Human Rights and Perspectives Notes Set Essay

Purpose of the text  ·To argue for the importance of the adversarial advocacy system of conducting trials  ·To argue for the need for a bill of human rights in British and Australian law as basic principles upon which the justice system can be built.  ·To demonstrate the extent of abuses of human rights and injustice in the world in the second half of the 20th century.  ·To demonstrate the extent of his own involvement in advocacy and the defence of human rights. Chapter: The trials of oz Conflicting Perspectives†¦  ·Ã¢â‚¬  The Philosophy of oz was a contradiction in terms† (Pg : 13) – SARCASTIC Suggesting the magazine had no philosphy at all and did not seriously threaten anything  ·Ã¢â‚¬  I knew all about the law- but nothing about justice and i was looking forward to seeing it done† (Pg: 21) – PUN This is a thought provocting pun, as we expect that one flows naturally from the other.  ·Ã¢â‚¬  What are we – the soviet union? † (Pg 39) Implying that roberston views the case as unfair, no freedom or rights of speech and press.  ·Ã¢â‚¬  Lordships pen† (pg 32) Refers to the fact the judge would only write what he chose to write. Chapter: Michael X on death row Conflicting Perspectives†¦  ·Geoffrey Robertson believes that Michael X is the creation of the media. He takes on a superior tone when discussing this (pg: 79-84) and describes him as a â€Å"hustler and a poseur†, dissmissing any real â€Å"achievements† by Michael X  ·Ã¢â‚¬  Token Black† implies his rise to fame in britian was because it was fashionable to have a black man involved in ones cause.  ·Emotive language is used when discussing the death penalty.  ·Ã¢â‚¬ Living Dead† referring to Michael X’s place on death row. – Juxtaposition  ·Ã¢â‚¬  The rest is not silent† a deliberate misquote from shakespeares Hamlet. This is effective because Hamlet is referring to the nothingness of death and the quite that follows.  ·Robertson emphasises the stress suffered as a result of death by hanging by juxtaposing the wailing and hailing of the hangmans victums to the sounds of breakfest. Chapter : The Romans in Britian Conflicting Perspectives†¦  ·Geoffrey Robertsons perspective was that the case was ludicrous in nature. His tone,amusement and sattire show this.  ·Prosecutrix – A pun combining prosecuter and domanatrix  ·He uses language such as â€Å"divened, rapturously and devout legal battallion† in order to place her in the category of a fundamentalist religious crusader.  ·Ã¢â‚¬ Grinded her loins† – Irony â€Å"Loins† were what she was crusading against loins

Gangnam Style Speech

If the phrase â€Å"Oppa Gangnam Style† doesn’t mean anything to you yet, you may want to Google it or ask your friends about it, or you’ll be left wondering why everyone is hopping up and down on invisible horses. The combination of catchy riffs and the corny-yet-hip dance moves made the music video by Korean artist Psy (short for â€Å"Psycho†) the most â€Å"liked† YouTube video of all time. Who is this Psy? Where exactly is Gangnam and what is its style? Well, I have all the answers for you.Today, I’d like to share you about Gangnam Style including a man behind Gangnam Style, the meaning of Gangnam Style, and its achievements. First, a man behind gangnam style. Park Jae Sang, known as PSY, is a Korean hip hop artist under YG Entertainment. He debuted in January 2001 with his full-length album titled â€Å"PSY†¦ From the Psycho World! â€Å", for which he later had to pay fine due to accusations saying that the album contains  "inappropriate contents†. Since then PSY has become a controversial artist as his second album was even banned in 2002.However, he gained much fans with his style of music. He is especially popular for his sense of humor. In summer 2012, PSY launched himself into an international stardom through â€Å"Gangnam Style,† the song that he wrote, composed and produced by himself. The term â€Å"Gangnam Style† was listed in Time's weekly vocabulary list as a manner associated with lavish lifestyles in Seoul's Gangnam district. Gangnam is the area where rich and fashionable young people get together. This song describes a guy who wants to be cool and stylish like a typical Gangnam person, but eventually fails.Psy said in an interview that he intended a twisted sense of humor by claiming himself to be â€Å"Gangnam Style† when everything about the song, dance, looks, and the music video is far from being such a high class. â€Å"People who are actually from Gangna m never proclaim that they are—it's only the wannabes that put on these airs and say that they are â€Å"Gangnam Style†Ã¢â‚¬â€so this song is actually poking fun at those kinds of people who are trying so hard to be something that they're not. † – Psy. Now we know about Psy and Gangnam Style more, right?Third, let’s talk about the achievements of the song and its accompanying music video â€Å"Gangnam Style† was recognized by Guinness World Records as the most â€Å"liked† video in YouTube history and won Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards. The song reached the number one position in more than 30 countries including Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. As if that’s not enough, Psy himself visited the U. N. and taught Gangnam Style dance moves to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Together, they rode invisible horses.According to the United Nations, PSY has become an â€Å"international sensation† through h is song â€Å"Gangnam Style Psy is far from the word â€Å"handsome† but he chose not to have a plastic surgery. He had kind of a tough run to this point. As we all know that Korean music is exceptionally focused on looks, and Psy is not a good looking guy, so he had to work his way to the top. It took him six albums to become a superstar. I admire Psy a lot because he is true to himself. He reminded me of Sebastian's line in The Little Mermaid that â€Å"You got your own style, now let it come through. And remember no matter what, you got to be you. â€Å"

