Billy Budd Essay: Comparing Christ to Billy -- Billy Budd Essays

Comparing Christ to Billy of Billy Budd      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "I stand for the heart. To the dogs with the head!" wrote Herman Melville in his June 1851 letter to Nathaniel Hawthorne (Davis and Gilman 3). Yet, by the time he began writing Billy Budd, Sailor in 1888, Melville must have tempered this view, for Billy Budd depicts the inevitable destruction of a man who is all heart but who utterly lacks insight. Melville no doubt intends for his reader to connect this tale with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Billy Budd endures a persecution similar to Christ's; he is executed for like reasons, and he eventually ascends, taking "the full rose of the dawn" (BB 376). Yet, in creating Billy Budd, Melville forms a character who is but a half-Christ, more like the Child than the Man. Indeed, a number of characteristics and circumstances sharply distinguish Billy Budd from the complete Christ. These differences ultimately work to support Melville's (now refined) philosophy that innocence, unaccompanied by wisdom, must inevitably meet wi th destruction and that only when a man balances the "spontaneous impulses of [his] 'heart'" against the experiential "wisdom of [his] 'head'" (Howard 328) can he prevail in a fallen world.    Critics often connect Billy Budd with the Christ Child. Richard Chase, for instance, writes that Billy Budd is the realization of Melville's "fresh commitment to the infantile Christ" (267), and Milton Stern claims that Billy's behavior represents an "ideal Christliness" because he accepts "everything with animal insightlessness and the childlike faith of innocence" (216). Christ taught that to enter heaven, one must become like a little child (Matt. 18:2-3). Many have inferred from this that, from a Christian perspective, ... ...W.H. Gilman, eds. The Letters of Herman Melville. New Haven: Yale UP, 1960. Online. Internet. 29 July 1998. Available HTTP: www.melville.org Howard, Leon. Herman Melville: A Biography. Berkley: U of California P, 1951. Melville, Herman. Billy Budd, Sailor and Other Stories. Ed. Frederick Busch. New York: Penguin, 1986. - - -. Moby Dick. Ed. Charles Child Walcutt. New York: Bantam, 1981. Richards, Lawrence O. The Bible Reader's Companion. Wheaton: SP Publications, Inc., 1991. Sten, Christopher W. "Vere's Use of the 'Forms': Means and Ends in 'Billy Budd.'" On Melville: The Best from American Literature. Ed. Louis J. Budd and Edwin H. Cady. Durham: Duke UP, 1988. 188-202. Stern, Milton R. The Fine Hammered Steel of Herman Melville. Urbana: U of Illinois P, 1968. The Holy Bible, New King James Version. Dallas: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1979.

Contribution of Countryside Tourism to the UK Travel and Tourism Indust

Contribution of Countryside Tourism to the UK Travel and Tourism Industry Across the UK there are 4 main categories of tourist and visitor attractions. These categories are:  · Large City/Large Town,  · Seaside,  · Countryside/Village,  · Small Town. The table above shows that; domestic trips to the countryside area, has now gone into second place out of the 4 categories of tourist and visitor attractions. Over recent years (since 2000) there has been a slight decrease from 24% (2000) to 22% (2003). For day trips across the UK Cities are more popular amongst tourists. This could be for a number of reasons like;  · More spending opportunities,  · More shopping/activity facilities etc. The table above talks about Domestic Holidays. As shown above the countryside category accounts for at least a quarter of all holidays in terms of the 4 different holiday destinations. It is seen as equally important to the Travel and Tourism Industry in the UK. It is a close third in the ranking behind the categories; Large City/Large Town and Seaside. The table above also shows the percentage of spend at these destinations. In the countryside category spending is quite lower in comparison to the top 2 categories; Large City/Large Town and Seaside. This again could be for a number of reasons like; * Fewer shopping opportunities in the countryside compared to the other categories, * Also the activities on offer in the countryside are usually free The Economic Impact of Recreation and Tourism in the English Countryside The English countryside attracts a huge amount of tourists every year. In 1998, visitors to the countryside spent  £11.5 billion. This consequently generated 340,000 jobs. Visitor spending in the countryside rose in real terms ... ...e Visit Britain should advertise the British countryside and remote coastline a lot more abroad on things like TV, posters, in travel agents etc. This would improve the amount of visitor spend from overseas by a lot because there is a lot of potential growth from the 94% of overseas visitors who just visit UK cities. Day visitors to the UK countryside: In 1998 day visits to the UK countryside and remote coastline survey indicated that 1,253 million people went on leisure day visits from home to the countryside, together with an estimated 90 million visits to open coastline. A total of 1,343 million day trips or 25% of all leisure trips in England. Expenditure associated with these trips amounted to  £8,942 million. This category of tourists to the countryside is by far the most important because it generates three quarters of the total income into countryside tourism. Contribution of