Monday, September 30, 2019

Don’t Blame the Eater Essay

Most people know what they are doing by eating fast food, unhealthy food. People must understand and make it clear what is most important for them and for their kids. They have to keep them safe and think about future life. But what happened with personal responsibility? What about government responsibility? I think this is a big problem today and it needs to be fixed. The solving of this problem will help people to feel better and live longer. In fact, I believe, the people of America and government have to be responsible to try to fix it. Everybody loves to eat tasty food, don’t you or who doesn’t? When I was a kid, I would come from school and could smell my mom’s delicious pies. I even remember their pleasant fruit smell. There were so many kinds of them; they were with blueberries, strawberries, bananas and many others. But even of that time, I also remember, my mom always was trying to buy healthy and fresh food. Every morning she made me a snack with a lot of fruits, vegetables and also put a small chocolate candy for my dessert in my backpack. On the other hand, not all parents think about what their kids will eat during the day. All grownups are busy and they just giver their kids some money to go eat on their own. Children are buying what they want, for example, candy, chocolate and burgers, what is not healthy again. I think, this is biggest mistake of parents, because kids don’t care about food, they don’t have enough knowledge to understand, what is good, what is bad and not healthy for them. So with time, it could be dangerous for their lives, when people are not trying to fix this problem. At the same time, to consider unhealthy eating isn’t just parent’s problem or mistake, how I said before. It is all of American culture of eating and State in general. It’s exactly government problem too. Just think what you are watching on TV in the advertisements. All the time, every day, there are so many choices of fast food, fried chicken or pizza. The government needs to balance this problem, find the alternative and escape from it by right decision. If you decide to buy a grapefruit for your lunch, you probably could not find it in the city. Everywhere are fast food restaurants. For example, one week ago I went to the city and I was so hungry, I was trying to find a good quick food, but I couldn’t, so I got burger from McDonald’s. What does it mean? All these reasons have to be fixed or eliminated by government by putting more information to the people about what they exactly eat, how the food was prepared and etc. People need to watch more advertisements about healthy products and know how low-fat food will help them in their lives. Of cause, some people will not agree with me, but I don’t want to give my kids to be sick from unhealthy fat food at the future. People have to teach their kids from the beginning, try to explain them, what is better to eat every day. If this does not make, next generation will be in much more danger. Very often someone could think eating fast food is not a big problem either. However, I don’t agree and I want to be healthy person and it’s true that something needs to be change. The government has to solve that problem by opening more stores with a lot of different kinds of food. For example, it could be small fruits and vegetables groceries with many kinds of salads, whole wheat toasts, vegetables and fresh juices, where each person can buy his lunch. Also the government has to help people to make it easier and quicker by the right way. But does government really do it? It is a good question. The administration of America does not pay enough attention to the health of Americans. The Ministers often think more about benefits of sales fast food, because it is working very well, rather than on changes in the diet of citizens. This huge problem remains unsolved and will remain so, if people do not want to eat healthy food and do not want to be healthy too. It’s a ll depends on the morality of every person, as each of us builds his own health and own life.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Accounting Profit vs. Economic Profit. the Necessity of a Management Performance System to Boost Organization’s Performance

Accurate information is a critical input in a decision making process that targets real value creation for shareholders. The objective of this paper is the analysis of two articles of Stern Steward Research, namely â€Å"Accounting is Broken. Here’s How to fix it. A Radical Manifiesto† and â€Å"The capitalism Manifesto. The Transformation of the Corporation – Employee Capitalism –â€Å". Both papers propose a roadmap to fix the conventional accounting shortness through the use of Value Based Management (VBM) as a real and effective management system of value creation and measurement.Economic Value Added (EVA) plays the main role in this management approach, as a very effective performance metric in the alignment of the organization with its ultimate goal of shareholder’s value creation. VIEW OF THE READING In the first paper â€Å"Accounting is Broken. Here’s How to fix it. A Radical Manifiesto†, the accounting related aspects of EV A are discussed, providing a comparison between accounting earnings and economic earnings. Weaknesses of accounting standards are exposed here.The authors suggest a serie of radical reforms for the conventional accounting in order to align conventional with economic accounting in order to provide managers with the information that really matters and avoid mispreactices to deceive shareholders. The paper proposes EVA as a rock solid measure that provides a very clear picture of the organization’s performance. According to the paper accountants should start using economic profit (EVA) to better reflect the economic reality of the organization.Economic earnings underpin the decision making process, clarifying the economic objectives and setting up a target for value creation. The paper highlights the capability of EVA measure to fix some weaknesses of the accounting earnings perspective and proposes some reforms: †¢Cost of equity must be brought into the light of day as a k ey element for the economic profit. Shareholders need and deserve to be compensated for the risk they are taking by investing in a company. †¢Operating decision must be separated from investment and financing decision to avoid manipulation. Intangible assets should be capitalized as investments aimed at the creation of economic profit. †¢Stock options have to be expensed and depreciation and amortization must be better measured. The second paper â€Å"The capitalism Manifesto. The Transformation of the Corporation – Employee Capitalism –â€Å" analyzes the role of EVA measure as a metric of the total organizational productivity and the role it plays or can play in a pay-per-performance incentive plan to align the interest of the owners with the interest of the employees to enhance organization performance.Empowerment and accountability are seen as the basis to boost employee’s performance and the basis to set up incentive programes to stick the gains . The paper presents a deep analysis on the implementation of effective business management and incentive systems down to the shop floor in the European Union. Some examples are presented to explain the potential role of EVA in the implementation of a European policy for incentive plans. According to the paper, executives and frontline employees can or should unify their efforts within the EVA proven management system, to maximize value creation within the organization.The authors propose that decision making process at all levels should be implemented within a management framework where short- and long term incentive plans will be linked to results in form of value creation. Incentive plans should also be linked to cash and equity to guarantee the sustainability of the organization. If the employees can invest in the organization, they will start acting like owners taking right decisions and fostering sustainable growth. MY POINT OF VIEW Both papers assume a shareholder’s va lue perspective: the first and foremost purpose of a Corporation is to maximize shareholder value.This perspective should be brought in balance with the stakeholder’s perspective. Profitability has to be combined with responsibility. According to S. David Young and Stephen F. O’Byrne (2000), the economic pressures that organizations are facing nowadays induce managers, in some cases, to use bad practices in order to deceive shareholders by inflated earnings or not sustainable growth. EVA alone cannot solve this issue. A very clear management system has to be set up with guidelines and accountability for executives. Corporations cannot become economic machines.Responsibility for stakeholders (employees, society, environment, customers) has to play a central role as well. Economic earnings should be the main target, but corporations should be able to provide the needed environment to create the expected value based on ownership, clear economic and financial information, moral recognition, personal growth, empowerment and training. The first paper is a very interesting approach to EVA and to accounting practices. It sheds light on the issue that accounting is not what is used to be and cannot account anymore for what it has to account.Accounting standards lack the ability to control and guide executive behavior. On the other hand, the paper tends to fully disqualify accounting. Conventional accounting has played and will play its role in the society. It is hard to say that accounting is completely responsible for all bad practices and mismanagement cases (Enron, Worldcom, etc). Accounting has its weak points and these weaknesses have been used by irrational managers to inflate value in the shareholder’s eyes. The question is if we are talking about a symptom or about a root cause.We cannot solve the problem working on the symptoms. The root causes have to be found and addressed. In the current competitive environment, managers are struggling with the value creation process. Fierce competition and growing expectations of the shareholders is a killing combination to push managers in the bad path. It is not rare then that some of them make use of bad practices in order to boost value on the short-term, but putting in serious dangerous the future of the organization.In such situation is fair to say that accounting cannot account anymore for what really counts. Accounting standards allow these bad practices. A superior management system is in need. S. David Young and Stephen F. O’Byrne (2000) states that EVA can actually boost productivity and is able to match the interests of shareholders and stakeholders. Decision making process must be decentralized and roll down to the floor. In my experience, executives lack the ability to empower employees.Maybe it is the fear to lose power or that they don’t trust the subordinates. In any case they are missing the possibility to stimulate and motivate employees and the m ost important they are failing to use the advantage of impacting decision making by the ‘time and place’ factors. I think one of the reasons can be that they lack a measure like EVA that can set up the targets for the whole organization, allowing the cascading of the decision making process, improving the performance of the organization through more motivated employees and ownership boosting.EVA can be used at all levels within the organization, stimulating the decision making and risk taking attitude of the employees, since EVA will bring transparency and direction to the objectives to be met to create true value. In this case owners don’t have to worry about the earning sharing and they can start seeing employees as partner with the same objectives and motivations. Nowadays the intellectual capital of a corporation is one of the strongest competitive edges they can create. Employee’s satisfaction must be one of the goals within the organization to make i t sustainable.Employee’s satisfaction cannot be based only on cash or equity. People need a trusty environment where they can interact and reach high productivity levels, based not only on economic incentives, but on total ownership, supported by an increasing role in the decision making process, contributing to the value creation process and ensuring a sustainable growth of the organization. If one takes a closer look at EVA methodology to demonstrate that EVA is not as simple as supporters tell. EVA is a performance measure capable of reliably indicating the intrinsic value of all companies in all times.As a performance metric, EVA remains in control of the corporation and should impact Market Value Added (MVA) on the long term creating true value for the shareholders. With EVA managers have a more effective tool to support their decision making process. The entire metric was developed based on the following three ideas : 1. Cash flows are the best indicators of performance . The accounting distortions must therefore be â€Å"fixed†. Accrual based accounting should be transformed into cash-flow accounting. 2. Some expenses are really investments and should be capitalized on the balance sheet.True investments must therefore be recognized as means to create future cash flow. 3. Equity capital is expensive (or, at the very least, not free). This expense must therefore be accounted for. Investment is an economic decision and opportunity cost should be taken into account. To calculate EVA, two sets of information’s are needed, namely the Net Operating Profit After Taxes (NOPAT) and the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC). NOPAT is first calculated based on the Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA).Some adjustments are needed here to account for the correct operating profit of the corporation. Important here is to understand that operating and financing decisions must be evaluated separately. NOPAT provides a very clear picture of the organization operating performance, excluding potential manipulation through financing decisions. On the other hand, WACC is the average of the costs of the financing sources, each of which is weighted by its respective use in the given situation. By taking a weighted average, we can see how much interest the company has to pay for every dollar it finances.WACC demands a very clear policy from the organization about its financial structure (debt and equity relationship) to calculate the cost of the capital. This is a fundament to avoid bad practices, manipulations, abuse of leverage technique through cheaper debts and ineffective decision making process. A very strong and reliable financing structure is needed in order to not compromise the future of the organization and to provide a very solid platform for the economic growth, by choosing projects with a really economic impact on the bottom line. Generally speaking, EVA has a big drawback.As we could se e above, EVA is very far from being a simple metric. The point here is that the implementation of value-added measures such as EVA into a company is a costly and time consuming process . Substantial costs and time are justified only if benefits of optimizing the company’s strategy for value creation can be achieved. A transition to value-added measurements requires serious commitment of the board of directors and senior management to use these measures to manage the business. Every individual in the company must buy into the plan to make it successful.Extensive training and communication effort directed to everyone in the company is also required. EVA may be a complex concept and may not be something the average person/employee/manager/investor is going to understand without big efforts. When it comes to the organizational change required to implement something like EVA, you need to get people on board and it could be a very difficult task and therefore a major obstacle for i ts adoption. EVA should not be viewed as the answer to all things either. It doesn’t solve business problems, which is the manager’s responsibility.In conjunction with MVA, it does provide a meaningful target to pursue for both internally and externally oriented decisions. Managers remain the leaders within the corporations and the one who has to drive the value creation process. Generally speaking, shareholders must be provided with clear data on the corporation performance and on the decision making process. They need and deserve a return on their investment, but it should not be forgotten that their investment decisions involve risk and they must be compensated for this.The cost of the capital should be incorporated. Value creation should be calculated as the difference between NOPAT and capital and its cost. Accounting earnings don’t mean value creation. A Corporation can report net profits that don’t actually mean value creation from the shareholderà ¢â‚¬â„¢s viewpoint. To accomplish this, managers need clear and strong performance metrics able to stretch the corporation to achieve clear performance targets properly aligned with the ultimate goal of creating value. EVA is a metric upon which the whole organization can be build.In the current high competitive market, Value Based Management is a competitive advantage. It aligns the organizations with the expectations of the shareholders, facilitating the decision making process, avoiding accounting manipulation, targeting the ultimate goal of value creation, providing a very unambiguous metric such as EVA to guide the organization through the value creation process and ensuring the long term economic growth of the organization based on clear and transparent management practices.CONCLUSIONS Both papers offer a very clear perspective of the advantages of using EVA. Value Based Management provides Senior Management Teams with a clear benefit since it is able to close the gap between accounting earnings and economic earnings, driving the value within the organization. With EVA, the corporations possesses a metric that drives value and supports the incentive plans to motivate employees and make them to act like owners.Effective implementation could be an issue due to the complexity of the concept, but EVA is nowadays the most effective management approach connecting shareholders and stakeholders to accomplish the ultimate economic goal of the corporation, the value creation. EVA creates a very transparent environment providing more qualitative data to the shareholders about the organization’s performance and the use of the resources. It also provides a more qualitative decision making process in order to satisfy shareholder’s expectations.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Sexism and the mythology of the weaker sex Essay