The Human Genome Project

The Human Genome Project (HGP) is a project undertaken with a goal to understand the genetic make-up of the human species by determining the DNA sequence of the human genome and the genome of a few model organisms. The project began in 1990 and, by some definitions, it was completed in 2003. It was one of the biggest investigational projects in the history of science. The mapping of the human genes was an important step in the development of medicines and other aspects of health care.Most of the genome DNA sequencing for the Human Genome Project was done by researchers at universities and research centers in the the United States and Great Britain, with other genome DNA sequencing done independently by the private company Celera Genomics. The HGP was originally aimed at the more than three billion nucleotides contained in a haploid reference human genome. Recently several groups have announced efforts to extend this to diploid human genomes including the International HapMap Project, Applied Biosystems, Perlegen, Illumina, JCVI, Personal Genome Project, and Roche-454.The â€Å"genome† of any given individual (except for identical twins and cloned animals) is unique; mapping â€Å"the human genome† involves sequencing multiple variations of each gene. The project did not study all of the DNA found in human cells; some heterochromatic areas (about 8% of the total) remain un-sequenced. International HGP Initiation of the Project was the culmination of several years of work supported by the Department of Energy, in particular workshops in 1984 [1] and 1986 and a subsequent initiative the Department of Energy. 2] This 1986 report stated boldly, â€Å"The ultimate goal of this initiative is to understand the human genome† and â€Å"Knowledge of the human genome is as necessary to the continuing progress of medicine and other health sciences as knowledge of human anatomy has been for the present state of medicine. † Candidate technologies w ere already being considered for the proposed undertaking at least as early as 1985. [3] James D. Watson was Head of the National Center for Human Genome Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States starting from 1988.Largely due to his disagreement with his boss, Bernadine Healy, over the issue of patenting genes, he was forced to resign in 1992. He was replaced by Francis Collins in April 1993, and the name of the Center was changed to the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) in 1997. The $3-billion project was formally founded in 1990 by the United States Department of Energy and the U. S. National Institutes of Health, and was expected to take 15 years. In addition to the United States, the international consortium comprised geneticists in China, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom.Due to widespread international cooperation and advances in the field of genomics (especially in sequence analysis), as well as major advances in com puting technology, a ‘rough draft' of the genome was finished in 2000 (announced jointly by then US president Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair on June 26, 2000). [4] Ongoing sequencing led to the announcement of the essentially complete genome in April 2003, 2 years earlier than planned. [5] In May 2006, another milestone was passed on the way to completion of the project, when the sequence of the last chromosome was published in the journal Nature. 6] There are multiple definitions of the â€Å"complete sequence of the human genome†. According to some of these definitions, the genome has already been completely sequenced, and according to other definitions, the genome has yet to be completely sequenced. There have been multiple popular press articles reporting that the genome was â€Å"complete. † The genome has been completely sequenced using the definition employed by the International Human Genome Project. A graphical history of the human ge nome project shows that most of the human genome was complete by the end of 2003.However, there are a number of regions of the human genome that can be considered unfinished. First, the central regions of each chromosome, known as centromeres, are highly repetitive DNA sequences that are difficult to sequence using current technology. The centromeres are millions (possibly tens of millions) of base pairs long, and for the most part these are entirely un-sequenced. Second, the ends of the chromosomes, called telomeres, are also highly repetitive, and for most of the 46 chromosome ends these too are incomplete.We do not know precisely how much sequence remains before we reach the telomeres of each chromosome, but as with the centromeres, current technology does not make it easy to get there. Third, there are several loci in each individual's genome that contain members of multigene families that are difficult to disentangle with shotgun sequencing methodologies – these multigen e families often encode proteins important for immune functions. It is likely that the centromeres and telomeres will remain un-sequenced until new technology is developed that facilitates their sequencing.Other than these regions, there remain a few dozen gaps scattered around the genome, some of them rather large, but there is hope that all these will be closed in the next couple of years. In summary: our best estimates of total genome size indicate that about 92% of the genome has been completed . Most of the remaining DNA is highly repetitive and unlikely to contain genes, but we cannot truly know until we sequence all of it. Understanding the functions of all the genes and their regulation is far from complete.The roles of junk DNA, the evolution of the genome, the differences between individuals, and many other questions are still the subject of intense study by laboratories all over the world. Goals The goals of the original HGP were not only to determine more than 3 billion base pairs in the human genome with a minimal error rate, but also to identify all the genes in this vast amount of data. This part of the project is still ongoing, although a preliminary count indicates about 30,000 genes in the human genome, which is fewer than predicted by many scientists.Another goal of the HGP was to develop faster, more efficient methods for DNA sequencing and sequence analysis and the transfer of these technologies to industry. The sequence of the human DNA is stored in databases available to anyone on the Internet. The U. S. National Center for Biotechnology Information (and sister organizations in Europe and Japan) house the gene sequence in a database known as Genbank, along with sequences of known and hypothetical genes and proteins.Other organizations such as the University of California, Santa Cruz[1], and Ensembl[2] present additional data and annotation and powerful tools for visualizing and searching it. Computer programs have been developed to analy ze the data, because the data themselves are difficult to interpret without such programs. The process of identifying the boundaries between genes and other features in raw DNA sequence is called genome annotation and is the domain of bioinformatics.While expert biologists make the best annotators, their work proceeds slowly, and computer programs are increasingly used to meet the high-throughput demands of genome sequencing projects. The best current technologies for annotation make use of statistical models that take advantage of parallels between DNA sequences and human language, using concepts from computer science such as formal grammars. Another, often overlooked, goal of the HGP is the study of its ethical, legal, and social implications.It is important to research these issues and find the most appropriate solutions before they become large dilemmas whose effect will manifest in the form of major political concerns. All humans have unique gene sequences; therefore the data p ublished by the HGP does not represent the exact sequence of each and every individual's genome. It is the combined genome of a small number of anonymous donors. The HGP genome is a scaffold for future work in identifying differences among individuals. Most of the current effort in identifying differences among individuals involves single nucleotide polymorphisms and the HapMap.How it was accomplished Funding came from the US government through the National Institutes of Health in the United States, and the UK charity, the Wellcome Trust, who funded the Sanger Institute (then the Sanger Centre) in Great Britain, as well as numerous other groups from around the world. The genome was broken into smaller pieces; approximately 150,000 base pairs in length. These pieces are called â€Å"bacterial artificial chromosomes†, or BACs, because they can be inserted into bacteria where they are copied by the bacterial DNA replication machinery.Each of these pieces was then sequenced separ ately as a small â€Å"shotgun† project and then assembled. The larger, 150,000 base pairs go together to create chromosomes. This is known as the â€Å"hierarchical shotgun† approach, because the genome is first broken into relatively large chunks, which are then mapped to chromosomes before being selected for sequencing. Celera Genomics HGP In 1998, a similar, privately funded quest was launched by the American researcher Craig Venter and his firm Celera Genomics.The $300 million Celera effort was intended to proceed at a faster pace and at a fraction of the cost of the roughly $3 billion publicly funded project. Celera used a riskier technique called whole genome shotgun sequencing, which had been used to sequence bacterial genomes of up to six million base pairs in length, but not for anything nearly as large as the three thousand million base pair human genome. Celera initially announced that it would seek patent protection on â€Å"only 200-300† genes, but later amended this to seeking â€Å"intellectual property protection† on â€Å"fully-characterized important structures† amounting to 100-300 targets.The firm eventually filed preliminary (â€Å"place-holder†) patent applications on 6,500 whole or partial genes. Celera also promised to publish their findings in accordance with the terms of the 1996 â€Å"Bermuda Statement,† by releasing new data quarterly (the HGP released its new data daily), although, unlike the publicly funded project, they would not permit free redistribution or commercial use of the data. In March 2000, President Clinton announced that the genome sequence could not be patented, and should be made freely available to all researchers.The statement sent Celera's stock plummeting and dragged down the biotechnology-heavy Nasdaq. The biotechnology sector lost about $50 billion in market capitalization in two days. Although the working draft was announced in June 2000, it was not until Feb ruary 2001 that Celera and the HGP scientists published details of their drafts. Special issues of Nature (which published the publicly funded project's scientific paper)[7] and Science (which published Celera's paper[8]) described the methods used to produce the draft sequence and offered analysis of the sequence.These drafts covered about 83% of the genome (90% of the euchromatic regions with 150,000 gaps and the order and orientation of many segments not yet established). In February 2001, at the time of the joint publications, press releases announced that the project had been completed by both groups. Improved drafts were announced in 2003 and 2005, filling in to ~92% of the sequence currently. The competition proved to be very good for the project, spurring the public groups to modify their strategy in order to accelerate progress. The rivals initially agreed to pool their data, but the agreement ell apart when Celera refused to deposit its data in the unrestricted public data base GenBank. Celera had incorporated the public data into their genome, but forbade the public effort to use Celera data. HGP is the most well known of many international genome projects aimed at sequencing the DNA of a specific organism. While the human DNA sequence offers the most tangible benefits, important developments in biology and medicine are predicted as a result of the sequencing of model organisms, including mice, fruit flies, zebrafish, yeast, nematodes, plants, and many microbial organisms and parasites.In 2004, researchers from the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium (IHGSC) of the HGP announced a new estimate of 20,000 to 25,000 genes in the human genome. [9] Previously 30,000 to 40,000 had been predicted, while estimates at the start of the project reached up to as high as 2,000,000. The number continues to fluctuate and it is now expected that it will take many years to agree on a precise value for the number of genes in the human genome. History In 1 976, the genome of the virus Bacteriophage MS2 was the first complete genome to be determined, by Walter Fiers and his team at the University of Ghent (Ghent, Belgium). 10] The idea for the shotgun technique came from the use of an algorithm that combined sequence information from many small fragments of DNA to reconstruct a genome. This technique was pioneered by Frederick Sanger to sequence the genome of the Phage ? -X174, a tiny virus called a bacteriophage that was the first fully sequenced genome (DNA-sequence) in 1977. [11] The technique was called shotgun sequencing because the genome was broken into millions of pieces as if it had been blasted with a shotgun.In order to scale up the method, both the sequencing and genome assembly had to be automated, as they were in the 1980s. Those techniques were shown applicable to sequencing of the first free-living bacterial genome (1. 