Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Relationship Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Relationship Marketing - Essay Example Consumer behavior is rapidly changing in today’ s world. Most of this changing behavior stems from rapidly evolving technology and its growing importance in our life. The emergence of Web 2.0 has also made it possible. It has helped pave way for door to content driven information which could either make one’s business or bring it down. Thus technology has a strong relationship with consumer behavior and eventually its impact on the purchasing behavior of customers. Social networking sites have opened new paradigms in marketing and relational marketing. Most social networking sites, for instance facebook are educational model tools that voice out what that niche of people wants. Models like yahoo, msn and other search engines have come up before but could never generate the community like feeling. Today companies are very accessible to the consumers because people are talking back to back with them. Other factors have also affected relational marketing.With the advent of the retailing era, products and pricing alone cannot target customers. Customers who enter a store with the advent of purchasing might return empty handed due to a number of factors. Though one of the factors is the unavailability of the products they need but there are a number of factors which might deter them. They include not being able to find the product, being unsure about the product because the store atmosphere doesn’t allow them to judge it properly and being uncomfortable in the store. The store might not appeal to them and the shopping experience is not as convenient as they would like it to be and they leave in order to buy that better shopping experience. ... (D Walters and D White, 1987). It involves communicating a positive product image to the customer and also ensuring that the customer decodes it well thus leading to positive behavioral outcome leading to purchase. The basic aim of the retailer is to trigger a customer to make a purchase. For this three major steps are to be followed. The first one should cause the customer to enter the shop. This can be caused by the shops exterior including both the exterior landscape, the board and the window display. The second effort is made to retain the customer in the store for as long as possible which is attained by making the ambience pleasing and the store comfortable. The third and the decision making process of buying is greatly affected by the product display and availability which is ensured by clean products on display in an efficient manner. The interior design of the store can greatly affect the customers psychologically, lowering their defenses and removing their doubts, encourage them to make purchases and maintain interest in the store. (Kotler, 1974). Thus all marketers are unanimous in agreeing with the fact that store design is one of the main factors behind customer store choice decisions. Other factors include pricing, distance and size of the outlet. Previously the emphasis was on the display of the products but now marketers also have to lay emphasis on the elements which excite the senses of the shoppers. Frequently used elements are smells, lighting, flat screen videos and graphics and flooring (McGoldrick, 1990) Visual merchandising involves using four basic design elements namely lighting, cleanliness, design layout and product display. These are also called orienting factors, signage and atmospherics by

Monday, October 28, 2019

Case Study on Early Childhood Essay Example for Free

Case Study on Early Childhood Essay This study will provide an understanding of a child’s physical, cognitive, and social development. Early childhood is a time of remarkable physical, cognitive, social, as well as emotional development. Infants enter the world with a limited range of skills and abilities. Watching a child develop new motor, cognitive, language and social skills is a source of wonders for parents and caregivers. The study of human development is a rich and varied subject. We all have personal experience with development, but it is sometimes difficult to understand exactly how and why people grow, learn, and change. What happens or doesn’t happen to children in the earliest years of their lives is of critical importance, both to their immediate well-being and to their future. If you received the best start in your earliest years of life, you are more likely to have grown healthy, developed language and learning capacities, or gone to school and led a productive, rewarding life. Let’s take a closer look at early childhood development including the well-being of potential influences around the child. Five year old Madison, a cheerful and clever girl, is one of the most active children I have ever met. She is a member of gymnastics, dancing, and little league softball team. Weighing about thirty five pounds and very lean, she has the energy times three of one child. To determine Madison’s maturity of her motor skill development, I created a test for both her gross motor skills and fine motor skills. To test her development of her gross motor skills, I told her to run up and down the driveway of her yard, which was about 9 feet in length, until she was tired. Madison only ran this length four times before giving up. I determined that her gross motor skills were above average because of her speed, pace, and length of running. To test her fine motor skills, I gave her one sheet of wide ruled paper and told her to copy each sentence: â€Å"My name is Madison. I am five years old. I like to play ball. † Madison showed that she could write these sentences neatly and accurately. I tested her again on her fine motor skills by testing her strength. I rolled a soccer ball to her five times and she kicked it back to me three of those five times. She showed that her strength was average as well. I also asked her parent a series of questions about her physical development: What was Madison’s appetite on a daily basis? What is her energy level before and after school? What is the pattern of her physical growth? Her parent stated that her appetite was normal and that she ate three full meals a day including snacks in between these meals. She then stated that before school her energy level is low being that most children do not like to be woken early in the morning. After school her energy level is fair because she has been active for more than seven hours and attends practice after school. Her parent also explained that Madison’s weight gain is steady but she has gotten taller by two inches. I determined that Madison’s physical development is excellent and well above average of children her age. Not only a period of amazing physical development, early childhood is also a time of extraordinary mental development. Cognitive development combined with memory and thinking continues to emerge throughout childhood. It would be impossible to avoid mentioning the work of Piaget when it comes to childhood cognitive development. According to Piaget’s theory, Madison is automatically in the preoperational stage. During this stage, children do not yet understand concrete logic, cannot mentally manipulate information, and are unable to take the point of view of other people. I asked Madison does she like to read and she answered â€Å"yes. † I also asked her does she like to learn and she said â€Å"yes. † To test her cognitive skills, I tested her by giving her a paper with a picture of three balls on it. I told her to circle the biggest one, put a square around the smallest one, and underline the medium size one. She correctly circled the biggest one which was in the middle, followed by the smallest one on the right and the medium one on the left. I gave the same test but with different pictures and in a different order. She missed this question because she assumed that the biggest bear was in the middle because of the first test she took. She failed to understand the perception of size because she focused on what she saw before not noticing the change of appearance. This showed that she used static reasoning believing that the world is unchanging. I asked Madison how many fingers she had and she counted ten. I then raised only four of my fingers on one hand and three on the other. I asked her how many did I have on my and and she stated seven but then told me I was hiding more. As you can see I could not pull a trick on Madison with this test. In children, there is perhaps nothing more amazing than the emergence of language. Early childhood is a sensitive period for language learning. I asked her parent does Madison easily learn words. She stated that Madison learns words everyday and often repeat words that she might have said to other people and to her as well. To test Madison on her social development, I sat a phone, a bottle of water, and a book on a table. I asked her what was the first object and why do we use it. She correctly answered the question saying that the phone was used to call people. Second, she could not tell me what the container was (bottle) but she did say it was water. Last, she correctly stated that the book was used to read about things. I asked her does she play with other kids and she said yes. I then asked her did she have friends and she named two friends. Her parent also stated that Madison talks about her friend all the time and has gotten into trouble for talking too much at school. It shows that Madison is a very sociable child and she will more than likely be successful in anything that she does.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Social Care in the UK Essay -- Government Politics Welfare

This essay attempts to; discuss the dominant social policy perspectives that have influenced social policy making in the United Kingdom since 1945. To explain how differing perspectives have responded to healthcare as a social problem. To describe two key policies that have been instigated since the start of New Labour in 1997, and to examine a contemporary social policy relating to health. In 1941 Sir William Beveridge was commissioned by the then Conservative prime minister, Winston Churchill to conduct a study of the welfare system of the time. The Beveridge report paved the way for the welfare state as we know it and was important in shaping the social democratic ideology that remained prevalent until the mid 1970’s. The key principals behind most social democratic ideology are that of equality and collectivism. In practice, the state manages the economy using Keynesian economic principals, manages the provision of welfare through the welfare state and takes a regulatory roll in peoples lives. This protects citizens from the extremes of poverty and prevents major economic inequality. The New Right ideology came to the fore in the mid 1970’s as a result of a major recession and the reality of an economic crisis. The 1979 general election was won by the Conservative party led by Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher was prime minister until 1990 in a period of politics that came to be known as Thatcherism. Two key thinkers of the time were Milton Friedman and Friedrich von Hayek who saw ‘the free market’ as central to the success of Thatcherism and believed that government should concentrate on economic issues, thus allowing ‘market forces’ to shape society. From the early 1990’s a new, politically cen... ...el medical treatment, help and advice via centres that are easy to access. The NHS annual review 2009-2010 found that NHS direct recommended to 49% of callers to go to less urgent/lower cost points of care, saved 2.4 million GP appointments and 1.2 million ambulance journeys (www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk 2010). Disadvantages of these direct services are that they are extremely expensive and only offer a reactive form of health care, while not providing enough health education. Works Cited Pilkington A & Yeo A Sociology in focus Haddington, Scotprint. 2004. Pugh P & Garratt C, Keynes a graphic guide London, Icon books. 2009. Walsh M, Stephens P & Moore S Social policy and welfare, Stanley Thornes Ltd. 2000 www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Is most efficient at heating water Essay

