Child Soldiers

Child soldiers a) The nature of the human rights issue A child soldier is a person under the age of 18 who participates, directly or indirectly, in armed conflicts as part of an armed force or group, in either armed and supporting roles. The use of children in armed conflict is considered to be a form of slavery or human trafficking. Although children join armed groups ‘voluntarily’ it often involves coercion, force or deception, or the child may see no other option for survival but to join. The UN and human rights watch estimated that the number of children serving in armed conflicts at between 200 000- 300 000.The UN reported 57 armed groups’ worldwide using child soldiers. b) Where the human rights issue occurs. Worldwide conflicts that have involved child soldiers include: * Srilanka * Uganda * Colombia * Myanmar * Iraq * Israel * Palestinian territories * Sudan In Uganda more than 30 000 children have been kidnapped to serve as soldiers and slaves my lordâ₠¬â„¢s resistance army (LRA); the boys are forced to loot and burn villages and to torture and kill neighbours; girls are raped or become sex slaves. c) The legal and non legal responses to child soldiers both include international and domestic responses.Legal responses: International responses include the Geneva conventions, ‘laws of war’. Which is a series of 4 treaties adopted between 1864 and 1949 to regulate the conduct of armed conflict and attempt to limit its affects. these 4 treaties include; the first Geneva convention (1864) which protects wounded and sick soldiers on land during war, the second Geneva convention (1906) which protects wounded, sick and ship wrecked military personnel at sea during war, the third Geneva convention (1929) which applies to prisoners of ar and the fourth Geneva convention (1949) which affords protection to civilians, including occupied territory. Also, additional protocols to the Geneva conventions includes; the problem of child s oldiers being recognised and the minimum age for recruitment or use in armed conflict was set at 15 years for government and non-government parties.In addition to these conventions include the convention on the rights of the child (1989), the Rome statute of the international criminal court (2002), the worst forms of child labour convention (1999) and the UN Security Council (2004-2005). An example of these legal responses in action is the Thomas lubanga dyilo case where he was accused of conscripting child soldiers to fight in armed conflict in the DRC during 2002 and 2002.Domestic responses although limited by state sovereignty include the child soldiers accountability act which allowed the US to prosecute individuals domestically who have knowingly recruited or served as child soldiers in or outside the country. Other responses include the amendment of the criminal code act 1995 (cth) where two sections were added to the criminal code to criminalise the use, conscription or enlis tment of children as a part of an international or national armed conflict. Non legal responses: International responses include; the United Nations which monitors the use of child soldiers worldwide – the international labour organisation and unicef which play a role in research and studies into the status of the problem, providing recommendations to the UN and to member states and promoting the obligations of the treaties on children in armed conflict – and the coalition to stop the use of child soldiers which compromises many different member organisations with a common purpose of preventing the recruitment and use of children as soldiers, securing the demobilisation of child soldiers and their reintegration into society.Domestic responses include domestic NGOs, Groups or individuals and the media. Domestic NGOs focus on issues relating to child soldiers, particularly in countries where recruitment of child soldiers is a significant problem. For example red hand day . Groups and individuals assist in the rehabilitation of former child soldiers, by helping to relocate their families, get back into school, provide vocational training and re enter life. The media informs the public about the existence and problems of child soldiers for example the movie blood diamond focussed on the recruitment and use of child soldiers in diamond related conflict areas. Child Soldiers critical Analysis of the use of Child Soldiers in Liberia 5. 1 Introduction Generally stated ,this paper seeks to establish the role of child soldiers in the escalation of armed conflict in Africa. The previous chapters have discussed the regional armed conflicts where child soldiers were used or are being used like the case of DRC Congo. This chapter will critically analyse the use of child soldiers in Liberia. There were approximately 120,000 child soldiers who were participating in armed conflicts in Africa. Out of these, approximately 24,000 were in the Liberian conflict.Liberia is not a poor country. It has natural resources that could sustain its estimated population of 3. 2 million people. The question is how the available resources was being utilised and how did it contribute in fuelling the conflict. The availability of precious minerals and hard wood timber in Liberia contributed greatly in escalating and maintain the 14 years Liberian conflict. The age of the child soldier does not guarantee their immunity from being deployed the battlefield because while most are in their teens, some are as young as seven years old.Being so tender in age, they may start out as cooks, messengers, porters or guards, but often end up on the frontlines of combat. In Liberia, many boys some as young as nine or ten man checkpoints. The authority that goes with the responsibility gives them the free rein to harass, loot, terrorize and sometimes, kill civilians. Manning checkpoints gives a child power and influence, even if he is twelve years old. There have been instances where fifteen or twenty boys man a checkpoint and the commander is only ten years old.In long-drawn-out conflicts, children also become a valued resource. Children who have grown up surrounded by violence see this as a permanent way of life. Some having been orphaned, they are left on their own and are often frightened, bored and frustrated, leaving them with little options but to fight. When schools are closed and families fragmented, there are few influences that can compete with a warrior’s life. The human rights violations that occur when children are used in hostilities are not limited to child soldiers killing and being killed or injured.Girls also are used as soldiers, and fall victims of rape and other sexual abuse. The human rights impacts are terrible and far-reaching and have an impact not only on those children directly concerned but also on the families and communities, and continue long after the hostilities have ended . Besides being the continent that has the highest propensity for girls entering forces or groups via abduction or gang pressing, Africa is also the region with the highest number of children in armed opposition forces, numbering to approximately 120,000.In addition to being participant in combat, girl soldiers are often required to perform sexual services. In some cases, girls are in fact primarily recruited or abducted as ‘wives’ or ‘concubines', a common practice in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Among the common roles found in countries from every region of the world was the use of girl soldiers as porters, cooks or made to perform a variety of domestic labor, as well as spies and looters in villages taken over by armed forces or armed opposition groups. 5. 2Why children become child soldiersThe factors which give rise to the participation of children in conflict are complex. No single model can either explain all the factors, or outline a uniform procedure that will prevent child recruitment, and enable procedures for the demobilisation and social reintegration of children who have participated in conflict. Most child soldiers are from poor or disadvantaged sections of the society in conflict. Children, who live in the conflict zones by themselves are often recruited. Also, those children with disrupted families or no families at all are more likely to become child soldiers.In Liberia, child soldiers we of ten recruited from refugee camps in neighbouring countries like Guinea, Ivory coast and Sierra Leone while others were recruited from Internally Displaced Camps(IDP), within Liberia. In the months following UNMIL’s deployment on 1 October 2003, assessment missions carried out by UNMIL and humanitarian agencies, including into areas of the country until recently inaccessible, revealed large numbers of injured people, mostly children, which was consistent with the widespread use of child soldiers.The proliferation of small arms in West Africa contributed greatly not only to continuing conflict and repeated failure of successive peace agreements in the region, but has also encouraged and facilitated the recruitment and use of child soldiers, as well as other serious human rights abuses against the civilian population. The widespread availability of modern lightweight weapons enables even the youngest child soldier to use weapons efficiently.Technological development of arms toda y has produces arms weighing less than seven pounds and cost cheaply and yet so advance that even an illiterate child of ten could strip, reassemble, load and fire it. This mere knowledge however, did not make them skilled soldiers. On the contrary, they suffer much higher casualty rates than their adult counterparts, in part because of their lack of maturity and experience that leads them to take unnecessary risks. Their frail bodies are more susceptible to complications if injured, and they are more likely to fall ill in the rough conditions of military camps.Child soldiers are viewed as more expendable and therefore receive less training and must undertake the most dangerous tasks such as checking for mines or spying in enemy camps. Often children are recruited through abduction in massive sweeps of homes, schools, Refugee camp, Internally displaced camps and streets. In some situations, child survivors of village raids and massacres are forcibly inducted. Abduction is only the f irst step in a process that uses fear, brutality and psychological manipulation to achieve high levels of obedience in converting children into killers.In many conflicts, child recruits are subjected to beatings, humiliation and acts of sadism. During the escalation of the conflict, especially in Monrovia in June and July 2003, there was a marked increase in forcible recruitment of children by all sides. A frequently used tactic in indoctrinating children to violence is exposing them progressively to violence, thus numbing them so that they might someday commit acts of sadism on fellow humans. Child recruits in Liberia, were forced to cut the throats of domestic animals and drink its blood.Children are often terrorized into obedience, consistently made to fear for their lives and well-being. They quickly recognize that absolute obedience is the only means to ensure survival. Sometimes they are compelled to participate in the killing of other children or family members, because it is understood by these groups that there is â€Å"no way back home† for children after they have committed such crimes. Evidence indicates that the recruitment and use of children has become the means of choice of many armed groups for waging war.Certainly, not all inductions of children are forced. Those old enough to understand the underlying cause of the conflict want to join adults in a revered cause. Others participate to prove themselves and please adults while yet there may be victims or have family members who were victims, join to seek revenge. There are several cases in Liberia were children decided to join rebel groups to avenge the murder of their kin. Media images may also play a part. In Liberia, opposition forces could broadcast Rambo-style movies as part of its combat training.In such contexts, young boys learn machismo and come to associate military activity with respect and power-compelling attractions for children who otherwise feel powerless. DDRR The implem entation of the Liberian peace agreement and consolidation of peace, security and the rule of law were contingent on successful