8 million base pairs) of Haemophilus influenzae in 1995 [12] and the first animal genome (~100 Mbp) [1 3] It involved the use of automated sequencers, longer individual sequences using approximately 500 base pairs at that time. Paired sequences separated by a fixed distance of around 2000 base pairs which were critical elements enabling the development f the first genome assembly programs for reconstruction of large regions of genomes (aka ‘contigs'). Three years later, in 1998, the announcement by the newly-formed Celera Genomics that it would scale up the shotgun sequencing method to the human genome was greeted with skepticism in some circles. The shotgun technique breaks the DNA into fragments of various sizes, ranging from 2,000 to 300,000 base pairs in length, forming what is called a DNA â€Å"library†. Using an automated DNA sequencer the DNA is read in 800bp lengths from both ends of each fragment.Using a complex genome assembly algorithm and a supercomputer, the pieces are combined and the genome can be reconstructed from the millions of short, 800 base pair fr agments. The success of both the public and privately funded effort hinged upon a new, more highly automated capillary DNA sequencing machine, called the Applied Biosystems 3700, that ran the DNA sequences through an extremely fine capillary tube rather than a flat gel. Even more critical was the development of a new, larger-scale genome assembly program, which could handle the 30-50 million sequences that would be required to sequence the entire human genome with this method.At the time, such a program did not exist. One of the first major projects at Celera Genomics was the development of this assembler, which was written in parallel with the construction of a large, highly automated genome sequencing factory. The first version of this assembler was demonstrated in 2000, when the Celera team joined forces with Professor Gerald Rubin to sequence the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster using the whole-genome shotgun method[14]. At 130 million base pairs, it was at least 10 times large r than any genome previously shotgun assembled.One year later, the Celera team published their assembly of the three billion base pair human genome. How it was accomplished The IHGSC used pair-end sequencing plus whole-genome shotgun mapping of large (~100 Kbp) plasmid clones and shotgun sequencing of smaller plasmid sub-clones plus a variety of other mapping data to orient and check the assembly of each human chromosome[7]. The Celera group tried â€Å"whole-genome shotgun† sequencing without using the additional mapping scaffolding[8], but by including shredded public data raised questions [15].Whose genome was sequenced? In the IHGSC international public-sector Human Genome Project (HGP), researchers collected blood (female) or sperm (male) samples from a large number of donors. Only a few of many collected samples were processed as DNA resources. Thus the donor identities were protected so neither donors nor scientists could know whose DNA was sequenced. DNA clones from m any different libraries were used in the overall project, with most of those libraries being created by Dr.Pieter J. de Jong. It has been informally reported, and is well known in the genomics community, that much of the DNA for the public HGP came from a single anonymous male donor from Buffalo, New York (code name RP11). [16] HGP scientists used white blood cells from the blood of 2 male and 2 female donors (randomly selected from 20 of each) — each donor yielding a separate DNA library. One of these libraries (RP11) was used considerably more than others, due to quality considerations.One minor technical issue is that male samples contain only half as much DNA from the X and Y chromosomes as from the other 22 chromosomes (the autosomes); this happens because each male cell contains only one X and one Y chromosome, not two like other chromosomes (autosomes). (This is true for nearly all male cells not just sperm cells). Although the main sequencing phase of the HGP has been completed, studies of DNA variation continue in the International HapMap Project, whose goal is to identify patterns of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) groups (called haplotypes, or â€Å"haps†).The DNA samples for the HapMap came from a total of 270 individuals: Yoruba people in Ibadan, Nigeria; Japanese people in Tokyo; Han Chinese in Beijing; and the French Centre d’Etude du Polymorphisms Humain (CEPH) resource, which consisted of residents of the United States having ancestry from Western and Northern Europe. In the Celera Genomics private-sector project, DNA from five different individuals were used for sequencing. The lead scientist of Celera Genomics at that time, Craig Venter, later acknowledged (in a public letter to the journal Science) that his DNA was one of those in the pool[17].On September 4th, 2007, a team led by Craig Venter, published his complete DNA sequence[18], unveiling the six-billion-letter genome of a single individual for the first time . Benefits The work on interpretation of genome data is still in its initial stages. It is anticipated that detailed knowledge of the human genome will provide new avenues for advances in medicine and biotechnology. Clear practical results of the project emerged even before the work was finished.For example, a number of companies, such as Myriad Genetics started offering easy ways to administer genetic tests that can show predisposition to a variety of illnesses, including breast cancer, disorders of hemostasis, cystic fibrosis, liver diseases and many others. Also, the etiologies for cancers, Alzheimer's disease and other areas of clinical interest are considered likely to benefit from genome information and possibly may lead in the long term to significant advances in their management. There are also many tangible benefits for biological scientists.For example, a researcher investigating a certain form of cancer may have narrowed down his/her search to a particular gene. By visiti ng the human genome database on the worldwide web, this researcher can examine what other scientists have written about this gene, including (potentially) the three-dimensional structure of its product, its function(s), its evolutionary relationships to other human genes, or to genes in mice or yeast or fruit flies, possible detrimental mutations, interactions with other genes, body tissues in which this gene is activated, diseases associated with this gene or other datatypes.Further, deeper understanding of the disease processes at the level of molecular biology may determine new therapeutic procedures. Given the established importance of DNA in molecular biology and its central role in determining the fundamental operation of cellular processes, it is likely that expanded knowledge in this area will facilitate medical advances in numerous areas of clinical interest that may not have been possible without them. The analysis of similarities between DNA sequences from different organ isms is also opening new avenues in the study of the theory of evolution.In many cases, evolutionary questions can now be framed in terms of molecular biology; indeed, many major evolutionary milestones (the emergence of the ribosome and organelles, the development of embryos with body plans, the vertebrate immune system) can be related to the molecular level. Many questions about the similarities and differences between humans and our closest relatives (the primates, and indeed the other mammals) are expected to be illuminated by the data from this project.The Human Genome Diversity Project, spinoff research aimed at mapping the DNA that varies between human ethnic groups, which was rumored to have been halted, actually did continue and to date has yielded new conclusions. In the future, HGDP could possibly expose new data in disease surveillance, human development and anthropology. HGDP could unlock secrets behind and create new strategies for managing the vulnerability of ethnic groups to certain diseases (see race in biomedicine). It could also show how human populations have adapted to these vulnerabilities. The Human Genome Project When populations start to die there are only so many to choose from for genes. A founder effect will then be created (Welsch 73). The Human Genome Project set out to identify all the genetic material in humans (Welsch 265). Another type of variation is different from genes it is physiological. Our blood type is a protein on our red blood cells and delivers oxygen and immune responses ( Welsch 267). We are only able to give blood to those who have our same blood type unless we have the blood type that is the universal donor. We have a friend who has suffered miscarriages, the most recent was 26 weeks along. Her body keeps rejecting the baby and they are not sure what the cause is. They are sure that it is not the RH factor. The white blood cells also have their own set of proteins, the human leukocyte antigen system (HLA). This system protects our bodies from foreign objects or infectious agents (Welsch 268). Even within our families we are varied because we will not all have the same combination of the system. We all react to infections and diseases differently. My husband is highly allergic to artificial smells. His system seems to be in overdrive. When he was in the military his bunk mate sprayed scented aerosol deodorant and his throat closed up. He then realized he could not handle anything artificial. My friend's cousin had a double lung transplant last year. Several months after her transplant she got an infection and her body rejected her new lungs and she passed away. I think her rejection to the new lungs was because of the differences in the HLA system of her body and the donor's. Our bodies also adapt and look different from others in our skin tone and our body types. These traits are not as significant in our bodily functions but are varied nonetheless. W all can have different hair color, skin color, and shape and sizes. Our skin does not really have color, it has a pigment called melanin ( Welsch 271). Depending on where the person lived they may have more melanin production and have darker skin. Some can also be tall and skin or short and chubby. We measure this through the anthropometry. It helps determine the variations we see. We put these measurements in the cormic index, which is sitting height to standing height ( Welsch 273). The intemembral index is the ratio of arm length to leg length (Welsch 273). Body fat is determined by the BMI or body mass index. A person can be too skinny or too fat and have a BMI that is not healthy. Another variation is race. This our society's system for classifying people based on how they look. These differences are believed to reflect the root of genetic and biological differences. We also adapt to the environments we encounter. We can either allow our environment to change us or we can change the environment. To survive we have to figure out what needs to change and react accordingly. We have to have a certain plasticity. We all change during our lifetime and it comes somewhat from our surroundings. We can perform niche construction and make our environment suitable to our living conditions. On the farm my in laws own they do several things to insure their success. They have to give the cows shots to make sure they are healthy enough for reproduction and the babies will be healthy enough to be sold. They take care of the grass and the other parts of the land to ensure the cows are fed during the spring, summer and fall. They make sure that there is enough hay to feed them during the winter. As parents we have the ability to help our children adapt. To set them up for success in life as humans. We teach our children how to cook, clean, read, and write. The ability to care for themselves spans across generations. They will teach their own children these abilities to adapt and survive in the world around them. We pass this on to them through extra-genetic inheritance. We have a new emergence of new species through speciation. Differences can be so vast that it becomes a totally different species. Such as the dog and the wolf. Both have canine but the wolf is considered a different species. Evolution takes place as we experience different things in our culture. We have to adapt as our culture changes. The constructivist approach shows that our biology is a process of construction (Welsch 239). Our bodies work in combination with our genes to affect how genes can be expressed or epigenetic system of inheritance ( Welsch 240). When our genes are altered we can pass those down to our children affecting how their bodies work and how they behave. The way we raise our children affects how they will behave as adults. If we are nurturing, loving and kind to our children almost all of the time these will be the traits they possess unless they have something else going on biologically. If we behave negative with our children and this is all they see they will in turn possess those traits. This is the behavioral system of inheritance. We also store symbols and communicate them with others around us, showing the world our understanding through them. The symbols we use come from the symbolic system of inheritance. Through manipulating the world around us and changing the world around us it is important to our biocultural evolution. Change is an important part of who we are. Just as when we move into a new home, a new town, new school, and even a new job we change and construct the environment to fit our needs. We do certain things so we can fit in and feel comfortable. It allows us to thrive. We even try to change the land we live on. Another aspect of biocultural evolution is the evolution of our behaviors. Sociobiology explains our behaviors as related to our biological component (Welsch 245). Our behavior can also be influenced by the earth and social things going on around us. This comes from the human behavioral ecology (HBE) (Welsch 246). We adapt our behavior to our society so that we can fit and continue to evolve. Our behaviors are directly connected to our biological self. This comes from biological determinism (Welsch 247). Some of them come forward or (emergence) based on who we see and interact with in our daily lives. We adapt and change through our diet, moving to different places, and sometimes we even change our bodies through modification to make ourselves fit in. Just like runway models who extreme diet and workout to be tiny enough to be considered for the runway. This shapes our cultures around the world and how we all view each other. Everyone in this world is so unique. No two people even family members will be completely identical. Our bodies adapt and varied through the generations to be continued successfully. We all try to fit in with our behaviors so that our true biological self can come forward. We need to be conscious in the things we teach our children because they will be the next generation and bring forth a new culture. Works CitedWelsch, Robert Louis, et al. Anthropology: Asking Questions about Human Origins, Diversity, and Culture. Oxford University Press, 2017.

