SPE 565 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

SPE 565 - Essay Example These are social-cognitive theory by Bandura, 1991, Theory of Planned Behaviour by Azjen, 1991 and Theory of Interpersonal Behaviour by Triandis, 1981. (Bandura, 1997) defined social-cognitive as a theory that "explains how people acquire and maintain certain behavioural patterns, while also providing the basis for intervention strategies" (n.p.). The factors to be considered to evaluate behavioural change are the people, environment, and behaviour. This social cognition model focuses on self-efficacy expectancies or beliefs about a person's ability to perform certain behaviour. A framework for designing, implementing and evaluating programs are being offered in social-cognitive theory. To better analyze this social cognition model, analysis of the pros and cons when this model is used should be presented. SCT is an important and effective means for educators in assisting the students to gain new supporting skills by developing feelings of self-efficacy from their own mastery experiences. SLT can help educators determine why certain learning activities work, and why other activities aren't very effective as the students may receive standard persuasive techniques to try to instil feelings of self-efficacy. ... It is believed that all of the people are able of doing critical thinking, in spite of their differences. Additionally, social cognitive theory encourages the use of non-traditional methods of learning instructions and evaluations, which involves a major time commitment on the part of the expert using the model. Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) evaluated: The theory of planned behaviour is a theory about the relation between behaviour and attitudes. It was projected by Icek Ajzen as an annex of the theory of reasoned action (TRA). It is one of the most prognostic persuasion theories. As (Wikipedia, 2007), "it has been applied to studies of the relations among beliefs, attitudes, behavioural intentions and behaviours in various fields such as advertising, public relations, campaigns, healthcare, etc." (n.p.). TPB can cover people's intentional behaviour which Theory of Reasoned Action cannot explain. TPB would help better forecast health-related behavioural intention as it improves the predictability of intentions. It can give explanation to individual's social behaviours by viewing social norms as important factors. However, TPB fails to notice emotional factors and may only provide limited assessment on these areas. Theory of Interpersonal Behaviour (TIB) - Triandis Theory This model is based on TRA and TPB although based on (Davis et al., 1992) "efforts towards developing models that incorporate a non-utilitarian aspect of technology acceptance have been made" (pp 1111-1132). Hence, it does not distinguish the emotional from the cognitive domain and promotes assumption that an individual is positioned on the dimension of both emotional and cognitive bipolar in terms of evaluation. Triandis theory of interpersonal

Application of Communication Theory to Nursing Essay

Application of Communication Theory to Nursing - Essay Example Communication is one of the major assets that make human beings knowledgeable. Knowledgeable as the number of ways humans interact are much more superior to any other living being’s methodologies to communicate. Forms of communication may include message transfer through voice, letters, e-mails, sign language etc). (Haslett, 1987) Communication was present right from the time of man’s civilization however what changed are the methods in which the process is carried out. More effective forms of expressing are evolving with experience so that the communication as such becomes efficient. Comparing with the pre historic times, definitely the pace at which information is exchanged has tremendously changed. The advent of science and technology had a huge impact on the way communication processes are carried out. Today sitting in the remote corner of the room at any part of the world we can convey our information and carry out communication any time any where through telephoni c calls, e-mails etc. (Barker, 2002) Now-a-days the computer science revolution had brought major renovations to the traditional systems of placing calls by introducing video conference that allows voice as well as the real life picture to be transmitted as message that obviously upgrades the level of communication. Mobile phones and other cellular devices have made the world very small, that it can fit in our pockets. Coming to personal aspects and importance of communication, the basic purpose of communication is for interdependence and satisfying needs. Every person wants to be heard, appreciated and also shares his thoughts and feelings. It is the exchange of thoughts and feelings from one person to another that determines the efficiency of communication. Getting into the roots of communication, it basically has three dimensions namely. (Barker, 2002) As shown in the figure, the communication may

NCOER EVAL DA 2166-8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

NCOER EVAL DA 2166-8 - Essay Example This is due to three reasons. Firstly, the soldier illustrated appropriate military bearing, posture, and also appearance. Secondly, the soldier illustrated adequate mental and also physical capabilities, required for the performance of any successful military project or mission. Thirdly, the soldier maintained satisfactory physical fitness and mental alertness, despite the temporary challenges of back injury and extreme operational tempo. The soldier achieved success ratings in terms of leadership competencies. This is illustrated through three issues. Firstly, the soldier is a proven leader who understands approaches of motivating junior soldiers to effectively and efficiently accomplish missions, with minimal supervision. Secondly, the soldier effectively coached 6 soldiers through initiating study groups. The initiative increased the General technical scores of the soldiers, to more than 110. Thirdly, he enhanced spirit de corps by endorsing SHARP. He thus made himself available to help, through training, the unit victim advocate. The soldier achieved the success score for the training aspect. This is due to effective performance in three major areas. Firstly, he effectively identified more than 7 soldiers who can be competent platoon Master drivers. Secondly, he trained 31 soldiers using 6 military vehicles, and no accident or incident was reported. Thirdly, the soldier successfully trained two soldiers, and hence they passed the APFT after several unsuccessfully attempts. He also taught the significance of individual responsibility to the soldiers, through motivating them to formulate and work towards achieving their goals. The soldier received a score of success, and this is illustrated through three issues. Firstly, he properly managed military commodities and equipments worth in excess of $2.1 million. Secondly, there was no loss, mismanagement, embezzlement or discrepancies