Countryside Tourism to the UK Travel and Tourism Indust Contribution of Countryside Tourism to the UK Travel and Tourism Industry Across the UK there are 4 main categories of tourist and visitor attractions. These categories are:  · Large City/Large Town,  · Seaside,  · Countryside/Village,  · Small Town. The table above shows that; domestic trips to the countryside area, has now gone into second place out of the 4 categories of tourist and visitor attractions. Over recent years (since 2000) there has been a slight decrease from 24% (2000) to 22% (2003). For day trips across the UK Cities are more popular amongst tourists. This could be for a number of reasons like;  · More spending opportunities,  · More shopping/activity facilities etc. The table above talks about Domestic Holidays. As shown above the countryside category accounts for at least a quarter of all holidays in terms of the 4 different holiday destinations. It is seen as equally important to the Travel and Tourism Industry in the UK. It is a close third in the ranking behind the categories; Large City/Large Town and Seaside. The table above also shows the percentage of spend at these destinations. In the countryside category spending is quite lower in comparison to the top 2 categories; Large City/Large Town and Seaside. This again could be for a number of reasons like; * Fewer shopping opportunities in the countryside compared to the other categories, * Also the activities on offer in the countryside are usually free The Economic Impact of Recreation and Tourism in the English Countryside The English countryside attracts a huge amount of tourists every year. In 1998, visitors to the countryside spent  £11.5 billion. This consequently generated 340,000 jobs. Visitor spending in the countryside rose in real terms ... ...e Visit Britain should advertise the British countryside and remote coastline a lot more abroad on things like TV, posters, in travel agents etc. This would improve the amount of visitor spend from overseas by a lot because there is a lot of potential growth from the 94% of overseas visitors who just visit UK cities. Day visitors to the UK countryside: In 1998 day visits to the UK countryside and remote coastline survey indicated that 1,253 million people went on leisure day visits from home to the countryside, together with an estimated 90 million visits to open coastline. A total of 1,343 million day trips or 25% of all leisure trips in England. Expenditure associated with these trips amounted to  £8,942 million. This category of tourists to the countryside is by far the most important because it generates three quarters of the total income into countryside tourism.

Wiliiam Shockley-Autobiography :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   William Shockley was born on February 13, 1910 in London, England. He is most famously noted for winning the Nobel Prize in physics in 1956. He won this for being the co-inventor of the transistor with John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain. Shockley’s parents were both Americans. His father, William Hillman Shockley, was a mining engineer born in Massachusetts. His mother, Mary Bradford, was a federal deputy surveyor of mineral lands. They returned to America when William was just a baby. They both were very encouraging for his love and passion for science, as well as his neighbor who was a professor of physics at Stanford. He got his B. Sc. Degree at the California Institute of Technology in 1932. Four years later he got his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He wrote his doctoral thesis on the energy band structure of sodium chloride. The title of this thesis was â€Å"Calculation of Electron Wave Functions in Sodium Chloride Crystals.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   After graduating from MIT, he went straight into work at Bell Laboratory. He did most of his research in solid state physics, especially vacuum tubes. Most of his theoretical advances led the company to conquer their goal of using electronic switches for telephone exchanges instead of the mechanical switches there were using at the time. Some of the other research he did was on energy bands in solids, order and disorder in alloys, self-diffusion of copper, experiments on photoelectrons in silver chloride, experiment and theory on ferromagnetic domains, and different topics in transistor physics. He also did operations research on individual productivity and the statistics of salary in research laboratories.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From 1940-1945 Shockley worked on military projects from World War II. He was Research Director of the Anti-submarine Warfare Operations Research Group. After this he served as Expert Consultant in the office of the Secretary for War. He was particularly working on refining radar systems. As soon as the war was over, he went back doing solid-state research, investigating semiconductors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Once Shockley returned to Bell Labs in New Jersey, he immediately joined a research group headed by Dr. C. J. Davisson. His group consisted of Bardeen and Brattain. Most of the time, he left them and worked alone. He would drop in on them occasionally to check up on their work. With Shockley’s idea of using field effects and applying the quantum theory to the development of semiconductors, Bardeen and Brattain succeeded in creating a point-contact transistor.