Define Working Capital Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Define Working Capital - Research Paper Example Creditors that supply raw materials and ask payments after a few days or weeks provide leverage to the organization and reduce its working capital requirement. On the other hand, when the company buys raw materials on cash payments, it needs more working capital to run its business. Similarly, when the company sells its finished goods on cash against delivery, the working capital requirement gets reduced; in contrast, when the company sells its goods on credit and receives payments after a few days or weeks, the firms working capital requirement gets enhanced. Therefore, to get the raw material supply on credit with delayed payments and to sell the goods on cash is the most idealistic strategy to have the minimal requirement of working capital particularly, when the firm is short of working capital funds. The management of working capital is the most crucial aspect for the success of any business and to save the company from liquidity

Social Network - Facebook Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social Network - Facebook - Research Paper Example The end users of Facebook site always have a wide variety of information but despite this fact, the privacy implications of accessing and using this information has emerged and immensely affected them (Trepte and Leonard, 2011, pp101). On examining how Facebook has affected privacy, researchers have found massive flaws in the system. The privacy in this social media has usually been undermined by at least three key factors. These three factors, which highly affect the privacy of this social media, include: users disclose too much information, Facebook management does not take crucial steps towards protecting the users privacy, and lastly, third parties are very busy seeking end users information using Facebook (Trepte and Leonard, 2011, pp102). These three factors have made the use of Facebook as a channel of communication and interaction vulnerable, as third parties can easily access the information which was not intended for them. Though Facebook privacy policy settings specify which data will be collected about an individual user, mostly, some part of this policy is vague and confusing to the end users. Some privacy policy standards adopted by Facebook appear confusing and mostly contradict the stipulated privacy rights of the end users, for example, Facebook collects information about its end users from other external sources like newspapers, regardless of the individual use of the website (Trepte and Leonard, 2011, pp103). The gathered information from these external sources is used to supplement the end users profiles unless the individual users specify in their settings that they don’t want that to be done. To this extent, Facebook usually compromises the privacy of many end users who are mainly unaware of such settings. Despite the fact that Facebook clearly indicates what type of information they will be including in their whole process of updating individual user profiles with information they s eek from the external sources, their privacy policy and adherence thereto fall short in various areas. First, they fail to explain to the individuals the use for the extracted data (Trepte and Leonard, 2011, pp104). This means that they can avail of any individual data for various purposes like for Facebook’s marketing partners. Facebook has developed a close relationship with various corporations, thus they take advantage of the individual users and share their information to these associates without their approval. This clearly implies that there is virtually no control of what data Facebook can expose to the advertisers (Trepte and Leonard, 2011, pp105). The law regulating the disclosure allows Facebook to disclose any individual user personal data to the advertisers. This allows the advertisers to create cookies that are not governed by any privacy policy regulating the use of social media. Though there is a stipulated procedure for an individual Facebook user to request Facebook not to share his or her information with third parties, definitely there is no transparency in such procedures as individual users have no evidence of whether their request will be honored or not. In line with privacy of online information, security of information is assured through use of passwords. This allows for a restriction of access of information to those who have only been granted legitimacy to access such information. Facebook, though has vague guidelines about the use of its user’s information, has given users control over their existing information about themselves in the Facebook databases. Their terms of engagement with users clearly state that a user can remove his or her content in the Facebook d

Human Resource Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Human Resource - Research Paper Example In hitting this goal, going through a continuous performance management system is significant. The first step is defining acceptable employee performance. We need to follow a certain flow of appraisal process to identify the performance of the employees. In defining the acceptable employee performance, we need to review the performance of each employee according to his job description. Using the specific job description, we can establish performance measures and standards. We need to establish performance standards that can describe what constitutes below-average, average, and above-average performance. Then identify the best and worst case scenarios to come up with realistic standards for measuring performance. After defining the performance of each employee, we can move on to facilitate the employee’s performance. One of the most important roles of Human Resource Department is to support the growth and development of each employee. The best tool in facilitating the employee’s performance is to provide guidelines for improvement. We could set guidelines that outline how long it should it take an employee to improve and what steps will be taken if the employee fails to show improvement. Create basic policies that will highlight the personal growth and development of employees. To motivate each employee in following the guidelines for improving performance, the company itself should also encourage them. Encouraging the employees for developing performance could be motivated in a form of reward. However considering that the company is currently facing financial crisis, we need to review the compensation package first. This also includes evaluating the commission packages, expenses covered, perks and necessity of onsite amenities that are currently covered. We have to take a look if the current compensation programs have met the requirements and expectations of the employees from the company. Finding out if

Stereotypes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Stereotypes - Essay Example Over time, people come to believe these stereotypes as literal representations of an undeniable reality and, accordingly, perceive of and treat members of the stereotyped group from within the confines of these biased opinions. The United States, despite its being a heterogeneous, pluralistic society with a supposedly liberal and multicultural society, is a virtual hotbed of stereotypes. There is hardly an ethnic, racial, religious or cultural group in the US which is not defined in accordance with a set of, often unflattering and negative, stereotypes. Indeed, as Slotkin (2001) maintains, the entire notion of the "melting pot," let alone that of the "many as one," is nothing but a myth (469). The various ethnic, racial, religious and culture groups in the country have not melted into one another and are, most definitely, not one. They are separated by each group's belief in its own difference from the others and by stereotypes which effectively determine the manner in which each group will be perceived of by the others; stereotypes which are ultimately founded upon the exaggerated representation of differences. According to Aleiss (1995) Among the many stereotyped groups in the United States, few have bee n so persistently perceived and treated from within the narrow, prejudicial and often erroneous confines of stereotypes as have been the American Indians/Native Americans. Following a brief overview of the biased views surrounding American Indians, the translation of stereotypes into actual practices shall be analyzed in relation to the military. It has been theorised that anti-American Indian stereotypes emerged as a consequence of the relationship between ethnicity and nationality. In his overview of this theoretical conceptualization, Slotkin (2001) contends that perceptions of an immutable relationship between ethnicity and nationality, compounded with an overwhelming determination to create a nation which was reflective of their identity, beliefs and worldview, literally drove the early European settlers to impose images of savagery upon the native Americans, thereby furnishing a justification for their annihilation. As Todorov (1984) explains, the earlier settlers had, either directly or indirectly, been pushed out of their native lands primarily because they simply did not fit in. Upon settling in the New World, they were determined to create a nation which reflected who they were and design a culture which echoed their values and promoted their social, economic, political and ideological worldviews. Within the context of this particular nation and culture building project, the American Indian functioned as an anomaly, an obstacle to the fulfilment of the stated. Consequently, the realization of the settlers' articulated ambition became inextricably linked to the removal of the stated obstacle, ultimately leading to a violent war against the Native Americans. This war, as Sandberg (2006) argues, was, on the surface, morally and ethically unjustifiable insofar as it sought the extermination and elimination of the territory's rightful owners and inhabitants. It gained legitimacy and, hence, became a justifiable war, through the promotion and propagation of stereotyp

The Rise of Sikhism in India Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Rise of Sikhism in India - Essay Example The foundation of the Sikh religion was based on the existence of the ten gurus, starting with the pioneer guru who was the founder and the overall seer of the religion. Guru Nanak was born in the mid-15th century in a village close to the present day Pakistan in a predominantly Hindu family. His fascination with religion and the development of a spiritual personality pushed him out of his ancestral village to the areas of Punjab where he established his family. Though established by an individual from with a Hindu religion roots, Sikhism lacked any connection with the Hindu religion and culture and was developed solely by guru Nanak and led by other ten gurus after the death of the founder2. During the founding years of the religion, Nanak used the message of collectivism and unity to bring his believers together and strengthen his religion by attracting more followers. ‘Ek Ong kar’, we are one and we were all created by one merciful creator’ was one of the common messages that the founder used to attract his followers and ensure the development of unity of purpose among the people3. The followers of the religion were known as the Sikhs and were strictly taught to worship none other than God the almighty who is the creator of heaven and earth. They would also bow to the Gurus because they were believed to have direct contact with God and to also live in the light if His ways. As a result, the gurus were believed to have the power to lead the people from the dark ways into the ways of the God. The establishment of the Sikh religion as it is known today did not occur without enduring suffering, threats, intimidation and execution of the followers. It is believed that the initial founders of the cult and some gurus were executed in an attempt to curtail the spread of the cult to other parts of India, a move that was viewed to threaten the dominance of the Hindu religion. However, the British colonial rule in India revered the

Global Warming. Who is responsible Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Global Warming. Who is responsible - Essay Example And the major part of the warming that has been reported this century took place from 1900-1940. Ironically, the release of greenhouse gases was less during this period of the century when compared to the second half. In reality, the rise in temperatures over the recent years has been relatively higher when compared with the increase in greenhouse gases.1 Over the last few years, the issue of global warming has gained widespread media coverage. It has been the subject of many TV debates and now has a central role in the ongoing U.S. presidential elections campaigns. Many TV programs depict polar bears stranded as huge chunks of ice continue to melt into the polar waters. This has even been the subject of advertisement for many cruise lines that lure customers by promising them to enroll on a trip to witness the effects of global warming as it melts down polar ice that has been there for more than two million of years.2 According to a document released by the United Nations' International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), "Global atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide [generated by fossil fuel consumption], methane and nitrous oxide [due to agriculture] have increased markedly as a result of human activities since 1750 and now far exceed pre-industrial values determined from ice cores spanning many thousands of years."3 However, the document is also optimistic and states that global warming can be curbed if effective measures are put in place to cut down global carbon emissions. That's because slowing down human activity, which according to the panel is the major cause of climate, can be the first step towards overturning the current situation. Global warming is a genuinely dynamic problem today's world. The current level of excess concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is as a result pass human activities. In the same light, the fossil fuels we burn today and related activities will affect future generations. That's because carbon gases emitted today will settle in the atmosphere and leave a negative effect on our planet when we are all gone. As a result, we have to take into account the welfare of our grandchildren each time we make a decision that can affect the environment.4 There is need for us to consider alternative sources of energy, and that's because fossil fuels have two major drawbacks. In addition to pollution, fossil fuels have become expensive.5 More recently, the issue of global warming has been gaining grounds even in religious spheres. More and more people of faith are now adopting global warming as one of their religious concerns. "As with concern regarding the nature and reality of the Holy, as with concern about one's relation to divine things, to God, to the sacred, as with concern for what may be one's ultimate purposes in life, global warming puts radically reorienting questions to life. Global warming puts life itself into question--not only our own individual lives, or the lifeline of our species, but all of life and its future possibilities. Global warming evokes the fragility of life and its mysterious contingency and begs caring response on our part."6 Another reason why global warming should attract religious concern is that most religions have some common principles that guide their teaching. These include having concern for the vulnerable as well as appreciation for the majestic works of God. "Global warming, by