completion of the DDRR program. All other initiatives aimed at post-conflict reconstruction and restoration of basic human rights, including those of child soldier, are predicated on effective DDRR.The importance of completely disarming fighters and destroying weapons is very critical because the ex-combatants can use the weapons to harass civilians, loot properties or attack their opponents . Continued delays in disarmament and demobilization, and provision of the financial incentive to former combatants, can aggravate a precarious security situation. In March 2004 MODEL combatants in Tapeta, Nimba County, threatened harassment of international humanitarian agencies in the area in protest at the delays.Similarly, former government forces fired their weapons at night near Maimu internally displaced people's camp in Totota, Bong County, and threatened to loo t the camp if disarmament and demobilization were further postponed. In early April 2004 LURD combatants, also angered by the delay in disarmament and demobilization, were reported to have harassed civilians and stolen money and property at unofficial checkpoints on the road between Totota and Gbarnga.The previous disarmament and demobilization process which took place in Liberia in the late 1990s was seriously deficient in returning former child soldiers to their families and communities. While up to 20,000 child soldiers were estimated to be involved in the conflict which ended in 1997, little more than 4,000 were reported to have been fully disarmed, demobilized and reintegrated into their communities. As a result, with the resumption of hostilities, rapid re-mobilization of children was possible because many were to some degree still under the control of local commander.The Cape Town Principles, as observed by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), define a child soldier as any person under 18 years who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force in any capacity, including but not limited to cooks, porters, messengers and anyone accompanying such groups, other than family members. The definition includes girls recruited for sexual purposes and for forced marriage. It does not, therefore, only refer to a child who is carrying or has carried arms .Application of this broad definition is important: possession of a weapon is not a prerequisite for a child soldier to benefit from the DDRR process. In Liberia, possession of a weapon or ammunition was the criteria for inclusion in the DDRR process. Since not all the child soldiers were armed or involved in the actual fighting, many former child soldiers were not involved in the DDRR process and thus did not benefit from the cash allowances paid to those with weapons to assist them reintegrate into their society.Those who were left out in the DDRR programme simply crossed over to the neighbouring, especially in Ivory coast , joined other rebel group and took up arms. The conflict in West Africa was a vicious circle which saw child soldiers moving from one rebel group to another, for them, it was their lifestyle. The net effect of this was that conflicts in this part of west Africa have continued shifting from one country to the other.Governments international organizations involved in the DDRR process should ensure speedy registration procedures at camps and settlements, as well as at demobilization centres. They should also prioritize the immediate psychological, social and physical rehabilitation of former child soldiers generally and to prevent re-recruitment. The involvement of children in conflict has a devastating effect on their physical and mental integrity. There are higher casualty rates among children because of their inexperience, fearlessness and lack of training.In addition to the inevitable risks of death or serious injury in combat, children suffer disproportionately fr om the general rigours of military life, especially in the bush, and are particularly vulnerable to disease and malnutrition. The full extent of the impact of the severe psychological consequences of active participation in hostilities, with children witnessing and at times also committing atrocities, may only become apparent over a long period. It takes a matter of moments to abduct and forcibly recruit children; it takes years, owever, for former child soldiers to be fully rehabilitated and reintegrated into their families and communities and able to resume their lives. Child soldiers in Liberia were cynically used as they were perceived as cheap and expendable, and easier to condition into fearless killing and unquestioning obedience. Those resisting refusing to comply with their commanders' orders risked being beaten or killed. Both the rebel groups and government forces abducted children, both girls and boys and some as young as seven years, and forced them to fight, carry ammu nition, prepare food or carry out other tasks.Girls were raped and forced to provide sexual services. While older girls were actively engaged in fighting, younger ones provided domestic services as cooks or cleaners or carried arms and ammunition. Many child soldiers were given drugs and alcohol to induce aggression and inhibit fear. With little or no military training, they were sent directly to the front line where many were killed or wounded. The conflict in Liberia lasted for 14 years due to availability of child soldiers and funds from the illicit trade of Gold and Diamonds run and sustain the conflict.The conflict in Liberia has forced vast numbers of civilians to flee their homes. During 2003 it was estimated that more than 500,000 were internally displaced and another 300,000 living as refugees in neighbouring countries. Child soldiers were recruited from neighbouring countries of Ivory coast, Guinea and Sierra Leone. LURD forces abducted and recruited children from internal ly displaced people's camps in Liberia, especially those in Montserrado County as they advanced towards Monrovia during 2003. They were also reported to have abducted children from refugee camps in Guinea.MODEL recruited children from refugee camps in Cote d'Ivoire and further swelled their ranks with children as they advanced towards Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, over which they took control on 26 July 2003. .Rape and other grave sexual violence against children. The rape and sexual violation of children and women is increasingly a characteristic of conflict. Such violence is often perpetrated against boys and girls in a rule of law vacuum that is a consequence of conflict and is exacerbated by the ensuing culture of impunity.In some instances sexual violence has been used as a premeditated tactic of war designed to humiliate or exterminate a population or to force displacement. Reports of high incidence rates of rape and sexual violence against children were received in Liberia. I n many cases, the data on incidents, magnitude and scope of sexual violence is unreliable or non-existent due to deep cultural taboos surrounding such crimes, fear of reprisal of victims and their families and a range of other factors.Precise information, critical for combating impunity and for programmatic response, is difficult to obtain or verify. Sexual violence appears to be especially prevalent in and around refugee camps and settlements for internally displaced populations. For children especially, the physical and mental consequences are devastating. Such violations may also take the form of sexual slavery, forced prostitution and marriage or sexual mutilation.The long-term health consequences for the victims include sexually transmitted infection such as HIV/AIDS, fistula, early pregnancy and debilitating psychological trauma. Although cases of sexual violence against boys are sometimes reported, insufficient attention is paid to this particular dimension, and such violatio ns remain largely undocumented. Some research indicates that boys are especially vulnerable to sexual violence during military operations in civilian areas or during military conscription or abduction into paramilitary forces.They are also especially vulnerable in refugee and internally displaced settings and in detention. Sexual violence in times of conflict, in particular against boys and girls, constitutes the breaking of deep social taboos in every culture and as such causes maximum devastation to the social fabric of communities. Therefore, the interventions required in the aftermath of widespread and systematic sexual violence necessitates more comprehensive approaches that begin with the victims but extend to the communities in which they must once again find their place and comfort.The stigmatization of victims of sexual violence, which often leads to their being ostracized or marginalized, requires comprehensive community-level interventions for affected girls and boys. Emp hasis must be placed on fighting impunity for rape and other sexual violence through rigorous and systematic investigation and prosecution of such crimes at the national level and an increased focus on this problem by international justice mechanisms. At the national level, comprehensive initiatives to address the issue of sexual violence are required, and national ownership of such programmes is critical.Donors, the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations should accord priority to providing technical and financial support to national authorities for the preparation and implementation of national strategies to address sexual violence. A regional approach to ending the use of child soldiers The conflict in Liberia was not simply an â€Å"internal† armed conflict; it had acquired a regional dimension involving, in particular, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea and Sierra Leone. Arms and fighters crossed back and forth across the borders between the four countries.Peace in L iberia was and still is essential for maintaining peace in West Africa; conversely, any increase in hostilities across Liberia's borders could undermine efforts to maintain peace in Liberia. In order to restore peace and security to West Africa, there was to be a coordinated approach across the region, with harmonization of UN efforts, including those of UN peace-keeping operations: UNMIL, the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) and the UN Mission in Cote d'Ivoire (MINUCI).Structured dialogue on cross boarder recruitment and use of children has already paved the way for dialogue on broader child protection issues and enabled child protection actors in the field to pursue other priorities such as provision of education and healthcare to ex-child soldiers. Convention on the Rights of the Child – fulfilling commitments Liberia ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1993. During the subsequent decade, however, Liberian children have been denied their most funda mental rights.On 17 May 2004 the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child begins its thirty-sixth session during which it will consider Liberia's initial report on the measures taken to implement its obligations under the Convention. The Committee's consideration of Liberia's report offers an important opportunity to highlight the plight of Liberia's children and to consider ways of strengthening implementation of the rights enshrined in the Convention.Review of the report will lead to the adoption of the Committee's concluding observations which usually identify positive aspects, factors impeding implementation, principal areas of concern and recommendations. The concluding observations provide an opportunity to urge the NTGL to undertake concrete measures to improve the situation of children in Liberia and, at the same time, to encourage the international community to support the NGTL's efforts to meet its commitments.The report of the UN Secretary-General on children and armed con flict of 10 November 2003 specifically recommends that the Committee use the occasion of country reports and reviews to promote monitoring and accountability. (18) The NTGL's responsibility to end the use of child soldiers Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL) was legally obliged not to recruit and use children under the age of 18 years as combatants.An important element of post-conflict reconstruction in Liberia was the formation of a new, professional, well-trained army. The peace agreement