Sexism and the mythology of the weaker sex - Essay Example In the Ebony Magazine of August 1966, Era Bell Thompson evolved out with the article where she desperately and deliberately discussed the evolution of women as a ‘weaker sex’. In her article bearing the title, â€Å"What Weaker Sex† she ogles out her despair, â€Å"MEN CALL her a member of Weaker Sex and make exaggerated allowances for her family. They also sing songs to her fair beauty. Like a priceless vase, this gentle creature- so pure, so sweet, so untouchable was created to be worshipped from afar† (Ebony, 1966). The terms like, ‘weaker sex’, ‘second sex’ or ‘fairer sex’ has been assigned to the women only since ages. Men do not hold any special position in the literature, myth or folklore because he is common and general. This is not because, he is mundane but the reason for making women special, placing her on pedestal and chiming the songs of her beauty and aura is done with a vision to make her a piece from a esthetic cult or a toy to playful banter in the mighty hands of her master actually lies in the politics of dehumanizing her. History of the Idea of Women as Weaker Sex Depicting women as a feeble creature persisted since ages in the society. Women are undermined when it comes to the virtues like valor, strength or courage in present day society. If one focuses on the introspection of this mindset or thought process, one can easily come to the conclusion that over the ages a stereotype depiction of woman subjugated to the male member in the society has actually resulted in the culmination of this sort of idea for woman as a ‘ weaker sex.’ Women are not weak in physical or mental challenges. Yet, there are certain epithets like chivalry as and when was associated along the name of a woman, it has evolved out as an exemplary phenomena. And, it is a well accepted fact that exceptions cannot be considered as examples in society. Women were treated as a commodity and traces of women as a mode of exchange in the barter system evolves out in the research work of many scholars. They were slaves, and goods that can yield satisfaction or luxury since the ancient time already. Flesh trade is regarded as one of the most ancient occupations after agriculture and all these indicate to a trend where women were easily preyed and subjugated because they are physically weaker than the male members of the society. In the book, â€Å"Subordinated Sex: A History of Attitudes Toward Women† it is found that scholars have traced and argued the ancient way of acquiring a woman as wife and her position in the society. The book puts forward a very significant point where the exchange of money with bride is affirmed, â€Å"Some scholars have argued that the earliest form of marriage required the bridegroom to purchase his bride, emphasizing even further the woman as property† (Bullough, Shelton & Slavin, 2004). Exploration of Sexism over Time Peter Sterns argue s that in the pre-agricultural societies, women had the privilege of sharing same positions along with power with men. It was merely after the invent of agriculture, and invention of deskbound jobs that women were subjugated and men initiated the process of institutionalizing the

Friday, September 27, 2019

Crime and Los Angeles Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Crime and Los Angeles - Case Study Example Though recently there have been lots of security measures undertaken by the government, yet there happened to be crimes occurring in and around the city. The purpose of this paper is to report one of the crimes that had taken place in the city and produce a critical view of it.In this paper, I have taken the case of Thelma Todd, a popular actress of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Though this case may appear out of date, I am quite interested in it because the investigation was not fully successful and it only ended with guess. So, let us see the case in detail.Thelma Todd was a school teacher and model before she started her career as an actress. She was born in Lawrence, MA in 1905. She grew as a very popular and leading actress by acting in more than fourty films. She established a great career and was so successful with every role she took. It was on the morning of December 15, 1935 the world knew that she was dead. It was a great shock for millions of people around the world. He r body was discovered in a car, just beside her own restaurant. At the first glace of the investigation it was decided that the case was a suicide as the carbon monoxide fumes were flowing inside the car with all the doors and glasses shut. Few people who were closely associated with the actress also supported this judgment because they had seen her caught between several problems and that she was always trying to put an end to everything. SUICIDE OR MURDER According to the Grand Jury investigation, it was reported that there were signs of wound in her face and mouth. This view supported the opinion that she might have been knocked off and then had been placed in the car by the murderers. The spots of blood on her face was highly supporting for this murdering view. But despite of all the attempts of the jury, nothing could be found as the true cause of the death. So the Grand Jury finally ruled her death as suicide. The inquest into her death revealed more questions than answers. Many suggested that Thelma may have committed suicide. It was not an uncommon method for such an act, but then murders had been committed in a similar fashion. TRACES In addition, if she had killed herself, where had the blood on her face and clothing come from' To make matters more suspicious, an autopsy had revealed that Thelma had suffered a broken nose, several broken ribs and enough bruises to suggest that she had been roughed up. Minute and fresh finger prints on her body as well as in the body of car seemed to arose plenty problems, but nothing helped in pin pointing the true criminal. SUSPECTED ONES The inquest into her death revealed more questions than answers. Roland West, the leading director and her husband seemed to be likely the suspect. But there was no strong evidence to prove it and many confusing things emerged making the case unsolvable. Another important person to be involved in the suspect list is Luciano, a dangerous mobster of that time. There was too no evidence to prove him as the cause because many were afraid of him and his notorious group. Thus, the case remained unsettled even after so many years. CONCLUSION No one were able to find out what really happened on the early hours of December 15th. Thelma Todd's case still seems to puzzle everyone. Many believe that the restless soul of Thelma Todd, still wanders around the place where she had lived. Many have seen strange things taking place in the area surrounding where her soul departed. Whatever it is, from revisiting the case I would like to conclude that this was one such crime for which there was no answer. Even now, there seem to be crimes happening like this which are really challenging for the