Project management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Project management - Assignment Example It was observed that at the late hours just before inauguration of the Games, the company declared that they could not provide the promised number of security personnel. This breach of contract penalised the company severely as it had to pay huge fine. However, the situation was controlled by government when they military force was arranged at the last moment for managing the situation. Thus, the project undertaken by G4S was a complete failure and it lead to collapse of the company image before the public and investors. G4S, the largest international security solutions group, aims at providing security solutions to the countries, where the risk of security and safety is a serious threat. The company has successfully provided security solutions to many countries. It is a British multinational security provider, which is headquartered in Crawley, United Kingdom. It is regarded as one of the largest security provider in world with respect to revenue and operations. The company operates in 150 countries and have numerous plans of expansion to untouched territories worldwide. The company has also been declared as the third largest employer globally. It employs around 620,000 employees across different countries. The company is registered under London Stock Exchange  and is a recognised element in FTSE 100 Index (BBC, 2012; Pattison, 2014). The company has successfully operated globally without any disturbance in operation. However in 2010, after the death of Jimmy Mubenga (a security person), the company started to encounter the gloomiest days in its operational history. Additionally, the company encountered severe blows in business operation when it was unable to provide security services to Olympic Games in 2012. The contract between Olympic Games Authority and G4S had failed to become effective and the latter had to pay a huge amount as penalty (Secretary of State for

Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor Essay Example for Free

Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor Essay Recently the spotlight has been set on renewable energies to assist with weaning off of greenhouse gas emissions, solving issues with energy independence, and to exploit their inherent renewability. Unfortunately our technology is not quite up to speed economically with our wish to rely completely on renewable energy, thus many non- renewable energies are recognized as viable options to power our economy (Fraser, 2011). The United States current position on diversifying with non-renewables onsists of oil, natural gas, coal, and the less spoken of, nuclear power. Nuclear power is the process by which a reactor contains a slow explosion called fission, which gives Offa positive net amount of energy that can be harvested. Of course the social stigma around nuclear is so strong that even if there were an undiscovered completely safe type of nuclear power plant, Justifying the complex science would be challenging. After events such as Fukushima, Chernobyl, and Three Mile Island, the vast majority of society believes nuclear energy is nothing more than a death wish. Contrary to popular belief, a safer alternative in nuclear energy has been discovered and has been gaining popularity over the past few years despite the recent tragedy in Japan (Sorensen, 2011). Though newly rekindled, the non-mainstream nuclear power known as Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) was discovered in the 1960s and had been proved to be a very attractive option to the more popular Light Water Reactor (LWR). It all began with nuclear physicist Alvin Weinberg, who would graduate from the University of Chicago soon become research director at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Weinberg was given the freedom to experiment with designing multiple types of nuclear reactors including the prominent LWRs that are in commercial use today. Subsequently Weinberg had noted the potential danger of a LWR and moved on to designing a safer nuclear power technology that he would end up supporting for the rest of his life. His research team at ORNL created a fluid fuel in a MSR, opposed to the traditional solid fuel in LWRs, in order to decrease the pressure and overall danger of the system. To Weinbergs delight, although this rototype MSR had corrosive issues because of the salt involved, Weinberg deemed this technology far more superior to LWR. Furthermore, the worst part about current hatred for LWRs is that although it can be a dangerous process, the technology is revolutionary and its power has potential that we are seriously unaware of. For now with our current state of knowledge about nuclear power combined with our worlds predicament with how we generate power so ineffectively, MSRs must be and should have always been the governments number one priority (Sorensen, 2011). This pecific type of nuclear reactor is certainly on the minds of at least China, India, Brazil, Indonesia, South Korea, and Australia (Furukawa, 2008). Since these countries showed interest at least by 2008 it can be assumed that they are already in the process of construction. An example for our worst-case scenario would be for the United States to simply stand back and watch as the rest ot the world capi talizes on the best power generating technology known to man. A technology that of course the United States developed and had in operation fifty years ago, but the idea simply aded away. As the majority of the US would like to go green, it may not be too early to claim the MSR as green nuclear power. Nuclear reactors do not emit greenhouse gases taking care of one of the three major concerns with the future of energy. Though observing an entire life cycle of Thorium and materials to make the power plant, there are transportation emissions involved. It turns out however, that Thorium is extremely accessible in the US as it is already mined concurrently with other rare earth minerals but is typically discarded for lack of utility. The United States has omewhere in the order of 15% of the worlds total Thorium stockpile at around 15 million tons (Bonometti, 2008). Even if we were to run out of Thorium, the Moon has even greater amounts that by the time we begin to hit