stated explicitly that all irregular forces would be disbanded and that the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) would be reformed with a new command structure. Assistance was requested from the international community, including the UN, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the International Contact Group on Liberia.It specifically requests the US to take a lead in restructuring the armed forces. A Military Advisory Commission was established in early 2004, with the new, restructured armed forces deployed by the end of December 2005. This offered an important opportunity for concrete measures by the NTGL to ensure that no child under the age of 18 was recruited by the armed forces. Liberia is a signatory to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child but it is yet to ratify it.Liberia should ratify without delay the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict which raises the age for participation in hostilities to 18 years, and enact legislation making 18 years the minimum age for military recruitment. CONCLUSION As is known, basic survival needs take precedence over psychological during times of war but there is an increasing concern today that the experiences of war will have damaging effects on not only the psychological but also the social skills, attitudes towards the society th ey live in, their elationship with others as well as their perspective on life itself will be greatly impaired. It is sad that children have to watch their role models that include parents, teachers or elders, torture and kill each other while some trade their children for food and security. This act of breaching the expected moral standards of behaviour by authoritative figures are translated by children as betrayal, which in turn are manifested in themselves, as they grow up. These manifestations can take many forms.While studies have shown that school absenteeism and juvenile crimes or attitudes favoring gambling, pre-marital sex and smoking could indicate such altered moral learning in children, acts of physical aggression, imitation of military acts and unwillingness to co-operate with peers are also indicators of developmental damage. Even when the war is over, its effects on children linger on long after the stressful event. They may experience numbing of responsiveness to or reduced involvement with the external world.This may be indicated by a marked diminished interest in activities and surroundings, feelings of detachment or estrangement from others, loss of energy or withdrawal. Such negative developments in the child would influence the child’s occupational choice and his relationship with others later in life. 38 Poverty appears to be the motivating factor in most of the countries where child soldiers prevail. It is therefore important for relevant sections of the international community to also look at the flaws in the international economy.The economy disparity between the developed and the developing world must be addressed because it is under these dire economic conditions in the developing world that innocent children are recruited as soldiers. Improvement of standards of living is vital to overcome the menace of recruiting children as combatants Maybe there is still hope for those unfortunate children who are victims of adultsâ€℠¢ irresponsibility. A mechanism for international accountability was drafted on 17 July 1998 and open for signatures a year later. However, as in other treaties of the United Nations, it can only come Child Soldiers critical Analysis of the use of Child Soldiers in Liberia 5. 1 Introduction Generally stated ,this paper seeks to establish the role of child soldiers in the escalation of armed conflict in Africa. The previous chapters have discussed the regional armed conflicts where child soldiers were used or are being used like the case of DRC Congo. This chapter will critically analyse the use of child soldiers in Liberia. There were approximately 120,000 child soldiers who were participating in armed conflicts in Africa. Out of these, approximately 24,000 were in the Liberian conflict.Liberia is not a poor country. It has natural resources that could sustain its estimated population of 3. 2 million people. The question is how the available resources was being utilised and how did it contribute in fuelling the conflict. The availability of precious minerals and hard wood timber in Liberia contributed greatly in escalating and maintain the 14 years Liberian conflict. The age of the child soldier does not guarantee their immunity from being deployed the battlefield because while most are in their teens, some are as young as seven years old.Being so tender in age, they may start out as cooks, messengers, porters or guards, but often end up on the frontlines of combat. In Liberia, many boys some as young as nine or ten man checkpoints. The authority that goes with the responsibility gives them the free rein to harass, loot, terrorize and sometimes, kill civilians. Manning checkpoints gives a child power and influence, even if he is twelve years old. There have been instances where fifteen or twenty boys man a checkpoint and the commander is only ten years old.In long-drawn-out conflicts, children also become a valued resource. Children who have grown up surrounded by violence see this as a permanent way of life. Some having been orphaned, they are left on their own and are often frightened, bored and frustrated, leaving them with little options but to fight. When schools are closed and families fragmented, there are few influences that can compete with a warrior’s life. The human rights violations that occur when children are used in hostilities are not limited to child soldiers killing and being killed or injured.Girls also are used as soldiers, and fall victims of rape and other sexual abuse. The human rights impacts are terrible and far-reaching and have an impact not only on those children directly concerned but also on the families and communities, and continue long after the hostilities have ended . Besides being the continent that has the highest propensity for girls entering forces or groups via abduction or gang pressing, Africa is also the region with the highest number of children in armed opposition forces, numbering to approximately 120,000.In addition to being participant in combat, girl soldiers are often required to perform sexual services. In some cases, girls are in fact primarily recruited or abducted as ‘wives’ or ‘concubines', a common practice in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Among the common roles found in countries from every region of the world was the use of girl soldiers as porters, cooks or made to perform a variety of domestic labor, as well as spies and looters in villages taken over by armed forces or armed opposition groups. 5. 2Why children become child soldiersThe factors which give rise to the participation of children in conflict are complex. No single model can either explain all the factors, or outline a uniform procedure that will prevent child recruitment, and enable procedures for the demobilisation and social reintegration of children who have participated in conflict. Most child soldiers are from poor or disadvantaged sections of the society in conflict. Children, who live in the conflict zones by themselves are often recruited. Also, those children with disrupted families or no families at all are more likely to become child soldiers.In Liberia, child soldiers we of ten recruited from refugee camps in neighbouring countries like Guinea, Ivory coast and Sierra Leone while others were recruited from Internally Displaced Camps(IDP), within Liberia. In the months following UNMIL’s deployment on 1 October 2003, assessment missions carried out by UNMIL and humanitarian agencies, including into areas of the country until recently inaccessible, revealed large numbers of injured people, mostly children, which was consistent with the widespread use of child soldiers.The proliferation of small arms in West Africa contributed greatly not only to continuing conflict and repeated failure of successive peace agreements in the region, but has also encouraged and facilitated the recruitment and use of child soldiers, as well as other serious human rights abuses against the civilian population. The widespread availability of modern lightweight weapons enables even the youngest child soldier to use weapons efficiently.Technological development of arms toda y has produces arms weighing less than seven pounds and cost cheaply and yet so advance that even an illiterate child of ten could strip, reassemble, load and fire it. This mere knowledge however, did not make them skilled soldiers. On the contrary, they suffer much higher casualty rates than their adult counterparts, in part because of their lack of maturity and experience that leads them to take unnecessary risks. Their frail bodies are more susceptible to complications if injured, and they are more likely to fall ill in the rough conditions of military camps.Child soldiers are viewed as more expendable and therefore receive less training and must undertake the most dangerous tasks such as checking for mines or spying in enemy camps. Often children are recruited through abduction in massive sweeps of homes, schools, Refugee camp, Internally displaced camps and streets. In some situations, child survivors of village raids and massacres are forcibly inducted. Abduction is only the f irst step in a process that uses fear, brutality and psychological manipulation to achieve high levels of obedience in converting children into killers.In many conflicts, child recruits are subjected to beatings, humiliation and acts of sadism. During the escalation of the conflict, especially in Monrovia in June and July 2003, there was a marked increase in forcible recruitment of children by all sides. A frequently used tactic in indoctrinating children to violence is exposing them progressively to violence, thus numbing them so that they might someday commit acts of sadism on fellow humans. Child recruits in Liberia, were forced to cut the throats of domestic animals and drink its blood.Children are often terrorized into obedience, consistently made to fear for their lives and well-being. They quickly recognize that absolute obedience is the only means to ensure survival. Sometimes they are compelled to participate in the killing of other children or family members, because it is understood by these groups that there is â€Å"no way back home† for children after they have committed such crimes. Evidence indicates that the recruitment and use of children has become the means of choice of many armed groups for waging war.Certainly, not all inductions of children are forced. Those old enough to understand the underlying cause of the conflict want to join adults in a revered cause. Others participate to prove themselves and please adults while yet there may be victims or have family members who were victims, join to seek revenge. There are several cases in Liberia were children decided to join rebel groups to avenge the murder of their kin. Media images may also play a part. In Liberia, opposition forces could broadcast Rambo-style movies as part of its combat training.In such contexts, young boys learn machismo and come to associate military activity with respect and power-compelling attractions for children who otherwise feel powerless. DDRR The implem entation of the Liberian peace agreement and consolidation of peace, security and the rule of law were contingent on successful completion of the DDRR program. All other initiatives aimed at post-conflict reconstruction and restoration of basic human rights, including those of child soldier, are predicated on effective DDRR.The importance of completely disarming fighters and destroying weapons is very critical because the ex-combatants can use the weapons to harass civilians, loot properties or attack their opponents . Continued delays in disarmament and demobilization, and provision of the financial incentive to former combatants, can aggravate a precarious security situation. In March 2004 MODEL combatants in Tapeta, Nimba County, threatened harassment of international humanitarian agencies in the area in protest at the delays.Similarly, former government forces fired their weapons at night near Maimu internally displaced