Thursday, September 26, 2019

To what extent did the Second World War transform European societies Essay

To what extent did the Second World War transform European societies - Essay Example death kind of ending to the World War II with the atomic bombs exploding in Japan and large scale death and destruction in Europe became a great resentment for every one. The impact of the violence was never lost in that generation of people who saw death and destruction like never before. This led to the formation of United Nations on one end and on the other; there was a strong support in the social front of every nation to be out of the violence (Giddens, A. 1985). Military was slowly and steadily weaned away from the ruling community over a period of time. It happened in all major countries who were involved in the war. Though immediately after the war, the war heroes were honoured and they were dominating in the political sphere too. But soon, military lost its ground with respect to the political power and clout that they wielded. This was seen as a victory for the peace loving society at large. Many social practices were influenced by the World War II. Ideologies could not hold ground because of the violence that they were seen to breed (Hobsbawm, E. 2002). Fascism found its natural death after the huge violence that its practices preached. While large scale political changes were in the offing with the increasing effect of communism and labour right movements across the world. The class divide was coming down. Though there was large scale dissatisfaction on many of the practising ideologies, people realised the importance of non-violent protests. Never again, could there be another French revolution with large scale blood letting. Now, people could find themselves raising protests in a more democratic way though violence did and continues to show its head either as a terrorist attack or during a protest march turning itself into riots. The tendency to rope in peace in the continent was wide spread. Most people wanted peace more than anything else. But still there was the nostalgic feeling of war and the glory that victory brings. This feeling is like the

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Summaary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summaary - Essay Example People belonging from different backgrounds can only maintain balance, when they realize success and achievement is due to their skills, not association with any popular race, firm or an institution. Media has played significant role in promoting stereotype thoughts into the minds of its viewers and it’s done in such an invisible and natural manner, that people cannot see it directly but accept it as a rational way of behaving with race, gender and color. Movies are an important part of American culture and people who design them are consciously aware of the impacts on audience. Therefore, they are promoting the manipulative ideas like black for evil and white for heroism and the constant denial of feminist theory, in a sleeker manner. Hooks believes that  Ã¢â‚¬Å"mass media was used to get women out of the factory and back into the home,† (Hooks, 2002). That the stereotype didn’t want them out, competing them; but wanted to show them as sex devices kept at home for pleasure. White supremacist capitalist patriarchy stands for viewing life from not just one perspective like gender, race or age but form a wider horizon. Colonization makes a person aware of his link with certain race and hence enables a person how the white world or the political powers, wants him to behave and deals his business around because the policy has been set by them. Racism is not produced by white people who are all around but it is a system developed by white capalist which people are following nonetheless. Critical vigilance is required for becoming full aware of what is around and how it is supposed to be dealt with. Literacy is the main source which can make a person proactive in a racist environment and enable him to act unbiased towards others. â€Å"Freedom and justice are connected to mass based literacy† (Hooks, 2002). A person can only achieve freedom and justice when he is aware of his rights

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

MTV'S real life show does not present the true life of Saudi Arabia Essay

MTV'S real life show does not present the true life of Saudi Arabia - Essay Example The documentary as a whole does not portray the true picture of Saudi Arabia. Fatima represented herself as a woman who cannot have a job at all. She is shown to be working towards the launch of a new business of colored Abayas. An Abaya is a cloth that Saudi women wear on top of their clothes when they come out to work, schools, hospitals etc. Although she is not against the Abaya itself, she wishes to produce some in a variety of colors other than black. Fatima also highlighted some of the inhibitions of the culture saying that women are prevented from riding bicycles in the streets, despite the fact that a lot of places cater to bicyclists of both genders just like here in the United States. As will be seen, some of her contentions do not hold true. Firstly, colored Abaya has been in existence for a long time, and women have been wearing it for the length of its existence. Saudi women wear black for chastity similar to nuns in the United States. Nuns wear black clothes with white lines akin to Saudi women who make their Abayas black in color while matching it with others. Fatima seemed disinterested in finding the key to her problems. Her resolve was more towards simply being heard instead of actively seeking a solution. When she visited the American producer, she laid down false facts in front of them, facts that would shock them. Her aim was to make a commercial for her business for people who watch American TV. Her knowledge of the black Abaya is self-evident, she understands it to be part of her culture, but promotes it instead as a religious restriction, knowing full well that opposition to her colorful Abaya, as with anything out of the norm, would be expected. If she genuinely believed it to be a problem of the society t hat needed addressing, she would have spoken in the language of the people of her society, so that everyone receives the message and can communicate their assent or

Monday, September 23, 2019

Sociological imagination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sociological imagination - Essay Example This paper shall discuss the basis of the secondary schools and how these shape up the beliefs and ideologies of the students in a number of different ways. It will take a look at how the sociological imagination within their ranks develops and what more could be done to bring sanity within the related ranks in the future. Social Identity Defined Social identity is defined as a method within the domains of social psychology where individuals are earmarked to differentiate between a number of levels or in terms of their identity types. The social identity philosophy is made use of by people from different disciplines where economics and political science stand out within the related realms. The inter-group relations are discussed at length within the social identity domains and this is the reason why it has been largely highlighted in the studies that deal with identity building across a number of platforms. Role of Secondary Schools in Shaping up Social Identity How the secondary sch ools shape up the social identity domains of the students is something that needs to be understood. This is the age when the students exploit their strengths and want to know more and more about the worldly affairs than was ever the case in the past. This is the time when they will get to know about things that they have never discussed in the earlier stages of their lives. It is true to state that the social identities start getting advanced with each passing day and the significance for this is provided through the acts and behaviors of the students themselves. They believe that they should get to know more about the world around them, and thus discern the real basis of humanity by all means of imagination. Their sociological perspectives start getting developed, where they explore how things work and shape up in different situations, and how these embody the basis of success for their own selves in the long run. In short, there is a great amount of breakdown of thoughts and perce ptions that were there within their minds in the past. What they see now is filled with experiments that they have had at this stage. They will get to find out about things up close and personal, and thus experience the same through their hands. They will see the reality basis of things and thus change their perspectives. Relationship of Social Identities with Educational Under-attainment Since the secondary schools make the students realize where they are going to be as regards to their future domains, it is only natural to think of the students in the same light. This is because the social identity issues deem a great deal of significance for the students when it comes to gaining an understanding of the educational quarters. These educational regimes receive a kick since under-attainment can easily be witnessed by the people who matter the most within the affairs of these secondary schools – the top management which is concerned with the propagation of education. The social identities with educational under-attainment come about as a reality because the students start believing in the fact that there could be much more than education at this age. They delve into other zones of life and decipher the meaning of such acts in a wholly different way. There is a good amount of confusion happening within their fore and this is the reason why the

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Psychology (A Field Guide to the Workaholic) Essay

Psychology (A Field Guide to the Workaholic) - Essay Example They are akin to function like this even at the cost of their family, health and a good night's sleep! Any place other than their place of work does not augur well with them. Such wild workers are labeled as 'workaholics' and 'workophiles'. They live in their own wilderness of their work castles. Work becomes their only source of fortitude, security and identity. Their place of solace is work and work alone. Work also helps them escape from the world. Work emerges as a shield for them. There is only one track of life for them. To paraphrase Bible, "Live thy life by the sweat of thy work" - evolves as the most fundamental principle for them. "Workaholics are out of balance" for, as hard worker, they "will be at [their] desk, thinking about the ski slopes.workaholic[s] will be on the ski slopes thinking about [their] desk" (Goodman, 2006). This 'workaholic' pattern is coming up as a potential disease in United States where some institutions tend to work nearly 24 hours a day for seven days a week! Here, primary concerns are efficiency, customer satisfaction, and the wide spread principle and belief that stresses for "time is money". This trend is eating on the nerves of almost every modern United States (US) citizen. About four types of workaholics are there in US today. First, there are those who do their work quite near to perfection. Secondly, those who just remain at work place without doing much of their work. Thirdly, there are those who keep on making careless mistakes for they have not learnt to say "no". They will not stop even for a while. They will just go on doing their work relentlessly. The fourth types are those who are always busy with finding deepest details of their work even if such details are not required. The result is endless surging ahead of diversified individual and social stresses, tensions and uncalled for socially harmful tendencies like recurring personality complexes and likely suicidal possibilities leading to personality imbalances and social disharmony. For Gayle Porter, workaholics quite incapable of institutional team work and leadership. They try to concentrate all work in their hands only. They start considering work as their source of power apparently. They thus become highly emotional and possessive and obsessive about their work. As such, varied crises emerge. The workaholic tries to utilize this situation to his own advantage without much of an achievement and accomplishment levels. Workaholics suffer a lot due to their idiosyncrasies and esoteric whims. Instead of workaholics' obsession, those workers are able to do much better work in terms of quality and quantity who go for normal off days and permissible holidays for relaxation and enjoyment. Any type of obsession does not serve a positive purpose. Normal performance and steady progress of work leads to productive results. Opinion about the Article This article is an analytical piece of work. It serves its purpose of highlighting pejorative effects of obsessive patterns of behavior and working trends. Its emphasis on the need to function in a balanced way is also appropriate. The overall style and tenor of this piece is highly edifying for it warns against work and administrative excesses. This article also points to human questions of