This was done by counting the number of different bonds broken i. e. C-H and using a data table to find out the amount of energy required. Secondly, I worked out the energy released by bonds being made again by counting the bonds and using a data table. I subtracted the second number from the first to work out the energy released by the alcohol. Methanol Balanced Equation: CH3OH+1. 5O2–>CO2+2H2O Bonds Broken Energy Required for Bond Breaking (kJ/mol) Bonds Made Energy Released from Bonds Made (kJ/mol). Total Ene  Bonds Broken Energy Required for Bond Breaking (kJ/mol) Bonds Made Energy Released from Bonds Made (kJ/mol) Total Energy Used + 12383 kJ/mol Total Energy Released – 15398 kJ/mol Total Molar Energy of Combustion. Heptanol Balanced Equation:   Bonds Broken Energy Required for Bond Breaking (kJ/mol) Bonds Made Energy Released from Bonds Made (kJ/mol)Total Energy Used + 14299 kJ/mol Total Energy Released.-Bonds Broken Energy Required for Bond Breaking (kJ/mol) Bonds Made Energy Released from Bonds Made (kJ/mol) 1/mol Total Molar Energy of Combustion, ? H (kJ/mol) = +16215-20222= -4007 This data justifies my hypothesis. More energy is released as you go up the series of alcohols therefore the water will heat up by a given temperature with less alcohol being burnt. GCSE CHEMISTRY COURSEWORK: Obtaining While obtaining evidence I took into account many safety points into consideration:   Safety goggles were worn at all times I stood up so I could quickly move out of the way if there were any spillages etc. I tucked my tie in my shirt to avoid it catching fire I also made sure I took accurate readings by: Stirring the water to maintain an even temperature   Closing windows that might cause a draught   Keeping the tin at the same height above the flame. Repeating anomalous results GCSE CHEMISTRY COURSEWORK: Analysing To produce a graph of ‘molecular mass’ versus ‘enthalpy of combustion’ both these values need to be calculated. Here is an example: First, the energy released has to be calculated. This can be done using the following formula: q=energy released m=mass of water (g) c=specific heat capacity of the liquid heated (4. 18J/g/i c for water) ?t=temperature change of water For my first piece of data this is how q would be calculated. Temperature Change: 10. 5i c Mass of Water: 400g (remember that water has a mass of 1g per cm3) Using the formula: q=400Ãâ€"4. 18Ãâ€"10. 5. Second, the molar heat of combustion must be calculated. This can be done using the following formula: -q=total energy transferred to the water (negative because the reaction is exothermic) n=number of moles (weight difference/formula mass) x1000=convert J’s to kJ’s Continuing with the same example: Energy Released: 17556J (this was worked out with the first equation) Weight Change: 1. 20g Formula Mass: 32g Using the formula: ? HMy original hypothesis was that as you go up the series of alcohols, less of the alcohol will have to be burnt for the given temperature rise. My results proved this hypothesis. The graph shows strong positive correlation proving that less alcohol is needed for the temperature rise as you go up the group. There are no anomalies, and there is hardly any scatter. When I compare my experimental data with my theoretical values I can see that although my experimental values follow the same trend, they show much less energy being given off per mole than the theoretical ones. This is because not all of the energy produced went into the water (explained in more detail in the evaluation). GCSE CHEMISTRY COURSEWORK: Evaluation. My experimental data agreed with the theoretically predicted values. When both sets of results were plotted onto a scatter graph, I could see that they both followed the same trend. However, the line representing the theoretically predicted values was lower down on the graph showing that the experimental values were lower than the predicted ones. This is because of the experimental errors detailed below. Reliability: I believe my data to be reliable. There is hardly any scatter as the results were close to the line, and there were no anomalies. The data was reliable enough to firmly support my conclusion. The fact that there was not much scatter shows this. However, the data was reliable but inaccurate because of the problems outlined below. If the data obtained was completely accurate then it would be on the theoretical data line. Experimental errors: It was impossible to get all the energy of the burning alcohol, using our equipment, into the can. Some inevitably escaped around the can and into the room. This explains why our results showed slightly more alcohol needing to be burned than the theoretical amount. Sources of experimental error:   Not all heat getting into the water (most escaped around the can or heated up the can)   Draughts blowing in from outside Modifications: If I was to do this experiment again I might either use a different calorimeter than a tin can i. e. one that conducted heat into the water more efficiently or simply put a lid on the can and insulate it. I would also do the experiment in an environment out of the open air to stop air currents changing my results and to concentrate the heat onto the water, rather than the air around. Further Work: I might do the same experiment but using alkanes instead of alcohols. I would investigate as to whether they produce the same trend as with alcohols and see whether they are more or less efficient.   GCSE Chemistry Coursework 1 Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Patterns of Behaviour section.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Study of Brand Loyalty Towards the Organized Retail Stores