people's camp in Totota, Bong County, and threatened to loo t the camp if disarmament and demobilization were further postponed. In early April 2004 LURD combatants, also angered by the delay in disarmament and demobilization, were reported to have harassed civilians and stolen money and property at unofficial checkpoints on the road between Totota and Gbarnga.The previous disarmament and demobilization process which took place in Liberia in the late 1990s was seriously deficient in returning former child soldiers to their families and communities. While up to 20,000 child soldiers were estimated to be involved in the conflict which ended in 1997, little more than 4,000 were reported to have been fully disarmed, demobilized and reintegrated into their communities. As a result, with the resumption of hostilities, rapid re-mobilization of children was possible because many were to some degree still under the control of local commander.The Cape Town Principles, as observed by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), define a child soldier as any person under 18 years who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force in any capacity, including but not limited to cooks, porters, messengers and anyone accompanying such groups, other than family members. The definition includes girls recruited for sexual purposes and for forced marriage. It does not, therefore, only refer to a child who is carrying or has carried arms .Application of this broad definition is important: possession of a weapon is not a prerequisite for a child soldier to benefit from the DDRR process. In Liberia, possession of a weapon or ammunition was the criteria for inclusion in the DDRR process. Since not all the child soldiers were armed or involved in the actual fighting, many former child soldiers were not involved in the DDRR process and thus did not benefit from the cash allowances paid to those with weapons to assist them reintegrate into their society.Those who were left out in the DDRR programme simply crossed over to the neighbouring, especially in Ivory coast , joined other rebel group and took up arms. The conflict in West Africa was a vicious circle which saw child soldiers moving from one rebel group to another, for them, it was their lifestyle. The net effect of this was that conflicts in this part of west Africa have continued shifting from one country to the other.Governments international organizations involved in the DDRR process should ensure speedy registration procedures at camps and settlements, as well as at demobilization centres. They should also prioritize the immediate psychological, social and physical rehabilitation of former child soldiers generally and to prevent re-recruitment. The involvement of children in conflict has a devastating effect on their physical and mental integrity. There are higher casualty rates among children because of their inexperience, fearlessness and lack of training.In addition to the inevitable risks of death or serious injury in combat, children suffer disproportionately fr om the general rigours of military life, especially in the bush, and are particularly vulnerable to disease and malnutrition. The full extent of the impact of the severe psychological consequences of active participation in hostilities, with children witnessing and at times also committing atrocities, may only become apparent over a long period. It takes a matter of moments to abduct and forcibly recruit children; it takes years, owever, for former child soldiers to be fully rehabilitated and reintegrated into their families and communities and able to resume their lives. Child soldiers in Liberia were cynically used as they were perceived as cheap and expendable, and easier to condition into fearless killing and unquestioning obedience. Those resisting refusing to comply with their commanders' orders risked being beaten or killed. Both the rebel groups and government forces abducted children, both girls and boys and some as young as seven years, and forced them to fight, carry ammu nition, prepare food or carry out other tasks.Girls were raped and forced to provide sexual services. While older girls were actively engaged in fighting, younger ones provided domestic services as cooks or cleaners or carried arms and ammunition. Many child soldiers were given drugs and alcohol to induce aggression and inhibit fear. With little or no military training, they were sent directly to the front line where many were killed or wounded. The conflict in Liberia lasted for 14 years due to availability of child soldiers and funds from the illicit trade of Gold and Diamonds run and sustain the conflict.The conflict in Liberia has forced vast numbers of civilians to flee their homes. During 2003 it was estimated that more than 500,000 were internally displaced and another 300,000 living as refugees in neighbouring countries. Child soldiers were recruited from neighbouring countries of Ivory coast, Guinea and Sierra Leone. LURD forces abducted and recruited children from internal ly displaced people's camps in Liberia, especially those in Montserrado County as they advanced towards Monrovia during 2003. They were also reported to have abducted children from refugee camps in Guinea.MODEL recruited children from refugee camps in Cote d'Ivoire and further swelled their ranks with children as they advanced towards Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, over which they took control on 26 July 2003. .Rape and other grave sexual violence against children. The rape and sexual violation of children and women is increasingly a characteristic of conflict. Such violence is often perpetrated against boys and girls in a rule of law vacuum that is a consequence of conflict and is exacerbated by the ensuing culture of impunity.In some instances sexual violence has been used as a premeditated tactic of war designed to humiliate or exterminate a population or to force displacement. Reports of high incidence rates of rape and sexual violence against children were received in Liberia. I n many cases, the data on incidents, magnitude and scope of sexual violence is unreliable or non-existent due to deep cultural taboos surrounding such crimes, fear of reprisal of victims and their families and a range of other factors.Precise information, critical for combating impunity and for programmatic response, is difficult to obtain or verify. Sexual violence appears to be especially prevalent in and around refugee camps and settlements for internally displaced populations. For children especially, the physical and mental consequences are devastating. Such violations may also take the form of sexual slavery, forced prostitution and marriage or sexual mutilation.The long-term health consequences for the victims include sexually transmitted infection such as HIV/AIDS, fistula, early pregnancy and debilitating psychological trauma. Although cases of sexual violence against boys are sometimes reported, insufficient attention is paid to this particular dimension, and such violatio ns remain largely undocumented. Some research indicates that boys are especially vulnerable to sexual violence during military operations in civilian areas or during military conscription or abduction into paramilitary forces.They are also especially vulnerable in refugee and internally displaced settings and in detention. Sexual violence in times of conflict, in particular against boys and girls, constitutes the breaking of deep social taboos in every culture and as such causes maximum devastation to the social fabric of communities. Therefore, the interventions required in the aftermath of widespread and systematic sexual violence necessitates more comprehensive approaches that begin with the victims but extend to the communities in which they must once again find their place and comfort.The stigmatization of victims of sexual violence, which often leads to their being ostracized or marginalized, requires comprehensive community-level interventions for affected girls and boys. Emp hasis must be placed on fighting impunity for rape and other sexual violence through rigorous and systematic investigation and prosecution of such crimes at the national level and an increased focus on this problem by international justice mechanisms. At the national level, comprehensive initiatives to address the issue of sexual violence are required, and national ownership of such programmes is critical.Donors, the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations should accord priority to providing technical and financial support to national authorities for the preparation and implementation of national strategies to address sexual violence. A regional approach to ending the use of child soldiers The conflict in Liberia was not simply an â€Å"internal† armed conflict; it had acquired a regional dimension involving, in particular, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea and Sierra Leone. Arms and fighters crossed back and forth across the borders between the four countries.Peace in L iberia was and still is essential for maintaining peace in West Africa; conversely, any increase in hostilities across Liberia's borders could undermine efforts to maintain peace in Liberia. In order to restore peace and security to West Africa, there was to be a coordinated approach across the region, with harmonization of UN efforts, including those of UN peace-keeping operations: UNMIL, the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) and the UN Mission in Cote d'Ivoire (MINUCI).Structured dialogue on cross boarder recruitment and use of children has already paved the way for dialogue on broader child protection issues and enabled child protection actors in the field to pursue other priorities such as provision of education and healthcare to ex-child soldiers. Convention on the Rights of the Child – fulfilling commitments Liberia ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1993. During the subsequent decade, however, Liberian children have been denied their most funda mental rights.On 17 May 2004 the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child begins its thirty-sixth session during which it will consider Liberia's initial report on the measures taken to implement its obligations under the Convention. The Committee's consideration of Liberia's report offers an important opportunity to highlight the plight of Liberia's children and to consider ways of strengthening implementation of the rights enshrined in the Convention.Review of the report will lead to the adoption of the Committee's concluding observations which usually identify positive aspects, factors impeding implementation, principal areas of concern and recommendations. The concluding observations provide an opportunity to urge the NTGL to undertake concrete measures to improve the situation of children in Liberia and, at the same time, to encourage the international community to support the NGTL's efforts to meet its commitments.The report of the UN Secretary-General on children and armed con flict of 10 November 2003 specifically recommends that the Committee use the occasion of country reports and reviews to promote monitoring and accountability. (18) The NTGL's responsibility to end the use of child soldiers Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL) was legally obliged not to recruit and use children under the age of 18 years as combatants.An important element of post-conflict reconstruction in Liberia was the formation of a new, professional, well-trained army. The peace agreement stated explicitly that all irregular forces would be disbanded and that the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) would be reformed with a new command structure. Assistance was requested from the international community, including the UN, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the International Contact Group on Liberia.It specifically requests the US to take a lead in restructuring the armed forces. A Military Advisory Commission was established in early 2004, with the new, restructured armed forces deployed by the end of December 2005. This offered an important opportunity for concrete measures by the NTGL to ensure that no child under the age of 18 was recruited by the armed forces. Liberia is a signatory to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child but