Saturday, September 21, 2019

On the Waterfront Essay Example for Free

On the Waterfront Essay Kazan does not only use Terry Malloy by establishing him a hero in On the Waterfront to value individual conscience or moral growth above community loyalty or sense of obligation, but also other characters like Edie and Father Barry. Unlike Terry, who has to gain individual conscience, Edie and Father Barry have never been really closely connected to the community, which allows them individual conscience. Their supporting role of Terry’s moral growth is used by Kazan to praise individual conscience, as it also liberates the waterfront. It should not be mistaken that Kazan does support individual conscience in the deaths of Charley and Dugan who had to die for the possession of a sense of justice. Their deaths were portrayed by Kazan as a type of martyrdom and also had a great impact on Terry, which resulted in his portrayal as a hero. Edie Doyle and Father Barry epitomise individual conscience, which Kazan attributes to how they are outsiders and allows this value to waver as both of them become more involved with actions of disruption and protest against the corrupt union on the waterfront. Father Barry was a â€Å"saint [who] hid in the church† believing that â€Å"time and faith were great healers†. It was Edie’s sense of justice which pushed Father Barry out of his passive role to work for social justice, as she bitingly scorned Father Barry’s inability with a close up used so that viewers can tangibly feel her resentment, when Joey had just been pushed off the roof of the tenement. Father Barry had transformed from being a â€Å"potato eater† (demeaning label of an Irish Catholic simpleton), to risk being â€Å"shipped off to Abyssinia† (a pun perhaps as the abyss is death) to break the mob’s corrupt grip on the waterfront. The attack on the church did not faze Father Barry despite the alarming clatter of baseball bats on the pavement and heads being using like baseballs, when the church was under attack by the union. Father Barry’s individual conscience grew as he firmly believed that â€Å"these people (the community) needed help†. This as well as going â€Å"right down to the wire† for Dugan, acted as a catalyst for Father Barry’s growth in individual conscience, which had made him a hero in his own right as he had to triumph over his own inhibitions and the conservative restrictions of and expectations of his role from the church. Edie unlike Father Barry, had already possessed individual conscience (she had contributed to Father Barry’s growth to provide justice), but she like Father Barry refrained from perpetually seeking an end to the corruption on the waterfront. Father Barry had sought to back Dugan as he talked to the crime commissioners so that they could charge the union of corruption, yet when Dugan died from an apparent ‘accident’ Father Barry shied away from taking an active role, preferring to be passive in his involvement, as seen when Terry came to ask for advice of whether he should go testify against the union where Father Barry in a bitter tone said that Terry’s â€Å"own conscience has got to do the asking†. This may suggest Father Barry’s guilt in pushing Dugan to take action which resulted in his death. Edie also refrained from the active role she had taken to find Joey’s killer and unknowingly fighting against the corrupt union, when she realised she loved Terry. Thus not wanting him to die but to â€Å"come to the country, where there is no Johnny Friendly†, who controlled the union, and threatened his life. She may have been trying to protect Terry but she did not consider the impact on those who work on the waterfront, including her own father, Pop Doyle, who would continue to be exploited by the union, thus perhaps compromising her morals to an extent. Unlike Terry, Father Barry and Edie were not empowered to stop the corruption of the union on the waterfront. It is in Father Barry and Edie’s inability to stop corruption that establishes Terry as the hero through his moral growth to individual conscience. Ultimately it is his triumph over the corrupt union to show that individual conscience is valued over community value, when comparing his moral growth to Father Barry and Edie’s. Kazan allowed the audience to follow Terry’s tumultuous moral growth allowing strong connection to form between the bodies. It was loss of Joey that had begun the transformation process that had reignited his bitterness for purposely losing in a boxing final to fulfil Johnny Friendly’s bet. Terry’s relationship with Edie had also contributed to his growth of moral conscience as an individual, as Terry wanted to protect as he confessed she was â€Å"the first nice thing that has ever happened to me† to Father Barry when he was seeking to know whether he should confess to the crime commission about Joey’s death. Father Barry had also encouraged Terry to be truthful to himself to develop individual conscience, allowing Terry to admit he was being used by Johnny Friendly (â€Å"it’s do it or else† when it comes to a favour from Friendly). Terry would not have been a hero with individual conscience if he had not the support from Edie and Father Barry. Terry had to struggle against community loyalty to achieve individual conscience. Kazan uses this struggle to humanise the character making him heroic. Terry had always been â€Å"one of theirs† or part of the union as he was the â€Å"brother of Charlie the Gent†, he was in a sense also an outsider like Edie and Father Barry from the workers of Hoboken on the docks yet he was driven by self-preservation, which led him to adopt the â€Å"D ‘n D† or Deaf and Dumb creed (not speaking up against anything the union did – keeping silent) from the dock workers, which inextricably created a superficial community loyalty as they shared the view that their â€Å"life was not worth a nickel†. It was Charlie’s death that had led to Terry going against community loyalty, as Charlie was his brother and shared a strong connection with each other. Charlie had looked out for Terry as he had sacrificed himself knowing â€Å"10 to 1 they (Johnny Friendly) won’t believe me†. This portrayed Terry as the tragic hero eliciting the sympathy of the audience who will celebrate as Terry topples Johnny Friendly’s position of power, as he stumbled battle worn after violently grappling with Friendly into the warehouse to take his position as the new spiritual leader of the workers, with trumpets in the soundtrack heralding his triumph. His growth to individual conscience had led to Terry’s redemption of Joey and Charlie’s death. Community loyalty would not have achieved this. Kazan valued individual conscience in Edie and Father Barry, but through them has shown that though it may motivate them to defeat corruption they may not be empowered to take action. It is through Terry that Kazan strongly values individual conscience by establishing him as an enduring hero, who had to undergo transformation and go against community loyalty, but also needed support to uproot Johnny Friendly and his corruption.

Friday, September 20, 2019

The Term Media Convergence Media Essay

The Term Media Convergence Media Essay What is meant by the term media convergence with regard to technology, and how has it affected everyday life? Media convergence brings technologies such as a computing, and communication, together, which is very important in businesses today. This reach, makes the everyday lives of individuals easier since they now have much easier access to information on the things or products that they want and need. The combining of these different technologies, allows a longer more intuitive reach of businesses among its markets. Some industry leaders see media convergence as marking the letting go of the old media of print and broadcasting. Then the rise of the new media; this is what makes the world go around, now and days. We depend on way to much technology in todays society; that if one major thing broke, we would surely be hurting. Media convergence has affected everyday life by making news easier to access. Instead of needing to watch TV or read a magazine to learn the days events, you can now go to the TV stations website and get headlines in real time. Media convergence is not just a shift or a process; it also includes shifts within the industrial and social aspects, which encourage the consumer to seek out information. Convergence is how individual consumers interact with each other on a level and use different media platforms to create new and better experiences, new forms of media that connect us socially, and not just to other consumers, but to the have more producers of media in ways that have not been as accessible in the past. What is meant by the term media convergence with regard to business, and how has it affected everyday life? Media convergence means that the lines are getting blurred between the traditional forms of media and they are almost becoming one. A decade ago, there were clear differences between different print media, TV, the internet in general. Now look at things: News papers and TV have web sites. Those web sites deliver news in almost real time complete with moving video and feeds formatted for smart phones. Movies are now available streaming on the internet TV shows are now available streaming on the internet. Viewers can participate in TV shows in real time via social media. Things are all converging into one big mass media. The electricity of the gadgets affects your focus, and it would let you sleep tight. The media convergence is something that the suppliers should offer cheap and not expensive to swindle the public. Faster speed would not give you faster delivery to your clients. Long calls are not mindful, stay tuned all day to the TV, wont give you better relationships, instead, you will become obese, lazy and full of debts , buying all the stuff of the advertising. These are just some ways that media convergence could affect in todays society. I am sure there are other ways of explaining this, but I find it a hard question to answer all the way around; considering being in a business model environment; is something I have yet to be in, so far. What are some of the issues that result from dependency on modern media? Describe at least three issues. High level of inaccuracies seems to be a major fault in the media today. This is where we get falsified information; and we tend to grasp a hold to that information as if it were the truth. According to various different studies, a large percentage of the public find error in the news stories of their daily news stories. This happens more than once in a week, while more see spelling mistakes, more often than usual. Also another large percentage of individuals, have found to become wearier of their local news and news papers. Poor coverage of important issues is another factor that plays a role in how media is affecting us negatively in the world. Our main focus should be the environment, economy, the government, education, etc. But the media tends to stray away from a lot of the good in this and just report the bad. I am guessing the bad is what is good for ratings? It seems that the major news and magazines have declined, while entertainment and actors/actresses have doubled. The me dia tends to have a short attention span as well. Seems now and days, in our society, the news media are more focused on news that isnt as important to their viewers. And they seem to ignore serious problems for a long period of time, and then they finally notice. Once they notice they try to get a solution to resolve the issue, and it is not easily fixed, and once again it gets ignored. How does media literacy help with responsible media consumption? Media Literacy A definition and framework for media literacy comes from Wikipedia. Powerful Voices for Kids Summer Media Literacy Program Media literacy is the process of accessing, analyzing, evaluating and creating messages in a wide variety of forms. It uses an inquiry-based instructional model that encourages people to ask questions about what they watch, see and read. Media literacy education is one means of developing media literacy. It provides tools to help people critically analyze messages to detect propaganda, censorship, and bias in news and public affairs programming (and the reasons for such), and to understand how structural features such as media ownership, or its funding model affect the information presented. Media literacy aims to enable people to be skillful creators and producers of media messages, both to facilitate an understanding as to the strengths and limitations of each medium, as well as to create independent media. Media literacy is an expanded concept ualization of literacy. By transforming the process of media consumption into an active and critical process, people gain greater awareness of the potential for misrepresentation and manipulation (especially through commercials and public relations techniques), and understand the role of mass media and participatory media in constructing views of reality. Media literacy educators strive to address a balance between protection and empowerment. Protectionist approaches to media literacy emphasize the need to be aware of the negative aspects of mass media and popular culture, including the dangers and risks of online social media. Empowerment approaches emphasize building media awareness, promoting critical analysis of media texts, tools and technologies, and using image, language, sound and digital media for self-expression, communication and social advocacy. Media literacy educators have neither utopian nor dystopian views about the potential of digital and social media to transform K-12 education. They emphasize the both value of analyzing media texts, tools and technologies and the practice of composing using multimedia forms, genres and technologies.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Gorilla Research Paper -- essays research papers