Insights into Indian English Fiction and Drama Edited by Capt. Dr. Arvind M. Nawale Access -An Academic Consortium Publication ISBN No. 978-81-921254-3-5 Aspects of Campus Novel in Makarand Paranjape’s The Narrator: A Novel Shridevi P. G. The Narrator: A Novel is the well-known critic Makarand Paranjape’s debut novel, published in 1995. It is a mishmash of several stories woven together and presented to us from view-points of several writer-narrators or character- narrators.This novel has attracted considerable interest in the academicians because of the unique narratology of the novel which is different from the rest of the Indian novels written in English. The novel is experimental, and breaks away from the conventional methods of story-telling used in Indian English Fiction. Throughout the narrative, the readers notice that there is little attempt to create an illusion of realism or naturalism. 1 With the use of multivoiced and polyphonic narration, as in the great e pics Ramayana and Mahabharata, the writer tries to relocate himself with the ancient Indian tradition of the narratology. The story of the novel can be divided into three main threads: The first is the story of Rahul Patwardhan, lecturer in English at Asafia University, Hyderabad who is suffering from creative schizophrenia since his childhood and, in the process has a libidinal alter ego, Baddy. The second is the story of Badrinath Dhanda, who comes out of Rahul through emanation. The final thread is that of the movie script, Manpasand. Campus novel is a kind of novel which originated in the West but is emerging as a very prominent sub-genre in Indian English Fiction.As David Lodge, a well-known practitioner of this sub-genre opines, Campus Novel is mainly concerned with the lives of University professors and junior teachers. 3 The present paper attempts to explore the aspects of campus novel in this novel. The novel centers around Rahul Patwardhan who is a lecturer in English at t he Asafia University, Hyderabad. His reputation as a lecturer is displayed when he meets his Head of the Department in the novel. The Head of the Department does not doubt him when he lies; asking for leave for four days on the pretext of illness and reading accepts it.This is because, this type of aberration was a recent development in Rahul’s character, and is therefore unknown to the Head of Department. The author presents the characteristics of a good lecturer through Rahul Patwardhan’s character. He is responsible about his duties as a lecturer: †¦. tomorrow was Monday. I had to teach. It was the beginning of a new week. I couldn’t afford to have a very late night today. But meeting him tomorrow would screw up Tuesday’s schedule. [TNAN 67] His anxiety to complete the syllabus is also depicted in the novel.He abstains from listening to the gory details of incest when Badrinath is narrating his story. When Badri goes on describing how the ugly wom en are better partners then the beautiful ones, Rahul is unable to contribute his view as he is a loyal husband to Neha and thus had slept only with her. It is the curiosity generated in him by his literary sensibility or on humanitarian inclination that he expresses his wish of meeting prostitutes. He thinks, What were these women like? What did they feel? What was the meaning of their lives†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦I was interested in getting to see them at close quarters.I told myself I didn’t want the sex, but only the experience of meeting a prostitute, of talking to her, getting to know her. [ TNAN 168] Rahul immediately revolts at Badri’s mention of co-habition with college girls. â€Å"For heaven’s sake, Badri, I teach them myself†. â€Å"You never know†, he continued, â€Å"you may even meet one of your students! † â€Å"Please, Badri, stop it†. [TNAN 168] This conversation indicates Rahul’s strong professional ethics. He h as also followed certain principles in life which are unfortunately jettisoned after his acquaintance with Badri.He leaves a lot of food on his table, much against his principle of not wasting food He starts lying and finds people believing it easily He consumes beer He cohabits with a prostitute. This shows that he had been morally corrupted to a certain extent. This task of corrupting Rahul had been attempted several times by Baddy but all of them had been found fruitless. But years later Badri proves successful in this. The Novel sketches Rahul’s academic progress and his strict regimen for his Ph. D. , degree quite conspicuously. He would religiously enter the library every morning and work till the evening, often skipping his lunch.Sometimes, I wondered if I would ever get out of the library alive. I mean, I was losing all sense of time. I thought to myself that one day they would find my bones in the musty corridors, resting somewhere among the shelves full of books. [T NAN 75] He describes his guide as a ‘cool guy’ whose motto was â€Å"Do what you like, but show me the final draft within five years†. [TNAN 75] The under note of sarcasm does not go unnoticed in this line which highlights the negligence or failure of some guides to train their research scholars. The procedure of Ph. D. degree is also briefly explained.He says, â€Å"My five years in Hyderabad passed. I submitted my thesis in October 1986; the viva was held next year in April†. [TNAN 75] The whole description of this kind reminds one of Saros Cowasjee’s novel Goodbye to Elsa where similar kind of description of the research methodology is found. Rahul also writes an introductory guide to fiction entitled â€Å"Indian English Fiction – Theory and Practice† the first 500 copies of which are sold out in six months and it then goes into second edition. The relation between colleagues also forms an important aspect of the campus.Here this i s displayed through Rahul’s relationship with Raghavan. Their addressing each other with abusive words indicates their intimacy. Both were doing doctoral research. Though Rahul is younger of the two, he had got the job before Raghavan and thus was technically senior to him and which made Raghavan grumble. â€Å"We were, in a sense, rivals, but had never stopped being friends†. [TNAN 148] One interesting point found here is the absence of professional jealousy which is very common among colleagues and which is found in most of the campus novels like M.K. Naik’s Corridors of Knowledge, Ranga Rao’s The Drunk Tantra, Rita Joshi’s The Awakening –A Novella in Rhyme. Students are the inevitable and the most significant aspect of campus novels. Even in this novel, the behavior and misadventures of students are pictured in an amiable way. Rahul presents two sets of students – his classmates when he was studying and his students, after he becom es a lecturer. Rahul joins Tambaram College, which had a history of 150 years but had become a semiwild campus with the kind of behavior of the students.Music and drugs were the two things which dominated the college. â€Å"Bunking classes, acting wild, breaking rules, and doing the unconventional thing were considered hip. There was nothing worse than being a good boy; it was the most despicable way to live†. [ TNAN 55-56] The students think of themselves as the lost generation, India’s equivalent of the hippies. The senior students spent most of their time smoking and listening to music. The mention of a ‘drunken brawl’ among students is made in such a way that it is not very uncommon in colleges. In one such quarrel a student was stabbed.An instance of suicide committed by a student is also pictured. He had consumed downers and jumped off the top floor of the International Students’ Hostel because he had stolen a large sum of money from one of hi s friends and had blown it all on drugs. With these instances the novelist seems to be indicating the lack of discipline and control among the students. The novelist then describes the drinking bouts of the students and the way they acquired booze. The first of the two ways of getting booze was through someone in the Air Force Station which was quite near the college.When this became much difficult by the Commanding Officer’s instructions, the students were left with the second and the more strenuous way. The students would travel five long hours to Pondicherry and would lounge about the beaches the whole day, drinking and chattering continuously on all sorts of topics. They would then take the night bus back with one or two bottles of rum with them. They would try to trick the cops by using a very cheap bag and keeping it away from themselves. So that even in a surprise check they wouldn’t get caught.And if by chance they get caught redhanded, they would simply give i t away to the cop so that he would let them go. The students did not even hesitate to start ‘visiting’- a word used by the author for visiting a prostitute. And they were available right outside the college gates after dark. About affairs, the writer says that only rich guys could afford them by giving expensive gifts to the ‘chicks’ from the women’s college. Love affairs are an indispensable aspect of the campus and so forms one of the aspects of campus novel. But most of the campus novels exhibit a very frank treatment of sex. few examples are- Saros Cowasjee’s Goodbye to Elsa, K. M. Trishanku’s Onion Peel, Rani Dharker’s The Virgin Syndrome, etc. The Narrator also depicts sex quite freely. The novel abounds in extramarital relationships, child abuse, incest, sodomy, mental adultery, voluptuousness and pure love. Rahul’s students are brought in only in one scene but this one episode reveals a lot about the students of th e present generation. When Rahul enters 15 minutes late to the class, giving the reason that he had a late night, some students titter taking his words as an indication of a private encounter.Many students had left for coffee not to return to the class. Their lack of patience and audacity is expressed in the words-â€Å"Oh Sir, they went of for coffee when you didn’t show up until ten-fifteen†. [TNAN 96] and today’s teachers also seem to accept this kind of behavior. The novel can also be considered Crit-Fiction. â€Å"Crit-Fiction† is a kind of novel which is written by a lecturer or a professor. In the recent years many professors have started writing novels. A few examples of such Indian writers are Manju Kapoor, M. K. Naik, Amitav Ghosh, Anita Desai, Meena Alexander and others.As Elaine Showalter puts it, the novelist before writing his novel should create or imagine a world which has some kind of logical relation to the real world, within which he ca n explore the themes that interest him through the narrative. The university or college provides such a world ready-made – a small world which is a kind of microcosm of the larger world. An author’s writing will be realistic if it is inspired by his experience. The author Makarand Paranjape has been able to write about the campus so lucidly because he was a professor and has the first-hand information about the aspects of campus.It is quite interesting that in the novel The Narrator, the protagonist, Rahul Patwardhan is also a lecturer and he too is a writer. Finally one cannot afford to overlook the very unique and exalting theme of the novel which is the difficulty of writing a work of art. Rahul had such an extensive knowledge about the narratology or the art of the narrative, that he had become an inhibiting influence on Baddy, the other half of his split personality, as he shot down Baddy’s attempts of writing narratives. I knew too bloody much about the th eory to let even my imagination do the actual writing. TNAN 75] He discusses his difficulty with Dr. Jenny O’Sullivan, a visiting British Council scholar, who had come to visit Hyderabad, researching on a book to be set in India. I am too critical; I cannot get to put pen to paper without scratching out what I’ve written. [TNAN 258] By O’Sullivan’s suggestion, he finds out the solution: Every attempt at creation is founded upon a similar act of deconstruction. Writing, thus, is a cruel activity. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Before one writes one had to give birth to a writing self.This is the self which will then invent characters, situations, and themes. [ TNAN 269] The novel The Narrator: A Novel has many aspects of campus novel in it like the kind of life lead by a lecturer, his loyalty and involvement in his academic pursuits, his struggle to produce substantial literary works, his relations with his colleagues and students; the behavior of the students, their misad ventures; the lavish lifestyles of students who are not disciplined either by the parents or the authorities in the college, their love affairs etc. re delineated in a very conducive way. The protagonist’s views both as a student and then as a lecturer are involved in the novel. Makarand Paranjape has been able to throw sufficient light on all these aspects of campus life as he has been a professor and very well-acquainted with the campus. So with the points discussed so far, The Narrator: A Novel can be considered a campus novel. Works Cited 1.Rahul Chaturvedi, â€Å"Self as Narrative in The Narrator: A Novel: A Narratological Perspective†, The Criterion: An International Journal in English, ISSN 0976-8165 Vol. II. -Issue 1, 2011. 2. http://www. makarand. com/reviews/ReviewsofTheNarrator. html. 3. http://is. muni. cz/th/66512/ff_b/Bakalarska_prace_24. 4. 2006. doc 4. Makarand Paranjape, The Narrator: A Novel, (New Delhi: Rupa & Co. 1995), Hereafter cited as TNAN with page nos. in parentheses. 5. Showalter, Elaine- Faculty Towers: The Academic Novel and its Discontents; Oxford University Press, 2005.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Are All Men Created Equal Essays

Are All Men Created Equal Essays Are All Men Created Equal Essay Are All Men Created Equal Essay Vanity Finley HST 230 Writing Assignment 2 The United States constitution proclaimed that all men are created equal. However, it would be more accurate to say that all white men are created equal. The goals of liberty, freedom, self-government and democratic rule seem to only affect the white man. African Americans can be used as one example of a minority group that demonstrates these goals were not meant for everyone; just for the white majority. Whites treated all minority groups with a great deal of inequality, especially the African Americans. This group of people was by no means treated as equal to white men. The goals of liberty, freedom, and self government were never part of their lives. They had no freedom because they were property. They had a master/owner and they were expected to do exactly as they were told. Freedom and liberty refer to the idea of not being controlled by an external force. It is not possible to be free if someone owns you and makes you do as they say. The textbook makes a good argument about the inequality of African Americans through the three-fifths compromise. According to this clause, African Americans count as three-fifths of a vote. Slave owners could turn in three-fifths of their total slave population for representation and apportionment of taxes. This clearly demonstrates how superior whites thought themselves to be. Slaves were only a little over half the worth of a white manâ„ ¢s vote. As if only counting as three-fifths of a person wasnâ„ ¢t bad enough, this clause was only made to satisfy white slave owners. If it had not been beneficial to slave owners, then the clause would never had came into being. The ideas of self-government and democratic rule were fitting to whites but not blacks. These two ideas are based on the belief that the people of a society should make the rules and govern the society. If society were strictly white, then these two ideas were real and alive. The upper class white men did make the rules and they were the people governing the country. However, African Americans had no say so in laws or policy, and they never held office. It they have no say so or no representation then how can it be assumed that they were self-governing One of the more obvious ways in which minorities were not treated equal can be found in Article 4, Section 2 of the Constitution. This article demonstrates how all minorities, not just African Americans, were treated as lesser people. This section confined citizenship to white property holding males. As for immigrants, only free white persons could become citizens. The white men who wrote the constitution believed n the ideas and goals of liberty, freedom, self-government, and democratic rule. However, these ideas only pertained to themselves. All minorities were excluded from these ideas and goals because it would interfere with the white men achieve the same goals. The white men stayed in government and on top of the social chain by treating minorities unjustly. White men enjoyed all of these ideas and goals, but minorities were never treated anywhere near equal during the period from 1776-1850.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Ibsen essays

Ibsen essays People have often been known to find comfort in numbers and to therefore enter into social contracts with others living around them. People feel safer in groups and so they choose to give up certain rights and privileges for protection from their peers. This inevitably leads to domination of man over man. People choose leaders to make their decisions for them, or they do as the majority says. It is very rare for people to make rational decisions and carry to them to their full potential once they have entered into a social contract. The desire to follow the crowd which is created by this social setting is deplorable and is therefore the main object of critism in Henrick Ibsens play An Enemy of the People. The characters in this play all live together in a town ruled by what is known as the compact majority. This majority is led by a group of town officials who come up with plans and policies on which the people may vote. This system offers no chance for the freedom of individuals. Beginning with a speech discussing . . . the colossal stupidity of the authorities, Doctor Stockmann deconstructs this appalling social system. This speech criticizes the lack of intelligence the authorities have shown and the need for their destruction. If freedom is to exist for individuals, the first step must be to do away with worthless officials and authorities that force the people to make a choice from the narrow selection they provide. What is right in one situation may not hold true in another, but the authorities force all people to live under the same laws with the same punishments instead of allowing for diversity. However, Stockmann does not stop there. In fact, he says that the auth orities are not the main problem, but that instead The most dangerous enemy of truth and freedom among us is the compact majority. This majority follows its leaders blindly without ever giving thought to any alternative...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Extracurricular Activities for College Admissions

