination of oxidation and reduction Practice †¢ How many grams of diatomic oxygen (O2) are needed to make 4 moles of magnesium oxide (MgO) from magnesium ribbon (Mg)? †¢ Hint balance equation and use coefficient as mole. Energy in a Chemical Reaction Endothermic †¢ heat in †¢ requires activation energy †¢ A + B + 100kcal => C + D Exothermic †¢ heat out †¢ A + B => C + D + 100 kcal

Cobit Assessment Matrix - 19376 Words

2009 Capital Investment Ltd COBIT ASSESSMENT MATRIX COBIT 4.1 AS AN ASSESSMENT TOOL FOR ERP {Page 1 of 109} COBIT ASSESSMENT MATRIX 1. INTRODUCTION: At a certain point in time, every organization has to take steps to change/improve itself and its processes to comply with its own goals and that of its clients. The ultimate goal of a business is growth and that can be done in a continuous or a phased fashion. Everyone in the organization tries to hold on to their known state of operations, organization and processes stating that things have worked fine or are working fine. However this can only work up to a certain point where operations based on goodwill, minor adjustments or ad-hoc solutions no longer work and more drastic†¦show more content†¦Activity—The main actions taken to operate the COBIT process Application program—A program that processes business data through activities such as data entry, update or query. It contrasts with systems programs, such as an operating system or network control program, and with utility programs, such as copy or sort. Audit charter—A document appr oved by the board, which defines the purpose, authority and responsibility of the internal audit activity Authentication—The act of verifying the identity of a system entity (e.g., user, system, network node) and the entity’s eligibility to access computerised information. Designed to protect against fraudulent logon activity, authentication can also refer to the verification of the correctness of a piece of data. Automated application control—A set of controls embedded within automated solutions (applications) {Page 4 of 109} COBIT ASSESSMENT MATRIX Balanced scorecard—A coherent set of performance measures organised into four categories. It includes traditional financial measures, but adds customer, internal business process, and learning and growth perspectives. It was developed by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton in 1992. Benchmarking—A systematic approach to comparing an organisation’s performanceShow MoreRelatedInformation Technology Audit1278 Words   |  6 PagesIS/IT Auditor IT Auditor often is the translator of business risk, as it relates to the use of IT, to management, someone who can check the technicalities well enough to understand the risk (not necessarily manage the technology) and make a sound assessment and present risk-oriented advice to management. IT auditors review risks relating to IT systems and processes, some of them are: 1. Inadequate information security (e.g. missing or out of date antivirus controls, open computer ports, open systemsRead MoreInformation Management And Techn ology Strategy1782 Words   |  8 PagesReport of VicRoads against precise criteria of COBIT 5 framework and seeks to provide recommendations on the basis of key findings of the assessment. Some of the key features of this strategic plan evaluation report are stated below. ïÆ'Ëœ COBIT 5 Framework is chosen as the standard ICT governance framework to evaluate the content of the strategy report. ïÆ'Ëœ IT-related Goals, Metrics, Process Practices, Inputs and Outputs of Key enabling processes of COBIT 5 Process Reference Model are chosen are as evaluationRead MoreWhat s The Difference Between Hitrust And Hipaa?859 Words   |  4 Pagesare taking preventive measures in order to avoid breaches and possible fines. However, healthcare organizations are confused on what measures they need to take in order to protect healthcare information HITRUST and HIPAA are two unique types of assessments that share the common objective of safeguarding protected healthcare information but otherwise are different in how they are setup. HITRUST takes a risk based approach and HIPAA takes a compliance based approach. HIPAA - (Health Insurance PortabilityRead MoreWhat Is Business Continuity And Disaster Recovery Strategy878 Words   |  4 Pages7 years Payroll records: 7 years Customer records: Permanent Method of retention is up to each facility to determine, it is recommended that at least two copies of each type of record (Tarantino, 2006). Business Impact Assessment (BIA) The business impact assessment is used to identify the effect of disruptions that occur during a disaster and then is used to identify ways to reduce and/or eliminate the risk (Hiles, 2002). Since Gulfstream is a global enterprise we will incorporate severalRead MoreCyber Risks And Security Control1337 Words   |  6 Pagesmost – and know where to implement those controls in their expanding borderless enterprise. However, every control everywhere is not financially sustainable. A risk-based perspective, leveraging threat-based assessments based on attack scenarios, complements a traditional Risk and Controls Matrix, and empowers a more effective GRC program. Growing volume and sophistication of cyber attacks Cyber risks are constantly changing. Think about the rate of change in your business, its use of technology andRead MoreCobit Framework21120 Words   |  85 PagesCOBIT 3rd Edition  ® Framework July 2000 Released by the COBIT Steering Committee and the IT Governance InstituteTM The COBIT Mission: To research, develop, publicise and promote an authoritative, up-to-date, international set of generally accepted information technology control objectives for day-to-day use by business managers and auditors. AMERICAN SAMOA ARGENTINA ARMENIA AUSTRALIA AUSTRIA BAHAMAS BAHRAIN BANGLADESH BARBADOS BELGIUM BERMUDA BOLIVIA BOTSWANA BRAZIL BRITISH VIRGINRead MoreSystem Audit12707 Words   |  51 PagesIT audit, purpose Types of IT audits, history of IT audit, major events that have prompted the use of and been solved using IT audit techniques. IT Audit process outline; process and phases. Planning the audit, materiality, risk assessment. 2) Effective information system audit. Evaluation of controls, types and tests of controls. Audit sampling, sampling methods, sample evaluation. 3) Audit automation and system testing: Computer assisted audit techniques. Traditional vsRead MoreThe Classification Of Dynamic Games1546 Words   |  7 Pagesattacker) general-sum and zero sum games Let us consider a game where there are two players, with payoffs represented by the following matrix: B^1=[ââ€"  (ÃŽ ²_11^1ÃŽ ²_12^1@ÃŽ ²_21^1ÃŽ ²_22^1 )] and B^2=[ââ€"  (ÃŽ ²_11^1ÃŽ ²_12^1@ÃŽ ²_21^1ÃŽ ²_22^1 )] If the player 1 has an action set of A1 = {ÃŽ ±11, ÃŽ ± 21 } and the player 2 has an action set of A2 = {ÃŽ ±12, ÃŽ ± 22 } , the payoff to the first player is matrix B^1 and to the second player is B^2 . When we have a zero sum game the payoff for both players is always zero: B^1+B^2=0 If we considerRead MoreHow Game Theory Can Be Viewed As A Conflict Resolution Scenario4589 Words   |  19 Pagesthere is a defending mechanism, it is possible the system to reboot because of different reasons. We can model the game as a continuous Markov process with a transition probability that can be represented by a matrix. The interaction between the players in the game will affect this transition matrix in a way that depends on the different strategies that they use. The whole process is represented as a Markov decision process (MDP) by Filar and Vrieze [10] where the transition probabilities are subjectRead Moreais homework 1 5329 Words   |  22 Pagessynchronization, system consistency makes it difficult to change versions of a program, and user training is greater. PROBLEMS: 17. a. ALU – CPU component b. CD-ROM - secondary storage c. keyboard – input equipment d. Modem – data communications e. dot-matrix printer – output equipment f. POS device - input equipment g. MICR reader - input equipment h. laser printer - output equipment i. flash memory – secondary storage j. OCR reader - input equipment k. magnetic (hard) disk – secondary storage