peak Thorium it will surely be so far in the future that extracting moon materials would not be a challenge. As an investor this further assures a safe bet, but what is so safe about the LFTR design is that a meltdown or explosion is so much more unlikely to occur than in LWR systems. Since the carrier of thorium is a liquid, liquid fluoride, it allows standard pressure at igh temperatures. Traditionally, in LWR, water had to cool down the solid fuel since it couldnt handle the high temperatures because of high pressure, which had always been a fine line behind meltdowns (Sorensen, 2011). In the LFTR, the system can naturally correct an over heated system by melting a frozen salt plug at the base of the system to enter into an emergency cooling tank. If LFTR technology has already been proved, proved to be safe, proved to be powerful, and proved to be available and cheap, then why doesnt the world run on it? The technology itself seems to be a it mysterious itself or maybe doubtful since it has already been ignored once before. What it comes down to is the timescale that nuclear reactors had been created. Back at Oak Ridge Laboratory where Weinberg had designed nuclear power he first designed the LWR, which happened to be more dangerous, but nevertheless reported his results. Quickly academics and politicians alike were astounded by the amount of power that could be generated through nuclear fission. Academics such as Weinberg understood the dangerous design of the LWR and proceeded to design afer alternatives, hence the MSR. Politicians on the other hand, had deadlines to meet, people to please, Jobs to create, and the LWR went commercial. There is even a specific phone call between President Nixon and a California LWR director expressing swift actions to commercialize the technology before elections (Sorensen, 2011). As Weinberg fought the Nixon administration to stop continuing with LWRs he was soon fired from the Oak Ridge Lab and so did the MSR department. Thus many scientists have since seen and admired his work and have finally had reason to express its arious benefits once the inevitable failures of LWR ensued, for example, Fukushima. In addition, it is important to note how resultant issues with LWR nuclear plants in the past have all been due to the intrinsic difficulty with handling a solid fuel at its required high pressure for fission to take place. In other words, none of those accidents would have happened if they would have simply listened to their founder, Weinberg, and chose to go with an MSR design. As the public is informed with this somewhat difficult science I imagine it will take about as long to understand the itterence in types ot nuclear reactors as it did tor the majority ot the population to understand the science behind the greenhouse effect. This is based on the fact that the same oil and coal industries will be threatened along with ill-educated environmentalists who will viciously support only renewable energy.

Gross Domestic Product, its importance, calculation and other basics Essay Example for Free

Gross Domestic Product, its importance, calculation and other basics Essay Gross domestic product is a term used in macroeconomics to measure the total of finished goods and services produced in a country during a period usually a year. Those things which are produced in the country are counted in GDP. Things like remittance and other things which are earned from other countries are not taken into consideration while calculating GDP. It is the most important indicator which tells about the economy of a country. It incorporates several other indicators as well like retail sales, personal consumptions, etc. II. Body A. Four parts that make up Gross Domestic Product The main components of GDP are consumption, investment accounts, spending and net exports. GDP can be calculated in three different approaches, product approach, expenditure approach and income approach. Product approach is considered to be the most direct approach in which all outputs are summed up. While the expenditure approach follows this equation: GDP = C+I+S+NE. The assumption made in this equation is that all organizations produce things or services which can be consumed by the users and is a source of investment for the organization. This equation also implies that the organization follow the supply and demand trends in the market. The income approach implies the principle that the income of the producers must be equal to that of their products. †¢ Consumption Consumption is the purchase of goods or services by the consumers. Consumption can be of three types, durable goods, non durable goods and services. Durable goods are those good which last for a long time. They are also considered as consumer investments even. Those goods which come under the head of durable goods are automobiles, refrigerator, etc. These types of goods are bought with the intention of retaining them for a long time thus are known as durable goods. Non durable goods are those goods which have a comparatively short life time than that of durable goods. They could be newspapers, grocery, etc. Services are intangible things. Things which can be classified as a service are medical treatment, teaching, etc. †¢ Investment accounts Investment is the purchase of purchase of things which are used in the production. They can also be classified into three group, business investment, residential construction and inventories. Anything that helps in the process of production comes under business investment. For example, machinery, office, plant, etc. It is the gross amount of investment that counts. Basically it subtracts the depreciation value from the value of the asset. Those assets which are replaced with the new ones, if they don’t produce any improvement in the outputs then they contribute nothing in addition to the country’s economy. Residential construction relates to the building of new houses in a period (year). Those houses which are already been constructed and are held for resale have already contributed in the GDP thus they won’t be included again. Inventories are stocked in anticipation of future sales. Changes in inventories contribute or affect the economy of a country. They are considered to be a small part that contributes to the GDP but changes in them can have great changes in the economy. For example when the inventory level increases the desired level then there may be a slowdown and producers might reduce their outputs. †¢ Government spending The government spending relates to all the items the government spends on with exception of interest paid on the debts and government transfers. Government spending mostly includes those items which