Extracurricular Activities for College Admissions Extracurricular activities are simply anything you do that is not a high school course or paid employment (but note that paid work experience is of interest to colleges and can substitute for some extracurricular activities). You should define your extracurricular activities in broad terms- many applicants make the mistake of thinking of them solely as school-sponsored groups such as yearbook, band, or football. Not so. Most community and family activities are also extracurricular. What Counts as Extracurricular? The Common Application as well as many individual college applications group together extracurricular activities with community service, volunteer work, family activities, and hobbies. Honors are a separate category since they are a recognition of achievement, not an actual activity. The list below provides some examples of activities that would be considered extracurricular (note that many of the categories below overlap): Arts: Theater, music, dance, painting, photography, creative writing and other creative endeavors. Note that many college applications give you the option of including a sample of your creative work whether that be a video of a performance, a creative writing sample, or a portfolio of art pieces that youve created. Vanessa writes about her fondness for handiwork in her Common Application essay.Church activity: Community outreach, helping the elderly, event planning, community suppers, church-sponsored music and athletic programs, teaching or organizing for summer camps and retreats, missionary work, and any other activity run through the church.Clubs: Chess club, mathletes, mock trial, debate, animà © club, role playing club, language clubs, film club, skateboarding club, diversity/minority groups and so on.Community activity: Community theater, event organizing, festival staff, and many other activities that are organized through the community, not the school.Governance: Student go vernment, student council, prom committee, community youth board (see Sophies essay), advisory boards and so on. These activities can be excellent for demonstrating your leadership potential. Hobbies: Be creative here. Something as seemingly trivial as a love for Rubiks Cube can be transformed into a meaningful extracurricular activity. Also, colleges are interested in your passion whether it be rocketry, model railroads, collecting, blogging, or quilting. These activities show that you have interests outside of the classroom.Media: local television, school radio or television, yearbook staff, school newspaper, literary journal, blogging and online journaling, local newspaper, and any other work that leads to a television show, movie or publication (online or print).Military: Junior ROTC, drill teams, and related activities.Music: Chorus, band (marching, jazz, symphonic, concert, pep...), orchestra, ensembles and solo. These musical groups could be through school, church, the community or your personal group or solo efforts.Sports: Football, baseball, hockey, track, gymnastics, dance, lacrosse, swimming, soccer, skiing, cheerleading and so on. If you are a highly accompli shed athlete, be sure to look into the recruiting practices of your top choice colleges early in the admissions process. Volunteer Work and Community Service: Key Club, Habitat for Humanity, tutoring and mentoring, community fund-raising, Rotary, church outreach, hospital work (candy striping), animal rescue, nursing home work, poll worker, volunteer fire department, creating hiking trails, Adopt-a-Highway, and any other work that helps the world and is not for pay. If youre like many students and hold a job that makes it difficult for you to commit to many extracurricular activities, dont worry. Colleges and understand this challenge, and it wont necessarily work to your disadvantage. There are many reasons why colleges like students who have work experience. For one, youve most likely learned to work as part of a team, and youve proven that you are responsible and trustworthy. Many jobs also develop leadership skills. What Are the Best Extracurricular Activities? Many students ask which of these activities will most impress colleges, and the reality is that any of them can. Your achievements and depth of involvement matter much more than the activity itself. If your extracurricular activities show that you are passionate about something outside of the classroom, youve chosen your activities well. If they show that you are accomplished, all the better. Music, sports, theater, community service... All can create a path to a selective college. So  what are the best extracurricular activities?  The bottom line is that you are better off having depth and leadership in one or two activities than having a superficial smattering of a dozen activities. Put yourself in the shoes of the admissions office: they are looking for students who will contribute to the campus community in meaningful ways. Consequently, the strongest applications show that the applicant is committed to an activity in a meaningful way. Think about what your extracurricular activities say about you. What is it that you are bringing to campus in addition to your academic accomplishments?

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Argument essay (research paper) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Argument essay ( ) - Research Paper Example Individual nations require embracing a common culture for mutual understanding. Many cultures exist across the globe. The individual nations have a tendency to practice unique customs. The complexity of the cultures can be a huge barrier to the quest to realize a common culture. Some cultures with strong ideologies are associated with the global conflicts. In fact, the link of certain cultures with wars has been a major concern by powerful nations such as the United States (Dittmer 78). In this respect, a number of complex relations influence the comprehension of the contemporary culture. The media, interculturalism, and globalization have endeavored to promote the mutual cultural understanding. In this regard, the media has continued to portray the values embraced by different cultures. Similarly, globalization has attempted to bring nations with varying cultures together with the intent of shaping the economic and political agendas. However, the efforts to enhance cultural awareness face tremendous challenges. Communication barriers hamper the comprehension a nd incorporation of cultures of different nations. Communication barrier is a major drawback to the realization of a common culture. Different cultures have their way of communicating and interpreting of the messages. Notably, the organizations that operate overseas face the challenge of miscommunication. Consequently, the miscommunication tends to jeopardize cohesion, trust, and teams that outsource. Essentially, the cultural barriers amount to communication challenges in both written and verbal forms. In fact, the communication challenges prompt organizations to invest a lot of effort in decoding and encoding messages. The investment aims at increasing the slow interaction between the multinational companies and the locals. The extent of how the employees in virtual teams reveal their intentions through explicit verbal communication is greatly

Friday, October 18, 2019

American Dream Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

American Dream - Essay Example Although there had been growing aspirations, which are considered the basis of American dream, the term American dream was first used in 1931 by James Truslow. Although many American still contemplate of the American dream, the dream is different for everyone. The dreams of the Americans are very divergent and some are not even associated with the initial American dream. The American dream was meant to provide success, happiness, and freedom for all. The above would result from availability of equal opportunities for all Americans to achieve their goals based on their ability but not diversity. However, some have not achieved any of this. Initially, most Americans interpreted the American dream as the ability to possess excessive wealth in terms of motorcar and extraordinary wages. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jnr, gave his opinion regarding the American dream. In his dream, Luther envisioned an America that was free from any form of discrimination. In Luther’s opinion, achievement of American dream would come about when the descendants of slaves would be able to live together with the posterities of the slave masters. In Luther’s opinion, American dream was a concept in which justice will reign over racism and oppression. Equal opportunity meant a justice system where people will be judged by their character and not their skin color or nationality. In this concept, the American dream is far from being achieved. Years after the launching of the American groups, several individuals are still struggling as they attempt to convince the American authorities that they are Americans. Although some aspects of the American dream have been achieved, much of the dream is long dead. In other worlds, some aspects of the dream are still a dream that has not been achieved. The American dream is only alive in the minds of people. For people like Sami Al-Arian, who suffer because of their ethnic identity, the American dream is dead. The American dream was supposed to bring justice to all. However, people Like Sami Al-Arian, face charges for crimes they did not commit because of their religious beliefs and country of origin. The American dream envisioned an America where all people were free to enjoy their freedom irrespective of their nationalities. However, people from certain regions of the world or certain religious beliefs are treated with impartiality. They have to keep attesting that they are not terrorists (Al-Arian, 2012) The dream of an America with racial equality is no longer living. Impartiality towards minority groups remains high. The opportunities to share i n the American

Geothermal Energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Geothermal Energy - Essay Example Unlike the conventional method of burning fuels to produce the heat required, optimizing earth's energy from deep within the ground is by nature sustainable and would not take additional chemical process to be transformed to a useful form. Moreover, geothermal energy is never likely to contribute to greenhouse effect as fossil fuels are and once put up, the power plant would be self-sustaining or not necessitating external energies aside from the power it yields. Roughly 33,000 feet beneath the earth's surface lies heat that contains about fifty thousand times more energy compared to the combined presence of natural gas and oil currently processed by men. This inevitably fluid heat experiences high temperatures in various zones where layers upon layers of molten rock commonly known as 'magma' are continuously formed as a consequence of naturally occurring radioactive elements that undergo intense decomposition on a subatomic level for several years. Because magma is less dense than t he rocks surrounding it, it rises to the surface. Sometimes magma escapes through cracks in the Earth's crust, erupting out of volcanoes as part of lava. But most of the time magma stays beneath the surface, heating surrounding rocks and the water that has become trapped within those rocks. Sometimes that water escapes through cracks in the Earth to form pools of hot water (hot springs) or bursts of hot water and steam (geysers). The rest of the heated water remains in pools under the Earth's surface, called geothermal reservoirs. By the Earth’s crust shifting and allowing water to mix into natural hot-spots water is superheated and then vented through holes in the Earth’s surface with tremendous power. The superheated water generated at these locations can naturally reach temperatures of up to 200Â °C (430Â °F). Earth's core is nearly 6000Â °C - hot enough to melt a rock. Even a few kilometers down, the temperature can be over 250 Â °C given that the Earth's crust is thin. Temperature generally rises a degree Celsius for every 30 - 50 meters you go down, but this alters with respect to location. Among the hotspots from which geothermal energy may be obtained are certain states of America as Oregon, California, Alaska, and Nevada which possesses a significant number of volcanoes comprising the Pacific Rim or the Pacific 'Ring of Fire'. Hotspots are typically close to fault lines or young volcanoes were the Earth’s crust is thin enough to allow internal heat to escape and be accessed by as little drilling is possible. It may be a surprising fact to discover that besides these seismically active regions, any other location on earth ranging from a depth of 10 to a few hundred feet through the crust is capable of heating objects even at lower degrees. The capacity to generate electricity by extracting heat out of these places would of course depend on the quantity of drawn heat which can be converted to electrical energy. Landrello, in Ita ly is the first to own a geothermal power station, followed by Wairekei in New Zealand and a few others were built in Iceland, Japan, Indonesia,