Net Neutrality Research Essay

The Internet has historically been considered an â€Å"open and free† medium. Currently, Internet users get access to any Web site on an equal basis. Foreign and domestic sites, big corporate home pages and low-traffic blogs all show up on a user’s screen in the same way when their addresses are typed into a browser. (NY Times 2010) Having its beginnings in military and research facilities in the late 1960’s, ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) slowly evolved into what is now known as the Internet in the 1990’s. Since then is has become the backbone of American and world culture and economics. There is almost no limit to the content available today. Any person with an idea and access to the Internet can share that idea with the world more quickly than in any other time in human history. (Hunter, 2010) Today there are deep battle lines that have been drawn. The ones on the side of the broadband companies argue that they need financial incentives to lay the cables and build the networks that will be necessary to handle surging amounts of digital traffic. USA Today, 2011) They emphatically reject any government oversight or regulations stating that government interference will smother internet growth. This is despite that fact the original architecture of the Internet was created by government and universities. Its usefulness was greatly enhanced over the years by companies such as Intel, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Apple and Google, much more so than by service providers such as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast. Yet it is the service providers that are demanding to become its gatekeepers. (USA Today, 2011) The division (with some exceptions) goes down the party lines. Democrats, who are in favor of net-neutrality rules, insist regulation is needed to prevent network operators discriminating in favor of their own services. A cable-TV firm that sells both broadband internet access and television services over its cables might, for example, try to block internet-based video that competes with its own television packages. Republicans worry, that net neutrality will be used to justify a takeover of the internet by government bureaucrats, stifling innovation (that the internet’s origins lie in a overnment-funded project is quietly passed over. ) (The Economist, 2010) To begin to grasp what has transpired since the advent on the Internet, one must know that the Internet will continue along its phenomenal growth path, despite the current global economic crisis. What’s different is that the Internet will become increasingly mobile and social. By 2012, more people will access the Internet via cell phones than PCs. Their favorite activities will be downloading music, videos and ringtones rather than searching the Web or sending e-mail. PC World, 2009). What is net neutrality? Net neutrality is the concept that states that every person should have the same open access to the internet. In other words, internet service providers should not discriminate against people based on the amount of internet bandwidth they use. Individuals who have paid for internet access should be able to visit all websites at competitive speeds. If the internet was to become non-neutral, then people would have to individually buy access to different websites. Currently, no restrictions are being imposed, save parental control, on the information we are able to gather, and there are no restrictions on communication via the internet nor uploading and downloading. (Boswell) All of this is to change if the ISP’s have it their way. One of the greatest aspects of net neutrality is the options you have to choose from when trying to obtain content via the internet. One of the biggest fears is if net neutrality is gone, certain websites may be exclusive to a certain ISP that other ISP’s will not be able to provide to you. Another vantage point of net neutrality is the options make the websites in question more competitive to bring you the best they can offer to get your count. If certain websites are limited to certain ISP’s, not only would you be restricted from the competitor’s websites, but the websites would have less power to sell their product to the people and there would be less incentive to bring their best. (Naik) In an era where technology is all about the progression every day, this would seem counterintuitive. It’s been said that if the ISP’s aren’t regulated by the FCC, customers who use more would pay more, thus decreasing in congestion. Bieberle, 2010) But the ISP’s already provide different packages that provide a maximum bandwidth. Regardless, it’s just more money for them, and it’s already being feared that this would slow economic growth. Most websites seem to be in favor of network neutrality as it is. (Naik, 2010) The principle states that if a given user pays for a certain level of Internet access, and another user pays for the same level of access, then the two users should be able to connect to each other at the subscribed level of access. The basic concept sounds simple enough: that the internet’s pipes should show no favors and blindly deliver packets of data from one place to another regardless of their origin, destination or contents. (The Economist, 2010) The growing problem with the Internet is that as broadband use expands; the amount of traffic dedicated to media use and downloading increases. This causes a disproportionate drag on the overall system. Imagine a scenario where 95 percent of the users on a particular network are simply browsing a variety of websites for information, and the remaining 5 percent are streaming videos. If those 5 percent are demanding equal prioritization of traffic, 95 percent of the users could experience a noticeable delay in their browsing for the duration of the streaming video. Conversely, if prioritization of traffic allows the low-bandwidth browsing through first, only 5 percent of users would experience a delay, and that delay will be negligible when compared with the experience of viewing the video, especially as most software-driven video players buffer many of the packets in the stream anyhow. (Hunter, 2010) Given the ambiguity about whether mandating network neutrality would promote or impede economic welfare, the more technologically humble course would be for policymakers to embrace a principle of network diversity, which would permit individual network owners to explore alternative business arrangements until concrete harm to competition can be demonstrated. (Yoo, 2006) According to the FCC, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) can’t resist engaging in such bad behaviors as slowing a competitor’s sites to direct traffic to their own profit centers. Though they cannot cite a single case where federal intervention was needed to avert this behavior, the FCC proposes to take over the very Internet architecture that ISPs invest 60 billion job-creating dollars a year developing. It will insist that no information can be prioritized by the ISPs, transferring that power to federal authorities instead. ISPs are left asking obvious questions. Why invest in making a network more efficient, why collaborate to build new technologies, if ISPs will not be allowed to profit from them? In rushing to defend a consumer who has no need of its help, the FCC threatens to cripple the greatest platform for the expansion of freedom and prosperity since Jefferson put quill to parchment. (Blackburn, 2011) The net neutrality debate has brought attention to the larger concerns related to the boundaries between the FCC and antitrust authorities. The shaping of net neutrality regulatory policy’ â€Å"has operated under the assumption that the FCC has the authority, by virtue of its ancillary jurisdiction, to regulate Internet transmission providers. This confidence in the FCC’s scope of authority proved misplaced in Comcast Corp. vs. FCC, decided by the U. S. Court of Appeals for the D. C. Circuit in 2010. Finding no relation between the FCC’s net neutrality policies and the agency’s legislative mandate, the court clarified that the FCC