Common name- Gorilla Scientific name- Gorilla gorilla class- mammalia order- primata family- pongidae genus- gorilla   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The gorillas live mainly in coastal West Africa in the Congo, Zaire, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon. Gorillas live in the rain forest. They usually live on the ground but build nest in trees to sleep in. Gorilla troops keep a 15-20 square mile range which often overlaps the range of other troops. There are three different kinds of gorillas. The eastern lowland gorilla the western lowland and the mountain gorilla. They are herbivores and eat only wild celery, roots, tree bark pulp, fruit, stems of many plants and bamboo shoots. They spend nearly half their day eating. The destruction of their habitat and destruction are the two great threats to the gorillas. The places where they are found are poor and densely populated. The land that is set aside for gorillas is being taken over by agriculture. The wire traps that poachers set out for antelope usually end up catching gorillas instead. People kill them for their heads and hands as trophies. The western lowland gorilla is listed as an endangered species.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The physical characteristics of a gorilla are, the male may be from a height of 5.5 ft and a weight of about 400 lbs. The female can be as tall as 5 ft. and weight almost about half the weight of the male. Their skull is pretty much similar to ours, but their bones are thicker. The gorillas spin... Gorilla Research Paper -- essays research papers Common name- Gorilla Scientific name- Gorilla gorilla class- mammalia order- primata family- pongidae genus- gorilla   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The gorillas live mainly in coastal West Africa in the Congo, Zaire, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon. Gorillas live in the rain forest. They usually live on the ground but build nest in trees to sleep in. Gorilla troops keep a 15-20 square mile range which often overlaps the range of other troops. There are three different kinds of gorillas. The eastern lowland gorilla the western lowland and the mountain gorilla. They are herbivores and eat only wild celery, roots, tree bark pulp, fruit, stems of many plants and bamboo shoots. They spend nearly half their day eating. The destruction of their habitat and destruction are the two great threats to the gorillas. The places where they are found are poor and densely populated. The land that is set aside for gorillas is being taken over by agriculture. The wire traps that poachers set out for antelope usually end up catching gorillas instead. People kill them for their heads and hands as trophies. The western lowland gorilla is listed as an endangered species.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The physical characteristics of a gorilla are, the male may be from a height of 5.5 ft and a weight of about 400 lbs. The female can be as tall as 5 ft. and weight almost about half the weight of the male. Their skull is pretty much similar to ours, but their bones are thicker. The gorillas spin...

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The Status of Women in New Testament and Lysistrata :: Lysistrata Essays

The Status of Women in New Testament and Lysistrata Since the beginning of time the treatment of women has improved dramatically. In the earliest of times women were mere slaves to men. Today women are near equals in almost all fields. In 411 B.C., when Lysistrata was written, men had many stunning advantages to that of their female counterparts. Although women's rights between 30 and 100 A.D., the time of the New Testament, were still not what they are today, the treatment of women was far better. Overall, the equality of women in the New Testament exceeds that of the women in Lysistrata in three major ways: physical mobility, society's view of women's nature, and women's public legal rights. Albeit in Lysistrata the women were shown as revolutionaries rising up against the men, women in classical Greece were never like that. Aristophanes created the play as a comedy, showing how the world might be in the times of the Peloponesian war if women tried to do something. It was the women's job to stay home and tend to the house, and never leave, unlike they did in the play, the women were shown as revolutionaries rising up against the men, women in classical Greece were never like that. The activities of women in Classical Athens were confined to "bearing children, spinning and weaving, and maybe managing the domestic arrangements. No wandering in the beautiful streets for them." The suppression of women went so far as to divide the house into separate areas for males and females. While the women stayed home, the men were usually out fighting, and when they weren't fighting, they were entertaining their friends and having sexual favors performed by courtesans. The rights of women in early Christianity were a far cry from today, although they were much better off than their Athenian counterparts. In the Christian church, women were treated as equals. The first evidence of this is when the woman with hemorrhages touches Jesus' clothing and he says that her faith has made her well (Mark 5:34). This shows that both sexes are treated equally in that eyes of god even though at this time the hemorrhages that the

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Martial Arts Swot Analysis

Mixed Martial Arts SWOT Analysis Mixed Martial Arts is a company provides a safe, realistic martial arts training environment that will allowed the students to grow in their confidences by developing the student’s physical attributes, mental strength, and indomitable spirit. STRENGTHS -A focus on community awareness’s by teaching self defense for all ages -A focus on child development and discipline in society -A focus on continued education for adults and groups of interest -The ability to teach all ages about different types of martial arts and explore the abilities of learning them. – Limited startup risk Family friendly environment; great for the whole family – Provides counseling to individual who have been previously attacked WEAKNESSES – Competitors offer similar options – We are offering to a specific target market which could hurt us if competition is offering to larger target market. – Limited flexibility in programs – Competitors have more experienced staff. – Availability of space. If the locations are limited, then the class sizes are limited and there for we would be limited on how many per class at a time. OPPOTRUNITIES – Urban, city location or locations with large populations. Women’s and children self defense classes. – Exploring ADHD and other disabilities or handicaps that can benefit from martial arts. – Tournaments or competitions hosted by our facility. – An in facility store that sells items like martial arts gear and clothing, training equipment, and self defense items like pepper spray or tasers. – Expansion for online sales THREATS – Dwindling local population – A shortage of equipment – Too many local competitors – A poor economy – Changes in regulations can impact the business – Continual insurance costs increasing – Increase in price inputs can cause upward pricing

Monday, September 16, 2019

Media-Based Anticrime Efforts

Today’s prevalent technological innovations contribute to the growing incidents of crime in the United States. This alarming fact has already been brought into the awareness of the National Citizens’ Crime Prevention Campaign and that which the agency has been addressing these days. Majority of NCPC’s campaigns are engaged in preventing crimes that involve the internet crime, bullying, and theft. (â€Å"Current Campaigns†) In addition, Court TV’s Choices and Consequences also wishes to help the American society become aware of its ability to prevent crime. Empowering the youth – as its main targeted audience – with the wisdom that they can help prevent crime by being aware that the decisions that they make as adolescents have significant lifetime consequences is what this award-winning program do. (â€Å"Mission†) In my opinion, these crime-fighting organizations are effective with their mission of preventing crimes in the society. Through their programs, the community is provided with sufficient information that strips them off from being ignorant about the most recent crime trends in the society. This information will serve as their weapon in fighting against particular crimes when they encounter them. The use of the various forms of media leaves no man ignorant about serious social issues that directly affect him. Consequently, sometimes, excessive use of media in order to deter crime does not necessarily mean that it initiates fear among the members of the society to commit crime. There are even instances when people are influenced otherwise. Too much information also leads to curiosity – curiosity to do what and how it feels like to do what the law tries hard to prevent from happening. Moreover, though broadcast companies hate to admit it, media sensationalize crime incidents that results to adverse psychological effects among some members of the society. There is moreover a conflicting interest issues in the media’s concern regarding its ability to report and deter crime. The federal government, in its hope to secure the society and prevent crimes from happening utilizes the media in order to popularize its campaigns against crime. Major organizations who are advocates of deterring crime also provides television networks with a large sum of money just to make sure people are aware of the criminal issues that are happening in the society so they can avoid it when in the situation. These huge amounts of money that is at stake here leaves us into doubt whether the media companies are earnest in helping deter crime in the community. References: Current Campaigns. Retrieved from http://www.ncpc.org/newsroom/current-campaigns on Oct.  25, 2007. Mission. Retrieved   on Oct. 25, 2007.   