are rarely sold in the market like space shuttles, aircrafts, etc. These items bear a large price that is why government pays for them (Kaplan). †¢ Net exports A net export is the difference between the total exports and imports of a country. When the exports exceed the imports, it is known as surplus export. While export deficit occurs when the imports increase from the export and when both export and import are equal it is a trade balance (Barnaby). B. Cross-border comparison As different countries have different currencies it is difficult to compare the GDPs in the respective countries currencies. For example comparing GDP of US in dollars with the GDP of India in Rupees would give a false reflection and therefore in order to have a correct comparison they are converted into national currency through current exchange rate or by purchasing power parity. †¢ Current currency exchange rates Current exchange rates are the international rates of the currency. It gives a better indication of the country’s international purchasing power and its growth. †¢ Purchasing power parity exchange rates Purchasing power parity exchange rates are those in which currency is purchasing power parity compared with that of a standard one which is usually US dollars. Non traded goods usually make use of this method rather than current currency exchange rate. It relates to prices of particular goods in the country and abroad. Therefore it can be misleading while considering the comparison of GDPs of countries due to different inflation rates, depreciation rate, etc. Mostly those countries which are less developed make use of this method to compare their GDPs. Therefore it differentiates between the high and low income countries and doesn’t forms a just comparison. C. Standards of living and GDP Standard of living can be calculated through a per capita GDP approach. There are advantages and disadvantages of calculating standard of living this way. As most of the countries on quarterly basis provide information to the authorities for calculating GDP, trends can be spotted through them on a regular basis. Most of the indicators used in GDP are widely used by other countries even therefore comparison becomes easy. The calculation of GDP is done on yearly basis that means it gives a consistent way. GDP per capita is not a very good way of calculating standard of living as it varies due to several reasons which GDP per capita might not take into account. For example a country with high exports and almost no imports would have a high GDP but a poor standard of living. Therefore GDP per capita should not be considered as the main indicator of standard of living, but just a way to it. As the standard of living increase, GDP per capita also increases. III. Conclusion To assess the effectiveness of a country’s economy GDP is widely used. But using GDP to calculate the standard of living proved a limited result. GDP does not take the wealth distribution into account which might mislead while judging the economy of a country. It doesn’t account for the inequality of the wealth. All those activities which do not occur through a market are excluded by GDP. All those activities which are free or as a volunteer are counted amongst those activities. Not counting these activities would be an understatement in the GDP. Even if the services are provided for free but there must have been a cost to provide the services. Therefore if they don’t contribute toward the GDP most of the organization would move towards free services rather than providing them on money. Another form of understatement of GDP is when those transactions which are illegal or tax avoiding activities are not taken into account. Barter system is also ignored in the calculation of GDP. Barter system is a very common system followed nowadays even through which people might exchange goods or services without any dealing of money. The improvement in products and quality are even those amongst the ignored items in GDP which does not reflect the real economic growth of a country. Computers have become more advanced but less expensive GDP will treat them as the old computers used in the past, rather than considering its worth. GDP rakes into account few things which should not be taken like the cost of rebuilding after an earthquake which might boost the GDP but would provide an unrealistic way to judge the country’s economic growth. Only those things which are economically ‘good’ are reflected in the calculation of GDP while the bad ones are excluded. All those negative effects to the environment which might be due to the production are ignored which is a bias way. Some of the things are sometimes included in GDP like cleaning up of oil spills and etc. GDP does not project the economy of a country but it just measures the economic activity. Therefore it cannot calculate the sustainable growth of a country. There are several ways a country can achieve a high GDP for a time being, for example by excessive use of natural resources, etc. But it can be very costly to pay back after if the natural resources are used badly (mistreated). As value of money changes with time comparing or determining the growth in different sorts of goods can be a difficult task to perform. While comparison of a country’s economy is done by other countries they can give inaccurate results as they might not take the local differences like change in quality, content, etc not into account which might not be a just form of judgment. There are many other limitations of using GDP to judge the economy of a country (Jackson,p63). Although GDP is a way to measure the market value of a country’s finished goods and services it should not be the key indicator to provide information about a country’s economy. It gives a rather flawed and biased way to compare things domestically as well as internationally. A country’s economy should be judged on its ability to provide the people of the country with what they need and what their basic necessities are, some of the basic necessities might include food, shelter, clothing, better place to live in, etc. Therefore things which are not included in the judging the standard of living should be considered. With a combination of indicators which can judge the conditions of the country environmentally as well as in terms of living and financial ways should be used as a way to judge the effectiveness of a country should be taken into consideration rather than just the use of GDP. Word Cited Page Barnaby, Meins. How the GDP is calculated and what it does not count. 2010, 5 May 2010, http://www. helium. com/items/1284362-the-gdp-how-the-gdp-is-calculated-and-what-it-does-not-count Jackson, Tim. Prosperity without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet, Earthscan Publications Ltd. 1 edition, 2009 Kaplan, Jay, Components of GDP. 1999, 5 May 2010, http://www. colorado. edu/Economics/courses/econ2020/se

