Homosexuals in the Military Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Homosexuals in the Military - Term Paper Example These freedoms and rights are entitled to all American citizens, including homosexuals. However, behind the displayed screen of an apparently free and equal society, homosexuals cannot openly exercise some of the rights that other American citizens are allowed to. Military service is the example discussed here. Homosexuals often have two parallel lives or sides to them. In one they live openly as they please, associating themselves with whomever they please, dressing the way they want, speaking the way they want to speak and plainly living as they please just like everyone else in society. In the other, they must hide their real selves and conform to the masses in order to enjoy the rights and privileges of the average citizen or, more disturbingly, to avoid discrimination and overt hostility from others. It is the general state of things that the rights of a person end where the rights of another begin. As such, just as the right of free speech is subject to the limitation of not defaming or slandering others, the right of homosexuals to simply be their true selves and embrace their sexuality seems to be subject to the right of the masses to be shielded from behavioral aspects that they subjectively feel are immoral or unnatural. As such there are many instances where homosexuals who openl y display and even advertise their sexuality in the streets through the use of banners and advertisements are seen as offensive and many people act hostile against this, leading to discrimination. This same situation is the problem homosexuals experience while serving in the military.

Human recourse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human recourse - Essay Example Human resource department is mandated to advertise job postings, screen applicants, carry out preliminary interviews and organize hiring efforts together with managers responsible for making the final judgment on selection. Another important function of human resource is to ensure safety training and sustain federally authorized logs workplace fatality reporting. In addition, the human resource department is charged with the responsibility of providing compensation and benefits to the employees. Human resource are also mandated to provide their employees with the necessary tools, which means that they should give new employees broad orientation training to help them transit to the new organization culture. Compliance to the employment and labor laws is a critical function of the human resource department. The human resource practitioners must be knowledgeable of the state and federal employment laws such as Labor Standards, Title VII of the civil rights among other laws. By using the basic human resource tools such as organizational redesign, job redesign process redesign and competency model development, businesses are able to effectively align their support and selling processes to the changing business realities. Human resource brings value to any business by executing the strategies through constructing organizational capability. The human resource department is considered as a link between the products an organization offers and the employees it hires. An efficiently run human resource department can be crucial to guarantee that a business runs efficiently and smoothly daily. The basic role human resource in relation to the workforce is to training of the new workforce. Human resource experts should provide plenty of training on particular skills that employees need to help them work effectively. They are also responsible of f facilitating communication in the work force. Change is one of the frightening things to a work force. Therefore,

The Camera Never Lies Essay Example for Free

The Camera Never Lies Essay It is usually thought that photographs are a little slice of the real world. Traditionally, they have played the rule of adding realism to written text. The text becomes a commentary of the frozen shot of real life encapsulated in the photograph. However it could be argued that this is not the case. There are several aspects of the photographic image, which make it less than real. These aspects all have different ways of showing that cameras arent always correctly right. Even simple pictures can represent a number of qualities. It is possible to understand a number of different meanings from one picture, this is called decoding. For instance visual images can be false by editing and cropping detail out of the photographs/pictures. This process changes the frame and can sometimes exclude main or minor parts of the picture. These missing images occasionally can back up the authors article and help the audience understand the meaning. Cropping occurs in the media to suit the audience and to express the opinions of the writer. We can also argue photographs can distort the truth by the selection of the picture. The illustration always is chosen for a particular event or story, but the final image is selected from a wide range of material. This allows the author flexibility, in choosing the correct image for his motive in his text. Sometimes the pictures arent always appropriate, but have certain ways of backing up the article. As the photographs only show one aspect of the situation, the image could always be unrepresentative and tell many different stories from the single picture. These images often make statements about the link between what is being displayed in the photograph and the type of person viewing the article. The picture can be misleading a bare no relation to the text. This is a good example of poor selection of photographic material. All photographs are not reality, but iconic signs. Iconic sings are a way of demonstrating a particular subject. When we observe a photograph in print, it is only a symbol not the real image as we see in real life. All pictures have captions describing the image; the captions anchor the meaning of a photograph which offers a clear preferred reading. The text of the article also performs and shows this function. A photograph alone without a caption can be interpreted in various ways. As well as having iconic meaning, photos make meaning and signify because of the associations we have with the image. Denotation is the simple literal meaning of all the images viewed in the picture, basically defining the illustration. On the other hand connation is the associations we have with the sketch. These associations are viewed in many different ways and automatically display and imply numerous opinions on certain situations. The top photograph (Fig.1) shows Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness leaders of Shin Fane situated outside a conference surrounded by the media. The denotation in this image shows the leaders surrounded by paparzates, divided by some form of barrier. Barbed wire fencing is in the rear of the photograph; this gives the impression of security and restriction. A lot of people are surrounding the leaders, giving the feeling of interest or trouble. The