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Case Study: Evolution Psychology Essay

1) Application questions†¦ 1. One way evolutionary psychology can answer Dylan’s promiscuity is that it has become a learned behavior that he has never had to correct/change. The study states that he has been promiscuous since high school and he sees no reason to change his ways. 2. To explain Dylan’s typical womanly interests being of mostly the same physical attributes, has to do with is innate drive for successful reproduction. His attractions to an athletic blonde of medium height, is what Dylan believes the best fit to produce healthy children. Even though Dylan shows no concern after the fact of having children, evolutionary psychology suggests that it is Dylan’s cognitive drive to find these types of women. 3. Such as Dylan’s evolutionary drive for an attractive partner to reproduce with, the women he agrees with dating have some of the same drives for success with their partners to reproduce with. They may know of his wealth and great looks which may be some deciding factors for their choice of a mate. It isn’t until later that the women find out the not so attractive attributes of a man in Dylan’s position. 4. Dylan most likely takes his dates out for a tennis match, to test their physicality and athleticism. He may not want to base his decision on a mate just off of looks; he wants to know if they are strong enough to bring him strong offspring. We look at human evolution to justify this type of occurrence, even if it is a cognitive (subconscious approach) to determining a mate. 5. As we see in nature, many male species do not care for the offspring after birth. That job is left to the mothers and this can explain Dylan’s feelings towards his own children. He feels he found a mate for a reason, to have strong children that they can look after. He does not feel it is his part to raise the children, once he has found a suitable mate, his job is  done. 6. Dylan does not use birth control, because he feels it is the female’s duty to keep herself from becoming pregnant if she does not want to be pregnant. Same goes for std’s , in the relationship , if the woman has chosen Dylan he believes she has made the choice to trust him. Dylan would use protection if he did not trust that the woman he chose to be was clean or not suitable for reproduction. He made a choice and so did the woman, he believes she has thought about all issues that may arise and that is why she is not worried about protection (in Dylan’s eyes).

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Nationalism Essay †Nationalism Forms & Theories â€