it is yet to ratify it.Liberia should ratify without delay the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict which raises the age for participation in hostilities to 18 years, and enact legislation making 18 years the minimum age for military recruitment. CONCLUSION As is known, basic survival needs take precedence over psychological during times of war but there is an increasing concern today that the experiences of war will have damaging effects on not only the psychological but also the social skills, attitudes towards the society th ey live in, their elationship with others as well as their perspective on life itself will be greatly impaired. It is sad that children have to watch their role models that include parents, teachers or elders, torture and kill each other while some trade their children for food and security. This act of breaching the expected moral standards of behaviour by authoritative figures are translated by children as betrayal, which in turn are manifested in themselves, as they grow up. These manifestations can take many forms.While studies have shown that school absenteeism and juvenile crimes or attitudes favoring gambling, pre-marital sex and smoking could indicate such altered moral learning in children, acts of physical aggression, imitation of military acts and unwillingness to co-operate with peers are also indicators of developmental damage. Even when the war is over, its effects on children linger on long after the stressful event. They may experience numbing of responsiveness to or reduced involvement with the external world.This may be indicated by a marked diminished interest in activities and surroundings, feelings of detachment or estrangement from others, loss of energy or withdrawal. Such negative developments in the child would influence the child’s occupational choice and his relationship with others later in life. 38 Poverty appears to be the motivating factor in most of the countries where child soldiers prevail. It is therefore important for relevant sections of the international community to also look at the flaws in the international economy.The economy disparity between the developed and the developing world must be addressed because it is under these dire economic conditions in the developing world that innocent children are recruited as soldiers. Improvement of standards of living is vital to overcome the menace of recruiting children as combatants Maybe there is still hope for those unfortunate children who are victims of adultsâ€℠¢ irresponsibility. A mechanism for international accountability was drafted on 17 July 1998 and open for signatures a year later. However, as in other treaties of the United Nations, it can only come

Internet Marketing Essay

What is Marketing? Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals. What is Internet Marketing? Internet Marketing is the process of building and maintaining customer relationships through online activities to facilitate the exchange of ideas, products, and services that satisfy the goals of both parties. Introduction Internet marketing, or online marketing, refers to advertising and marketing efforts that use the Web and e-mail to drive direct sales via e-commerce as  well as sales leads from Web sites or emails. Internet marketing and online advertising efforts are typically used in conjunction with traditional types of advertising like radio, television, newspapers and magazines. Internet marketing can also be broken down into more specialized areas such as Web marketing, email marketing and social media marketing: ï‚ §Web marketing includes e-commerce Web sites, affiliate marketing Web sites, promotional or informative Web sites, online advertising on search engines, and organic search engine results via search engine optimization (SEO) ï‚ §Email marketing involves both advertising and promotional marketing efforts via e-mail messages to current and prospective customers ï‚ §Social media marketing involves both advertising and marketing (includingviral marketing) efforts via social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Digg. Objectives of online marketing †¢To inform users of your web presence and the benefit your website offers over its competitors. †¢To persuade users to use the services of the firm. This could be done by offering a discount for a limited time. †¢To make sure the business is listed in all the most popular search engines and directories. †¢Keep customers updated of any new products or changes to business services. †¢Make sure that customer have a pleasant website experience by continuously improving the navigation of the site. †¢To aim for sales of x amount and net profit of x amount in a given period. Objectives of a business having a retail outlet/ showroom. †¢To reduce costs by moving some of their operations online. †¢To integrate online and offline strategies to maintain and improve relationships with customers. This could be by offering reserve online and pick up in store strategies like some retailers do. †¢The company’s strategy should support the overall marketing objectives of the firm this maybe to increase overall market share or profit. †¢To promote both online and offline activities. Advantages of Internet Marketing[7][8][9] Internet marketing is important because it aligns with the way consumers make purchasing decisions. Studies by analysts such as Gartner indicate that increasing numbers of consumers use social media and research on mobile Internet to carry out preliminary product and price research before making final decisions. Internet marketing enables you to build relations with customers and prospects through regular, low-cost personalized communication, reflecting the move away from mass marketing. †¢Convenience. Internet marketing enables you to be open for business around the clock without worrying about store opening hours or overtime payments for staff. Offering your products on the Internet is also convenient for customers. They can browse your online store at any time and place orders when it is convenient for them. †¢Reach. By marketing on the Internet, you can overcome barriers of distance. You can sell goods in any part of the country without setting up local outlets, widening your target market. You can also build an export business without opening a network of distributors in different countries. However, if you want to sell internationally, you should use localization services to ensure that your products are suitable for local markets and comply with local business regulations. Localization services include translation and product modification to reflect local market differences. †¢Cost. Marketing products on the Internet costs less than marketing them through a physical retail outlet. You do not have the recurring costs of property rental and maintenance. You do not have to purchase stock for display in a store. You can order stock in line with demand, keeping your inventory costs low. †¢Personalization. Internet marketing enables you to personalize offers to customers by building a profile of their purchasing history and preferences. By tracking the web pages and product information that prospects visit, you can make targeted offers that reflect their interests. The information available from tracking website visits also provides data for planning cross-selling campaigns so that you can increase the value of sales by customer. †¢Relationships. The Internet provides an important platform for building relationships with customers and increasing customer retention levels. When a customer has purchased a product from your online store, you can begin the relationship by sending a follow-up email to confirm the transaction and thank the customer. Emailing customers regularly with special, personalized offers helps to maintain the relationship. You can also invite customers to submit product reviews on your website, helping to build a sense of community. †¢Social. Internet marketing enables you to take advantage of the growing importance of social media. An article on the Harvard Business School Executive Education website highlighted the link between social networking and online revenue growth. According to the article, a group of consumers that responded most strongly to the influence of social networks generated increased sales of around 5 percent. You can take advantage of this type of influence by incorporating social networking tools in your Internet marketing campaigns. Disadvantages of Internet Marketing[7][8][9] †¢Competition. Nowadays there is cut-throat competition among various companies. Online marketing gives you an opportunity to attract international audience but at the same time you are also inviting the international market competition for your business. †¢Online Illiteracy. A majority of people who don’t have any knowledge about the online marketing companies fail to make any impact. You have to be very wise while targeting the right audience for promoting your product online. †¢Changing Technology. Science and technology are doing wonders these days. People are changing with the technology and so do the online software. You have to keep in touch with the latest technology and adopt the necessary software which are quite costly. †¢Personal attention. There is lack of personal attention given to a customer when they are shopping online on your website. Some people love to take advice which is not possible in online marketing. †¢Maintenance. It is very essential for a website get upgraded after regular intervals. But this is not practically possible because reconstructing the websites consumes a lot a time. †¢Slow internet connections can cause difficulties. If the companies build too complex or too large websites, it will take too long for users to check them or download them and they will get bored eventually. †¢The e-commerce doesn’t allow the user â€Å"to touch† the merchandise before purchasing it. Because of this, some salesmen are starting to guarantee the possibility of returning the product. In Germany, where a law that regulates e-commerce and guarantees the customers the total refund of the money exists since 2000, the electronic commerce is very popular. †¢Other factor is the payment: many users still don’t trust in the electronic methods of paying and give up buying online because of this. †¢One of the major disadvantages may be the lack of trust of the users because of the constant virtual promotions that appear to be frauds. This is an aspect that deteriorates the image and reputation of quality and honest companies. †¢Other disadvantage is the cash on delivery system, since it doesn’t guarantee the 100% purchase of the product. This is also the case of thousands of users that dedicate themselves to daily mock big companies by ordering on the internet using false identities. The Questionnaire I sent out the questionnaire to friends and colleagues who work at advertisement and marketing agencies with a good client base. These companies deal in all kinds of marketing and not only online marketing. I got a lot of responses from them. These were the questions asked: How long has your company been making or trying to make money through online marketing? †¢Less than a month †¢1 month- 6 months †¢6 months- 1 year †¢1 year- 3 years †¢3 years+ How much money is your company earning online per month? †¢Not earning money †¢Rs 1000- Rs 5000 †¢Rs 5000- Rs 20000 †¢Rs 20000- Rs 50000 †¢Rs 50000+ What’s the most troublesome problem your company has about making money online? †¢Don’t have enough technology †¢Not enough time to focus only on online marketing †¢Not enough funds †¢Too complicated †¢Others What tools/ software (that would save time and effort) would you be likely to purchase to help assist in online marketing? †¢Traffic tools that help generate visitors †¢Content tools that help create fast content †¢Designing tools that help design good quality graphics †¢Research tools that help in research and gathering of data †¢Others The Results The results in a nutshell †¢More than 3/4th of the respondents have more than 1 year experience making money online, yet most have not earned any money yet, or at most Rs1000- Rs 5000 per month. †¢The 3 biggest problems that are preventing/hindering people from making money in online marketing are that they do not have the technical skills and that they find it a complicated task