may use its ancillary jurisdiction only when the proposed action is specifically related to the agency’s mandated responsibilities as Congress delineated in the Communications Act of 1934 (Communications Act). Boliek, 2010) The Obama administration says the â€Å"net neutrality† rules, which were scheduled to take effect in November, are necessary to prevent Internet Service Providers from prioritizing data, or blocking services offered by competitors. (Suderman, 2012) Some of the pros and cons of â€Å"Net Neutrality† The foremost advantage of net neutrality is that it is helpful in adding competitiveness to the market, as the users are given more option s to choose from. The competition between service providers will make each of them come up with their best, and this will directly benefit the end user as he won’t just get options to choose from but also get quality service. Those in support of net neutrality are of the opinion that government control of the Internet would eliminate monopoly, thus ensuring that the big websites do not dominate the market. It will also help in curbing the numerous illegal activities and frauds which can be attributed to the web. Interestingly, most of the websites out there are in support of the concept of net neutrality. Naik, 2010) Those who oppose net neutrality argue that it is an absolutely futile exercise as none of the service providers would go about sabotaging their rivals by blocking their content or degrading network performance. They also cite the example of other networks which are functioning properly even with the major contributors being in charge of them. As far as government control of the Internet is concerned, these people argue that it would result in increased Internet censorship and invasion of privacy, both of which wouldn’t go down well with the users. Naik, 2010) The Internet has evolved beautifully on its own up to this point. To interfere â€Å"proactively† could be a mistake. Despite acknowledging that there exists â€Å"data hogs†, I feel it would be a mistake to begin to tweak with an issue before it became. Granted it would seem prudent to lean to caution but the Internet is too critical a medium to tamper with. If any â€Å"interference is necessary, I would suggest a two prong attack. First would be a plan to foster more competition among ISP’s. Second would be is to offer a monthly data limit and charge by the megabyte beyond it. There’s no evidence of systemic problems in the broadband market, so new rules are unnecessary. (PC World, 2010) Conclusion Google’s original network neutrality defense can only be found today in the historical archives of the Internet. Network neutrality is there defined as â€Å"the principle that users should be in control of what content they view and what applications they use on the Internet. †Interestingly, though the eeming kindheartedness towards users, the only mentioned means to achieve the said effects is reflected in the following precept: â€Å"broadband carriers should not be permitted to ‘use their market power’ to discriminate against competing applications or content. †(Thompson, 2011) It was only in the FCC’s September 2010 call for additional comment in its Open Internet proceeding that the FCC finally recognized the reality that a carrier’s decisions on Internet services are only part of a broader decision on how to use its infrastructure more generally. That is, a carrier chooses how much bandwidth to devote to Internet service and how much to devote to video channels, and this choice can affect consumers’ ability to trade off between the two types of service. (Speta, 2011) Although the FCC has a broad scope of operation (â€Å"all interstate and foreign communication by wire or radio†), and is charged with making available â€Å"to all the people of the United States . . . a rapid, efficient, Nation-wide, and world-wide wire and radio communication service . . at reasonable charges,† as well as the duty to â€Å"encourage the deployment on a reasonable and timely basis of advanced telecommunications communications capability,† the Commission’s power to require cable operators to build out to hard-to-reach areas, open their expensive high up-front-cost facilities to competitors, and charge reasonable rates for high-speed Internet access is unclear. (Crawford, 2010) There is nothing wrong with charg ing for a service. The policy problem comes when there is one â€Å"delivery â€Å"actor (or one category of actors) in a position to work closely with a small stable of content/service providers. The problem is exacerbated when that same delivery actor is in a position to use its technical control over the delivery conduit to privilege its commercial relationships, and to have all of it appear to be â€Å"free† to consumers as long as they are paying a monthly subscription for content. Adding in the technical ability to charge for and deliver ads based on all of this activity, the single delivery actor becomes very powerful. From a policy perspective, is it appropriate to have a conduit able to exert leverage over and exact tribute from all possible high-speed interactive communications? Should everything we do online trigger a payment to the pipe? (Crawford, 2010) Therefore, my opinion is that the internet should remain neutral. All businesses are capitalist entities in the pursuit of a fat bottom line, and their main objective is to please their clients (with the most money). Besides we already pay for access to the internet through ISPs, how much more would we have to pay for data transmission rates and or bandwidth?

Dependency Theory Essay

Modernization theory is a theory used to explain the process of Modernization within societies. The theory looks at the internal factors of a country while assuming that with assistance â€Å"traditional countries can be brought to development in the same manner more developed countries have. This theory of modernization however failed because it can be argued that it was too Eurocentric in its methodologies. That is to say its centered focus was on Europe or European peoples. The theory never considered the Caribbean region or other third world when explaining its concepts. This resulted in a paradigm shift from Modernization to Dependency. The Dependency theory was established to provide the scholarly community with a different way of understanding the circumstances of the non-industrial countries of the world. According to Osvaldo Sunkel, dependency theory can be sociologically defined as an explanation of the economic development of a state in terms of the external influences, political, economic and cultural on national development policies. Therefore this essay would take seek to explain the advantages and limitations of the central new insight that is provided about development by the Dependency theory. One advantage of the Dependency theory is that the theory arose around 1960 as a reaction to some earlier theories of development which held that all societies progress through similar stages of development, that today’s underdeveloped areas are thus in a similar situation to that of today’s developed areas at some time in the past, and that therefore the task in helping the underdeveloped areas out of poverty is to accelerate them along this supposed common path of development, by various means such as investment, technology transfers, and closer integration into the world market. Dependency theory rejected this view, arguing that underdeveloped countries are not merely primitive versions of developed countries, but have unique features and structures of their own; and, importantly, are in the situation of being the weaker members in a world market economy, whereas the developed nations were never in an analogous position; they never had to exist in relation to a bloc of more powerful countries than themselves. Dependency theorists argued, in opposition to free market economists, that underdeveloped countries needed to reduce their connectedness with the world market so that they can pursue a path more in keeping with their own needs, less dictated by external pressures. Prebisch, an Argentine economist at the