The Case Of Colombia Politics Essay

The Case Of Colombia Politics Essay No society is immune to corruption, however, it is obvious that the developing world has been prone to suffer more than developed countries; corruption is a problem that many governments as well as citizens from different communities in the third world prefer to ignore. This essay attempts to present the reader the most prominent forms of corruption in the developing world specifically the case of Colombia in a comparative perspective with Latin American, Asian and African countries where corruption is one of the main problems that have affected these parts of the world. This essay includes three sections; the first one presents the relevant literature review; definition of important concepts, types of corruption, and approaches of corruption in developing countries. The second section refers in detail to the case of Colombia and its most prominent forms of corruption. The third section covers the analysis of the Colombian case in a comparative perspective with some Latin American, Asian and African countries and portraits relevant ideas as conclusions. LITERATURE REVIEW Corruption in the last few years has become a contested concept due to the considerable overlap between various components and wide connotations to agree on a single definition; additionally, different perceptions and understanding of situations and behaviours have influenced the concept of corruption. The understanding of corruption among nations guarantees that no definition of corruption will be equally accepted in every nation. Therefore, this essay agrees with the definition of corruption presented by Transparency International (TI) because it is an international organization that reaches most of the countries in the world and maintains an unbiased performance. (TI) defines corruption as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain  [1]  . In order to understand the implications of corruption, it is necessary to bear in mind the different types of corruption that have been considered by some authors. Each type of corruption has different origins and characteristics and therefore, they require diverse strategies to tackle it and different degrees of severity to punish it. Corrupt behaviour was coded in terms of black, grey and white (Gardiner: 2009) Black Corruption: indicates that certain actions in a majority consensus of elites and mass opinion would condemn and would want to see punished as a matter of principle. Grey Corruption: indicates that some elements, usually elites may want to see the action punished, others not. And the majority may well be ambivalent. White Corruption: signifies that the majority of both elite and mass opinion probably would not support an attempt to punish a form of corruption that they regarded as tolerable which implies less attachment to the values. (Gardiner: 2009) The critical emphasis of this essay is on developing countries and corrupt activities in the political sphere at the public and private level. It is clear that there exist different forms of political corruption with a range of characteristics, which need to be mapped. Alatas in 1990 distinguished between transactive and extortive corruption. The former refers to a mutual arrangement concerning a donor and a recipient to the mutual advantage of both parties, whereas the latter entails a sort of pressure, usually to avoid the harm being imposed on the donor or those close to him/her. It is possible to consider other categories which could contribute to a typology of political corruption: differences could be drawn between high and low level (grand corruption versus petty); the first one involves a substantial amount of money, it involves political decision-makers, the laws and regulations are abused by the rulers, ignored, or tailored to fit interests. Whereas the latter refers to the bending of rules in favour of friends, its the everyday corruption in connection with the implementation of existing laws, rules and regulations at the street level with minor public administration officials and services. (Heidenheimer: 2002, p. 150) In most developing countries, corruption has been widespread and has become part of everyday life; most societies are aware of it and some even make it look like part of their culture. Developing countries are more likely to experience à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ²State Captureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ² and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ²Kleptoraticà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ² corruption. State Capture represents a form of corruption Introduced by Hellman and Kaufmann and used by the World Bank in 2000  [2]   The World Bank report refers to State Capture as the actions of individuals, groups or firms in both in the public and private sectors. This is done to influence the formation of laws, regulations and other government policies to their own advantage by illicit and non-transparent provision of private benefits to public officials. Alternatively, the state can be captured to serve the private interest of a political leader who shapes the framework of reforms to ensure his private control over key resources State capture refers to the capacity of private interest groups to exert influence in high spheres of public decision making through corrupt practices (World Bank report: 2002).  [3]  . On the other side, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ²Kleptocratic corruptionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ² refers to the actions of people within the government who use their power to exploit natural resources and wealth for personal enrichment by establishing policies that favour personal interests  [4]  , its very common in authoritarian governments specially in African countries characterized by the lacked of accountability and unqualified public officials. Kleptocratic corruption is characterized by nepotism, favouritism, cronyism, reflecting problems in the public services; where citizens may go to prison or be executed for treason. In some nations citizens do not even try to hold elections which allow leaders to remain in power for ever. (Case of the Philippines)  [5]  . Some of these characteristics are shared by some Caribbean, Asian and African countries. This will be presented and discussed later on. Many scholars have studied corruption through different approaches in order to understand