to get into online marketing on a large scale. Not enough technical skills – You don’t actually need to learn and master all the technical skills. If you do, then stop calling yourself an internet marketer and start calling yourself a programmer. You only need to learn basic technical skills such as using an FTP program, installing your Word Press blog, create a basic html page, connecting your domain and hosting together. These skills, like any other skills, can be learned. The question is: are you willing to? Not enough traffic – Traffic by itself is useless if you can’t convert them into money , or if you can’t convert them into whatever you’re trying to achieve. In other words, you need conversion to make your traffic worthwhile. Search engine optimization You can do some Search engine optimization to rank your  sites highly in the search engines. To get conversion, the best way is to target the right audience who are already searching for what you are selling (so you don’t need to educate them that they need your solution/product). Then build trusting relationships with them, and the first way to start doing that is to actually tell your audience who you are as an individual, and start giving instead of receiving all the time. Not enough money – This is a classic. Not enough money to make money online means you don’t have the money to pay for business expenses like domain, hosting, email auto responder services, legitimate and honest how-to courses, etc. The company can spend less money by writing, designing, or programming the online ad/ marketing strategy. †¢More people are into niche marketing (where you enter multiple niche markets) rather than into 1 or 2 markets where you go deep and establish yourself as an authority in the marketplace. In a few cases the companies have a very limited number o f clients. This helps them focus on the needs of selected companies and is able to provide good quality work. †¢In terms of tools/software that saves time and efforts by automating tasks, people preferred to use tools that help in designing graphics and tools that help generate visitors. Survey conducted by SEO Industries- A U.S based industry[5][6][10] I picked up a survey along with statistics that was conducted by SEO industries in 2012 and have compared it to their previous survey conducted in 2010. And have posted my conclusions at the end of each sub topic. A Typical Online Marketer So, what did a typical internet marketer in the 2012 survey look like? I know â€Å"typical† is a dangerous word, but just for fun, here’s a persona of our average respondent: †¢47%Based in United States †¢77%Male †¢46%26-34 years old †¢18%Works at 2-5 person company †¢23%3-5 years in online marketing †¢35%Started as an in-house marketer †¢46%Currently works as an in-house †¢19%Makes $30,000-45,000 Conclusion The US accounts for a large part of our audience. Female respondents increased slightly from the 2010 survey, from 20.6% to 22.7% – that’s 10.2% more women in the survey this year, but still a sizable gender gap. International Marketers 65 countries have been represented in the 2012 survey. Many people asked last time to see more than the top 10 countries, so here are the top 25, by % of respondents: †¢47.3%United States †¢12.9%United Kingdom †¢4.4%Canada †¢4.0%India †¢3.3%Australia †¢2.4%Germany †¢2.0%Netherlands †¢1.8%Spain †¢1.3%France †¢1.2%Romania †¢1.1%Brazil †¢1.1%Italy †¢0.9%Israel †¢0.8%India †¢0.7%Ireland †¢0.7%South Africa †¢0.6%Bulgaria †¢0.6%Denmark †¢0.6%Hungary †¢0.6%Pakistan †¢0.6%Philippines †¢0.6%Poland †¢0.5%China †¢0.5%New Zealand †¢0.5%Sweden Conclusion US representation decreased from the 2010 survey (53% to 47%), while the UK grew from 9% to almost 13%. Israel fell out of the Top 10 from the #4 position in 2010, and Brazil slipped to 11th, while Romania narrowly pushed its way into the #10 spot. Service Mix and Demand Not surprisingly, most respondents (92%) have SEO services as part of their mix. The rest of the top 5 breaks down like this (keep in mind that most respondents offer multiple services other than online marketing): †¢92%Search Engine Optimization †¢82%Analytics †¢71%Link building †¢71%Content marketing †¢70%Social Media and/or Community Management This matches up pretty well with perceived demand changes over the past year. These are the top 5 service areas that our respondents believe are growing (as % of respondents): †¢72%Social media and/or community management †¢71%Search Engine Optimization †¢65%Local SEO †¢56%Content marketing †¢54%Analytics Conclusion Topping the list of services with the biggest decrease in demand are – Event planning (67%), Offline marketing (51%), and PR (48%). Of course, it’s important to note that they have strongly focused on online marketing, so these decreases are probably just the natural evolution of our industry. Training and conferences Most of us still get our industry education online, but in-person events round out the top 5: †¢93%Online resources – blogs, websites, etc. †¢88%Hands-on experience †¢64%Read a book †¢53%Attended a conference †¢50%Attended training seminars/workshops Over half of respondents have attended a conference in the past two years (including local meet-ups). Here are the top 10 industry events for our audience: †¢18%Search Marketing Expo †¢14%Search Engine Strategies †¢11%Local Meet-ups †¢7%Pubcon †¢7%ad:tech †¢7%MozCon †¢6%Distilled’s Searchlove/Linklove †¢5%Google I/O †¢4%SXSW †¢4%WordCamp Conclusion It’s interesting to see the rise in smaller events. Individual VS Team priorities When we’re not learning, we’re spending our time in the trenches. These are the top 5 tactics that respondents said they spent their individual time on (as % spending more than half their time): †¢24%SEO †¢11%On-page Optimization †¢10%Link Building †¢8%Social Media Marketing †¢6%Copywriting/Blogging/Writing How did that stack up against where our teams (SEO’s teams) are spending their time? †¢18%SEO †¢14%Link Building †¢12%Copywriting/Blogging/Writing †¢11%On-page Optimization †¢10%Social Media Marketing Conclusion While people reported that their teams spent more time on link-building and writing/blogging while they personally spent more time on on-page tactics, it’s interesting to note that the top priorities are pretty similar. Online marketing is still a hands-on business, even at the upper levels. Spending and Budget In 2012, respondents reported the following budgets for consulting services, with over a third (34.4%) spending $1,000/month or more on consulting and outsourcing: The average monthly spend on tools and software was quite a bit less, with only about 17% of respondents spending more than $1,000/month: Ad spend is diversifying in 2012, although traditional PPC still leads the way. Following is a graph of ad spent by category (total respondents). Top tools used Top 5 analytics tools as % of respondents †¢93%Google Analytics †¢16%WordPress Stats †¢13%Omniture †¢9%CrazyEgg †¢7%Compete Not to exaggerate, but Google Analytics just crushes everything else. The 2nd place is internal WP stats. Omniture is back in 3rd. WebTrends is #8. It’s getting tougher for the big enterprise vendors. Top 5 keyword research tools †¢88.3%Google AdWords †¢58.6%Google Insights †¢20.2%SEMRush †¢16.7%Wordtracker †¢13.9%Raven Top 5 content marketing and outreach tools †¢74%Twitter †¢53%LinkedIn †¢45%Google’s Insights for Search †¢31%StumbleUpon †¢31%Google Reader Top 5 Conversion Rate Optimization and usability tools †¢73%Google Website Optimizer †¢18%CrazyEgg †¢16%Pingdom †¢11%ClickTale †¢8%KISSmetrics Paid VS Free Tools Focusing on SEO, there’s still a solid divide between paid and free tools. Almost 24% don’t use paid tools at all (and probably run with scissors), but we’ll get to that in a minute. The top 10 paid tools (as % of respondents) are: †¢55%Moz & Open Site Explorer †¢17%Majestic SEO †¢17%Raven †¢13%SEMRush †¢10%Screaming Frog †¢9%Market Samurai †¢8%Advanced Web Ranking †¢8%Link-Assistant.Com, Rank Tracker, etc. †¢7%Wordtracker †¢7%Spyfu In the last 12 months, here are the top 10 free tools you’ve used (* denotes tools that also have paid versions): †¢83%Google Webmaster Tools †¢47%Moz & Open Site Explorer* †¢42%Bing Webmaster Tools †¢41%Firebug †¢31%Majestic SEO* †¢28%Yahoo! Site Explorer †¢26%Xenu †¢22%SEOBook Tools* †¢19%Screaming Frog* †¢18%Hubspot Grader* Conclusion Free tools from search engines rank highly on this list; although, Yahoo Site Explorer was discontinued during the 12-month period. Social Media Tools Last but not least, the rise of social media is undeniable. There have been a lot of arguments for where we’re spending most of our time. Here’s what you had to say about the top 10: †¢88%Facebook †¢83%Twitter †¢55%Google+ †¢49%YouTube †¢47%LinkedIn †¢47%Blogging †¢21%Pinterest †¢9%StumbleUpon †¢5%Tumblr †¢5%Flickr Conclusion Not surprisingly, Facebook and Twitter still dominate the landscape. While Pinterest has come on strong, it still trails all of the big players, including YouTube. Literature Review  E International Journal of Business and Social Science- Vol. 1 No. 1; October 2010.[4] E-Marketing; in one hand, it is noticed that the number of studies conducted by researchers and practitioners in the field of E-Marketing from 2003 to 2010 is relatively limited. This can be justified by the relative novelty of EMarketing. This provides an indication that E-Marketing is relatively new for academics and practitioners and also provides reasonable expectations about the increase in number of studies related to E-Marketing in the near future. The total number of studies was 365 studies, 73 % of it was empirical and 27 % of the total number of articles was not. It is also noticed that the research activity output in E-Marketing had decreased significantly between 2003 and 2008 within the literature period. Although the published articles had covered the following research areas: E-business, E-marketplace, Electronic Commerce, Electronic platforms, ICT adoption, Internet marketing, On-line trust, B2B, Performance evaluation, The Web, Electronic marketing, E-mail Making, Ereadiness, E-relationships, E-security, E-service, E-supply chain management, Internet adaptation, Mobile marketing and some other research. Electronic Commerce was the major research area covered by the researchers in the field followed by Electronic Business and Internet marketing. Most of the empirical studies had been conducted in: the USA, Australia, New Zealand and the UK which was the biggest in number of studies conduct in the literature period. By analysing the articles conducted in the UK market it was noticed that these articles had covered the following research areas: E-business, Electronic  Commerce, Electronic marketing, Internet marketing, the web, ICT adoption, Business performance and some other research areas. On the other hand, most of the articles in the literature were published in the Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development (27 articles) with a percentage of 7.4 % of the total number of studies conducted in the period of the literature. The next six top journals were: Internet research, Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, Journal of Internet Marketing, Journal of Interactive Marketing and Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing. Based on the literature there are clear research gaps in the field of E-Marketing especially in the areas of EMarketing performance as well as E-Marketing adoption in Small Business enterprises (SBEs). To fill such gaps and extend previous studies there is a need for conducting more research to investigate the relationship between implementing E-Marketing and SBEs performance. Online Marketing; New models of advertising?- By Kim Eriksen, Claus Hemmingsen, John Kuada Supervisor- Aalborg University.