United Nations Commission for Latin America (UNCLA), went on to conclude that the underdeveloped nations must employ some degree of protectionism in trade if they were to enter a self-sustaining development path. Another advantage the Dependency theory provided about development is that it explains the reasons why the lesser developed countries are the way they are. The lack of development within the third world rest within the first world. Advocates of the Dependency theory agree that only substantial reform of the world capitalist system and a distribution of assets will free third world countries from poverty cycles and enable development to occur. Measures that the third countries could take would include the elimination of world debt and the introduction of global taxes such as the Tobin Tax. This tax on foreign exchange transactions, named after its proponent, the American Economist, James Tobin, would generate large revenues that could be used to pay off debt or fund development projects. Also these third world countries could try to eliminate themselves from world debt by trying to stop depending on the financial institutions for loans. These third world countries believe that they are benefiting the country by taking loans from these institutions to support themselves economically. However, what these third world countries don’t realise is that these institutions are developed to make them take loans and go into more debt where they would have no other alternative but to depend on the first world for assistance, thus, leading to dependency and by extension further underdevelopment. For instance, Dominant first world countries have such a technological and industrial advantage that they can ensure the global economic system works in their own self-interest. Organisations such as the World Bank, the IMF and the WTO have agendas that benefit the firms, and consumers of primarily the first world. Freeing up world trade, one of the main aims of the WTO, benefits the wealthy nations that are most involved in world trade. Creating a level playing field for all countries assumes that all countries have the necessary equipment to be able to play. For the world’s poor this is often not the case. The third-world debt crisis of the 1980s and continued stagnation in Africa and Latin America in the 1990s caused some doubt as to the feasibility or desirability of â€Å"dependent development†. Vernengo (2004) has suggested that the sine qua non of the dependency relationship is not the difference in technological sophistication, as traditional dependency theorists believe, but rather the difference in financial strength between core and peripheral countries – particularly the inability of peripheral countries to borrow in their own currency. He believes that the hegemonic position of the United States is very strong because of the importance of its financial markets and because it controls the international reserve currency – the US dollar. He believes that the end of the Bretton Woods international financial agreements in the early 1970s considerably strengthened the United States’ position because it removed some constraints on their financial actions. Although there are various advantages of the new central insight that is provided for the explanation of development, there are also some limitations. One of these limitations is that, the Dependency theory is a way of explaining economic underdevelopment outside of such industrially advanced parts of the world as North America and Europe. According to dependency theory, the politico-economic advantages of more technologically advanced countries are based on the disadvantages to countries that are and remain less developed. Critics of the theory claim that such an outlook is fatalistic, historically inaccurate, and simplistic. For example, parts of Africa, Asia, and South America are considered disadvantaged and underdeveloped. Yet all three areas previously were the locations of ancient civilizations of great cultural, economic, philosophical, political and social achievements. Dependency theory doesn’t come up with convincing arguments to account for how these areas fell by the wayside, and why areas in Europe and North America took the lead. The Dependency theory explains how the countries are the way they are but they did not explain why and how they got that way. The theory just labelled these three countries as less developed because of their relationship with the more developed countries, it did not explain why is it that Europe and North America was able to develop and why is it Africa, Asia and South America wasn’t able to develop and how they lost their cultural, economic, philosophical, political and social achievements while North America was able to keep theirs and be considered first world countries. Another disadvantage of the Dependency theory is that doesn’t have all of its convincing points in order to relate to the theory’s implied invulnerability of development and simultaneous vulnerability of underdevelopment. In other words, it emphasizes the importance of external forces on underdeveloped countries and minimizes the role of internal motivations within those very same countries. In most instances it is because of these third world countries internal forces they are underdeveloped. The reason for this because of the country’s small size it causes them to be vulnerable towards the first world dependence. Along with this, it can also be seen that most third world countries contain a high level of corruption which causes them to be in the situation that they are presently in. Advanced democracies like the UK, USA, Canada and Australia have virile electorates, media and criminal justice systems to combat corruption. But Third World political and civil institutions are weaker, and in effect license corruption with impunity, thus allowing corruption within these countries to become effortlessly available. Along with this the Dependency theory likewise locks countries into a hierarchy of world leaders in which once an underdeveloped country, always an underdeveloped country. And the previous faults quickly become glaring when the dependency theorist tries to account for politico-economic changes within the Russian Federation, certain Middle Eastern countries, India, and China, to name a few. In the final analysis, it can be seen that there was a paradigm shift from the Modernisation theory to the Dependency theory in explaining development. The Development theory provided the scholarly community with a different way of understanding the circumstances of the non-industrial countries of the world. Dependency Theory is in large part a theory of development in the third world, it seek to provide explanations for third world development and explanations that the Modernisation theory failed to give. Like any other theory, the Dependency theory has its advantages and limitations. One of its strengths is its recognition that from the beginning, capitalism developed as a multinational system. Dependency Theory therefore spends its time on the question, â€Å"how can we have a development in the periphery that more resembles that at the core?† Or a more charitable account, if the core-periphery link is broken, can we have development in the periphery that has some or all of the elements that we identified as desirable in the core? BIBLIOGRAPHY Amin, S. â€Å"Accumulation and Development: a Theoretical Model† Review of African Political Economy HC501 R46. Gunder Frank, A. Capitalism and Underdevelopment in Latin America. HC165 F828 C1 1969. The Latin American Periphery in the Global System of Capitalism†, 1981, UNCLA Review Prebisch, R. Change and Development. 1976 t. HC125 P922 C4. R. H. Chilcote Development Theory and Practice: Latin American Perspectives, Lanham, Rowman and Littlefield, 2003 Sunkel O. (1966), ‘The Structural Background of Development Problems in Latin America’ Weltwirtschaftliches. Vernengo M. â€Å"Technology, Finance and Dependency: Latin American Radical Political Economy in Retrospect†, Working Paper No: 2004-06, University of Utah Dept. of Economics, 2004, p 5; retrieved July 2009.