connation of the sketch is basically of immense interest in these powerful Shin Fane leaders. With the photograph being taken so far away from the incident its hard for individuals to be identified and described. This particular photo was probably selected for this quality, to show the mass interest. The barrier shows disgrace for Shin Fane, with the leaders being barred from the conference. This specific image is chosen as an example to show the media had interest in Shin Fane. Having no open text it is difficult for the reader to know exactly what is occurring, it would be impossible to guess what the photograph is trying to display. In the photograph (Fig.2) it shows the viewer a close up of Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, behind bars. This gives a dramatic feeling of exclusion and shame. The denotation in this image is easy to identify and describe with the shot being so close and clear. We can view two very well known faces, restricted from going into somewhere with solid bars. The Shin Fane leaders are dressed formally, which gives the impression of the conference being important and themselves being powerful. In the background faded faces can be seen, this can be interpreted in various ways. For example Shin Fane Supporters/Shin Fane Protestors or Paparzates. The connation is one of power and conflict; this particular picture of the leaders gives publicity for their cause. This image has a closer propaganda feeling, and the bars give a feeling of jail and prison, which makes the photo even more dramatic. Its easy to understand what the picture is displaying, even without a caption. The difference between Fig.1 and Fig.2 is that the leaders can be identified easily and not so much is occurring in the image, which makes it easily understandable. In photograph Fig.3 The Mobs Brief Rule, the first impression is that it shows an argument between a protestor being held by police and a West End Shopper. The caption below this endorses this impression. The donation in this image is that there is a riot-taking place, with people being restrained by the Police and non-protestors being caught up in the chaos. In the background we can clearly see the West-End buildings and a telephone box. The connation in this photo is that the male protestor is being restrained presumably for wrongdoing and the by-passer has entered in conversation with him. Without the caption this photograph is simple to follow and gives you a slight understanding of the disorder. Having read the accompanying letter to the editor from the eye-witness (West End Shopper), it is obvious the camera can be misinterpreted and this is an example how the media can use images to achieve a particular purpose. The letter explains exactly what did happen, which was that the shopper was walking down the street in the early evening hearing a group of cheerful poll-tax protestors. With police aligned along the pavements, the lady suddenly saw four of the riot squad police grab a young girl in her late teens for no reason and brutally forced her onto the crowd control railings. The man you view in the image is her boyfriend recklessly trying to reach for her, but being held back by a policeman. The lady is urging the man to calm down or he will be arrested, she is not having an argument with him as your first impressions thought. I looked at the same events reported in two different Sunday papers, to see if they had represented the photographs differently. The subject of these images is the same, but the photographs attached to the article differ. Reports on the Israel Conflict The Sunday Times and The Sunday Express wrote articles on the Israel conflict, each took a different approach on the issue. Both photographs in the papers produce the same sort of meaning just in different ways. The Sunday Times took a conservative attitude to the conflict in as much as the article dealt only with the Israel Conflict. The photograph (Fig.4) alongside the article shows President Bush casually dressed in typical Texan fashion. It was very informal and displayed the idea of him and Tony Blair being chums. In the image Bush and Blair are seen to be united together, which reflects the text in the article. The denotation of the picture shows the two powerful, respected leaders together. Blair supports Bush and pays compliments for the Presidents U-turn on Israel. The connation in this photo implies American society and the United Kingdom have combined together to sort out problems over in the Middle East. The caption on this photo doesnt exactly reflect much of the article, but gives the reader some idea about them uniting and the toughness they will have over in the Middle East. Unlike some images, without any open text this photo could mean a variety of things. The Sunday Express included a similar article, which was more dramatic and combined the two issues of the Israel Conflict along with the possibility of war within Iraq. The photograph (Fig.5) alongside was more formal showing the president handshaking Tony Blair. The image is personally more appropriate than the Sunday Times photo, with the denotation showing the two countries flag in the background and them both being in recognized clothing. This particular photo has been chosen because it is simple with few figures and it portrays a strong meaningful picture for this serious article. The connation implies the same issue as in the other Sunday paper, showing them becoming united. With the handshake and them looking pleased in this image you speculate something respectable has happened. Unlike the other image you have a vague idea of the situation without the open text caption. The next photograph (Fig.6) Im going analyse appeared in the Mirror, alongside articles paying tribute to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mothers funeral. The denotation shows Lady Thatcher and her husband Dennis taking their seats in Westminster Abbey. This image is a good example of misrepresentation as with out the caption the read would have no idea what was happening. The connation in the left picture could imply just grief or Dennis having an accident. Their expressions do not indicate any physical injury. In contrast the photo on the right, gives more idea that Lady Thatcher is the one in pain. With the caption we can tell she is in agony due to Dennis treading on her toes. This article seemed rather out of place, alongside the funeral tributes. After analysing these five different images, I have learnt due to editing and selection photos can misrepresent the truth. The Media producers are constantly competiting with each other to make money. New and exciting ways of representing information/pictures can have impact and ensure success. A good photograph of something can help audiences make sense of a complicated issue. The media uses photographs that will hopefully not date and always support the authors text. Without cropping, selection and photographs being anchored, the images would put across a more truthful statement. As can be seen from my examples, the camera can distort the truth or even lie.