Primate comparison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Primate comparison - Essay Example The diet of the animal includes sap, fruit, arthropods as well as nectar. The animal unlike other animals such as the Bengal Slow Loris does not in any way show forms of sexual dimorphism with an increase in weight. In fact, the vestigial tail that exists within the animal is often hidden beneath the fur and is reduced to what can be described as a stump. The primate has a toothcomb; this means that it has six teeth that are forward facing on the bottom of the jaw (Wiens, 2002). These teeth are mainly incisors and canine teeth. The structure of these teeth is often used to graze off gum when it comes to the process of foraging. The animal excretes a brawny smelling fluid from the glands used in communication. The Sunda Slow Loris often moves swiftly through trees with its four limbs. Callithrix pygmaea often known as the pygmy marmoset can be described as new world monkey species that is often native to Peru, Brazil, Bolivia and Colombia. Its range often stretches expansively over the Andrean foothills of the Southern Colombia to the Southeastern Peru (Townsend, 2001). The pygmy marmosets often live and thrive in a multistratal river edge forests at different and diverse lower evaluations. The pygmy marmosets are often described as the smallest extant monkeys, this is because they have an average body length of 13 cm. The animal has a coat of buff as well as grey fur that is marked with yellow, green as well as black ticking on the head. Infants initially have grey heads as well as yellow coats that are covered with black ticking and they exhibit the adult pattern with the first month life. Although the pygmy marmosets are not often considered as being sexually dimorphic, the females are often known to be slightly heavier than the males. Longer hair that exists around the face as well as the neck often gives the pygmy pygamae the facade of a lion like mane. The animal has hindlimbs are often

Does the Policymaking Is the Preserve of Decision-Making Elites Essay

Does the Policymaking Is the Preserve of Decision-Making Elites - Essay Example This paper illustrates that to suggest that public policy is a technical aspect of politics is insufficient, instead it should be viewed as a multi-faceted, interactive system that is directly influenced by social and political inputs that are highly diverse. For elite policymakers to promote only a singular agenda which is aligned with elitist perspectives would lead to backlash or outrage by other societal stakeholders (i.e. community citizens or special interest groups). Hence, to state that policymaking is the preserve of elitist groups would be both irresponsible and impractical. This essay explores the notion of policy-making under an elitist agenda, offering case studies which refute the notion that bargaining, negotiation, and accommodations cannot supersede an elitist agenda. A policy is a shared resource with many multi-faceted inputs influencing policy, including the responsibility to maintain social cohesion and responding to different systemic pressures that impact multi ple societal stakeholders. Elite statesmen maintain the absolute responsibility to incorporate conceptions of brotherhood, justice, social cohesion and ensuring the proper allocation of states’ resources to provide the most benefit to all society members that maintain a vested interest in policy-making outcomes. The idea that a single elitist group can create the policy that preserves its own ideas and intended outcomes of policy does not take into consideration that maintaining unitary power in policy-making would be challenged by other societal stakeholders that have the ability to pressure or coerce policy outcomes. One can consider a policy-making situation in New Haven, Connecticut in which there were imbalanced power resources (such as wealth, knowledge and social standing) in a policy-making scenario. Even in an environment in which voters were apathetic and power resources were concentrated with the privileged and influential, city politicians considered demands impos ed by activists to develop the relevant public policy that would satisfy not only the agenda of the privileged politicians but a broader group of stakeholders as well. This represents the notion of pluralism in policy-making that must respond to diverse needs and expectations which may not always be congruent with elitist agenda.

Much Ad About Nothing Essay Example for Free

Much Ad About Nothing Essay Write about the ways in which Shakespeare presents the relationship between Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing and compare it with the ways in which relationships are presented in ‘Sonnet 130’, ‘Sonnet 43’ and ‘Salome’. In Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare presents an interesting relationship between the characters of Beatrice and Benedick. We can compare their relationships with the poems ‘Sonnet 130’, ‘Sonnet 43’ and ‘Salome’ and the relationships presented in them. Although Shakespeare includes a conventional relationship between Hero and Claudio, he also decides to involve a different affair between Beatrice and Benedick. One of these moments where we can begin to understand their relationship is during the First Meeting. In Act 1 Scene 1, Benedick uses imagery of a bird to mock Beatrice. On line 126, Benedick says to Beatrice â€Å"Well, you are a rare parrot-teacher†. Benedick could be mocking Beatrice by suggesting that she can’t say anything original and only copies what others say, therefore relating to the imagery of a parrot. However, the word ‘rare’ shows that Benedick recognises the unique characteristics of Beatrice and that she is standing out from the crowd, consequently hinting his disguised love for her. Additionally, this quotation also relates to the context of time as women, in those days, could be punished for talking too much. Benedick could be taking advantage of the conventions of time to put Beatrice in her place in their relationship with each other. The parrot imagery can also relate to a poem called Sonnet 130. This is because, in Sonnet 130, the poe t says â€Å"I love to hear her speak, yet well i know, That music hath a far more pleasing sound;†. We can link the first phrase of Sonnet 130 with Benedicks quote of a ‘rare’ parrot-teacher. By including the word rare before the imagery of a bird, suggests that although Beatrice may talk too much, Benedick still enjoys listening to her speak hence relating to Sonnet 130 â€Å"I love to hear her speak†. As well as this, the second line of Sonnet 130 â€Å"that music hath far more a pleasing sound† links to why Benedick uses the imagery of a bird to mock Beatrice in the first place. As he includes the phrase ‘parrot-teacher’, it indicates that even though he enjoys listening to her speak, perhaps as she speaks too much, means that there are better things to  be heard. Overall, within the First Meeting of Beatrice and benedick, Shakespeare begins an interesting relationship causing the audience to be intrigued and persuaded to keep watching. Shakespeare proceeds with their relationship in Scene 1 Act 11 at the Masked Ball. Here, Benedick and Beatrice are presented as hostile towards one another as Benedick is masked, unable to reveal his identity, as Beatrice is basically insulting him while pretending that she doesn’t know who he really is. She says that Benedick will â€Å"break a comparison or two on me, which peradventure not marked, or not laughed at, strikes him into melancholy, and then there’s a partridge wing saved, for the fool will eat no supper that night.† She is making the case that benedick is so weak-minded that no one will laugh at his jokes. Then Benedick will be so upset that no one listens to his witty comparisons that he loses his appetite and is unable even to eat a partridge wing, which would be a small meal anyway. But perhaps the idea of consuming food could be changed to create a more interesting insight of Beatrice’s insult. Beatrice could also be saying that Benedick is weak but has lost his appetite not for food but for life because he is regarded so low by his friends. It could also be a reference to Benedick losing his sexual appetite. In Beatrice’s quote, she uses a powerful metaphor to insult Benedick’s manhood. This would be particularly astonishing given the context of time: women were expected to say less than men. However, in this scene Beatrice is particularly outspoken by saying something which is immensely rude; this is completely going against the conventions of time. Beatrice would also be living up to the expectation at the time as women were more sexual than men and would be prone to having affairs and ultimately cuckolding men. We could compare Benedick and Beatrice relationship throughout the Masked Ball with the poem ‘Salome’. Salome presents someone who is confessing to something that they are guilty of. One line says ‘cut out the booze and the fags and the sex.’ This indicates that the person is wanting to lose their appetite for sex whereas within Beatrice’s insult towards Benedick, it refers to a possibility of Benedick losing his sexual appetite without wanting to. Furthermore, we could link when Beatrice says ‘for the fool will eat no supper tonight’ to another quote from Salome: ‘was his head on a platter’. Perhaps when Beatrice says that Benedick will have no supper, she could really mean that he is the supper.