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Diffused Responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Diffused Responsibility - Essay Example Rather than any one individual feeling responsible for reporting what was going on, seeking to stop it, or seeking to ascertain whether the action that appeared to be a car being burglarized was indeed as it appeared, everyone in the group, including those passersby that were not related to me or my group of friends felt that they could merely ignore the situation due to the fact that any number of other people could report what was going on. In retrospect, this type of apathy is precisely what the thieves depended on for this type of brazen crime. Looking back on the situation with the knowledge of what motivating emotion and psychological response helped to make everyone feel that it was not their ultimate responsibility does not help to make me feel any better concerning the given situation; rather, it makes me aware that if such a situation occurs again, the response I should seek to control is that of diffused

The Starry Night Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Starry Night - Essay Example p.). One of the most stunning features of the painting is Van Gough’s unique but innovative use of exaggerations. By looking at Starry Night, there are a lot of elements in the painting that were exaggerations: the strong strokes of those night clouds, the stars having their own exaggerated luminescence, and as well as the exaggerated luminescence of the moon. In addition, the bold strokes used by Van Gough ignites the viewer to follow these strokes, wherein following the strong strokes would lead the viewer to move around the painting, making this work of art truly great. In fact, the strong emotive feel of the painting, as it can be seen through the strokes and the colors used, reflect the school of impressionism. Another intriguing part of the painting is the dark structure in the left side, wherein it creates a mystic structure within the painting, while blending it with the depiction of the town below. Works Cited Vincent Van Gough Gallery. â€Å"Vincent van Gogh: Starry Night. vangoghgallery.com. Vincent Van Gough Gallery, n. d. Web. 7 May 2011.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Diffused Responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Diffused Responsibility - Essay Example Rather than any one individual feeling responsible for reporting what was going on, seeking to stop it, or seeking to ascertain whether the action that appeared to be a car being burglarized was indeed as it appeared, everyone in the group, including those passersby that were not related to me or my group of friends felt that they could merely ignore the situation due to the fact that any number of other people could report what was going on. In retrospect, this type of apathy is precisely what the thieves depended on for this type of brazen crime. Looking back on the situation with the knowledge of what motivating emotion and psychological response helped to make everyone feel that it was not their ultimate responsibility does not help to make me feel any better concerning the given situation; rather, it makes me aware that if such a situation occurs again, the response I should seek to control is that of diffused

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

East Asia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

East Asia - Essay Example North Korea has a history of poor relations with its neighbors. Even though fighting stopped after the ceasefire of the Korean War in 1953, both South and North Korea are still at war with each other. Korea was spilt into North and South Korea after the WWII and ever since they have never had cordial relations. As early as 1950, North Korea tried to capture the southern region but was defeated. In 1972 they agreed to work towards peaceful reunification but it was short-lived (Historyofnations, 2005). Recently its nuclear weapon program has prompted the express concerns of its neighbors including Japan, China, South Korea and Russia. While each of these countries have been condemning the missile tests, they have taken a different stand on how to deal with the affairs concerning North Korea. In 1998, North Korea had launched a midrange missile over Japan, which provoked Japan to take stern action. This prompted Japan to strengthen its military ties with US and transform its own Self-Defense Forces into a full-fledged military. In 2006, Japan took a very firm stand and threatened to impose economic sanctions against North Korea (Onishi & Kahn, 2006). It would cut off money transfers from Japan which means cutting off a significant source of cash for North Korea. It had also banned the North Korean Mangyongbong-92 ferry from entering its ports for six months in 2006. This was a vital link for transferring cash and supplies to North Korea. Japan had tried to normalize relations with North Korea even though the latter had abducted Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s to teach Japanese language and culture to the North Korean army (Duk-Min, 2005). Japan has strained relations with South Korea and China and it needs the support to be tough with North Korea in imposing eco nomic sanctions. China and South Korea have in the recent years increased their economic activities with North partly to save the