Economic Value of Sustainable Development

Economic Value of Sustainable Development Introduction The generation living presently should leave the enhancement of air, water and soil resources as normal, as pure and not polluted as they found it to be for the future generations. Its quiet impossible to achieve such intergenerational equity given global environmental problems that emanate through human activities. Therefore following the Brundtland (1987) view, Sustainable Development implies meeting developmental needs of present human beings without compromising/sacrificing the needs of future generations. Sustainable Development is an injunction not to satisfy ourselves by depriving our successors (future generation) a pure ecosystem, particularly of finite resources. Environmentalist/Ecologists typically argue that archiving sustainable development requires treating natural resources (exhaustible and non-exhaustible) with care as they form part of all human productive activities. Whilst on the other hand, Economists believe that individual consumers will automatically adopt env ironmental preferences such that it leads towards environmental preservation, in other words: the market will solve all problems. Sustainable Development has arguably been the centre of debate amongst different schools of thought, particularly between the Neo Classical school of thought and the Ecological school of thought (as we can see the different approaches used by the schools in the above paragraph). The environments capacity to accommodate human activity is questionable given the arising problems of unsustainable development that’s enhanced by the rate at which humans devalue certain environmental amenities and also by the rate in which humans discount future costs and benefits for present costs and benefits. This assignment is particularly aimed at exploring, how valuing and discounting of the ecological system by humans relate to sustainable development. The rationale behind discounting by individuals is the preference for consumption now as opposed to sometime in the future (time preference). This preference may be composed of factors associated with the risk in delaying consumption, with the fact that increased wealth in the future might reduce the relative worth of the postponed consumption, and with possibly irrational, â€Å"pure† time preference (Tim Cowards, 1997: 28-39). Whilst on the other hand R. Kerry Turner, Jouni Paavola,†¦, (2003; 493-510) believe the rationale behind valuation is not having a defined monetary price tag on environmental goods but rather to express the effect of a marginal change in ecosystem services provision in terms of a trade off against other things people value. Theoretical Analysis of the Discount Rate Sustainable Development As defined earlier, discounting future environmental benefits for present environmental benefits has resulted in large controversies and can have severe implications on policy formulations that seek to strengthen abatement levels in achieving sustainable development. Environmentalists typically despise the act of discounting as it impoverishes the ecological well-being of future generations thus resulting to unsustainable development. In understanding the concept of discounting, John Quiggin (1997: pp. 65 – 90) applies a basic example where; if a 1 dollar benefit subject to arise in thirty years, comprising a discounted current value of 10 cents, an individual consumer in thirty years will therefore have at margin, a weight of 10 cents relative to an individual born today. This basic example shows how future generations can be made worse off due to present human activities. Therefore we can clearly see that policies which seek to enhance present consumption coupled with resour ce depletion such that there’s predominantly scarcer finite resources in the future is associated with discounting procedures. Therefore the discounting procedure in-relation to sustainable development hampers strategic aims of intergeneration equity that seeks to distribute finite resources equally for both current and future generations. Tom Crowards (1997, 28-39) stipulates that the rationale behind discounting by the society is that they face a preference on whether to consume now or to consume in the future (time preference). Such that this factor is associated with risk of delaying consumption, as the value of the worth in the future might be relatively worth less in present terms. Given that we can clearly see that there’s an opportunity cost associated with present consumption, which is said to be the return that society might derive by delaying consumption. Computation of the discount rate: The most common method to use when computing the discount rate is the Ramsey Rule. The Ramsey Rule enables us to get an efficient discount rate that is made equal to the interest rate, which measures the opportunity cost of funds in the economy. The discount rate is given by r: r = ÃŽ ´ + ÃŽ ·g Where ÃŽ ´: Measures the time preference faced by the society which was slightly discussed in the above section. This time preference stipulates the extent to which the society discounts future welfare. Such that the higher the value of ÃŽ ´, relatively implies less abatement measures today as less weight is being put to future damages. Sterner Martin (2007, 07-37) argued that some economists use a very low time preference value anticipating the risk that future generations might not be alive to witness environmental problems particularly of climate change. Where ÃŽ ·: is the marginal elasticity of utility to income thus measuring the curvature of the utility function. The higher the value on the marginal elasticity of utility to income relatively implies the richer we become in the future. Therefore the higher the value of ÃŽ ·, higher abatement levels will be taken as a higher ÃŽ · results to higher environmental damages. Where g: Ressembles the growth rate for a particular eceonomy. Most economists tend to fix it to one given implications and technicalities it may lead us to when trying to find the discount rate. Discussion Analysis of Discount Rates: There has been large controversy amongst various authors such as Ralph Winkler (2009), Thomas Sterner Martin Persson (2012) over the extent to which the current generation discount future environmental benefits. Ralph Winkler (2009) analyses optimal investment in environmental protection and believes that human beings engage in hyperbolic discounting which is derived from the shortcomings of exponential discounting. Hyperbolic discount rates suggest that the discount rate of the society declines overtime due to three factors; Firstly, Empirical evidence suggests policy makers utilize a declining discount rate rather than a constant discount rate when making decisions about abatement levels for future environment (Frederick et al 2002., Gintis, 2000). Secondly, implications of uncertainty relating to the state of the world in the future leads to certainty-equivalent discount rate (Azfar, 1999, Gollier, 2002, Weitzman, 1998). Thirdly, it is believed that declining discount rates are consistent with intergenerational equity (Li Lofgren, 2000, Chichilnisky, 1996). Hyperbolic discount rate has its limitations such as its failure to be time-consistent; therefore Ralph Winkler assumes a non-overlapping generation which is represented by a single agent. He believed the limitations of hyperbolic discounting will be