Define Nationalism – Nationalism Forms and Theories – our site1. IntroductionWhat is Nationalism and how do you define NationalismThis essay will discuss definitions and forms of nationalism in an attempt to define nationalism phenomenon. The first section will focus on presenting contemporary and historical definitions. Secondly, a brief account of the emergence of nationalism and debates over its origins will be presented. The subsequent section will detail practical and theoretical forms of nationalism and argue for the fact that distinct definitions derive from different theories and forms of nationalism. Define Nationalism To provide a deeper analysis, forms of nationalism and their definitions will be connected with theories of nationalism. Based on these sections, this essay will argue that due to various ramifications of the concept of nationalism, this notion exists in various forms accompanied by a variety of definitions, each serving similar and distinct purposes. Finally, concluding remarks will be drawn based on the evidence presented throughout this essay.2. Define NationalismTo initiate an analysis of definitions and forms of nationalism, this essay will focus on four main definitions (Smith, 2016; Anderson, 2006, Gellner, 1969 and Khon, 1965). When referring to â€Å"nation† and â€Å"nationality† Smith (2013: 7) defines nationalism based on three generic goals which have emerged from the academic study of this ideology, namely national unity, national autonomy and national identity. In this framework, nationalism is defined as ‘an ideological movement for attaining and maintaining autonomy of unity and identity for a population which some of its members deem to constitute an actual or potential â€Å"nation†.’ However, for Anderson (2006: 211), nations are merely â€Å"imagined communities† as members of these communities will rarely know each other, and thus they will draw upon the concept of nationality from their own imagined population to which they belong to. This idea emerged from earlier concepts elaborated by Gellner (1969) who argued that nationalism is nothing more than the process of imagining nations. A similar definition that focuses on the idea that nationalism is internally felt by the individual was developed by Khon (1965: 9) arguing that: â€Å"Nationalism is a state of mind, in which the supreme loyalty of the individual is felt to be due to the nation-state†. Similar to Smith (2013), Coakley (2012) argues that many of the current definitions on nationalism overlap with each other and also with definitions of other notions, such as the concept of state. The state has been defined as a compulsory political organisation operating on a continuous basis (Weber, 1968) while a nation has been defied as a human population sharing a common territory and culture (Smith, 1991). Each of these terms can be encountered in definitions of nationalism which, according to Coakley (2012)see this concept as a form of political mobilisation or an ideology that justifies this mobilisation and diminishes the barriers between nation and state. As it can be observed from the above, in some areas these explanations converge while in other areas these notions seem to be divergent. Smith (2013) looks at nationalism as being a concept that describes self-governing capacity while Andersen (2006) and Gellner (1969) see this notion as the process of imagining communities. Similar to Smith (2013), Khon (1965) sees nationalism as connected with the notion of state. It can therefore be argued that nationalism is understood differently by these theoreticians. Finally, it can be observed that notions of self-determination and nationalism seen as an imagined form of identity expression have been maintained from the 19th century (Khon, 1965; Gellner, 1969) to the 21st (Smith, 2013). Thus, the following sections will attempt to uncover the reasons behind these differences.Define Nationalism – To modify or extend this essay or to get pricing on a custom essay Contact Us Today3. Nationalism Forms and TheoriesTo better understand why a unified definition of nationalism is not established, it is important to look at the epicentre from which nationalism arises. Consequently, a historical analysis of the concept and its subsequent forms, corroborated by theories of nationalism, will be attempted in order to understand this notion. The following section will thus discuss these themes.3.1. The Emergence of NationalismAlthough the word nationalism o nly emerged in political language after 1840, its importance grew significantly in the 19th century with revolutions across Europe (Hirschi, 2011). In this period, the most significant event involving nationalism occurred in 1914, when a fear of Slav nationalism led to the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand which resulted in the First World War (Breuilly, 2013). After the war, the Versailles Treaty made reference to notions of â€Å"nation states†, which became the primary concept used by US President Woodrow Wilson when instituting the doctrine of national self-determination (Breuilly, 2013). This action subsequently gave rise to substantial claims of nationalism around the world (Hirschi, 2011). Dahbour (2003) contradicts this, arguing that national self-determination was a response to the colonisation of states which eventually demanded national liberation. Furthermore, self-determination not only gives rise to nationalism but also to ethical and legal citizenship and with it, the ability of a nation to self-govern. As a result, Dahbour (2003) argues that nationalism is a specific claim made for self-determination. Both ideas elaborated by Dahbour (2003) and Breuilly, (2013) are noticeable in the definitions provided by Smith (2013) and Khon (1965). It can therefore be argued that the notion of self-governance and self-determination are connected with the emergence of nationalism and subsequently to its definition. Another opposing view comes from Andersen (2006) who emphasises language, specifically the shared language of a nation. According to this author, nationalism could not have spread and matured without people being able to read about this notion and debate this notion in writing (Andersen 2006). As a result, a cultural element – language- aided in the spread and maturation of nationalism (Andersen, 2006). Nevertheless, this argument does not concern itself with the emergence of nationalism but rather examines its consolidation. However, it emphasises the importance of culture in the definition of nationalism which spirals from a collective mind. This can thus support ideas of Andersen (2006) and Gellner (1969) of imagined communities as shared language is an acquired cognitive function and thus it is a part of the collective mind.Define Nationalism – To modify or extend this essay or to get full references Contact Us Today3.2. Forms of NationalismNationalism can be mani fested as a state ideology or as a non-state popular movement. These manifestations give rise to five forms of nationalism (ethnic, religious, civic, cultural or ideological) which are used to classify sub-types of nationalism (Chatturvedi, 2005). There are over 10 sub-types of nationalism (Snyder, 2009), some of which seek unity and self-governance for people of certain ethic groups while others seek expansion and economic growth for nations against the global community (Chatturvedi, 2005). Other forms of nationalism have been criticised for hiding racism (i.e. al-right nationalism favouring white supremacy) (Snyder, 2009) while other forms of nationalism seek to bring social unity and equality regardless of ethnicity (i.e. left-wing nationalism) (Maxwell and Maxwell, 2014).Ethnic NationalismFor ethnic nationalism and derivate sub-types, nationalism functions on the principle that a nation can only be defined by its ethnic connection which encompasses shared language, culture, heri tage and ancestry. Because of this characteristic, Roshwald (2001) describes this form of nationalism as intolerant and descriptive of authoritarian regimes. Studies (Gil-White, 2006; Sulaiman, 2016) looking into this concept have concluded that similar to nationalism in general, ethnic nationalism is composed of a series of terms that have distinctive definitions, including ethnicity, nation and state. When looking at manifestations of ethic nationalism in the world, research (Sulaiman, 2016) seems to describe similar lines with theory (Roshwald, 2001). This demonstrates thatethnic nationalism leads to conflict, especially in ethnic diverse locations (i.e. Niger Delta) (Sulaiman, 2016).Religious NationalismReligious nationalism denotes a form of nationalism which relies upon a central religion or dogma that has implications in politics and state affairs (Omer and Springs, 2013). This notion contrasts strongly with modern forms of nationalism and has been described as an irration al form of nationalism (Omer and Springs, 2013: 80). Several real world examples include non-secular states, such as Iran, Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan, where the religious law (Sharia Law or the Islamic Law) is the ultimate law of the state (Kavalski, 2016). As ethnic nationalism, religious nationalism shows little to no tolerance for other religious beliefs (Kavalski, 2016), however it does not focus on ethnic unity, but rather on religious unity by repelling any opposing views.Civic NationalismAt the other end of the spectrum, civic nationalism (also referred to as progressive nationalism) advocates for social unity, individual rights and freedoms. This form of nationalism is centred on the idea of a non-xenophobic society, which shows tolerance for all its individuals and strives to provide equality and social justice (Hall, 1998). A practical example of this can be found in Singapore, where the government’s strategy for development derived directly form civic nationalism and globalisation (Brown, 2000). Empirical evidence (Kwan, 2016; Modongal, 2016) shows that while civic nationalism is the driving force of globalisation, it also leads to a dilution of intrinsic values in highly traditional societies (i.e. China). However, civic nationalism, as nationalism, has different forms of interpretation. Focusing on a definition provided by Habermas (1996), Shen (2007: 17) argues that civic nationalism is â€Å"a voluntary selection of allegiance based on values†. If contrasting the two definitions, it can be observed that civic nationalism is defined from a societal-national perspective (Hall, 1998) but also from a global, international perspective (Shen, 2007). Here, nations would accept cooperation with other nations to whom they share similar values. In practice, this rarely occurs (i.e. China and US economic trade), and countries with distinctive cultures will end up in cooperation for economic development; hence the potential for culture dilution (Modongal, 2016). Thus, civic nationalism and ethnic nationalism have a converging point, namely the element of shared culture. The cultural form of nationalism thus defines a middle ground between civic nationalism and ethnic nationalism (Fedorenko, 2012; Song, 2009). Hutchinson (1987) argues with historical examples from Arab, Jewish and Hindu nations that cultural nationalism plays a significant part in the building of nations, as it is a shared belief, value and tradition alongside with ethnic heritage which can lead to the consolidation of states.Ideological NationalismFinally, ideological nationalism is a form of political nationalism which argues for the capacity of nations to self-govern (Smith, 2013). This notion can also be seen Dahbour’s (2003) idea of self-determination as well as in the definition of nationalism provided by Smith (2013). Looking at the history of nationalism two main conclusions can be drawn. The first refers to the fact that nationalism is highly connected with t he concept of national identity and claims made for self-governance. Thus it may be argued that early forms of nationalism were ideological in nature and focused on notions of territory, population and self-government. This seems to justify Coakley’s (2012) ideas, according to which definitions of nationalism overlap definitions of state, nations and ethnicity. Secondly, because nationalism comes in various forms and subsequent types, a unified definition of nationalism is most likely unachievable. As a result, different forms of nationalism will automatically lead to the conclusion that each form defines a different concept, which although similar in some respects, will also be very distinctive in others. Because the progression of nationalism gave rise to different definitions and forms of nationalism, to better understand their nature, theories on nationalism need to be approached in a structured way (REFERENCE). The next section will therefore look at different theories of nationalism and attempt to set different forms and definitions of nationalism within these theoretical boundaries.3.3. Four Theories of NationalismAccording to Llobera (1999) four main theories dominate the notion of nationalism. These are primordial and socio-biological theories, instrumentalist theories, modernisation theories and evolutionary theories. Primordialists such as Herder and Fichte and more recently Smith and Connor, see nationalism as something which was always present in people but had been reawakened under political self-consciousness (Brown, 2003). Geertz (1973) argues for the concept of given identity, as an individual who is born within a group will receive its identity. Consequently, ethnic boundaries are established which are represented by the individual’s shared experience with family members and the group (Tishkov, 1997). Socio-biologists claims derived from this theory argue that heritage and implicitly ethnicity is passed on genetically (Llobera, 1999). These theories frame the notions of ethnic nationalism and cultural nationalism. Ozkirimli (2017) argues that these two forms of nationalism have their roots in primordial theory. Hutchinson and Smith (1994) have analysed primordialism in depth and argue that human social interaction will take place based on three elements: kin selection, reciprocity and coercion. From this notion, the authors hypothesise that ethnic groups are in fact super-families. Therefore, members of these super-families will be biologically inclined towards cooperation and reciprocity with their own kin while also resorting to some forms of coercion (Hutchinson and Smith, 1994). Conclusively, it can be argued that notions of belonging and indirectly excluding others, encountered in definitions of nationalism derive from these theories. Instrumentalist theories diverge from primordial theories by arguing that ethnic groups can be seen as nations and their boundaries are not fixed, but in fact these can vary according to specific needs (i.e. economic development) (Llobera, 1999). A representative figure in this domain is Barth (1969) who supported this theory by arguing that ethnicity is not a reference to biological or cultural heritage but more a form of social organisation. In Barth’s (1969) assertion, boundaries serve a specific purpose, either biological, ecological, economic, political and/or historical. Transposed, this idea can be encountered in the notion of religious nationalism (Sandler, 2004) where Islamic cultures maintain boundaries for political interest but individuals become a part of their nation when converting to Islam. Modernisation theories strongly oppose primordialism by arguing that nationalism emerged as the result of modern processes, such as industrialisation, favourable political, cultural and socio-economic conditions (Llobera, 1999). Hence, theoreticians who support this claim such as Kohn, Kedourie and Gellne, see nationalism as a modern invention (Hall, 1998). According to Hall (1998) this idea can be seen in notions of civic nationalism and ideological nationalism. Although these three theories show substantial contrasts, the fourth theory of nationalism, namely the Evolutionary theory attempts to bring together the notion of modern and primordial (to some extent). As a result, evolutionary theories argue that indeed, nationalism is a product of modern times; however in Europe, this concept evolved from the ideas of Andersen (2006) and Gellner (1969) of imagined communities corroborated by a form of patriotic nationalism which was present since the medieval period (Llobera, 1999). However, as Smith (1981) observed, in order to pinpoint the emergence of nationalism, an analysis of the transference from medieval to modern needs to be conducted. In order to accomplish this, all societal elements must be considered, including economic, social, political and ideological (Smith, 1981). By assessing the aforementioned theories of nationalism, several elements can be noted. Firstly, the evolutionary theories focus on the emergence of nationalism in Europe, which thus implies that this theory cannot be applied for explaining how nationalism emerged elsewhere (i.e. Hutchinson (1987) on the emergence of nationalism in Hindu nations). However, evolutionary theories can be used to explain the formation of definitions that rely on state and nation. Secondly, primordial, instrumentalist and modern theories of nationalism can be used as frameworks to explain the differences between forms of nationalism and subsequently between definitions of this phenomenon. Another observation that can be made in this case is that nationalism cannot be understood as functioning from a pure ideological, ethnic, dogmatic or religious form.Define Nationalism – To modify or extend this essay, let us know and we will write your essay Contact Us TodayAs it was discussed, its emergence and consolidation was favoured by specific politic, economic, social and cultural circumstances, while at the same time its development was favoured by the same notions (Smith, 1981). An exemplification of this can be seen in civic nationalism which serves the purpose of developing social inclusion and globalisation (Brown, 2000) while religious nation alism can be seen as a political instrument(Omer and Springs, 2013). Considering the multiple ramifications of this phenomenon, the existence of various forms and definitions of nationalism becomes explainable.4. ConclusionThis essay discussed various definitions and forms of nationalism and argued that a unified definition of nationalism is not likely achievable due to the existence of various forms of this notion. In the first section of this essay, by focusing on four definitions of nationalism issued by Smith (2013), Anderson (2006), Gellner (1969) and Khon (1965) it was observed that these theoreticians have different perceptions over the notion of nationalism. As a result, the emergence of nationalism and its forms was assessed in an attempt to explain these differences. By analysing the emergence of nationalism and its various forms it was noted that each form of nationalism derived its own definition. Furthermore, it was observed that definitions of nationalism are connected with its emergence. Hence the existence of various forms of nationalism cannot be used alone to explain its distinctive definition. To do so, understanding where and how this phenomenon emerged is also important. To provide a structured framework for the various forms and definitions of nationalism, theories of this concept were combined with the identified forms of nationalism and linked with the studied definitions of nationalism. Here, it was observed that definitions of the broad concepts of nationalism fit within the elaborated theories while forms of nationalism also fall within this framework. By assessing current notions of nationalism it can be concluded that the exact emergence of nationalism cannot be pin-pointed however primordial theories (Geertz, 1973) argue that this concept may have innate characteristics, thus it was always present in humans. Secondly, by observing the various forms of nationalism it can be concluded that this concept may have begun as a simple ideology from medieval times however it evolved to serve various purposes resulting in the variety of definitions and forms. Thus, a single definition of nationalism is unlikely to be developed (Hall, 1998).Define Nationalism – To modify or extend this or get full references Contact Us TodayNeed help with Best AP Books Selection Take a look at http://www.StudyAPExam.com Summary Article Name Define Nationalism Essay – our site – 3000 Words Description From the definition of nationalism to emergence of nationalism, practical & theoretical forms & conclusion, everything is covered in this 3500 word Nationalism Essay. 1000s of happy students! Author Silvia – our site Publisher Name our site Publisher Logo