The Hunger Games (2012) Essay Example for Free

The Hunger Games (2012) Essay The nation of Panem, formed from a post-apocalyptic North America, is a country that consists of a wealthy Capitol region surrounded by 12 poorer districts. Early in its history, a rebellion led by a 13th district against the Capitol resulted in its destruction and the creation of an annual televised event known as the Hunger Games. In punishment, and as a reminder of the power and grace of the Capitol, each district must yield one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 through a lottery system to participate in the games. The tributes are chosen during the annual Reaping and are forced to fight to the death, leaving only one survivor to claim victory. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is a 16 year-old girl from District 12, a coal-mining region and the poorest of the districts. This year is the 74th Hunger Games and during the Reaping, Katniss younger sister, Primrose, is chosen as a tribute. Refusing to let her sister be taken, Katniss volunteers herself instead, becoming District 12s female tribute. The male tribute chosen is a bakers son named Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) who is later seen giving bread to Katniss to prevent her family from starving. Despite the threat of the games, Katniss dreams of making a new life for herself and her family outside the fence with her friend, Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth). She tells him that she never wants children. Before she leaves, Katniss comforts her mother (Paula Malcomson) and tells her to stay strong for Primrose. Katniss and Peeta are taken from their district by the gaudily dressed Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) and travel to the Capitol. En route, they are fed rich food and treats but are disgusted by the amount of luxuries given to them and the occupants of the train while their families starve at home. They are introduced to their mentor and a former winner of the Hunger Games, Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson) who appears to be a pessimistic alcoholic. Haymitch grabs a drink and food before leaving their train car. Katniss and Peeta later reunite with Haymitch in another car and he tells them that the key to survival is ensuring they are well liked by the public so that they may get sponsored. By having sponsors they will have more access to survival tools such as matches, knives, or even water. When they arrive in the gleaming city of the Capitol, the train is greeted by a cheering crowd. Peeta waves to the residents but Katniss refuses to show herself. Haymitch warns her that she better hold on to her knife and that Peeta actually knows what he is doing by feeding the crowd. Katniss meets her stylist, Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), who tells her that, as tributes, they need to make an impression on the audience so theyre remembered, especially by the sponsors. Cinna proclaims that someone as brave as Katniss should have a great costume for the Gala Entry Parade in which each pair of tributes wears an outfit reflecting their districts trade. Katniss and Peeta wear black costumes with actual fire to symbolize the coal-mining district they reside from. As Cinna hoped, they make a great impression on the audience. Peeta takes Katniss hand and raises it into the air during the parade for more effect. After the parade the pair go to their penthouse. The tributes under-go basic weaponry and combat training including the use of knives, swords, and bows. In spite of this training their trainer stresses that survival skills should not be underestimated as exposure and infection can kill just as effectively as any sword. One tribute named Cato (Alexander Ludwig) is hot-headed and imposing, proving to be possibly serious threat. Later, over a meal, Haymitch tells Peeta and Katniss about the Careers district from which Cato comes from. All of the possible tributes train until theyre 18 before openly volunteering to participate in the Hunger Games. Haymitch warns them that they win almost every year due to that fact before asking about Katniss bow and arrow skills. Katniss refocuses on Peeta, describing his impressive strength, but he rebuffs her compliments and confesses that his own mother (Raiko Bowman) thought Katniss to be the superior tribute. When Peeta is bullied by the other tributes during training, Katniss suggests he show off his strength by throwing a large weight across the room. Peeta manages to perform the feat successfully and gains a small amount of respect from the tributes. Later, in succession, each tribute is instructed to show off to the game makers, including Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley). When its Katniss turn, she decides to show off her archery skills. However, she misses her first shot badly and loses what little attention she had from the game makers. Despite her perfect second shot, she doesnt regain their respect. Angered and disgusted by the game makers attitude towards her, Katniss fires an arrow straight through an apple in a roasted pigs mouth, just inside the makers room. Katniss sarcastically thanks them for their consideration and leaves. The game makers display their scores of the tributes on a television screen, ranking from 0 to 12. Many tributes achieve high scores of 9 to 10, including the Careers Cato and his partner Clove (Isabelle Fuhrman). Peeta receives an 8 while Katniss scores an 11, the highest of all the tributes. The President of the Capitol, Snow (Donald Sutherland) addresses Seneca and tells him that the Hunger Games is about giving the districts hope, but that too much hope can actually be dangerous. During another meal, Haymitch tells Katniss about Peetas decision to go without his help because of the fact that there can only be one winner. On the extravagant Hunger Games TV chat show, each tribute is introduced individually and interviewed by the flamboyant host, Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci). Katniss elicits laughs from the audience during the interview and impresses them by showing off her dress which displays real fire. Ceasar gives her the nickname girl on fire. During his interview, Peeta eats the audience up, garnering some laughs himself. It is then that he announces his crush on Katniss, something which angers her intensely. Backstage Katniss pins Peeta to the wall, demanding answers for his behavior. Haymitch separates the two and explains that he could sell the pair as star-crossed lovers which might gain them sponsorship support during the games. Just before the games, Haymitch warns Katniss to avoid the bloodbath at the beginning by heading to the high ground in search of water despite having to leave her bow and arrow behind. Katniss says goodbye to Cinna who tells her if he was allowed to bet, he would bet on her winning. The tributes are all injected with a tracking device in their arms as they travel via helicopter to the outdoor arena. The tributes are deposited into a meadow containing a cornucopia of weapons and backpacks. As the horn sounds, the tributes rush for the weapons, brutally attacking and killing each other. Katniss manages to grab a pack and barely escapes Clove, who embeds a knife in her backpack. Once at a safe distance, Katniss finds a rope, an empty canteen, and a coat inside the backpack. She takes Haymitchs advice and locates water in a nearby stream before she ties herself high up in a tree for the night and attempts to get some sleep. Loud bangs from a cannon indicate the deaths of tributes and we learn that thirteen were killed within the first 8 hours. Caesar announces that an alliance has been formed during the games and Katniss sees that Peeta has formed this alliance with the Careers during the night. He appears to be trying to lead them to Katniss location. While exploring the next day, Katniss gets too close to the outer regions of the arena. The game controllers decide to start a forest fire to lure her further in to the center. She barely manages to escape but does receive a nasty burn on her thigh, causing her to limp. She is then spotted by Cato and 4 other tributes, including Clove and Glimmer (Leven Rambin) who have banded together. We learn that, apparently, the Careers come, collectively, from Districts 1, 2, and 4 who are trained illegally before volunteering to fight; this group of 4 from two districts chases Katniss who eventually escapes by climbing a tree. Cato attempts to follow her up but is unsuccessful. Peeta suggests that the group wait for Katniss to eventually come down for food and water. The group settles for the night beneath the tree and Katniss ties herself to the tree to sleep. She is woken later that night by a parachute containing much needed medicine for her leg wound, sent by Haymitch. She applies the medicine to her burns and they disappear as if nothing happened. Her attention is then caught by a young 12 year old girl named Rue (Amandla Stenberg) from District 11. Rue, however, is friendly to Katniss and points out a large trackerjacker nest just above Katniss and dangling over the Career group below. We learn that trackerjackers are genetically engineering wasps whose stings are highly venomous and can cause powerful hallucinations. With enough stings, they can even kill. Katniss climbs up the tree towards the nest and begins sawing at the branch holding it up. The trackerjackers become irritated and start stinging her but, eventually, the branch snaps and the nest falls to the ground, exploding in a wave of wasps. The Careers group flees but Glimmer is s tung too many times and succumbs to the venom. Katniss manages to climb down the tree and, despite beginning to hallucinate, grabs a bow and escapes with Peetas help. After a night of hallucinations and nightmares, some involving her father (Phillip Troy Linger), Katniss awakens beneath a tree trunk covered in stings. Unclear as to who exactly helped her, Katniss stumbles around, thinking it must have been Peeta. Rue appears and tells her that she was out cold for 2 days and that shes been the one taking care of her. The two girls decide to team up and go on the offensive. They form a plan to destroy a mountain of food and supplies located in the starting meadow that the Career group is guarding; Rue is to start off small fires to distract the remaining Careers while Katniss detonates the booby-trapped mines around the mound. They agree to use the sounds of mockingjays to signal to each other. The plan works. The Careers become distracted by the smoke of the fires while one tribute, a boy from District 3 (Ian Nelson), remains at the cornucopia, standing guard. Katniss then notices a female tribute unseen by the others. Foxface (Jacqueline Emerson) from District 5 sprints towards the pyramid of food and supplies, unnoticed by the guard, picking her way through the unexploded mines and steals a backpack before making it to the forest, showcasing her cunning. Katniss then shoots at a bag of apples on top of the pile which causes them to cascade down and detonate the mines. The pyramid explodes, sending food and supplies everywhere. Katniss watches, triumphant, as the Career group rushes back to the clearing. Infuriated, Cato demands to know how such a thing could have happened if the guard was doing his job. The tribute from District 3 is equally confused but Catos anger makes him murderous and he snaps the boys neck. Katniss leaves, disturbed by Catos ease to kill. Katniss uses the bird call system to find Rue but receives no response until she hears a scared voice calling to her. Katniss finds Rue trapped under a net and releases her just before theyre attacked by Marvel (Jack Quaid), a tribute from District 1. Marvel throws a spear but Katniss dodges the attack and shoots an arrow into his chest, killing him. However, when she turns to Rue, she sees that Marvels spear has gone through her chest. Distraught, Katniss tries to calm Rue and sings to her peacefully as Rue dies. Katniss then gathers flowers from the forest and spreads them over Rue before her body taken back to her district via hovercraft. Meanwhile, Rues father is horrified and angered by his daughters death and starts a riot against the Hunger Games. His district follows his rebellious example and they destroy the stage showing the games. As Katniss makes a peace gesture to the camera, the Peace Keepers of District 11 arrive and shoot Rues father dead. President snow is enraged by the rebellion in District 11 and wants to change the games rules and circumstances to ensure that Katniss is killed. Haymitch pleads with Seneca to keep Katniss alive, issuing a ploy of teen romance as a main reason. Seneca then announces that the rules of the game have been changed; two winners instead of just one will be allotted so long as they belong to the same district. With this knowledge, and having just overheard the remaining Careers mention leaving Peeta for dead by the river, Katniss sets out in search of him. She finds a trail of blood near the river and follows it to where Peeta has camouflaged himself in the rocks. Katniss helps move him to a nearby cave where they are well hidden. Katniss attempts to heal Peetas sword wound but realizes he has blood poisoning, something that can only be cured with a special medicine. Katniss despairs as there could be no way Haymitch could send some since it would be too expensive at this point. However, as if by magic, an announcement rings out that there will be a feast at the cornucopia for all the tributes but, instead of food, there will be something each tribute desperately needs. Peeta begs Katniss not to leave him and risk her life trying to save him. He asks her to stay and Katniss reluctantly agrees, though she knows there may very well be medicine at the cornucopia that could save his life. The two share a brief kiss, partly as a way to gain more sponsors. However, this hits a nerve with Gale watching back home who is clearly smitten with Katniss. Katniss waits until Peeta has fallen asleep before leaving for the cornucopia. When she arrives, she sees Foxface sprinting towards the supplies, surprising the other tributes with her speed and escaping without much incident. Katniss decides to mimic Foxfaces moves and sprints out to grab the medicine but is thrown off guard when she is hit with a knife launched by Clove. The two wrestle and fight before Clove manages to get the upper hand and presses a knife to Katniss throat. She teases her with bloodlust and mocks her for teaming up with the little monster from District 11; Rue. Before Clove can slit Katniss throat, she is lifted by Thresh (Dayo Okeniyi), the male tribute from District 11, and thrown against the cornucopia wall. Thresh tells Katniss that she gets this one chance since she helped Rue but, after this, everything is fair game. He proceeds to smash Clove to death against the wall as Katniss escapes. She returns to the cave with the medicine and administers it to Peeta and herself, healing their wounds. In a more genuine romantic moment, the two fall asleep in each others arms. The next day, they split up to find food. During her hunt, Katniss hears a cannon signaling another tribute death. Panicked, she runs back to where she last saw Peeta. She finds him near a berry bush, standing bewildered with a handful of berries near the corpse of Foxface, also with berries in her hand. In a mix of anger and relief, Katniss slaps Peeta, telling him that the berries are Nightlock and extremely poisonous. The pair wonder if Cato would ever fall for the same trap that Foxface did before they notice that the sun is going down at mid-day. Unsure of whats to happen, they freeze and ready themselves for an impending attack. In the distance, they hear Thresh cry out followed by the sound of the cannon, signaling his death. They pause for a moment before a giant mutated dog leaps out at them, vicious and the size of a polar bear but with much more speed and agility. Katniss and Peeta sprint through the forest as two more of the dogs begin to pursue them. They are chased to the cornucopia where Peeta helps Katniss climb on top of it, barely making it up himself. They sit back in relief thinking the dogs will kill the last survivor, Cato, and they will be crowned the victors. Cato, however, is also on top of the cornucopia and attacks Katniss, attempting to throw her to the dogs. The three fight each other and Cato grabs Katniss by the throat, holding her near the edge of the structure before Peeta manages to fight him off her. Cato gets the upper hand and gets Peeta in a choke hold to either break his neck, as seen before, or throw him to the mutant dogs. Katniss unsheathes an arrow and points it at him, uncertain whether to shoot or not. Cato, dripping blood, laughs sadistically telling her that he knows what the games are about now. The tributes arent just entertainment, theyre all weapons designed to make the spectacle of death as painful and unnecessary as possible. Peeta, who is still being choked, appears to try and tell Katniss something while Cato talks. Cato asks if she shoots him, then her lover boy goes down with him. Katniss shoots his hand, forcing him to let go of Peeta. Peeta then pushes Cato off the edge to be mauled by the dogs. Katniss and Peeta watch a moment as Cato is savagely attacked before Katniss shoots an arrow into him, ending his misery. The last cannon goes off and Katniss and Peeta realize theyve won the Hunger Games. They embrace and wait for a helicopter to come take them home. No helicopter comes. An announcement then states that the rules which allow two winners has been revoked, meaning only one shall remain. Katniss contemplates shooting Peeta, but decides against it. Peeta, however, begs her to kill him so that she may win, but she takes out her hand and holds out some Nightlock berries. She takes some for herself and gives the rest to Peeta, hinting that shed rather the Capitol have no winners instead of one. Before they can commit suicide, a speaker pleads them to stop and announces that they are both winners. They are brought back to the Capitol where Haymitch tells them how foolish they are to have defied the Capitol like that and instructs them to play up the star-crossed couple routine at their final interview. They oblige but Haymitch relents that it will never be enough for the Capitol. We see Seneca Crane being led into a finely polished room. The door is locked behind him while a goblet is set on a pedestal in front of him, containing Nightlock. Although we do not see it, we are led to believe that he sacrifices himself. Peeta and Katniss travel back to District 12 by train. Although they are met with a heros welcome, Haymitch warns Katniss that she is now a political enemy after such a public defiance against the societys leaders. They are greeted by a crowd of cheering residents including Primrose, Katniss mother and Gale. Peeta realizes that Katniss may have been playing up the star-crossed lovers theme just for the audience. He takes her hand and holds it up in the air. President Snow watches the District 12 welcome from the Capitol. Walking away, he wonders what to do about the two victors and the feelings of rebellion they may have created in the Districts. Bottom of Form In the future, the world is split into districts. Each district is responsible for something: District 12, for example, handles coal and mining. All these districts are controlled by the Capitol, where lives the president who is always very, very cruel. The Capitol, to show the Districts how weak they are and how little control they have, hosts the Hunger Games. Two tributes are selected from each district to participate in a game. An arena is set up that looks like a natural surrounding {a jungle, rain forest, desert, etc..) Here, the tributes have to try to survive and kill each other off. The one who is the last standing wins and earns food and gifts for their District, and also can never be selected for the Games. Once chosen, you cant get out of it unless someone else offers to go for you, which no one is entirely willing to do. To get chosen, your name is written on a piece of paper and put into a small bowl, and is chosen at random. Only children are put once {I believe youre safe at the age of 18}, but poorer families are forced to add their childrens name multiple times because the more you put your name in, the more grain you get for your family. Of course, this means youre even more prone to be selected. Hunger Games is about Katniss Everdeen, a young girl who lives in District 12. Her father died at a young age, and from then on she had to take care of her younger sister Prim and her shocked mother. She snuck out under the electric fence that borders the District, and hunted for food using her bow and arrow. At the Reaping, which is the time of day where they select the tributes, Katnisss sister is chosen to be in the Games. Knowing that Prim knows nothing of survival, and Katniss is more skilled in hunting, Katniss offers to take her place. The rest of the book is about Katniss preparing for the Hunger Games and the Hunger Games itself.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Allisons Foreign Policy Models