how corruption affects the performance of a country; the first approach to consider is the Modernization Thesis established by Samuel Huntington. He stated that Corruption may be more prevalent in some cultures than others and seem to be more intense during the period of modernization and reflect their differences in political modernization and political development (Huntington: 2009, Ch. 15 pp. 253) The Modernization Thesis proposed by Huntington suggests that modernization involves a change in the basic values of a society; he refers to certain behaviours that were legitimate but became intolerable and corrupt when viewed through modern eyes, consequently, the fact that levels of education provide citizens with a more critical view of situations to demand an accountable and efficient government, however it contributes to corruption by generating new sources of wealth and power where new laws multiply opportunities for corruption and hence increase the capacity for violence. To comprehend the cultural approach this essay first understand culture as The deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving (Samovar Porter, 2003, p. 8) Abdiweli, M and Said Isse, H. (2003) identified the determinants of corruption by examining on factors related to corruption such as such as education, political regimes, the type of the state, ethnicity, judicial efficiency, political freedom, and the size of government to explain the differences across countries and how those actions considered corruption in the west are considered traditional gift giving in developing countries. Sandholz and Taagepara: 2004, referred to the cultural approach to corruption as: The most significant obstacle to democratization and economic development. Structural and cultural factors lead to higher levels of corruption, low levels of competition and increase the incentives for corrupt practices among bureaucrats or among those being regulated. Cultural patterns tendency to reproduce themselves through socialization entails a general expectation of continuity, culture changes but it tends to change slowly even when substantial changes occur (Sandholz and Taagepara 200,4 pp.109-111) THE CASE OF COLOMBIA This section outlines the case of corruption in Colombia as a developing country, where corruption has left political, social and economic effects; corruption has contributed to political instability, undermined governmental institutions, increase the lack of trust and the perception that corruption is normal. Despite its effort to fight corruption the Corruption perception index (CPI) seems to get worst.  [6]   In Colombia a clear example of petty corruption are the traffic violations where drivers may bribe a police officer to avoid a fine or get the car impounded; since traffic violations are extremely expensive, paying a bribe sounds more reasonable. Most of Colombian drivers have developed persuasive skills to approach a police officer finding a way to relate or build any personal connection such as economic difficulties or family problems. Sometimes the police officer will understand and will give in a ticket with a lower infraction without making personal profit. Sometimes, they will accept the bribe, give a verbal warning and just let the driver go; it basically depends on how the driver approaches the police officer. In terms of Grand Corruption, the problem of Colombia can be expressed in one world: Politiquerà ­a- bad politics, where it is hard to tell if corruption is the cause or the consequence of bad politics. A significant factor that determines corruption, is the illegitimate actors Guerrillas, paramilitary groups and drug dealers; they control large amounts of drug money, induce violence as a way to regulate the illegal and legal sector and resort to kidnappings for funding; they are influential in some parts of the country called red zone or conflict zone. There, Government has less control or there is absence of authority allowing these groups to reach several levels of public organizations. (Misas 2005: 120-122). In Colombia scandals of all kinds and cases of Grand Corruption And State Capture are characterized by the flaws in the political system, the non-existence of political parties as independent actors, the Internal division within political parties and the opposition at the inner and outer level enhancing contradictory performances responding to political rivalry or lack of competence; political parties use opposition to exert tension and pressure and bring to light the scandals. In this dynamic mass media plays a big role, in Colombia some cases of corruption are interconnected as a network of corruption; corruption becomes a scandal when it is impossible to hide or when it is convenient to bring it to light. The illegitimate impact of private interests on political decisions is another major problem in Colombia. Political parties system and campaign financing create some sort of liability of the politician towards the donor. In Colombia, is common to see that candidates pay back the favour after being elected. Positions within the government and the local level are given out due to personal relations rather than through academic careers and competition. (Lambsdorff, 2006) This is illustrated by the typical pattern of Grand Corruption, referred to as trià ¡ngulo de hierro (iron triangle) figure 3 The structure of a corrupt relationship is pictured as a triangle where each corner represents an actor and the sides the relationship between them. (Misas: 2005) Figure 3: iron triangle MAKES A CAMPAIGN DONATION HELPS GETTING A POSTION IN PUBLIC ADMINISRATION HELPS WINNING A PUBLIC CONTRACT In most of the countries in South America; cronyism, nepotism, conflict of interests, abuse of power, embezzlement and extortion to name a few are part of the main problems of public life and can be observed at all levels, from the local up to the National level. In Colombia there are rules and regulations properly designed but not correctly applied, the fundamental problem causing high levels of corruption in Colombia appears to be the failure to apply the existing rules. Therefore, a cultural pattern such as the consideration of sayings in daily life activities implies a rather flexible interpretation of rules. Hecha la ley, hecha la trampa (every law made, there is also made the loophole) (Lambsdorff, 2006) P.25. In addition to cultural patterns, Colombia is a developing country with a low GDP  [7]  where social inequality, great income differences between strata, poverty and exclusion predominate and lead to violence. It is not a secret that Guerrilla and Paramilitary groups control highways charging truck drivers a toll to use the road