[3] Throughout our search we discovered that it appears that the companies, have been, and still are using internet as a communication tool to a limited extent, i.e. one way communication to the consumers (as opposed to new marketing models). The literature provided us with some indication of why this is the situation. One can call it simplicity for the companies or lack of knowledge towards other ways of using the internet. Most important discovery is maybe the fact that the latter has been the trend and way to do business. Many companies have not been keeping track on the trends that have arisen in the past decade. So the answer to our first question is that, international oriented Danis h companies have alternative options available, and are not that far from being able to utilise these alternatives. With few correction and a little of extra resources it would be possible for most of them to gain a better use of the internet. Having analysed several company websites it is clear that parts of the theory behind the new marketing models are being used. Whether conscious choice, random chance or even a need to â€Å"follow suit†, most companies try to keep their sites easy to navigate, with focus on language and information. However several are not utilising items such as chat forums, direct service contacts and in general the two way communication to get closer to an enhanced use of their presence online. We  have examined the Internet users’ demands and needs online, and found that they only to a small degree ask for involvement. There are explicit demands for less advertising and simple and well structured websites, but when it comes to dialogue, and participation only a smaller part of our population asked for direct involvement. Login and personalisation are however in high demand, a relatively new tool, login have appeared on more and more sites, developed from extranets (dealer logins) to consumer login to remember setup, addresses and other information the consumer need to type each time a purchase is made. This leads us to conclude that over time the demand for further involvement will grow. One of the most important features the internet provides is communication, communication between themselves and their customers. Companies has for a long time been using the internet as advertising tools to promote their product. In other words, it has been a one-way communication. Chat and forums is one of the possibilities the internet provides. The focus has to take a turn in the consumer’s direction. So instead of one-way communication it should be two-way communication. Consumers want to able to identify themselves in the sites and product. This would be achieved through chartrooms and forums. Instead of being a visitor they would rather be participants on the sites. Conceivably more like Blogs and newsgroup provides. What we also found out, was that the entrance to a site has to be simple and direct. A concern that we were faced with, was the fact that only few companies has a list of contact persons for direct contact. Also, with larger companies a receptionist is available; why not make his/her presence available on the internet via the company website. A simple process that would start the dialogue with the visitor, perhaps reveal areas where the website are failing to meet the needs of the visitor. It would moreover be an indication that the companies involved the consumers/participants in the process. All in all we believe that in order to gain fully effect of the internet and thereby increase the sale it is more important to have 20 dedicated customers that uses the sites than 100 visitors that have no direct connection to the site and therefore do not purchase anything. Danish companies have to reorganise their homepages in a way that it becomes easy and simple to navigate through and the possibilities to communicate with the consumers. Recommendation[2][10] Your online marketing strategy is based on getting more potential customers to your site and converting them into paying customers. It really is that simple. Through using a wide variety of techniques you can pinpoint those customers and make sure that they find your business when they search online for products or services that you provide. When they find your website a variety of other online marketing tools will be waiting to convert them to buying customers. In order to do this effectively, most of the focus will be on two major aspects of the marketing plan: using keywords in all online content and creating as many links as possible to your website. The more backlinks you have, the better your site will place in search engine results and the more people will find your website. The more effectively you use keywords, the more search engine friendly your content is and therefore more likely to be ranked. The more visitors you get to your website will result in more new customers for you. New customers mean an increase in sales and profit just like we said when we talked about the potential for exponential growth with online marketing for your business. Techniques to Increase Your Business’s Profits: Whether you have suffered a downturn in your business, have never built it to the level you are aiming for or if you are just starting out, your goal needs to be using online marketing strategies to increase your profits. There are four basic ways to improve profits: 1.Increase customers 2.Increase traffic to increase customers 3.Add to product offerings to make them more compelling 4.Use PPC, SEO, local business results, article marketing, etc. 5.Increase number of transactions per customer 6.Build mailing list 7.Increase customer communications through auto responders, newsletters, broadcast messages 8.Offer them upsell opportunities—pitch something seasonal 9.Send out reminders for services and specials 10.Increase the average dollar amount per transaction 11.Offer bundle packages and upgrades, strong reasons to purchase 12.Decrease costs, finding free traffic, lowering cost per click 13.Increasing conversions, decreases costs. 14.Offer a bonus, change a headline, offer a free consultation. 15.Even converting from 1% to 2% is a 100% improvement and cuts costs for buying traffic in half—pure profit! By putting an online marketing plan in place and following through with it, you can achieve all of these goals. You can easily improve your profits through the strategic use of online marketing techniques that will increase customers, increase the number of transactions per customer, increase the average dollar amount per transaction and decrease costs while finding free traffic which leads to a lower cost per click. Conclusion[1] [2] Internet Marketing is Not Easy it is filled with many complicated challenges that can put you off track, confuse you, and prevent you from succeeding. Reports and eBooks that attempt to give you a one-size-fits-all approach tend to miss a very important point; successful internet marketing requires you to be a dynamic, intelligent, and flexible. So a set of static, unchangeable plans is unlikely to make you successful. Traditional marketing methods are still highly relevant in the networked economy, though firms must now consider a host of new and innovative marketing methods available online (e.g., dynamic pricing, online community) In contrast to the one-way mass promotion that characterizes modern marketing, Internet marketing enables firms to engage the individual in personalized dialogues Individualization and Interactivity are two forces that make online marketing different Marketing, and the relationships it creates, should be considered in the context of particular processes and stages Bibliography †¢Internet Marketing Report- University of International Business and Economics- HUA Ying[1] †¢Online Marketing; New models of advertising?- By Kim Eriksen, Claus Hemmingsen, John Kuada Supervisor- Aalborg University.[3] †¢E International Journal of Business and Social Science-Vol.1 No.1; October 2010. [4] †¢2012 SEO Industry Survey [5][9] †¢Best Retail Brands 2011- Interbrand Webliography †¢Onlinebusinessmarketing.ie[2] †¢Moz.com[6] †¢Wordpress.com[7] †¢Westcoastmarketing.com[8] †¢Startup Nation[10]

Case Study 1 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Case Study 1 - Research Paper Example These capabilities make windows 7 ultimate preferable as they help safe on time through the hard disk such engines and improve on data security through data encryption. Data security is guaranteed due to the data encryption security feature as only authorized personnel will be able to access the stored data. Additionally, windows 7 ultimate version also supports the multi finger touch-screen technology which allows the resizing of windows therefore improving the user interface and easing the use of the computers at Mr. Green’s business (Pane & Wentworth, 2010). The improved functionalities on data encryption and hard disk search functionalities will be beneficial to Mr. Green’s business in saving on the time consumed and improving on data security. The minimum processor requirements for both the 32 and 64 bit applications of windows 7 ultimate are 1 gigahertz or faster (Pane & Wentworth, 2010). The 32 bit application requires a minimum of 1 gigabyte of Radom Access memo ry while the 64 bit application requires a minimum of 2 gigabyte of Random Access memory. The minimum hard disk space for 32 bit application if 16 gigabytes while the 64 bit application requires 20 gigabytes (Zacker, 2010). The computers at Mr. ... ncryption and search capabilities, it supports direct access remote connectivity and Branch Cache which is a communication tool used for satellite offices (Rathbone, 2009). 2. List and explain the concerns about win 7 ultimate capabilities that Mr. Green should be aware of as his business and network grows There are however various issues and challenges that Mr. Greens business is likely to face as a result of the implementation of the network in his business. One of the main challenges is the security threats. Security has been a major challenge to most small and medium sized businesses, these businesses and faced by internal and external security threats that may even impair the business operations. One of the security challenges in the network is worms and viruses that may affect the network. The viruses and worms may affect all the computers on the network within a very short time. Virus infection is likely to cause loss of erroneous manipulation of data. As a result of the netwo rking, all the computers on the network are prone to virus infection. The viruses are mostly transmitted to the computers via emails and content from the internet. Another security challenge that Mr. Green is likely to face in the business network is the hacking of the network. Business networks are more vulnerable to hackers that are likely to leak or deliberately manipulate the important data about the business. These security challenges are likely to result to expensive costs so as to maintain a secured network. Therefore, Mr. Green will be required to commit various resources to implement security measures on the network. 5. Describe the concerns you have about helping Mr. Green experiment with Windows 7 ultimate without requiring commitment to it The transition from windows 7 home

Surrealism - beyond reality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Surrealism - beyond reality - Essay Example The essay "Surrealism - beyond reality" focuses on the surrealism movement. The content of pictures created by surrealists is also different. Being the most famous surrealist, Salvador Dali, created a perfect, even unbelievable photographic images of hidden feelings and desires of humans. Max Ernst is no less outstanding. He can be called a surrealist by nature as, being still a little child, he had a very special imagination that actually produced his future pictures. The pictures of artist’s imagination were very bright and, notwithstanding that many people preferred to hide such products of normally presented imagination, the artist considered it to be natural to give them a form of socially criticized piece of art. He drew forests, the favorite places of many people, but Ernst represented them specially, for him they represented a place of his hidden fears. Born in Paris, surrealism suddenly moved to Mexico and the USA. With such spread it influenced female painters greatl y. Women have very active imaginations by nature and at the same time their paintings were so dramatic. Surrealism as an art stated in the USA with Rosa Rolanda and Lee Miller. They are famous for using new techniques in photography. In contrast to male surrealists, female artists made an accent on the self-representation creating autobiographical pieces of art. Tere Arcq, the art critic said: â€Å"This genre became a form of representation ‘in which the artist is both subject and object and conceives of how she looks in the sense of how she sees.