Sociological Analysis of the Presidential Election of 2012

Sociological Analysis of the Presidential Election of 2012 from a Structural Functionalist Perspective and a Conflict Perspective. As the presidential election draws closer, we could vividly view our society from social conflict and structural functionalist perspectives. The democratic process helps us to ask why do we accept and embrace democracy, how does it influence our social patterns and functions; and how does democracy really work for the stability of our society.In this essay, I will analyze the presidential election of 2012 using sociological perspective with emphasis on manifest and latent functions, class, race and gender conflicts. It is a known fact that democracy and demography are like Siamese twins that cannot be separated. These demographics include gender, race, age, disability, wealth, employment status, and locations. Politicians have used, and still using, these elements to know which group is the best to appease. On gender issue, the two prominent political par ties, Democratic and the Republican Parties, know that â€Å"females voters make up 52% of the US electorate† (Bloomberg News).These women tend to vote for any political party that caters to their needs. Also, race is part of political consideration. The African-Americans, Asian-Americans, the Hispanics and White are different voting blocs which the politicians must woo. According to the online Hispanic News, â€Å"the recent release of National Census data confirms that â€Å"50 million Latinos are part of the American electorate†. Not only the Hispanics are increasing in population, the African American grew by 1. 6% in 2010 while the Asian-American are recently declared, by CNN, as the â€Å"fastest growing minority in the US†.Another demographic to be considered is age. Steven Thomma and William Douglas of McClatchy Newspaper said, â€Å"Statistics show that older white and rich voters are more reliable electorates than the young voters; they tend to vote Republican Party†. The question now is how all these fit into our sociological perspective. I will start by looking at the manifest function of our democracy. In truth, democracy has helped to stabilize and also create unity among citizens. It has become a recognized and accepted process which everyone look forward to periodically.It is intended to involve all qualified adults in picking their next leaders. The sense is that once everyone is involved, then the majority will be pleased with the government. However, as much as there has been good governance through democracy, there have also been some unintended consequences too. These consequences can be seen by examining the latent function of our democracy. Today, one can hardly watch TV or listen to the radio without seeing or hearing the fracture that exists in the political system of our country.Citizens have been divided into two or more groups based on their party affiliations. The divide is so obvious that parties are n ot willing to compromise on any issue. The result is a stagnant government, and no reasonable policies have been passed into law. It is hard to know if this fraction is recognized but we surely know that it is unintended. Aside from stability and loyalty which democracy brought into our society, we have seen inequality that generates conflicts. These conflicts can be seen in class, race and gender.On Class, according to Real Cleat Politics, the Pew Research Center found in 2008 that six out of ten Americans say that the Republican Party â€Å"favors the rich†. Real Clear Politics went further to state how the Republican policies give tax break to the rich and the Democrats want tax breaks for the middle class and the poor. This situation has created a permanent wide gap between the rich and the poor. Another conflict is race; it is not surprising that the political parties are trying to woo the ethnic group with the highest population.The Democrats are trying to lure the Hisp anic with immigration reform while the Republicans are trying to solidify their White base with a promise of deportation of illegal immigrants. Both sides are aggressively marketing their ideas to each race for votes. According to US Catholics News, â€Å"these problems have led to family division, causing a heavy toll on children and families of Hispanic community’. The Hispanics are not the only group suffering from this political division, The African- American, the Asian-American, the Indian-Americans and all other minorities are all struggling to fit into the social structure.For all of these, one can easily see both the minorities and the majority voting along their party line. The minority ethnic groups tend to vote for Democrats while the majority ethnic group votes Republican. Another well observed social conflict can be seen in gender. The gender issue has brought out many social issues. From woman’s health, contraceptives and abortion, parenthood and womanh ood, the list goes on and women are taking their stands on issues that concern them. The women are the largest electorate in US.LA Progress, an online News Journal, after series of research, simply concludes that â€Å"Women will decide 2012 Presidential Election†. For this reason, politicians are coming up with policies that will benefit women. However, not all these policies are favorable to all women. For example, the pro-life advocates want abortion abolished, the pro-choice advocates wants abortion to be part of preventive healthcare programs. The debate has generated so much heat that some abortion clinics were burned down and some abortion doctors were murdered.With all these issues in mind, pro-choice women mostly vote for Democrats while pro-life women mostly vote for Republicans. Men have been the agitators for gun rights. Policies are fashioned to give them freedom to own guns without any restrictions; these policies have led to the availability of street guns. The lovers of guns mostly vote republican while the pro-gun control group mostly votes for republicans. It is important to mention here that National Rifle Association, the best known body that represents gun rights advocates, has both male and female members.Above all, this election is very unique because from the look of things, the minorities especially the Hispanic and women are increasing in population and they will determine the election outcome. The Hispanic and women mostly vote for Democrats while Asian-American, the fastest growing minority, mostly votes for Republicans because of their conservative values. In all, the political landscape is definitely shifting from what it used to be. We will all see the political party it favors in November. References: Bloomberg News:

Resourcing Talent Assignment

Activity A (1000 words) 4 factors that affect an organization’s approach to attracting talent| * The type of talent they look to attract: I mean which competencies will be more suitable to the job they want. * The sector which the organization is operating in. As some sectors are much easier to find the talents than others. As sometimes so sectors got many employees working in than others for instance, in Egypt, It is much easier to find talents in Tourism and hospitality sector than to find in Nuclear energy sector! Corporate culture and how they accept the new employees: As this a major factor that would affect their approach; I mean to do it publicly so the employees know that the company is hiring a new CEO or that should be done secretly. * The size of the company is a crucial factor: Big businesses impress job candidates by offering a bevy of benefits, brand-name recognition and maybe even a big coffee brand name in the lobby of the company. The power of their brand: is definitely would affect their way. As big brands are easily to attract talents compared to a nameless brand.The resources available to them (financial and otherwise) that is why they would chose an easy to way to attract the talent (the recruitment method they would use) and their selection methods would be very tough to select the best from the big pool of candidates they get (attracting company). | 3 organization benefits of attracting and retaining a diverse workforce| Recruitment reflections benefit:Recruiting and maintaining a diverse workforce has its effect on the talents pool that any organization has in its blood stream.Widening the view for recruitment for all ethnic groups, different sexes, and different religions will definitely help to have all types of talents in the same place that will be reflected on the business outcomes. Reputation:Enhancing the organization’s reputation and image with external stakeholders. Many observational studies and surveys have tried to explore this area and its impact on any organization and its business.One of them had a reflective results, as its findings revealed that of the people surveyed that were currently employed, 58 percent would take a job with a company that had a bad reputation of diversity if they were offered more money. However, on average, these individuals would only consider the job if offered double their current salary. So it is quite clear how diversity in the workplace is now considered one of the attractions to any employee and how its absence would affect the cost of operations. Culture benefit:Managing better the impact of globalization and technological changeImproving knowledge of how operate in different cultures. 3 factors that affect an organization’s approach to recruitment and selection| Legal framework and working ethics:As the unlawful discrimination is prohibited, fairness and equality of opportunity could have legal requirements to be considered in the recruitment an d selection processes. Budget:Budget is one of the crucial issues in any organization approach to recruitment and selection. For different types of recruitment methods, they have a variable cost; For example: the price of online recruitment websites is very low if compared to other recruitment methods like head hunters.And relying on different selection methods is highly affected by the budget, such as relying on assessment centers needs expertise and more cost compared to CV database, and so on. Availability of required job or post: Knowing how many people are specialized in the vacant positions will affect the approach of the organization to recruitment and selections methods. I mean for instance, if we are looking for a vacant position of janitor, there will be no need to have an online ad or national press ad or assessment center as a tool to select the candidates.While if we got a vacant of senior consultant IT or business expert, definitely these functions and tools might be a pplied to recruit because we might need a high voice tool to reach everywhere so online or press ads might work and also this post is not common to find. How important is the post for the organization and it is level on the structureThe level that the vacant position is working in in any organization definitely would affect the approach of any organization to select the recruitment and selection methods to use.For example, if the required employee is in the high level or for executive position, those people who might be interested are not normally, at least in our region, apply through general email or address though, so head hunters might be a great tool for such positions. | Discussion comparing and contrasting the benefits of 3 different selection methods| 1. Assessment centers * They are far more accurate than a standard recruitment process as they allow a broader range of selection methods to be used during the process. They enable interviewers to assess existing performance as well as predict future job performance. * They give the opportunity to assess and differentiate between candidates who seem very similar in quality on paper. * They give the candidates a better insight into the role as they are tested on exercises typical for the role they have applied for. * They help employers build an employer brand. Candidates who attend assessment centres which genuinely reflect the job and the organisation are often impressed by that company, even if they are rejected. The cost of an assessment centre is usually cheaper compared with the potential cost of many recruitment phases and the cost of recruitment errors. * They are a fair process – they complement an organisation’s diversity agenda and ensure that people are selected on the basis of merit alone. 2. Typical and structured interviewsWhen it comes to evaluating the advantages of typical structured interviews, the main advantage is that all the applicants have an equal opportunity to prove that they have the required skills and experience for the job.Additionally, as an initial selection process, the structured interview questions are basically set up in a manner which allows the interviewer to obtain all the initial data as well as professional details that he or she would want to know about every applicant. 