eliminated by assuming the above and given that hyperbolic discounting stems from the societies uncertainty over the future, than there’s no issue of time-inconsistencies’ if plans about the environment are updated as new information becomes available. On the other hand, the view of a high discount rate by Thomas Sterner Martin Persson (2007) stems from the Stern Review (2006) which was a discussion paper aimed at providing policy makers input on the impact of climate change. Thomas Sterner Martin Persson based their strong criticism over the low discount rate and non-market damages of climate change that are underestimated in the Stern Report. The two authors believed taking into account relative price could change the composition of the discount rate as changing relative prices (particularly of environmental goods) due to climate change can have severe impacts on the economy. Given that, the Stern Review made use of the Ramsey Rule when computing the discount rate as shown by the following equation: r = ÃŽ ´ + ÃŽ ·g Thomas Sterner Martin Persson (2007) modified the Ramsey Rule that gave a low discount rate and rather made use of the DICE model which takes into account changing relative prices between market goods and environmental goods such that they arrive to the following equation: Taking into account relative prices (particularly the environmental component denoted by ÃŽ ³E) will result to a high discount rate such that policy makers will strengthen abatement measures of the dealing with the impacts of climate change. The figure below presents a scenario where after relative prices are taken into account policy makers’ intern take severe abatement measures of dealing with climate change which can be significantly reduced by minimizing greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere. As we can see in the above figure, initially the Stern discounting (low discount rate) comprises a low carbon dioxide emissions compared to Sterner Martin’s discounting (high discount rate) but in the long-run the high discount rate results to low carbon dioxide emission compared to a low discount rate given changes in relative prices of environmental goods. This effect illustrates that taking relative prices into account can enhance necessary abatement levels that’s in the same order of magnitude as changing the discount rate. Theoretical Analysis of Economic Valuation Sustainable Development It is believed that predominant sustainable development is coupled with the extent to which the society values the environment and the extent to which the society is willing invests current environmental benefits to future generations. Environmental valuation is believed to be the process by which the society attaches monetary values on environmental goods and services. Environmental goods and services can be complex in-terms of breaking them down and attaching monetary values as many of which have no easily observed market prices, this includes environmental goods and services ranging from coral reefs, scenic views, biodiversity, mountain vistas, etc. The benefits of having an environment are believed to have value only if they enter an individual’s utility function or a firm’s production function, such that environmental benefits that fail to meet the two conditions are said to have no economic value (Nick Hanley, Clive L. Spash, 1488-1490). Therefore the rationale be hind monetary valuing the costs and benefits of environmental goods and services is to allow for monetary comparison between market goods and non-market goods. Richard B. Howarth Richard B. Norgaard (1992, 473-477) stated that the imperfection of the environmental market is a major source of societies overexploiting the availability of natural resources such that, if the value of these resources are known then optimal efficient levels would emanate. It’s further emphasized that environmental value towards achieving sustainable development is interdependent upon each generation’s commitment towards transferring to the next sufficient natural resources and capital assets to make development sustainable. Therefore, Richard B. Howarth Richard B. Norgaad (1997, 473-477) explicitly states the existence of a relationship between intertemporal allocative efficiency and intergenerational asset distribution towards understanding how valuing affects sustainable development. This explicit relationship is depicted by the graph below: In the above figure, we can see that the vertical axis measures utility of future generations and the horizontal axis measuring the utility of current generations. The 45* degree line represents the substitutability threshold between future and current generations. Each point on the utility possibility frontier represents an efficient allocation of resources. If initially the economy is inefficient at point A, environmental valuation could possibly move the economy to point B (on the utility possibility frontier). Neither of the two points are sustainable given that future generations are made worse-off by the actions of current generations. Policy and implementation of intergenerational equity within the economy could possibly move the economy to point A* which is inefficient but sustainable. A society that values environmental amenities would enhance a sustainable and efficient allocation of environmental resources such that the economy is at point B*. Approaches to environmental valuation: Economists define valuation based on an anthropocentric, utilitarian approach, which focuses on measures of individual well-being. The economic value of changes in environmental goods and services is derived from measuring the effects of these changes on human welfare (Lee, J.F.J., M. Springborn, S.L Handy, J.F. Quinn and F.M. Shilling, 2010, Pp.123). Economists typically argue that the multiple values of the ecosystem can be best represented by the total economic value (TEV) framework which comprises use values and non-use values. Use values are regarded as values related to environmental features associated with an individual. The use-values can be direct or indirect; to such an extent that direct use-value involves human interactions with the environment, whilst direct use-values can be classified into consumption and non-consumption uses. Consumption-uses involve the extraction of resources from the ecosystem for human consumption (consumable resources such as, fish, food, timber, etc.). While on the other hand, non-consumption uses are environmental goods not directly associated with the day-to-day consumption activities of humans (these include, wild-life viewing, hiking, scenic vistas, etc.). Indirect uses are derived from environmental functions such as groundwater recharge and the option of keeping use-values at a later stage respectively. Non-use values are the remaining values aside from consumption and non-consumption uses. This includes existence value, such that people benefit by having knowledge of the existence of a particular environmental attribute. The distinction made can be best summarized by the following figure below: Figure 3: Classification of total economic value and valuation methods Methodologies for valuating environmental goods services There’re two broad categories for evaluating environmental goods and services, according to Lee, J.F.J., M. Springborn, S.L Handy, J.F. Quinn and F.M. Shilling (2010, Pp.123) these two categories include revealed preferences and stated preferences. Both