having the truck burnt or taken away. They also kidnap journalists, politicians, government officials and military men for extortion or to cause pressure in the government. (Lambsdorff, 2006) Although Colombians are aware that corruption exists, its not accepted. However, people instead use sarcasm or irony to refer to this issue influenced by cultural features such as morality, values and ethics. The cases of corruption in Colombia are innumerable and it is hard to tell if one is worst that the other first because some are related or connected and second because all of them have affected the country economically, socially and also in the way Colombia is perceived at the international level, affecting relations with other countries and levels of trust towards those in power who are supposed to look after the citizens rights. Examples that illustrate corruption in Colombia  [8]   8000 process  [9]  (embezzlement, illegal funding for political campaign) This is the name given to the process against the ex-president Ernesto Samper accused of receiving money from drug dealers Cali cartel for his presidential campaign. Despite the proofs, he denied it. Moreover, Fernando Botero Zea as the campaign director offered his bank account in New York to receive the donations from different business man to avoid taxes and exceed the amount of money permitted to develop the campaign. Botero seized control of US$413.898 to buy a country house and cover personal expenses. Botero moved to Mexico where he is originally from to avoid extradition and has not gone back to pay his time in prison which affected the relations and image with neighbouring countries. DMG  [10]  (campaign funding with money laundering- illicit enrichment) DMG is the acronym for the millionaire company of David Murcia Guzman which worked under the pyramid scheme for cocaine money laundering. DMG was also funding the referendum for the third consecutive presidential term of Alvaro Uribe as well as for the candidate in Panama  [11]  . This company worked across some Latin American countries (Panama, Venezuela and Ecuador) where not only politicians but also thousands of citizens invested their savings expecting high profits, in some parts of the countries people relied and depended on this profit as a regular income. Murcia accepted the charges and was extradited to the US. Para-politics  [12]   Para-politics is the term used to refer to the political scandals since 2006 that show connections between more than 200 politicians and government officials with the paramilitary group Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) which has direct implications with drug dealing and has used intimidation, extortion, slaughter, genocide, displacement and kidnapping towards public citizens to help politicians and public officers to reach positions in the government and then manipulate decisions and funds. Recordings, videos and intercepted calls are some of the proofs that involve government bodies and important national entities. Carousel contraction (Conflict of interest, Clientelism, Cronyism, Abuse of power, State Capture) This is the name given to one of the biggest scandals of political corruption that left obvious scars in the city, indignation and huge economic lost. Carousel contraction involves a group of recognized business men Los Nule  [13]  who won the grant for the biggest project in building an important highway in the country and several other contracts for the transportation system in the city of Bogota using retainers as bribes. Other people involved and found guilty are The ex-mayor of Bogota, (Samuel Moreno  [14]  ) who was suspended from office and is under police custody, some of Morenos relatives as his brother (Ivan Moreno) and several friends, government bodies, public officers and more than 30 companies who were sub-contracted to carry out they project. Health system embezzlement  [15]   A scandal in the Colombian health system involved five health insurance companies acronym for (EPS) associated with millionaire embezzlement. These EPS were audited and intervened with a police raid due to the irregularities in the provision of medications and misuse of funds. This has resulted in huge number of cases of double billing, seeking reimbursement for medications EPS are supposed to provide to patients. Public officers, EPS board members and the minister of social protection are some of the people involved in the scandal. These are just some of the examples that can provide a wide picture of what Grand corruption/ State Capture look like in Colombia; in the following section a comparative perspective is presented to illustrate corruption across developing countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa. This section refers to corruption in developing countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa in a comparative perspective with the case of Colombia. LATIN AMERICA Corruption in Latin America specifically in the case of Ecuador is a structural problem that goes beyond political parties or businessman funding campaigns; it has become an issue deep-rooted to cultural features. Low levels of education, weak Social Capital, and low levels of participation in elections are characteristics shared with Colombia. The most common forms of corruption in Ecuador are bribes, nepotism and cronyism used to speed up processes or get contracts. As an example, In June 2009 the media reported that companies associated with businessman Fabricio Correa (the presidents brother), had signed large public-sector contracts during the Correa administration. Another example is the contraction of unqualified unnecessary or inexistent public employees in the national congress known as Piponazgo  [16]  . According to CPI 2012 edition by (TI) the most corrupt country in Latin America is Venezuela; some causes of corruption are the lack of effective strategies to fight corruption and poor freedom of the press. In Venezuela more than 30 radio stations, TV channel and newspapers have been harassed and threaten by the government which creates opportunities for corruption. This situation is slightly different in Colombia where although its one of the most insecure countries for journalists; the aggressions are not provoked by the government but related to the armed conflict: (guerrilla, drug traffickers and paramilitary). Additionally, Venezuela shares two characteristics of corruption with African countries: mismanagement of oil resources, authoritarian government seeking influence through oil diplomacy and control of oil funds by the Government which has caused several scandals  [17]  . Another country that has suffered from similar types of corruption is