The Unorthodox Owner Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Unorthodox Owner - Case Study Example The structure is completely wrong. It defies normal marketing standards. The prior standard indicates the employees with higher revenues will get higher commissions than employees with lower revenues. The new commission pool pays people who do not actually sell or complete Second, the confused employees did not know how to correctly respond to the new unorthodox marketing strategy. It is wrong to confuse the employees. The confused employees do not know the intricacies of the equality distributed commission pool. Third, Wilkinson did not indicate the responsibilities of the new chief operating officer. Consequently, the new COO does not know what he should do in the new job. Consequently, the COO may not be implementing what the owner, Wilkinson intents because of the miscommunication. Finally, Wilkinson wanted the commission pool to be evenly divided among the sales people, both top sellers and lackluster performing sales persons (Zoratti 19). It is wrong to distribute the commission equally among all the sales persons. The implementation will indicate that employees with low revenues will receive the same amount of commission as the sales persons generating ten times the amount generated by the low revenue-generating (Burton 26). For example, the sales person generating the $ 1,000,000 top selling sales persons will receive the same $ 10,000 commission as the sales person generating $ 1,000 sales for the same month (Ross & Lemkin 4). To generate the required net profits, the company must produce the profit-generating responsive revenues (Boone 14). In addition to the bonuses, Wilkinson increased the commission from 5 percent to 7.5 percent (Hartline 270). The compensation plan influences sales performance (Dougherty 1). Mr. Wilkinson should not implement the unorthodox commission and bonus scheme without fully explaining the details of the new scheme. Mr. Wilkinson’s spending more time giving a

In no more than 2500 words, critically evaluate the role of branding Essay

In no more than 2500 words, critically evaluate the role of branding and its importance to an organisations marketing communications - Essay Example Creating a brand image and name for a company ensures that customers are able to differentiate the products and recognise the product that satisfies their needs the most and thus improving the customer loyalty. In simple word branding is the process of creating a different image from that of the competitors (Jobber, 2004). This paper aims at discussing the basic concept of branding and furthermore the importance of branding to an organisations’ communication. The paper will first start with a brief discussion of the term branding, following which the role of branding in companies will be discussed. This will provide for a basic understanding and will lead to a more important aspect of every business, i.e. importance of branding on the marketing communications of a business. Modern branding is gradually focusing its interest on preserving and putting together a combination of values either tangible or intangible. These values significantly and properly make a distinction of a company from the others and are pertinent to consumers (Jobber, 2004, Kotler et al., 2002). Kotler (2002) discussed that only Coca-Cola can manufacture ‘Coke’ although many manufacturers can produce cola drinks. Levitt stated that the competition does not presently thrive on what the manufacturers can produce. Rather, these factories focus on the improvement of their product. This is a new kind of knowledge for the customers in terms of services, advertising, packaging and many other aspects that aim to meet the necessities of the customer and the value of the people. A strong customer franchise is a requirement for a company to be shielded from competition. (Kotler, et.al., 2002). Prior to a discussion regarding research techniques for assessing the effects of advertising on branding, the word or concept brand itself need to be defined. A brand is a unique name or symbol intended to 1) distinguish to sources of a good

Interpretive exercise Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Interpretive exercise - Assignment Example imothy 6:10 gives one of the most famous (although often misquoted) verses in the entire Bible, â€Å"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows† (Bible). It is misquoted in that For the love of is often left off. When one puts that into context, one could probably step across that river. Becoming consumed with greed is just as a big issue in the twenty-first century as it was in Timothy’s time, if not more so. One can get so caught up in the trappings of society he can be consumed. But like Doctor Constable points out, â€Å"it is possible to have very little money and yet to love it† (Ibid). In Acts 20:33 Paul had already said â€Å"I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing† and used the passage to Timothy to illustrate the similarity of being caught up in thorns in comparison to allowing money to let one stray from the straight and narrow path of Christianity. Thus the person is caused great pain and what he thought was going to be joyful actually turned out to be one of misery. The Bible is full of passages warning being caught up in the pitfalls of money. For instance, Matthew 6:24 says â€Å"You cannot serve both God and money†. In Luke 18, when the rich young ruler was asking Jesus how to get to heaven. The Savior told him to sell everything he had and give it to the poor. When he became sad, Jesus told him â€Å"it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God†. Even in the Old Testament, when Abram spoke to the king of Sodom in Genesis 14:23 he said â€Å"that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich’†. Again quoting Doctor Constable, (the whole concept of the verse) â€Å"is an especially difficult task in a society like the one in which we live in

Demonstrate Knowledge and Understanding of Legal, Ethical and Essay

Demonstrate Knowledge and Understanding of Legal, Ethical and Professional Frameworks for Safe Effective Patient-Centred Care - Essay Example The moral, ethical and legal issues tend to blur the differences between personal and professional boundary, especially when the nurses have to work within small community or rural areas with sparse resources. Julie’s is a case in point. Her professional boundaries would be discussed vis-a-vis confidentiality and conflict of interest. Julie is a practice nurse at a healthcare centre in small Scottish village which serves the people of the village and surrounding areas. Within the small community, local pubs remain the only outlet of socialization where they tend to meet the locals. Hence, there are opportunities for breaching professional boundary when casual acquaintances might require their professional expertise. Julie meets Sam when he comes for appointment with GP. He also shares his medical history. But when, she is asked by Sam to join his pub quiz team, she is confronted with the dilemma of nursing ethics. She knows he has a history of depression and she is also aware that there is high possibility of meeting Sam socially as there are only two pubs in the village. Sam has told her that he has felt suicidal in the past but manages his depression by socializing. Julie knows that Sam has not divulged his suicidal tendency to GP. Confidentiality and trust are intrinsic part of nursing paradigms. But, as Sam has shared the information of his suicidal tendency within the professional environment of health clinic, she must inform of the same to the GP. Suicidal tendency in a patient with history of depression is a serious issue. Thus, when Julie shares the information with GP, she is within her professional boundary of confidentiality as the information has serious implications for the patient (NMC code, 2008). Depression is a mental illness and suicidal tendencies could greatly risk welfare of the patient (Hope, 2004). At the same time, it is also in line with law and therefore disclosure of the information is absolutely right and do not breach the com ponents of confidentiality within nursing practice. The issue of conflict of interest is not applicable in the case when Sam asks Julie to join his pub quiz. Conflict of interest arises when therapist or nurse has personal interest or relationship that can adversely impact the professional judgment. Sam is not the patient of Julie. Moreover, casual relationships within small communities are normal. Being friendly is part of the professional relationship as it involves winning the trust of the patient. But it is equally important to know that Sam has problems of depression with suicidal tendencies. As such, even within casual relationship, there would not be equal distribution of power and consequently, it is advisable that she refrains from joining the pub of Sam even on casual basis. Even though, Sam believes that socialization helps his mental health, as a practice nurse, Julie must exercise caution and ensure that she maintains a strict professional client-nurse relationship with Sam. In a small community, especially when the socializing avenues are few, the casual relationship with local is normal. As practice nurse, Julie has more power as a nurse as she is better equipped with professional knowledge and skill. But in casual relationship, power distribution needs to be equal which would not be the case with Sam as he has history of depression that could seriously influence his power of decision making and judgment. (words: 629) Reference CRNNS. (2002) Professional Boundaries and Expectations for Nurse-Client

Jews and Christians Essay Example for Free

Jews and Christians Essay Islam is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. It is the second-largest religion in the world today, with an estimated 1. 4 billion adherents, known as Muslims. Islam is considered one of the second largest religions in Europe today especially in France and the United Kingdom. In regions like the Middle East, North Africa, south and central Asia, Islam is the dominant religion. The core belief of Muslims is that God revealed himself to all mankind through his Prophet Muhammad, and he gave his holy book, the Qur’an which embodies the message, teachings and traditions of the Sunnah which is considered as the basic sources of Islam. The Prophet Muhammad is regarded by Muslims as the true and final prophet of God. Islam, like Judaism and Christianity is also an Abrahamic religion. Muslims belief that God revealed his final message to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel, and that message is the truth of salvation and shall hold true until the day a of resurrection, that the holy Qur’an is the infallible word of God and has the seal of the prophets. Muslims belief that the core message of Islam, which is the worship of one God, is the same message preached by the all messengers that God has sent before Muhammad. Muslims also belief that the coming of Muhammad was the cache in God’s revelation of himself to mankind, the end of all the messages of one God which has been preached since the time of Adam. Muslims see their religion as the original and the final message of God to mankind, and see Christianity and Judaism as a distortion of the original revelation of God to Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. There are several similarities that run through these three religions. Geographically, they all seem to have their origins in the Middle East. They all lay claim to the most prominent religious figures the world has ever known i. e. .Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, as their forebears. The Qur’an even acknowledges Jesus Christ as a major prophet who walked the face of this earth and had a distinct knowledge of God. Islam acknowledges the practitioners of Christianity and Judaism as the people of the letter, which is to say that they are people who have received divine scriptures. All these not withstanding, Muslims believe that the final and truthful revelation of God and the right way of worship came through the holy prophet Muhammad. Muslims believe that Islam is the right way of worship, of seeking God and of attaining salvation and therefore they must seek to win more peoples unto the Allah. Like the Jews, who saw a non Israelite as a gentile, any one other non-Muslim is an infidel. They also belief that Allah appreciates it very much when you die a violent death defending the faith of Islam and that automatically grants you grace favor and salvation before the lord, Infact, you go straight to heaven which is the ultimate reward of serving God here on earth just as Christians believe. In conclusion, Islam sees itself as superior to Christianity and Judaism because they believe it’s the total revelation of God of himself unto mankind.