categories can be used to capture use-values but stated preference is more adequate in measuring non-use values. Revealed Preferences This approach is fairly dependent upon the connection between market goods and non-market goods such that advantage can be taken by the amount of money paid for market goods .e.g. the connection between local water quality and residential housing. Revealed preferences generally involve choices that humans make in the market. Revealed preferences include methods of evaluation such as: Recreational demand, Hedonics, Market prices, and averting behaviour. Recreational Demand Method: Recreational components of environmental typically include wildlife viewing, boating, hiking, etc. therefore the quality of the environment can arguably affect these recreational opportunities at site. There’re two basic models used to value recreational components provided by the environment, they’re; standard travel cost models and the random utility model. The standard travel cost model identifies the number of visits to particular environmental site and random utility model considers the individuals choice of selection from a range of environmental sites. This method of valuation can be best applied if an environmental attribute of concern influences recreational use. Hedonic Models: Explains price differences using data on the different characteristics of a marketed good. These are implicit prices of attributes and are revealed to economic agents from observed prices of differentiated products and the specific amounts of characteristics associated with them (Rosen 1974). If the Hedonic price function is estimated accurately then estimates represent an individuals’ marginal willingness to pay for the environmental quality. This method is commonly used if an environmental attribute directly affects the price of marketed goods. Market Prices Method: When environmental goods or services can be purchased in the market then market prices can be directly used to evaluate environmental attributes. This process is regarded as the production function approach as it considers the environmental conditions as an input in the production of marketed goods. In other words, environmental attributes contribute to the production of marketed goods. This application of this approach is mostly present in habitat and fishery linkages. Averting behaviour Models: Averting behaviour models asses the individual’s willingness to engage in defensive behaviour in an attempt to eliminate morbidity risk by achieving a desired level of health while accounting for the cost of defensive behaviour. In other words, averting behaviour models asses the individuals’ act of protecting health and the general well-being. Stated Preferences Here economists generally consider intentions made by the individuals in hypothetical market situations. Stated preference methods are based upon surveys that distinguish values that individuals place on goods or services. Stated preferences comprises of two segments, namely contingent valuation and conjoint analysis which both comprise the adoption of simulated markets. This sort of valuation methods are the only ones capable of capturing non-use values as they’re mostly used when collecting information on the value placed on environmental attributes by those who value their existence. Contingent Valuation: A contingent valuation basically describes an environmental scenario and therefore estimates the value attached to the particular environmental change scenario. Individuals would therefore reveal their willingness to pay (WTP) for the change. In other words, this sort of method evaluates an individual’s willingness to pay or accept a specific change in environmental attribute. In order for the survey to be effective, respondents a required to understand what’s being valued and have a sense on how they would be willing to trade off between changing environmental attribute and income. Conjoint Analysis: This statistical method is typically used in determining the value of a set of environmental attributes. Researchers generally identify a set of environmental attributes of which individuals/respondents are expected to rank these environmental attributes to a specific value. This method has been projected useful when dealing with environmental evaluation questions that cover multiple dimensions which vary over a range. As conjoint† analysis considers trade-offs among different dimensions, this method can be used to rank policy options that would have various impacts over multiple attributes of the environmental† amenity of concern. Conjoint Analysis and Contingent Valuation are similar when applied accept that conjoint analysis doesn’t ask respondents to disclose their willingness to pay for environmental amenities.

U.S. Foreign Policy Essay -- Politics Government

Throughout the course of history, the United States has remained consistent with its national interest by taking many different actions in foreign policy. There have been both immediate and long term results of these actions. Foreign policy is the United States policy that defines how we deal with other countries economically and politically. It is made by congress, the president, and the people. Some of the motivations for United States foreign policy are national security, economics, and idealism. The United States entry into World War I in 1917 and the escalation of the Vietnam War in 1964 and the both had great impact on the United States. A major type of foreign policy in the 1964 was containment. The Vietnam War was fought between the communist North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The United States supported South Vietnam and other communist countries supported North Vietnam. In 1950, the United States were scared of the domino effect and didn?t want to become communist. The United States, at this point, offers 2.5 billion dollars to aid France. The United States involvement in Vietnam had begun. By 1969 the United States had 543,000 troops in Vietnam engaged in a war to try to end communist containment. The escalation of the War in Vietnam was a direct result of the inability of the U.S. to make a firm commitment during the early stages of the conflict. In 1954, the battle of Dien Bien Phu was fought. This forced the French to retreat. In 1964, an American ship was attacked by the North Vietnamese in the Gulf of Tonkin. Congress then issues the Tonkin Resolution. The Tonkin Resolution granted President L yndon B. Johnson the authority to assist any Southeast Asian country. In 1965, Americas first combat ... ...1919, World War I was offically over. The Treaty of Versailles was signed blaming the war on Germany. It made new nations and dimiliterized Germany. As a result of the treaty, the League of Nations was established. The goals of the League of Nations was to have international organization, improving global quality of life, and to avoid war. Foreign relations are highly complex and controversial. Everything, such as, formal and informal contacts with other nations and social and cultural contacts have to be recognized when a foreign policy is established. The United States have taken many different foreign policy actions since 1890. Some have been successful and some have not. Both internationaltion and containment were very important foreign policies but there were many more. Isolationism and Imperialism aslo had a huge impact on how America is today.