Allisons Foreign Policy Models Graham Allisons Essence of Decision offered alternative conceptual models on foreign policy decision making and a specific discussion on the Cuban missile crisis; and has been one of the influential book in history of foreign policy analysis. It gives a significant contribution to political science study, as it has been heavily cited in most international relations textbook and also discussed by foreign policy analysts. However, despite the models strong influence in foreign policy study, it has been heavily criticised by foreign policy analysts about its utility and value in decision making analysis. Number of criticism has risen regarding Allisons conceptual framework, ranging from its originality until the problem of evidences that have been used by Allison in explaining the Cuban Missile Crises. Cornford and Horelick, for example, argue that Allisons model is not wholly original work, rather than it is developed from previous study. Moreover, another group of criticism have questioned the account of the Cuban Missile Crises that explained by Allison. Despite these two criticisms, there are number of criticism that will be discussed in the following section. By looking at number of criticism about Allisons model, there is a big question about the usefulness of the model in foreign policy decision making process analysis. This essay aims to evaluate the utility of Allisons conceptual policy in foreign policy decision making. This essay will also critically discuss each of the three models by looking from some perspectives. Moreover, taking into account that this essay relies on Allisons Essence of Decision, this essay will also look at the decision making process regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis. Allisons Conceptual Framework Model I: The Rational Actor (RAM) Model I is the basic yet critical conceptual framework that mostly utilized in foreign policy decision making analysis. RAM is the best model in explaining and predicting of an individual behaviour, as well as purpose generalization in states action. The model reduces the organizational and governmental political complications by looking at government as unified actor.  [1]  Thus, a complete-informed government -regarded as black box- will process information to optimize rational action. The internal structure within decision making process will calculate theà £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬pros and cons, and afterward, rank all the options by their chance to succeed.  [2]   Its feature of being simple and easy to utilize, RAM could be useful when a state has limited or even no available information about the enemy. Moreover, RAM which stresses on interaction among states, will immediately produce prudent decision after considering the pro and con. Therefore, since it does not require much information to analyse a case, RAM would be very suitable in a crisis situation. Its simplicity in analysing a case makes RAM one of the popular methods in foreign policy decision making process. On the other side, some foreign policy analysts argue that in the real foreign policy formation, number of external and individual interest factor will eventually impact the policy making process. Moreover, RAM tends to ignore a large state with complex bureaucratic nature that has various kinds of departments with their own different political and ideological perspectives.  [3]  Therefore, along with the argument that intra-national factors are very importantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦yet critical when one is concerned with planning policy, Allison has proposed so-called, Bureaucratic Politics Model.  [4]   Model II: Organizational Process Difficulties will arise when the cases that are going to be examined is not the behaviour of an individual or a state with simple bureaucracy model, but the behaviour of one organization or government with a complex structure inside. Therefore, Allison provides two alternative conceptual frameworks that will open up the black box to evaluate internal structure inside the government, which is later known as Model II and Model III. Model II or Organizational Process Model focuses on the existing organization and their standard operating procedures (SOP) for gaining information, defining possible option and implementing programme.  [5]  Each organization has its own mission and function and series of program are developed to carry out those missions. In defining feasible option, Model II is restricted based on SOP that they believe, will enhance performance and efficiency. Moreover, Model II is not optimizing rational actor, as model I does, but rather, it is satisfying decision making actors. Its account that foreign policy outcomes are derive from bureaucratic programs, routines and SOP, produces some advantages. It emphasizes the importance of domestic political influences in foreign policy decision making process that sometimes missed out in RAM. Therefore, model II reminds the analysts that the policy was formed not only by a high level decision-maker, but sometimes it is formed by organization.  [6]   Nevertheless, a set of criticism has arisen in the utility of model II. Its emphasis on organisational culture may ill-serve higher level officials and finally can lead to impair the analysts understanding of organizations and their behaviour.  [7]  Even though this kind of problem does not occur for most of the time, but we can take it as a consideration of the effectiveness of the model II. Model III: Governmental Politics Governmental politics or government bargaining model focuses on key individual decision makers with their great influence in deciding on organizational action. Moreover, the model assumes that decision makers have different perceptions, priorities, commitments and also organizational positions (where you stand depends on where you sit).  [8]  Therefore, model III assumes that governmental actions are the result of a political bargaining process among key players. Furthermore, bargaining and negotiation processes will result in satisfying rather than optimizing decision making result. It obviously explained because personal ambition of key actor may diverge from public policy position and may lead to personal power considerations when making decision.  [9]   Between Allisons three conceptual frameworks, model III adds important detail about domestic politics that obviously, cannot be found in model I. In addition, model III does not only explain the roles of key individuals, but it also explains why sometimes individuals are working at contrary purposes to the interest of the government as a whole. Lastly, model III gives us explanation why policy sometimes appears to be irrational if we look it from a unitary government perspective. Nevertheless, model III also received many critics, especially on the complexity of the model. It is focus on individual key actor that makes it difficult to study and analyse. Moreover, it requires too many variables, some variable are unknown and it is hard to apply for other countries with unclear bureaucratic politics inside. Criticism toward Allisons conceptual framework Allisons conceptual framework has been attacked by number of criticism, varying from the originality of the model, different interpretation of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the US political system, and also methodological criticism. As Stephen D. Krasner has argued that Allisons model à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦is misleading, dangerous, and compelling.  [10]  Therefore, in this section, number of criticism of Allisons model will be critically discussed and assessed. Some foreign policy analysts, such as, Cornford, Horelick, Ball and Art have claimed that Allison did not present a completely brand new approach to analysing foreign policy process; but rather it just development from previous theories. Cornford has claimed that organisational process mode is previously done by writers such as, Simon, March and Simon, Cyert and March.  [11]  Furthermore, Cornford has claimed that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Model IIIà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦is pure Neustadt.  [12]  Horelick et al. supported Cornfords argument by suggesting that the bureaucratic model is closely related to previous work done by Kremlinologists.  [13]  Ball and Art also mentioned names of analyst that originally make the bureaucratic policy model, such as Huntington, Hilsman, Schilling, and Neustadt.  [14]   Nevertheless, Allison has dedicated a section in his book to acknowledge previous scholars that become his foundation in developing his methods. He is fully aware that he utilized and developed earlier scholars work as he mentioned in his book, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦this encourages much repackaging of existing theoriesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ã‚  [15]  Therefore, he identifies a group of writers such as March and Simon, Barnard, Cyert and Simon and so on for foundation of model II.  [16]  Furthermore, Allison also acknowledged his intellectual debt to previous scholars that related to model III paradigm, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦model III variety have attracted increasing attention since 1960à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the publication of Presidential Power by Richard E. Neustadt.  [17]  Moreover, Bernstein has argued that the model is a helful summary of earlier decision making research to present a practical mode of analysis and guide to understand business and organizational decision.  [18]  Hence, we coul d argue that Allisons originality does not claim the originality of development of the model. The originality does not lie in his model, but rather in his approach to apply his models consistently to one particular case study, the Cuban Missile Crisis.  [19]   Another criticism can be seen from methodological perspective; numbers of similarities between model II and model III have shaped ambiguity between those two models. In many occasions, some foreign analysts will combine model II and model III to analyse a case study, including Allison himself. In his article with Halperin, Allison combines those two models and become one major model the bureaucratic politics paradigm- as an alternative model to RAM.  [20]  As Cornford argues that the three models is not totally incommensurable model to analyse foreign policy making process.  [21]  Therefore, even though Allison distinguishes three kinds of model in foreign policy analysis, those models is not easily separable in their actual application. In bureaucratic politics model, decision is not arise from one unitary actor, but through some bargaining between organisation structures with their own agenda. Model II and model III have identical characteristics that enable them to be grouped as bureaucratic politics model. The two models are similar in a sense that both models focus on departments and organizations inside the decision maker; however, it is slightly different, in a sense that, if model II will reach a decision through Standard Operation Program, model III will make a decision through bargaining between various players within government. Despite the insignificant difference between those models, they are usually combined as the bureaucratic politics model.  [22]   However, Caldwell has raised bureaucratic politics models major problem regarding the use of evidence and data. The model requires detailed data that hardly available in term of quantity and quality. In addition, Caldwell argued that there is huge possibility for analyst to imposing the model on the evidence rather than testing the model against it. Therefore, bureaucratic politics model has significant problem in analysing the data and evidence, since previous empirical problems show that data was made to fit the model.  [23]   Allisons alternative model has also been argued that it eliminated decision-makers responsibility toward the policy. The strong criticism has risen from Steel and Krasner, which argued that no one, even the President, holds responsibility of the policy as the outcome from bargaining process among bureaucratic groups. As Steel argued that, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦where everyone is responsible for a decision, no one is responsible.  [24]  The same argument also comes from Krusnet who argued that bureaucratic politic eliminates the importance of election: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Elections are a farce not because the people suffer from false consciousness, but because public officials are impotent, enmeshed in a bureaucracy so large that the actions of government are not responsive to their will.  [25]  In contrast, Smith argues that criticism regarding the elimination of bureaucrats responsibility à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦is only valid to the extent to which the President is unable to get his wishes carrie d out.  [26]  In some cases, the President still has the power and responsibility in deciding the final decision and for most of the cases, the President will be the one who chose the key group of decision maker. Therefore, even though Allisons model can be an excuse for bureaucrats, we can argue that the criticism from Steel and Kranser is not applicable for all cases and need to be modified. Furthermore, following previous criticism, there is criticism about Allisons model utility to other countries. Even though Allison clearly points out his intention to present two additional frameworks to other countries foreign policy analysis (not only limited to the US and Soviet Unions policy making)  [27]  , a group of writers has argued the inability of the model to analyse foreign policy behaviour in other countries, to be precise, un-industrialized countries. As Hill has noted that there is a growing consensusà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦over the inapplicability of the insights of Allison, et al. to foreign policy-making inside less modernised states.  [28]  Migdal has also argued that the model cannot be applied to the countries that do not have stability of organizational structure, routine, and even bargaining process.  [29]  Moreover, Brenner also argues that Allisons model is not a universal model and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦more distinctive in the United States than elsewhere.  [ 30]  Despite all criticisms regarding its utility to other countries, Weil has proved, in fact, the model could be utilised in the North Vietnamese foreign policy analysis; as he has noted that examining North Vietnamese foreign policy decision making from a governmental politics perspective complements understanding gained from a rational actor analysis.  [31]   Nevertheless, some analysts have argued that the model is not even applicable to the Soviet Union, although the Soviet Union foreign policy has been heavily discussed in Essence of Decision. It is not only because the model requires more specific information than is available, but also as Dawisha has noted that the bureaucracy in some countries (e.g. the Soviet Union) is fundamentally different from its position in the United States because the persistent influence of the Communist Party.  [32]  Therefore, there is a doubt about the utility of Allisons model in other countries, as Wagner has pointed out, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the extension of Allisons model III to other countries may be a less straightforward enterprise than he implies.  [33]   Case Study: Singapores Defence Posture Change In the early 1980s, Singapore announced a major important change in its defence policy, from a defensively deterrent strategy (poisonous shrimp) to a more actively deterrent strategy (known as the porcupine). In an article done by Pak Shun Ng, he applies Allisons model to analyse Singapores domestic decision making process. Pak Shun Ng treats Singapore as unitary rational actor to utilizing model I (RAM); the military organisations as the unit of analysis for model II; lastly, the military and political party leadership (including senior military leaders and civilian leaders of Singapores ruling party, the Peoples Action Party (PAP)) as units of analysis for model III.  [34]  The article argues that model II and model III provide the most reasonable explanation of the change in Singapores defence position in the 1980s; while model I has failed to fully explain the change in its defence posture from a poisonous shrimp to a porcupine. Model II first reveals the appropriate developm ent of both Singapores military capability and military planning ability. Furthermore, model III then proves details how the Singapore Armed Force (SAF) could announce the change convincingly to improve its stature among Singaporeans and foreigners by persuasive them that Singapore has appropriate capability to defend and survive any potential threat.  [35]  Even though the article heavily honours the utility of Allisons model, but it still proposes modification of the models in order to be able to analyse a decision making process in a small and non-western states under absence of crisis condition. Pak Shun Ng has argued Allisons assumption that policy is the outcome of bargaining process is not applicable policy making in reality. In fact, decision makers do not automatically have different missions.  [36]  Therefore he argued that political bargaining model assumptions are too restrictive to explain real-life government decisions sufficiently, they should be relaxed so as to increase the explanatory power of the model.  [37]  Furthermore, the case study of Singapores policy making shows the evidence of model II and III complete each other and make one alternative model against RAM. Therefore, it supports the criticism that previously discussed that Allisons models, especially model II and III, have strong similarities and hardly separate. Conclusion The essay has discussed Allisons conceptual frameworks, by looking at each model and its pros and cons. Moreover, a number of major criticisms about the utility of Allisons model have also discussed and critically assessed. The first criticism is regarding the originality of the model, which has been criticised that, in fact, Allison did not bring anything new to the table; instead the models are just developed from earlier scholarship. However, we can argue that the originality of Allison model does not lie in the formulation of the models, but at the consistency in applying the model to one case study, the Cuban Missile Crisis. Hence, the fact that it focus on Cuban Crisis has leaded us to the following criticism, the flexibility of the model to be utilized to other countries. Some foreign policy analyst have argued that Allisons conceptual framework is not applicable to other country that is not industrialized enough to have a complex bureaucratic politics, like the United States. A group of analyst also argued that the model actually is not applicable for country with strong influence of communist party, namely the Soviet Union, even though it is heavily discussed in Essence of Decision. Another criticism also attacked the relationship between Allisons model, especially model II and model III. There is an argument that model II and model III are hardly separated from each other, and in some cases, they are combined into one major model, the bureaucratic politics model. Moreover, problem arose from the model about the availability of the data. The bureaucratic politics model requires specific data and evidence that hardly available. The model has also been argued to eliminate responsibility of top level bureaucrats in policy making. However, we can argue that in some cases, the President will be the one who holds the final decision and responsibility toward the outcome (policy). In the final section of the essay, there is a case study about Singapores policy change in early 1980s. By looking at the case study, we can conclude that after some modification, we can apply Allisons model to small and non-western countries like Singapore. Moreover, after Ng modified the model to be more applicable to non-western countries, he argued that model II and model III give better explanation on the policy change, rather than model I. However, from the case study we can also point out that model II and model III are completed each other and hardly separated. This essay has discussed some general criticisms, aside from specific criticism about its utility on Cuban Missile Crisis. Even though its a complex model and has been heavily criticized by some analyst, Allison has successfully provided fresh yet provocative alternative conceptual frameworks in decision making process. Allison does not intend to supplant any previous model, rather just provide a supplement framework in decision making study. Furthermore, in his book, Allison strongly emphasized that the model itself is unfinished; therefore he encourages foreign policy analysts as well as the reader to join and carry on the discussion about the model. Moreover, even though it cannot be fully utilized in all states, as case study of Singapore has shown, with small modification, the model can be utilized and proved to give better explanation than RAM.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Freedom is Over-rated :: essays papers