Mexico, (kickbacks and bribery  [18]  from wealthy businessman, kidnappings of civilians and drug trafficking by the Cartels of Mexico  [19]  ). However, the comparative study carried out by (De la Torre L., 2000) showed that although the Police system in Colombia is not necessarily uncorrupted is one of the most efficient in Latin America. Colombia has implemented long term strategies, there is a better recruitment process, salaries, training and drug- related corruption remains confined to individual or smaller groups of policeman  [20]  . Figure 4: data taken from Transparency International web site CPI results 2012  [21]   ASIA In 2012 India ranked 94th out of 176 countries in TI with a CPI of 3.6 tied with Colombia and Greece. Apart from sharing the ranking position in the CPI score, India and Colombia share bribery, kickbacks and nepotism as some forms of corruption although at different levels of impact in the society. Transparency International India developed a Corruption Study in 2005  [22]  showing that the problem of corruption in India lies at the public service level (health care system, electricity, water supply and black money) affecting citizens daily needs. As a result, corruption in India is due to the Excessive regulations, poor implementation/ monitoring of laws, lack of punishment and highly strong cultural patterns create opportunity for corruption. (Vito Tanzi: 1998). While the perception, cases of corruption and impact in the population regarding public services (water supply, electricity and taxes black money  [23]  are higher in India, in Colombia Organized Crime and drug trafficking plays the main role dominating almost 50% of the country. Another Asian country which has been prone to suffer from widespread corruption and poor CPI score is Bangladesh; the most common forms of corruption are bribes, abuse of authority, nepotism, favouritism, fraud and patronage. Likewise Colombia many cases of corruption are intertwined with their consequences at the national or local level. In Bangladesh payoff include luxury gifts, overseas travel hotels, restaurant bills and personal liabilities while in Colombia payoff are mostly in the form of money or jobs. However in terms of political corruption both countries share the same characteristic Using position while in power to grant undue favour and benefit to ones relatives, friends and key supporters is a hallmark of politics. (Khan, 1997). Nonetheless, in terms of administrative corruption, in Bangladesh civil officers involved in corrupt practices in most cases do not lose their jobs. Very rarely they are dismissed from service on charges pertaining to corruption. Still more rarely they are sent to prison for misusing public funds (Khan, 1997), this is considerably different in Colombia where if found guilty most likely, they will go to prison although the sentence may not be significant; Corruption is all-pervasive in Bangladesh, is a part of the politico-administrative heritage, not only citizens have accepted it as a part of their daily life but also they feel themselves powerless to address the phenomenon at any level (Lewis, 1996). AFRICA Corruption in the developing world has been harmful for economic growth specially for transition or emerging economies and poor countries in Africa; where the influence of decolonization, type of economy (based on natural resources as a source of rent), low levels of education and types of governments (regimes or dictatorships) are directly related to levels of corruption. Africa is a continent where Kleptocracy dominates and leads to grand Corruption; an example of this is the rule of Mobutu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (1965-1997). Characterized by the misuse of foreign aid and rent from natural resources leading to worse governance, embezzlement and illegal enrichment. In the case of Nigeria, 2007 elections candidates were more likely to buy votes because is more reliable and less difficult.  [24]  In Nigeria, the misadministration of oil and natural gas resources from Kleptocratic governments, nepotism and graft are the most common forms of corruption. Another case worth looking at is Kenya which demonstrates how corruption can turn a stable country into political crisis. Corruption comes in the form of a little something to speed up processes or to ignore infractions; and Tribalism loyalty first to families then clan and then tribes. Kenya likewise Colombia has suffered from scandals within the government Goldenberg case  [25]  where the Kenyan government of Daniel Arap was found to have subsidised exports of gold beyond standard arrangements by paying the company Goldenberg International 35% more. Despite the fact that Colombia is an older democracy and the GDP less affected by corruption in Latin America than in African countries  [26]  ; clientelism, graft, bribery misuse of funds at the national level and embezzlement are shared forms of corruption; however, corruption in Colombia is highly generated by drugs traffic while in Africa is due to misuse of natural resources and abuse of power. CONCLUSION This paper has given an account of the most prominent forms of corruption in the developing world with deep focus on Colombia in a comparative perspective with other Latin American, Asian and African countries. In this paper, becomes evident and implicit that regardless the geographical position of a country, the developing countries studied in this essay share mostly the same types of corruption. Instead some variations in terms of forms and levels of perception of corruption may appear depending on type of government, levels of education, poverty and whether it is an emerging or established democracy. At the same time history plays an important role in places of Africa and Colombia where in order to understand the reasons and causes behind levels of corruption it is not only important to recognize the political, social, economic and cultural conditions of these countries but also to understand the impact of these situation on the levels of corruption, this will enhance comprehension of the strategies implemented or reasons for not implementing as well as for punishing or not corruption. From this essay can conclude that; Even though forms and types of corruption are shared across countries the political, social, economic and cultural patterns should be considered individually to fight corruption where political will and anticorruption programs work in reality effectively. In Latin American countries like Colombia where the drug war fosters corruption and increases private gain (money) at public expense (violence) while in Africa and Asia corruption affects foreign direct investment.