Hester Prynne Essay -- essays research papers

Hester Prynne   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, a dark tale of sin and redemption,centers around the small Puritan community of Boston during the 17th century. In the midst of this small community is Hester Prynne. She is a woman that has defied the Puritans, taken the consequences and in the end conformed with the Puritans. It did, however, take great effort to settle down and become a women of honor again.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hester Prynne, through the eyes of the Puritans, is an extreme sinner. She has gone against the Puritan ways by committing Adultery. The Puritans believed that Hester was a lost soul that could only be saved by sincere and thorough repentance. For this irrevocably harsh sin, she must wear a symbol of shame for the rest of her life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From the beginning, we see that Hester Prynne is a young and beautiful woman who has bought a child into the world with an unknown father. Hester, to the reader, is obviously a woman who has violated a strict social and religious code, but who has sinned in an affirmation of love and life. The Puritans do not take her feelings into account. They are people that take things as being right or wrong. Committing adultery is seen as wrong in the Bible, and therefore Puritans do not care of the circumstances. The Puritans are grim, forbidding people. Nonetheless they have a degree of dignity and authority. They lack sympathy and discrimination. In their eyes all crimes are equal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hester is punished by the Puritan society by wearing the scarlet letter A on the bosom of her dress and standing on “the weather darkened scaffold';(p.234) for three hours. The Scaffold is a painful task to bear. The townspeople have gathered around to gossip and stare at her. They yell horrid things at her. One matron screams “At the very least, they should have put the brand of hot iron to her forehead.'; (p.59) Obviously, the Puritans did not believe that this punishment was cruel enough. The screams of this matron showed just how unforgiving the Puritans were. Here one can see the difference between the Puritans and Hester. She was standing on scaffold shedding her honor because she had sinned in love. Although she had committed a sin, the reasons behind it were because she was truly in love. T... ...athe the ways of her child.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As time went by, Hester came more in contact with the Puritans of the town. She had come to conform with their belief that redemption would save her soul. She gave her life to God, by visiting the sick and sowing for the poor. She came to be revered by most members of the community because of her actions. The scarlet letter, for many had come to represent able, not adultery. Her strength to satisfy the needs of others and comfort them was a gift many towns people respected. As time went by, Hester was no longer conforming to Puritan ways of redemption. She was doing kind things because it bought her pleasure and peace of mind. The word in the town was that the letter no longer stood for adultery and indeed stood for able. Hester became strong with the letter. She had let it be a part of her for many years while Pearl’s father, minister Dimesdale, had covered it and it had gnawed at his soul. Hester was no longer hurt by the letter neither did she feel guilt.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hester Prynne had committed a sin which the Puritans believed took her soul. In the end, however, her sin had become part of her

Enabling various

It has brought people closer together by enabling various forms f interpersonal communication, notably e-mail, instant messaging, video conferencing, and social networking. And it has allowed consumers to purchase virtually anything at any time, while providing producers with direct access to a wide range of markets. Furthermore, the Internet Is a bustling industry, spurred by entrepreneurship and supported by a variety of Industries and large enterprises. Online productivity tools and communications advancements provide benefits to almost all enterprises and governments.The Internet has helped governments to broaden their services to citizens and improve their delivery. In a very short period, it has become difficult for most of us to imagine a world without instant and continuous access to the Internet. Series in which we examined the Internet's impact on a group of developing countries that have both the scale and the dynamism to become significant players on the global stage in t he near future (see Online and upcoming: The Internet's impact on aspiring countries, McKinney & Company, January 2012).It also builds on our earlier assessment of the impact of the Internet on the advanced economies and several large developing economies, such as China, Brazil, Russia and India (see McKinney Global Institute, Internet matters: The Net's sweeping impact on growth, Jobs, and prosperity, May 2011). As an ongoing body of work, our view of the Internet's impact on India is evolving. The insights and conclusions presented in this report are refinements of our earlier multi-country work, based on an in-depth assessment of India-specific data and multiple expert interviews in India.As data sources improve and the body of knowledge relating to the Internet expands in India, we look forward to continue to evolve our perspectives. Our research focuses on the way the Internet affects Indian's economy currently, and TTS potential to do so in future. In our attempt to understand the impact of the Internet, we focus on how economic growth and prosperity have been affected; we also seek to discover how individuals, entrepreneurs, enterprises, and public sector entities have been transformed.In addition to assessing the Internet landscape and its impact on the various groups of participants, we examine the potential for India to utilize the particular strengths of its economy to enable businesses and individuals to derive greater benefits from the Internet. We do not offer prescriptive policies, but Ochs on opportunities and possibilities for India to accelerate its efforts to capture the Internet's benefits.This is an independent McKinney & Company report that draws on various sources: research from Muckiness's Technology, Media, and Telecoms Practice; information from academic and public sources; research conducted with Google; and work from the McKinney Global Institute (MGM'), the business and economics research arm of McKinney & Company. Without the cont ributions of the academics and researchers who are cited throughout the report, our effort would not have been possible.To understand the trends in Internet activity in India versus other countries, we relied on several analytical approaches: (1) we constructed macroeconomic analyses for India, taking into account data related to Internet expenditure, Internet usage, the infrastructure, and various other environmental enablers of the Internet; (2) we conducted microanalyses of various Internet ecosystem participants and user groups, using publicly available data and interviews with company chief technology officers (Cots); (3) we surveyed about 550 small and medium-sized enterprises (Seems) inIndia; (4) we