Freedom is Over-rated The word freedom can technically be defined as the quality or state of being free. However, this definition leaves enormous room for every interpretation imaginable. I live in the â€Å"land of the free†, also known as America. But every country, free or not, has its obvious restrictions, such as laws, society, and government. Someone’s age, race, sex, height, or weight can restrict people in society. In my personal opinion, nothing is truly or completely free. To be free no definite barriers can exist physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually. Most people tend to think of birds when referring to freedom, even more specifically the eagle. Coincidentally, the eagle is the symbol for freedom in America. Eagles fly in the sky, and the sky has no barriers or restrictions existing to the human eye. I believe this is why people think of eagles as images to represent freedom. However, are birds truly free? Birds can not fly without the worry of being killed by a shotgun. Birds do not control their own habitat. If someone wants to chop down a bird’s home, the bird can not stop the person. In closure, birds are not completely free. In the movie, Hurricane, most of Rubin Carter’s life was based upon the judgments people plagued upon him, distinctly because of his race. Rubin had to free his mind in order to grasp and hold onto the little freedom he had in prison. Carter overcame his mind by blocking out distinct hallucinations of the violent and sensitive sides of his personality. But still Rubin Cater was not free. He almost gave up on his life if it was not for his friends in Canada. Those friends in Canada were the critical factor for Rubin Carter’s release from jail. Society and government withhold people from reaching infinite freedom. This is just a plain fact and almost self-explanatory. People in society are not free wherever they go. Society afflicts this description on how people should act, or how people should talk. Society even insists on controlling our thoughts. The United States’ government gives people the right to vote. But is it the popular vote the determining factor in deciding the future president? I think not.