A Theory On Nation Building Politics Essay

A Theory On Nation Building Politics Essay There are different theories of nation-building and state-building that explain how a state and nation should be built. Most of the theories take their point of departure from Western models of state that is often inappropriate for African countries.  [1]   Nation-building has emerged in 19th century from nationalism in Italy and Germany and continued by external actors in post-WWII  [2]  in Germany and Japan. However, it is difficult to speak about nation-building in those two countries, as their nations; with strong cultural and ethnic bonds, already existed and focused more on building of democratic institutions. The conditions for nation-building, including homogeneity of the population, were much more positive than they are in Africa.  [3]  Due to this fact, this model is insufficient to explain the complexity of the situation in Somalia. Therefore we have decided to use a theory that encompasses also importance of element of nation, national identity and its integrity together with state-building. On the one hand, nation-building is a process of socio-political development. This, at least ideally, shall bring loosely linked communities together, becoming one society. This process can start off of political, economical, social, cultural or other reasons. As this process can involve extremely different dimensions, positively (economical integration) as well as negatively (repressions like ethnic cleansing) it is not clear that nation-building actually is successful.  [4]   On the other hand, it is a political objective as well as a strategy. This means that either internal or external players try to create a system that is constituted under a nation-state. Then, the term nation-building has a rather programmatic or conceptional character and cannot be used for analysing the political and social process. Therefore, this objective or strategy is mainly used in a development strategy in order to serve nation-building.  [5]   However different these two definitions are, there are three core elements counting for both: integrative ideology, integration of a society and development of a functional state (state-building). For a successful nation-building, this results in a triangle, Hippler argues, having state-building, social integration and ideological legitimacy at its corners, of which all corners need to be fulfilled. Some aspects of the elements can be introduced and provided from outside, while others can only be built from inside, such as ideological legitimacy.  [6]  Now we will describe different element in their theoretical perspective. Integrative ideology To begin with, there is a need to stem from an integrative ideology in order to build up a national feeling and give the people, through this, a national identity. Therefore, a common ground for all different groups in this emerging nation needs to be found. This could be, for example, religion, language or history. Obviously, the more in common, the bigger is the chance to build up one society. It is important to state, that, in this case, ideology should be understood in neutral terms as systems of thought and fundamental philosophies that explain the past, present and future according to certain value models.  [7]  When we look closer on the national identity, we can find several definitions. We have decided to connect two of them theoretically. One describes modern approach critically and It is also very important that this ideology comprises ideas applicable to everyone and idea of national cohesion must be stronger than the idea of separation.  [8]  Connecting ideology with national identity, different people have their own individual identities. As long as the primary identity and loyalty lies with the tribe, clan or an ethnic or ethnoreligious group and the national identity level remains subordinate or missing, a nation-state will continue to be precarious.  [9]   Crucial role in the formation of nation is played by government, elite or ruler. There are different criteria that government has to meet in the process of nation-building. First of all, government has to examine what has been done in the past, to be able to make people believe in better future. For example if the collapsed ruling regime left people hurt and full of distrust in the government, this fact has to be taken into considerations when building a nation. Therefore confidence in state institutions destroyed  [10]  should be prognosis for better future. Another influential element is population actually has to be willing to cooperate, to be motivated in creating, supporting and shaping the nation.  [11]  Finally, concept of nation has to fulfill different criteria in the perception of the people: centrality and extent nation-building shouldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦occupy a central position in peoples everyday political and social lives?à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ association with other issues on the agenda connecting with the experiences of the target groups narrative familiarity flexibility and openness to change With clever policies and respect for the differences between different social groups in the nation, government can successfully develop a strong national identity and nation-building process. Integration of society Integration of society in the nation is very important element of nation-building. In post-colonial states it is usually understood in connection with democracy and third wave of democratisation. The nation-building was accompanied by high expectations from the West and in many post-colonial countries different ethnic groups are gaining meaning in the changing institutional system.  [12]   Generally, we define three models of national unity, that will help us to understand how in divided societies nation-building can take place. Those are: Imperium, Culturally homogenous nation of modern age and Pluricultural integration. In the imperium, there is a set hierarchy, while religion is dominated by the ruling elite. There is no necessary desire for unified culture and communication. Integration is achieved through differences.  [13]  Looking at culturally homogenous nation of modern age, we can see patterns of secularisation keeping culture and religion apart from the state. Culture of the majority or elite is, again, supported. Nation-building processes are underpinned by regulated norms.  [14]  In the last model, the pluricultural integration, minorities are oppressed and discriminated and have to struggle for recognition of their rights. This is mostly a case in multi-ethnic and multi-lingual societies that are taking account of cultural and religious diversity .  [15]   The evolution of democracy in developing countries is challenging and demands of different ethnic leaders make processes of nation-building in these countries even more fragile. But very important fact that there are efforts for building new architecture of democracy  [16]  That means that there are bigger emphasis on the ethnicity and ethnic equality and therefore these ideas counteract centralist/assimilatory tendencies  [17]  Four democratic innovations for states in inner conflict concordance, local representation, federalism and cultural autonomy. Concordance is a model that allows representatives of all important groups to participate in the political decision-making process  [18]  , offering large variety of institutional forms. Advantage of this form is creation of coalitions, where different groups have to cooperate to reach their goals. This model is of use when there is no strong majority to rule, because otherwise there is no need for coalition. Local representation represents most diverse representation of minorities possible  [19]  . It is also significant in the way that minorities are usually represented by their own representatives. In the elections, ethnic groups are finding coalitions and ways to cooperate and to enforce their interests. However, this model can deepen ethnic differences and policies might be strongly influences by individual ethnic interests instead of the ones of whole society.  [20]   Federalism offers different groups equal power but also identical rules to be followed. Groups deal with their matters individually, what makes system more flexible, decentralized and minorities more secure. On the other side, there is a danger of secession, where demands for greater autonomy can be continually rising.  [21]  FIND MORE The last model, cultural autonomy, is very focused to preserve and strengthen the identity of minorities  [22]  . There is emphasis on local languages and religions that are also considered to be official languages. That gives minorities ability to take care of their affairs individually, but on the other side, to deepen the differences between the groups (might not be an issue deals with minority language, legal pluralism) However, although state-building being a part of nation-building, it is important to distinguish between both of them: While state-building is focused only on building state institutions etc. a functional state apparatus nation-building is in many states a pre-requirement needed to be fulfilled before.  [23]  Especially in European countries, where a national identity already exists, only the state needs to be built around it. We can also observe this phenomenon, when we look upon the history of the modern (and in this case European) nation-state, where first a nation existed from which then a nation-state emerged. In post-colonial countries, in opposite, demarcations were made by the former colonial powers on interest lines and not according to ethnic groups, tribes or similar communities. This means in many cases, that a country either includes many different ethnic groups with different backgrounds, or that one ethnic group is spread in more than one country. This leads to arguments how a state should be governed and, through this, to weak states or weak state institutions. The political elements contain the nation-state and a high level of social mobilisation and political integration, which are, although not the central elements, some of the most important. Therefore, methods like material incentives (e.g. public service employment), cultural means (e.g. educational system and language policy) and compulsion need to be applied. Furthermore, when a government is finally introduced, it needs to consolidate its own position in the society.  [24]   The social mobility also needs to be built up, either in a bottom-up or top-down model. This implements that all members of society need to be involved, especially in the political and ideological process of shaping the nation. This is often a big change, as most weak states were formerly governed by only one part of the society which excluded/repressed the rest of the population. As everyone is supposed to participate, in this period of time, at least some democratic dialogue will take place. However, it is possible that the newly formed nation will in this dialogue agree on some authoritarian or totalitarian form of governance.  [25]   In this dialogue of constituting a nation, dormant conflicts will wake up, especially in the former excluded part of society. This might turn out to be more serious, when it is not clear who belongs to the nation. The problem arises especially, when the conflict is ethnically motivated (for instance because of the language or religion). Then, nation-building easily becomes repressive and lowers the social participation in the political discourse. There is also a need for the redistribution of power: old social and political structures will be (need to be?) destroyed, while new ones will be built up. This means, that, where local governments had most power, Hippler argues, a centralised government with a good local anchoring might be an advantage, as this ensures that new persons will take over.  [26]   As nation-building needs at least to some extend external help, especially in regards of providing security and building up a functioning infrastructure, the countrys government either needs to invite the international community, or this needs to intervene.  [27]  However, as the states of the international community will only act in a failing state if they see some advantage in it, there needs to be a trigger. This trigger could be for economic (the intervention of the USA to Iraq in 2003), security (the intervention of the NATO to Afghanistan in 2001) or for political and historical reasons (the intervention of the NATO in the Former Yugoslavian Republics in the 1990s).  [28]   The goal for intervening is not or not primarily nation-building; it needs to be seen as a necessity for reaching another goal. For example did the USA plan to leave Iraq after half a year and only realised after the end of the (official) war that it will take several years to build a nation and rebuild institutions.  [29]  This explains, why nation-building in many cases is only improvised, incontinent and lacks of preparation, as the war does not only destroy the balance of power in the intervened country but also entails a clash of power politics between internal and external players.  [30]  As it is the interference into the domestic politics of another country, Ignatieff stresses, nation-building has also imperial approaches.  [31]  A shift in the international discourse about an allowance of these imperial actions by putting them in the UN charter is discussed in the international community, as there is no dominant public position. But there can also be external efforts to internal nation-building that can be very helpful for the built state. A good example therefore was the nation-building in Afghanistan with the help of the USSR. Here, processes are supported from outside with positive efforts in political, social, security-policy and other domains. This is also possible in countries with different political embedding. However, then there is a greater emphasis on development and peace policies, although also other aid can be provided for a long term stabilisation.  [32]   In the case of external efforts for internal nation-building, it is important to see for the intervening state that often an area of conflict arises between the internal processes promoted and the often contradictory political objectives.  [33]   Internal nation-building should promote human rights, social equalisation, good governance and participative democracy. Imperial nation-building must recreate a nation-state and sometimes even the corresponding society. The desire to bring this about external players is the creation of an enormous dimension. However, the external governments are often not entirely conscientious of their action as they want/need to work economically and have a limited budget, while recreating a whole nation-state is financially very expensive, takes a lot of time it is calculated to take one or two generations, and is very personnel-intensive. If the intervening countries cannot fulfil these variables fully, they are likely to fail. This mostly happens in a change of government, what most likely occurs during the time frame of such an operation.  [34]   There are several fundamental problems that easily arise by imperial nation-building, meaning that one country intervenes another one and then rebuilds the nation:  [35]   Firstly, at the intervention but also throughout the whole process, there is a security problem: Usually, there is no real army to fight against, or it is just one part, but as the country is fragmented, the war is as well: Opponents are often warlords, terrorists and militias which fighters can be hardly recognised from civilians. Furthermore, their buildings are closely linked to civilians and common living spaces.(quote?) However, an army is only prepared to fight against clearly recognisable enemies and has in this case either only little power or civilian causalities need to be acceptable. The latter is usually not an option, as this is not only problematic in terms of ethics and international law but also contradictory to the overall aim, as the local people would not understand it. The second problem is the political problem of local rulers and warlords: As security is one of the major aims, for the intervening power as well as for the local population, a cooperation on the spot is often implemented. This can easily contradict to the aim of nation-building, because it usually means a cooperation with old local structures which are usually meant to be disband or with the use of other local power structures, militias, warlords and even criminal gangs as auxiliary troops. This was done by actors such as the UN (cooperation with a militia in Kosovo) and the USA (cooperation with warlords is Afghanistan and Iraq) for different interests: On the one hand, these auxiliary troops often find support in the local population and are therefore helpful, on the other hand they are potential enemies which are, at least for the time of cooperation, eliminated. This cooperation is built upon the proliferation of weapons and money towards these troops. But especially the latter becomes a problem in the further process. When peace and order are established, warlords, militias, etc. are supposed to be disarmed, what is very risky and needs a lot of money as well as personnel. A third fundamental problem is the question of resources: As already stated earlier, a nation-building process usually takes several years, a lot of money and personnel. The expected numbers are usually topped by the actual needs. A good example for this is the US intervention in Iraq, now going on for seven years instead of a supposed short-term mission by using almost double of the costs calculated.  [36]   Fourth, there is the internal political factor of the intervening state for a long term commitment. Especially in the Western world, the sense of the mission in regards of financial and human costs will be questioned after a short time. Also, due to the rise of interventions after the end of the Cold War, many states reach their military capacities by supporting one or two nation respective state-buildings (e.g. Germany with its soldiers in Kosovo and Afghanistan, the USA being in Iraq on top of its other operations). As a fifth fundamental problem, there should be mentioned conflicts of objective and means, as there is most often a conflict between the interest in actual nation-building and the interest of control. The latter needs certainly be focused on security reasons, because it can otherwise fall apart easily. In this context, nation-building becomes a means for social and political control of the country. That means that it is not any more an objective but becomes an instrument for other purposes. This comes, according to Hippler, down to three points describing the goals of imperial nation-building: [] (i) an emphasis on military, police and intelligence resources [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦]; (ii) appropriate infrastructure measures [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] and (iii) strictly regulated democratisation and participation possibilities in order to include local political forces in the administration of the country and be better accepted among the public at large [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦].  [37]   The opposite of imperial nation-building is non-imperial or development policy nation-building. Its biggest argument is that nation-building must not be seen as a blueprint of Western democracies which shall be projected on Third World countries, including economy and democratic institutions; being also a major reason for the failure in Afghanistan. Rather it should have a sound and workable concept that suits the countrys nation to be built. An example for failing on this context is the Iraq, where the USA did not have a suitable plan at all.  [38]   Best prospects nation-building has when fulfilling certain functions for the society affected. These should be articulated by socio-economic and political groups. However, nation-building is less likely to be affective after current crises, as the society is already too split. Easier it is when the society is not split yet, meaning usually a solution before a crisis starts off. While for the latter a short-term solution is likely to solve the prospects of nation-building, the former means because of the great experience of violence a more important role of control and security for the (re-)integration of society. When talking about integration, the question of a targeted disintegration may arise in the sense of ethnic cleaning in order of building separate nation states. A central argument of supporters of this thought is that in countries where is, due to e.g. a genocide, only little chance of an integration of the enemy factions and that it is close to impossible to bring integration if not wanted by any of the parties. Opponents may reply that greater trouble will occur by displacing people what definitely would need to happen in border regions, but is also likely to happen in other regions. A separation would neither solve the problem entirely as the factions are like to start a new war afterwards.  [39]   Nation-building is a painful, contradictory and complex process which promises only success, when the affected populations living standards are improved and the population connects it to nation-building. If the living circumstances stay the same in the long term it is perceived to be artificial and more and more opposition will rise. However, over a short term, nation-building is tolerated when it arouses hope for the future instead of actually bringing improvements.  [40]   As a starting point, the new nation must have the feeling that the new nation-state is and will be capable of solving problems in the populations interest. This normally includes economic and socio-political components such as a safeguarding food supply, healthcare, jobs and accommodation, but should also contain personal security and infrastructure. But cultural symbols are for the integration of a nation equally important.  [41]   Another step to be made in connection to the improvement of living standards is the implementation of politicostructural changes. An optimal starting point for these are the internal cultural and political conditions in the newly built nation. However, although it should create the prerequisites of it equality, a fair fiscal system, education, etc., it should not form democracy itself.  [42]  