utilized data from Muckiness's proprietary Digital Consumer surveys in India in 2010 and 2012; (5) we constructed a forward-looking view on the potential size of the Internet user base in India; and (6) we conducted thought experiments to behavior could shape the Internet landscap e. To test our conclusions, we interviewed industry experts in India and asked academics to review our findings. As a result, we are confident that the findings are directionally robust, despite the challenges of limited data availability.However, there is a clear need to conduct further research ND analysis on the basis of enriched sets of data, given the growing importance of the Internet and its transformational impact. The project was led by Chanced Misbranding, a McKinney principal in Bangor, and Ann. Mammogram, a senior fellow at MGM' in Iambi, along with Noshing Kaka, managing director of McKinney in India, James Monika, a McKinney and MGM' director in San Francisco, Michael Chug, a senior fellow at MGM' in San Francisco and Jacques Bugging, a McKinney director in Brussels.Malcolm Gomes managed the project team of Chums Gain, Million Speaker, and Emmanuel Thomas. We are grateful for the review, challenge and advice provided by our academic advisers for this research: we thank Martin N. Bally, the Bernard L. Schwartz Chair in Economic Policy Development at the Brooking Institution, and Rakes Moan, professor in the Practice of International Economics of Finance, School of Management, Yale University.We are also grateful for the insights of Raja Amanda, Betsy Massively, and Armament Sings at Google. The authors would like to acknowledge Muckiness's researchers who made significant contributions to the fact base: Shirr Guppy from MGM' Economics and Durum Vary from Muckiness research and information network. Finally, we offer special thanks to the industry experts we interviewed during this project.For their perspectives on the evolution of the Internet landscape in India we thank Sunnis Abraham, Director of the Centre for Internet and Society; Raja Katharine, Director and Chief Executive of ‘CRIER; Some Imitate, President of MASCOT; and Sub Ray, President of the Internet & Mobile Association of India. For their insights into the Internet-related inves tments of their enterprises and the prospects for Internet innovation in India, we thank the many Cots and technology company executives we interviewed. All references to specific companies in this report come from public sources.Our aspiration is to provide facts and analyses to better understand some of the most important trends that are shaping the Internet in India. We hope our findings will enrich the dialogue about the ways that businesses, policy makers, and innovators can accelerate Indian's Internet transformation. Principal, McKinney & Company Bangor Senior Fellow, McKinney Global Institute Iambi Managing Director, India, McKinney & Company Director, McKinney & Company, and Director, McKinney Global Institute San Francisco San FranciscoJacques Bugging Director, McKinney & Company Brussels 1 billion Internet users in 30 aspiring countries? half of the global tally of Internet users 120 million Internet users in India: the third largest user base in the world Across seven as piring countries the average number of Internet users for every 100 people is 3410 compared to in India The average number of fixed broadband subscribers for every 100 people across the seven aspiring countries is 7 1 Our illustrative subset of seven of the â€Å"aspiring† countries, I. E. , Argentina, Brazil, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Africa, and Vietnam. 1. % average contribution of the Internet to GAP across all aspiring countries, versus in developed countries 3. 4% contribution of the Internet to Indian's GAP, amounting to $30 billion $12 billion average estimated consumer surplus associated with Internet usage across the seven aspiring countries, versus $9 billion Average international bandwidth capacity for every 10,000 people across the seven aspiring 28 Mbps 6 Mbps Contents Executive summary Indian's Internet landscape Economic impact of the Internet 18 Indian's Internet ecosystem 25 Impact on principal user groups 29 A vision for broad-based Internet i nclusionAppendix: Methodology and approaches Bibliography 53 The Internet today connects more than two billion people worldwide. The Internet already has immense impact on the global economy, contributing an estimated $1. 7 trillion, or Just under 3 percent, of global GAP in 2010. 1 Yet half the number of Internet users lives outside the advanced economies, often in countries that are quickly developing, have significant economic potential and are socially and culturally diverse.India has about 120 million people online today and offers a striking example of the Internet's growth potential. India is adopting the Internet at a much more rapid pace than advanced economies and even many developing economies, yet 90 percent of its population is currently not connected. This report assesses the impact of the Internet on Indian's economy, estimating its impact on GAP. Looking beyond that, we measure the Internet's broader impact in terms of consumer surplus and the development of Internet ecosystems.We also look at the ways in which various participants have benefited from the Internet already. We measure Indian's environment for e-commerce and entrepreneurship, and we analyze in detail the impact of the Internet on its small and medium-sized enterprises (Seems). Finally, we assess the potential for the future impact of the Internet and what it would take for India to bring this potential into being.As a basis for comparison, we use a set of 57 middle-income developing nations, and some populous but less-developed nations; these collectively constitute 91 percent of world GAP. Thirty of these countries are what we call â€Å"aspiring countries,† defined as having the scale and dynamism to fuel economic performance in the global economy while driving significant domestic Roth and offering prosperity to their own citizens. These aspiring countries have a collective GAP of $19 trillion, or 30 percent of global GAP.We focus our comparisons with India more closely on an illustrative subset of seven of the aspiring countries: Argentina, Brazil, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Africa and Vietnam. Of the set of more than 20 developed countries in our database, we focus our comparisons on five: Germany, South Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Our report offers seven key findings concerning the impact of and outlook for the Internet in India: 1.Indian's base of about 120 million Internet users is currently the third-largest in the world. Though Indian's users spend less time online per capita than users in developed countries, their pattern of online behavior is rapidly converging. The Internet's role in communication, social networking, and informing and influencing Indian's consumers in categories such as apparel, books, financial services, and travel is already comparable with that of developed countries. 