American Ethnic Literature Essay

American Literature has been an important part of American people for centuries. What makes this type of literature great is that the authors vision is objective and not one sided. Several of the American authors are still considered to be great writers. The books that were written by these authors are still read by people of all ages around the United States. These books are now considered classic literature. American literature is considered American because it was written by American people. Overall, â€Å"editors appear to use an inconsistent combination of citizenship, geographical location, language, and subject matter (that is, the subject of America and the United States) (Hames- Garcia, p. 1, 2003). Most of the American literature was written by white men. In order to be considered American literature it has to be about the United States. There have been many great authors that write about science fiction, but because it is unreal their literature is not considered American literature. Politics also played an important role in literature. It was of great importance to portray the American character as an â€Å"exceptional entity† (Hames-Garcia, p. 1, 2003). In the early twentieth century, writers who were not American white men were not allowed to publish their works. Women writers as well as Black, Latino, American Indian, and immigrant writers were left out altogether. This happened because other ethnic groups were considered to be inferior. It was until the 1970s that feminist began to speak out and rebel against the oppression they were faced with. It is thanks to this reform that the American literature holds diversity. It allows for men and women to have the same opportunity to express their feelings without having to worry about their race or sex. Another type of literature is ethnic literature. This type of literature is often read as an autobiography, even when making no such claims. This is written on a first person point of view. The author’s point of view is specific to their personal beliefs and life stories. It is difficult for this type of author to provide an objectionable story. They are blinded by anger because of what they had to live. The topics these authors write about covers racism and suppression. The definitions and topics will vary depending on the life experiences that each author or their families experienced. The storyline will also vary because each author lived different time periods, and of course things change over time. Ethnic Literature is great because it now holds different point of views. Every person has a different perspective on what happens around them. What allows for this to be great is that each person is entitled not only to have their own belief, but they are able to express their feelings with freedom. No person is afraid of what repercussion might come because they decided to write from their heart. The truth allows readers to realize that life has been harder for some people more than others. It is easy to forget what our ancestors had to experience in order for each individual to encounter freedom. It is now easy for men and women of all races to walk freely around their city. This however came at a price, and this type of literature allows human beings to read and experience in some small way what it was like to live in a world were the color of your skin as well as your sex had a lot to do with the quality of life you lived. American Literature will continue to play an important role in American people. The only way to enjoy this type of literature is to introduce our younger generations to it. This is theperfect   material needed to give to young readers so that they can value the lifestyle they are allowed to live today. It is up to us to keep this tradition alive so that our future generation can enjoy it as well. Reference Michael Hames-Garcia. (2003). Which America is ours? Marti’s â€Å"Truth† and the foundations of â€Å"American literature†. Modern Fiction Studies, 49(1), 19-53. Retrieved October 25, 2009, from Research Library. (Document ID: 328665241). Yonjae Jung. (2004). The New Americanist Intervention into the Canon. American Studies International, 42(2/3), 213-225. Retrieved October 26, 2009, from Research Library. (Document ID: 676208971).

Friday, September 13, 2019

Herman Melville, Bartleby, the Scrivener or Gail Godwin, A Sorrowful Essay

Herman Melville, Bartleby, the Scrivener or Gail Godwin, A Sorrowful Woman choose one - Essay Example s and actions and the actions of the people around her, the objectivity of the voice is a mask for the subjectivity of womanhood where womanhood is subjective because society narrowly defines and controls it. The narrator of the story is an objective omniscient narrator because she can follow any character around and do not provide interpretations. The narrator provides information on other characters which makes her omniscient. The narrator follows what the father and son to do together one time. The woman is sleeping, but the narrator knows what the father and child did together: â€Å"He took the child for a walk, and when they returned, red-cheeked and boisterous, the father made supper† (Godwin 1). The narrator also turns to other characters to inform the audience of what they are doing. The narrator, furthermore, is also objective because she does not offer judgments or interpretations and lets the readers interpret what is happening. For instance, as the story ends, the narrator describes everything the woman did and then adds: â€Å"The house smelled redolently of renewal and spring† (Godwin 5). There is something ironic about â€Å"renewal and spring† when t he woman plans to kill herself after doing her household duties. The narrator is then leaving the interpretation to the readers. Aside from being objective and omniscient, the narrator’s subjectivity helps readers to understand that the objective tone is ironically subjective because focusing on women’s roles and responsibilities showed that the woman wanted to die because she is tired of being a woman. The narrator hides her subjectivity through objective omniscience. Still, it is clear that the narrator is obsessed with feminine roles and obligations. For example, the narrator describes what the girl maid did as part of her daily work: She painted the room white, fed the child lunch, read edifying books, raced the boy to the mailbox†¦She knitted dresses for herself and played chess with the

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Reflections Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Reflections - Essay Example Moreover, through evangelism, I get a better understanding on Christian challenges but derive satisfaction in making other identify with Christ. Nevertheless, the mode of evangelism defines the perception, challenges, and success in evangelism. As such, there is need to establish the most effective and less challenging strategies of evangelism. For instance, there is need to change the traditional evangelism approaches with ordinary attempts that the modern society can relate with (Henderson, 2007). Through this approach, evangelists will have an easy way in bridging the gap between the â€Å"lost† people and Jesus Christ (Henderson, 2007). Moreover, this approach will help the society to recognize salvation as a major and relevant decision in our lives. Additionally, there is need to establish the best conversation aids on evangelism for the society to understand the message spread by the evangelists (McRaney, 2003). Indeed, communication is a major factor in evangelism since evangelists seek to spread the gospel to a diverse society that requires a better understanding on the gospel for them to join Christhood. We should thus seek to remove all the barriers by adopting better communication strategies (McRaney, 2003), relating evangelism with the typical life, and use a variety of creative and natural connection po ints (Henderson,

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Success of Kennedy Administrations in the Cuban Crisis Essay

Success of Kennedy Administrations in the Cuban Crisis - Essay Example During the public stage of this situation, low-level reconnaissance missions on a two hour basis were eventually ordered by Kennedy. Then, on 25, Th the quarantine line was pulled back, increasing the levels of DEFCON’s military readiness. Later on, Khrushchev Soviet’s then Premier wrote a letter proposing the removal of Soviet missiles and personnel only so that the U.S. would assure them that they would not invade Cuba, and this was on 26th. However, 27th October was regarded as the worst day of the crisis because a U-2 which was flying over Cuba was shot down with Khrushchev, making another demand which was the removal of missiles belonging to the US, which were situated in Turkey in return for their missiles in Cuba. This was also through a letter where the Attorney General Robert Kennedy later on, suggested that they agree with the first letter only. Finally, tensions eased from 28th October when the Soviet agreed to dismantle their missile installations and remova l of light bombers from Cuba as long as the US would not carry out a military invasion of the Island.During the public stage of this situation, low-level reconnaissance missions on a two hour basis were eventually ordered by President Kennedy. Then, on 25, Th the quarantine line was pulled back, increasing the levels of DEFCON’s military readiness. Later on, Khrushchev Soviet’s then Premier wrote a letter proposing the removal of Soviet missiles  and personnel only so that the U.S. would assure them that they would not invade Cuba.

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

US foreign policy and Iraq Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

US foreign policy and Iraq - Essay Example The essential political goals set by the Iraqi administration are concerning governance and reconciliation to the changed circumstances. Some of these goals are discussed in succeeding paragraphs.Major effort needs to be dovetailed to build national reconciliation through dialogues and consensus between all sectarian factions.Another important task at hand would be to mend the socially and politically divided factions through dialogue and confidence building measures. This would require strengthening of all the democratic institutions of the country and uphold the rule of law.To gain confidence, it is imperative to improve infrastructure and living conditions of all Iraqis and put the country on a path of peace and security. Most importantly, there is requirement to firmly deal with the challenges of insurgency, crime, sectarian violence and foreign terror outfits inciting a civil war in the region. Also on the anvil is a critical review of anti-terror and de-Ba'athifiation legislati on.While the aim of the democratically elected government is to bring back the country from its present quagmire to peace and security, these good intentions continue to be hampered due to adverse security conditions. The problem also lies in credible representation in governance. The present government is a representative form of government, but Sunni elements supported by external insurgents and terrorist organisations have considerable say in many regions, especially so in Baghdad, Ninewa, Salahuddin, Anbar, Diyala and Basra. Over 81% of attacks were reported in these provinces during past few years. The terrorist organisations still intimidate vulnerable sections of the society to participate in violent acts against civilians and security forces, attempt to create a civil war like condition, attack country's infrastructure and oil assets etc. Another problem area has been cooperation with multi-national (mainly US) forces, which have been likened by many as occupation forces rather than friendly forces. This aspect is also exploited by insurgents to incite civilian Iraqis to support their cause willingly or unwillingly. Other causes of serious concern remain the ever mounting loss of civilian lives, sense of uncertainty, high levels of sectarian violence and certain serious law and order situations. Implications of US Long Term Deployment or Early Withdrawal A recent US General Accountability Office report stated that the Iraqi government had failed to meet 11 of the 18 benchmarks established by the US regarding authorisation of troop surge recently. The Iraqi government had fully met only three of the legislative, security and economic benchmarks. (Easley, 2007) Only one legislative benchmark regarding rights of minority parties has been met, while only two benchmarks in area of security have been achieved. The government is yet to overcome militia control in certain regions; however there is reduced political interference in military operations, improvement in military capability to conduct independent operations and reduced political claims over military achievements. Economically, only partial implementation of utilisation of funds provided for infrastructural development has been achieved. While the report definitely falls short of expectations, there has been considerable progress in many areas which could not have been possible two years back. Thus, withdrawal of coalition forces at this stage would again reverse these positive developments undesirably. Perhaps, the need of