Culture and Public Relations: Links and Implications

Culture and Public Relations: Links and Implications Public relations can be described as an industry which builds bridges and maintain relationships with an organization and its intended public. At its very core, public relations it about connecting people, making it a very human oriented industry. Because it is so human oriented, it results in a PR person having to interact with many people, who may come from several different cultures. Culture, as explained by Thwaites, is the ensemble of social processes by which meanings are produced, circulated, exchanged (Thwaites, Davis, Mules, 1994). In short, it is simply the production of meanings by people. It is especially important for PR activity in terms of its role in the meaning-making process. Culture is multi-discursive and can be contested. It is also dynamic and historical. This means that culture is not stagnant and can evolve over time. This essay seeks to explore the relationship between culture and public relations in depth, especially the importance of intercultural competence in relation to a PR practitioner’s work. In order for a PR practitioner to properly carry out their work, cultural research is essential. To do so, they can adopt the use of anthropology and ethnography. According to the American Anthropological Association (n.d.), anthropology is the study of humans, whether past or present. Sociocultural anthropology explores the social patterns and practices across different cultures, especially how people live, organize, govern and create meaning. Traditionally, the anthropology approach treats culture as predictive, static and a casual variable (Bardhan Weaver, 2010). However, it is still useful to examine cultures in different contexts as they offer alternative ways of thinking about public relations. On the other hand, ethnography can help PR practitioners understand public relations and its effects in different ways. As one come across research from the 1990s and 2000s, they will realize that many of these researches drew on Hofstede’s extensive studies, mapping four dimensions of national culture. These four dimensions of national cultures are: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity versus feminity and individualist versus collective. Although extensive, Hofstede’s studies show only a static understand of culture, and is focused on understanding the culture of others in order to perform business functions more effectively. In spite of that, public relations should focus more on building and maintaining multicultural relationships and communities. In this increasingly globalized world, PR practitioners are crossing borders more, whether online or offline. Effectively, PR practitioners can be said as culture workers. Because of this, PR practitioners need to have more understanding of different cultures and the cultural differences. By developing an understanding for cultural differences, they may come to realize that one approach may not work across all cultures. As such, intercultural competence is very important for a PR practitioner. Developing intercultural competence will allow for a PR practitioner to come up with better approaches when working with different cultures. One example will be the difference between PR in America and China. Using Hofstede’s dimensions, one will find that the Chinese culture is very different from the American culture. The Chinese society in China firmly believes that a wide power distance is acceptable and that inequalities are acceptable; whereas the Americans are more open and there is a very narrow power distance between the higher and lower ranking members of an organization. PR in Singapore is also vastly different to practices in China. To the Chinese, because China is such a relationship-rooted society, networking and PR activities are expected to include gifting, as well as having to â€Å"wine and dine† a client before discussing official business. In Singapore, this is not widely-practiced, and doing so may seem like one is accepting favours or bribes. Such are examples of how difference in culture may affect a PR practitioner’s approach. Cultures may also be split into three areas, namely: occupational, organizational and education and research. In occupational cultures, research has to be done as cultural concepts are key to understanding public relations â€Å"as an occupational culture as well as a form of culture-worker† (Edwards Hodges, 2011). The various roles of public relations in culture highlights many different practices, which can be applied to many aspects of client handling. PR in occupational cultures can also be said to comprise of more than one culture such as â€Å"consultancy culture† and â€Å"in-house culture†. These cultural constraints, if understood, can help explain the relationship between PR and society. On top of that, it can also shine light on how cultural and societal conventions influence the industry in different contexts, and shape expectations and generate stereotypes or caricatures (Edwards Hodges, 2011). On the other hand, PR in organizational culture approaches research very differently and for different purposes. Anthropological concepts can be used to decipher the role of public relations in order to establish dichotomy of a manager-technician (Edwards Hodges, 2011). Because the nature of a PR practitioner’s work is necessarily cultural, research is instrumental to show that they are doing more outside of what is commonly perceived of them. In educational and research cultures, PR research can be useful to provide insights into â€Å"the existence and origin of resistances and negotiation over the curriculum† (Edwards Hodges, 2011). Ethnographical research can also be used to look into the cultures of professionals and those who are involved in the education industry. Because of the diversity of cultures, a PR practitioner has to develop a set of intercultural skills which are crucial to their work. Some examples of such skills will include knowledge of the different cultures, having an open mind as well as having empathy. Intercultural skills are important to a PR practitioner simply because of the number of different cultures that they will interact with in the span of their career. More often than not, a PR practitioner will find that a single approach will not work across all cultures, that â€Å"one shoe does not fit all†. As such, honing their intercultural skills is a must in order for them to come up with cultural-appropriate approaches. Intercultural competence involves both intrapersonal and interpersonal skills. Intrapersonal competencies mostly involve cognitive skills, which is altering one’s perspective to see from another person’s perspective. It also involves self-reflection, problem solving, as well as culture-detection (Stier, 2006). In addition, it also deals with understanding why people feel certain ways as well as the implications of these feelings and how people cope with them, which may be triggered by unknown cultural settings (Stier, 2006). Interpersonal competencies, however, involves interactive skills. Skills such as being able to â€Å"detect and interpret non-verbal cues, subtle signals and emotional responses† (Steir, 2006), as well as how to respond to them fittingly. The most important aspect of intercultural competence that a PR person has to possess is arguably empathy. Empathy, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is the act of understanding and being sensitive to the feelings, thoughts and experiences of another. Being a â€Å"culture worker†, a PR person’s work spans many cultures. One have to understand that imposing their own thoughts and culture on another will not go down well, and that the right approach is to instead take the time to first understand how the culture functions and produce meaning. Culture plays a very big part in a PR person’s work. It is closely related to the way a PR practitioner is able to carry out their work, and PR practitioners have to do adequate research in order to prep themselves for the different cultures they will come across. Common research methods include the anthropological and ethnographical methods. Other than research, intercultural competence is also very important to a PR person. Because we live in an increasingly globalized community, it is inevitable that we will interact with many different cultures. Understanding of these cultures and one’s own will help one to understand the differences in each other’s cultures, so as to come up with better approaches when working with them. In conclusion, PR work requires cultural competence as it negotiates cultures, crossing boundaries online and off. Practitioners have to be flexible and understand the cultural values which are the foundations of the industry, as well as understand their cultural heritage. PR work also requires global and local knowledge, so as to facilitate to different cultures. Most of all, PR people should focus on building positive multicultural relationships and communities, as well as maintaining them. References What is Anthropology? (n.d.). Retrieved May 26, 2015, from http://www.aaanet.org/about/whatisanthropology.cfm Bardhan, N., Weaver, C. (2010). Public relations in global cultural contexts (p. 298). London, Abingdon, Ox: Routledge. Definition of â€Å"Empathy†. (n.d.). Retrieved May 27, 2015, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empathy Edwards, L., Hodges, C. (2011). Public relations, society culture: Theoretical and empirical explorations (1st ed.). New York, New York: Routledge. Stier, J. (2006). Internationalisation, intercultural communication and intercultural competence. Journal of Intercultural Communication, (11). Retrieved May 27, 2015, from http://www.immi.se/intercultural/nr11/stier.pdf Thwaites, T., Davis, L., Mules, W. (1994). Tools for cultural studies: An introduction (1st ed.). South Melbourne, Melbourne: Macmillan Education Australia.

European Commission’s Proposal on Software Patents :: Technology Computers Essays

European Commission’s Proposal on Software Patents The European Commission should maintain and clarify its limitations on patents for software, to fight against American mega companies attempting to globally monopolize software, to avoid the mistakes the United States has made, and to potentially let Europe emerge as a software mecca, where software can continue to make significant advancements. This viewpoint can be supported with several ethical considerations, including Ethical Egoism, Utilitarianism, and Pluralism. General View on Software Patents Purpose of a Patent Patents have a dual role in our society. An invention or new creation should be shared with the public and peers to enrich the public body of technical knowledge. In return, society rewards inventors for their efforts by giving a monopolistic control over the invention. In general, patents cover a practical implementation of an idea, as in a product, and not the idea itself. The patent system is in place to promote innovation. Patents on Software Merriam-Webster defines software as, â€Å"something used or associated with and usually contrasted with hardware: as: the entire set of programs, procedures, and related documentation associated with a system and especially a computer system; specifically : computer programs.†[1] Britannica Encyclopedia defines software as, â€Å"instructions that tell a computer what to do.†[2] These definitions of software as a set of instructions, or an associated part with hardware, immediately differentiate it from your typical invented product. By itself you do not have a product, yet United States case law has contended that once you put that software on a disc, you do have a product. Patents have been crucial to distributing your typical technical innovation. Software has no such limitation. Software ideas and innovations have spread quickly through the public domain of information. Some reasons for software distributing so quickly is its relative immaturity as a science and engineering practice, extensive freely distribution from universities, and a near direct fiscal value in general acceptance and use of a software concept[3]. Software innovation has flourished under the general availability of software code, concepts, and tools. Additionally, software is developed incrementally, building quickly on existing concepts. In general, the patent system has been shown to slow the development of incrementally developing technologies such as software[4]. Some Good Software Patents Very carefully reviewed, and perhaps shorter duration software patents could benefit innovation. A software implementation that might otherwise be kept hidden behind trade secret in a company could be revealed to the public for an exchange of monopolistic control.

Satire in George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) :: Nineteen Eighty-Four 1984 Essays

Satire in 1984 1984 is a political parable. George Orwell wrote the novel to show society what it could become if things kept getting worse. The first paragraph of the book tells the reader of the "swirl of gritty dust....The hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats." Just from these few lines Orwell makes it clear that there was absolutely nothing victorious abuot Victory Mansions. Every image the reader recieves from Winston Smith is pessimistic. Hate week, for example, is a big event in Oceania. The citizens prepare for it like Christmas. Instead of jolly songs with family and friends over punch, Hate week is celebrated with fists in the air while chanting about death, Goldstien, and whatever the party wanted the citizens to disgust. Winston hates the party and Big Brother. He hates the "pure" ones, also. Everthing about Winston's life drives him closer and closer to a suicidal point each day. What makes things worse, hte Party makes Winston think that he is crazy for wanting to be free to think and for wanting to remember. These simple things are taken for granted today. George Orwell devilishly illustrates the brutality that man can be capabel of when he is given such power. The people of Oceania are forced to love Big Brother. There is possibly no one that loves Bill Clinton, besides his family. there are several that love to makes fun of him, but on the political mainstream love is not involved as it is in Oceania. The setting in itself is an extremely important part of the novel. Winston lived in a "dark, gray drab jungle." Posters of Big Brothr were everywhere. The telescreen could see and hear asmost everything that Winston did. However, Winston could hide from it long enough to write in his diary even though he knew he would get caught eventually. Winston was alienated before Julia. He didn't have much contact with other people; he was constantly hungry both physically and emotionally. However, it is ironic that Winston enjoys the work he does but he hates

The Ineffectiveness of the Film Ratings System :: Movie Film Essays

John Small, a fourteen year old boy in Uptown St. Paul, proceeds into the Suburban World Cinema, anxious to see Abel Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant. He is equipped with a parental note, replete with the phone number where his parents can be reached to verify that they did indeed author the note should its authenticity be questioned. John pushes seven crumpled-up dollar bills and the folded note into the metal dugout under the box office window, only to be met with a tinny, disinterested voice booming through the round silver speaker mounted on the window: "No children under seventeen allowed! Sorry. This note isn't gonna cut it." The incident exemplifies a pressing issue in the ever-topical discussion of the oft-vilified film rating classification system in our country. Is the movie rating system, originally designed to assist parents in guiding the movie-going habits of their children, actually preempting parental choice? To at least some people, however, Jack Valenti, the man responsible for devising the Motion Picture Association of America and the National Association of Theatre Owners, is leading the effort, as editorialist James Wall put it, "to protect children" (1227). Valenti wrote, "The voluntary Movie Rating System has one objective: to issue advance cautionary warnings to parents so they can make their own decisions about what movies their children should or should not see. No one -- appointed, anointed, or elected -- ought to insert themselves into individual parental decisions" (87). But the film classification system, designed to assist parents in making decisions about their offspring's film patronage, often thwarts that very purpose and, in the process, actually stifles the creativity and honesty of the film industry as well. Although Valenti and the Rating System's advocates claim that parents should have the final choice in what their children view, the system may, in practice, obstruct that purpose for parents who decide that their children should see some films. For films with the controversial NC-17 rating, the theatre is prevented from letting young John Small and his under-aged ilk from seeing a film despite his parents' permission. In fact, had John actually been accompanied by his parents, the theatre would have had every right -- some would even say responsibility -- to refuse his admission. The printing of the NC-17 rating often does not read -- as would be reasonable -- "Intended for Adults Only" but rather the more rigid "Not to be Attended by Children Under Seventeen.