2.India is likely to have the second-largest user base in the world, and the largest in arms of incremental growth, with 330 million to 370 million Internet users in 2015. Given current downward trends in the costs of Internet access and mobile devices, India is on the verge of an Internet boom. In an evolution pattern unique to India, users who access the Internet only through a mobile or tablet device will constitute around 75 percent of new users and 55 percent of the aggregate user base in 201 5, leading to increasing demand for content that is optimized for a small screen. . India has the potential to double its economic contribution from the Internet in the ext three years, from 1. 6 percent of GAP at present to 2. 8 to 3. 3 percent by 2015. Despite the large current base of users, the Internet currently contributes a modest 1. 6 percent to Indian's GAP, in line with 1 For a detailed account of the Internet's contribution to GAP in several developed and aspiring countries, see Internet matters: The Net's sweeping impact on growth, Jobs, and prosperity, McKinney Global Institute, May 2011. Most aspiring countries. This could grow to 2. 8 to 3. 3 percent by 201 5 if India achieves its potential for growth in the number of Internet users and Internet genealogy-related consumption and investment over this period, increasing the Internet's contribution to GAP from $30 billion today to nearly $100 billion in 2015. This would make the Internet-related economy larger than the education sector and as large as the health care sector, in terms of share of GAP at present.Currently, Indian's information and communication technology (ACT) exports are the most significant component of the Internet's impact on GAP. But private consumption, 4. The impact of the Internet in India is constrained by current gaps and obstacles in the Internet ecosystem. While India scores well on the availability of human and financial capital, it rates poorly on Internet infrastructure, Internet engagement, the e-commerce platform, the ease of Internet entrepreneurship, and the impact of e-govern ance.On most indicators of the strength of the Internet ecosystem, India ranks in the bottom quartile of our comparison set of 57 countries. 5. Although the Internet ecosystem is becoming more vibrant, the benefits have been relatively concentrated. Indian's Internet start-ups are scaling up through creative adaptations to overcome infrastructural and systemic bottlenecks. Yet, while large enterprises have gained from their early adoption of the Internet, there is scope among individual consumers, Seems and the government sector to significantly increase engagement.Today, Indian's measurable consumer surplus from the Internet is estimated at $9 per user per month, at the low end of the range for aspiring countries ($9 to $26) and well below the range for developed countries ($18 to $28). Even by 201 5, with overall Internet penetration likely to reach 28 percent, rural penetration is likely to be Just 9 percent. 6. India can achieve broad-based Internet impact by aiming for the digi tal inclusion of nearly 40 percent of its population, to reach a user base of 500 million by 2015, rather than the likely target of 330 million to 370 million.Most of the additional 150 million to 160 million users would be individuals and small businesses in semi-urban and rural parts of the country. Extending Internet access to these segments of the population, and promoting the usage of many more online services, would enable India to derive much more of the intended benefits from government programs of inclusive growth in employment, education, health care, nutrition, and financial services. Concerted actions by policy makers and businesses in five areas can help India achieve an inclusive Internet transformation: reduce the cost of Internet access across devices, content and applications; increase access to low-cost, high-speed connectivity in rural and semi-urban India beyond the top cities; promote widespread digital literacy through the introduction of devices and content ta ilored to the local context; devise Internet applications in new areas such as agriculture, health care, education, energy, utilities, and public information; and create a more favorable business environment forInternet entrepreneurs to support rapid innovation. 1. Indian's base of about 120 million Internet users is currently the third-largest in the world, and the pattern of online behavior is rapidly converging with that of users in more developed countries Indian's large economy, with its young and increasingly urbanize consumer base, offers strong growth potential for Internet usage.Weak infrastructure has kept Indian's Internet penetration low; at 10 percent, it is much lower than the average of 40 percent across aspiring countries. Even so, with about 120 million people online in 2011, India is the third-largest Internet user base in the oral. Internet users in India spend 20 to 25 hours online per month, about the same as their counterparts in Latin America, but only a quart er of the amount spent by those in Asia Pacific countries such as China and Malaysia.However, the time spent on the Internet per user in India rose 24 percent from 2010 to 2012; more online transactions and entertainment, grew more rapidly than reading and browsing. The share of Indian digital consumers who use online media for search, awareness, and research to purchase products is already high across multiple categories: in apparel (26 percent), travel (51 percent), books (36 percent), and uncial services (30 percent), the proportions are comparable with those in Germany, Japan and the United States. 2. India is on the verge of an Internet boom with a projected user base of 330 million to 370 million by 201 5, which will be the second largest in the world, and the largest in terms of incremental growth Indian's current Internet user base of about 120 million is likely to nearly treble by 201 5, and will thereby account for approximately 12 percent of the global total (Exhibit El). The projected growth in Indian's Internet users, an additional 230 million or so between 2011 and 2015, is likely to be the sights incremental growth in the world. In recent years, Indian's rate of growth of Internet users has been faster than that of many aspiring countries?for example, Malaysia's Internet user base grew 1. 8 times from 2005 to 2011, and South Africans grew 1. 9 times, while Indian's grew more than 5 times. Indian's Internet revolution is being shaped by telecoms players' strategies to reduce cost of access.Smartened costs are falling rapidly as players achieve scale economies, while the proliferation of G/G services in India is likely to reduce connectivity costs and overcome the challenge of limited fixed-line connections. As a result, nearly 75 percent of new users and more than half of Indian's base of Internet users in 2015 is likely to be mobile-only subscribers who will use Internet-enabled devices. By contrast, mobile-only users are likely to constitute a m ere 10 to 15 percent of the market in Indian's regional counterparts, China and Malaysia.Indian's Internet market is therefore likely to require a unique approach to content and application design. Mobile-based users will demand limited textual content and more audio-visual content because of the small screen size of their devices. Furthermore, it will become essential for entrepreneurs and innovators to make their applications or services compatible for users with a basic mobile device, in order to target those in the rural population who might not be able to afford a sophisticated smartened.