3. Telephone screening * Telephone interviews are simpler to arrange, and the process itself takes much less time than face-to-face interview sessions. * When using this method as an initial screening process, the cost of interviewing a large number of candidates is much lower than if they were interviewed in person. Telephone interviewing also cuts costs when candidates live far away, since most businesses reimburse interviewee travel expenses. Using the telephone to screen out unsuitable candidates can greatly reduce these costs. * This format is an ideal way to assess a candidate's telephone manner. This is particularly helpful if the job requires telephone c ommunication skills or is heavily customer-service based. | Activity B-Portfolio and Interview Observation Introduction The HR department has followed a recruitment process for filling a vacancy request for â€Å"Office Manager† at ALICO.The recruitment process outlined below highlights the main elements for filling this vacancy which includes: Planning: Identifying need for recruitment Setting the criteria for the job ( drafting job description, person specifications, set of competencies) Resourcing: drafting a job ad Short listing: interview-based competency Selection Offer of Employment Reason for Recruitment There are three main reasons why we are recruiting for the position of â€Å"Office Manager† at our company: 1) Growth in Business Operations: Our insurance company is growing and consequently the business is increasing.We need employ a senior staff member to manage the growing number increasing set of responsibilities and functions at the First Nations Office. 2) Change in Business Objectives: Need for diversity in terms of nationality is necessary to align with the trend of Emiratisation across business sectors in the UAE. In this case, a Emirati national would be preferred as likely candidate to fill this position. 3) Employee Exit: the person previously in charge running the overall office services at the First Nations Office has been re-located to another branch in a different country.A new team member is required to run the existing operation and ensure efficiency and control over them and in case of additional functions. Job Description Position: Office Manager PURPOSE The office Manager is responsible for organizing and coordinating office operations and procedures in order to ensure organizational effectiveness and efficiency. SCOPE The Office Manager reports to the senior Administrative Office and is responsible for providing office management services to the First National Office.This includes maintain office services and effic iency, suprrvisi9ng office staff and maintain office records. RESPONSIBILITIES Maintain Office Services Main Activities Design and implement office policies Establish standards and procedures Organize office operations and procedures Supervise office staff Monitor and record long distance calls Prepare time sheets Control correspondence Review and supply requisitions Liase with other agencies, organizations and groups Update organizational memberships Maintain office equipment Supervise Office StaffAssign and monitor clerical and secretarial functions Recruit and select office staff Orient and train employees Provide on the job and other training opportunities Supervise staff Evaluate staff performance Coaching and disciplining staff Maintain Office Records Design filing system Ensure filing systems are maintained Define procedures for record retention Ensure protection and security of files and records Ensure effective transfer of files and records Transfer and dispose records acco rding to retention schedules and policies Ensure personnel files are up to date and secure.Maintain Office Efficiency Plan and implement office system, layout and system procurement Maintain and replenish inventory Check stock to determine inventory levels Anticipate needed supplies Verify receipt of supply Perform other related duties as required. 3. Person Specification Form Position Required:Office Manager Department:First Nations Office Location:Abu Dhabi | Essential| Desirable| Assessment Method| Qualification| | | | BA in Business Management or equivalent | X| | CV| CIPD certificate in HR| | X| CV| Experience| | | |Minimum 4 years in Management| X| | CV| Minimum 2 years in HR functions| | X| CV| Knowledge and skills| | | | Ability to use MS Office competently| X| | Interview| Ability to design and manage administrative systems| X| | CV, interview| Writing procedures and policies| X| | Interview| Basic Financial skills| | X| Interview| Managing records| X| | Interview| Good ora l and writing skills in Arabic and English| x| | Interview| Excellent Organization skills| X| | Interview| Knowledge of time management applications| X| | Interview| Leadership skills| X| | CV, Interview|Mentoring and coaching| | X| Interview| Interview Assessment Form Candidate's Name:Hayya Al Ali Post:Office Manager Panelists:Monette, Mustafa, Moamen, Abdulaziz Date:27th June 2012 Score (1-5)1 No-low evidence 5 Meets competency fully| Comments| Competencies | 3| * Candidate seemed confident and has a positive attitude. * Demonstrated interest in working for ALICO * Candidate showed â€Å"initiative† since she gave brief information about ALICO * She is familiar with IT systems due to her academic formation. * CIPD certificate provides knowledge on HR. She has knowledge on how to combine HR and IT | -Overall Impression-Academic/Work Experience * Why have you chosen to apply to this position? * Tell me about a typical day at work? * Why did you decide to do the CIPD certifica te? How are you applying it? | 4| * Displayed fluency in English and Arabic * Able to express herself easily * Low tone when speaking but confident * Displayed coordination skills with large groups (10+) as per her role in committees. * Displayed skills in communicating message across to staff through her induction program which she gives across departments. She gave examples on how empathy and listening skills helped her build rapport with her team members. * Able to communicate with senior managers and entry level employees * Displayed her skill in convincing and influencing where she argued her case regarding an employee based on evidence and the benefit for the company. * Displayed experience in presentation design and delivery through her work in committees and induction| Essential CompetencyCommunication and InfluenceCommunicates clearly and effectively with a wide variety of people both formally and informally. . Please explain a time or situation when you had to communicate your views or ideas to senior management to get support? 2. What were the problems encountered? How did you handle them? 3. Here you mentioned committee involvement, tell me more about this experience. | 4| * Displayed skill in working within a tight timeframe and prioritizing tasks according to an action plan. * Able to balance work and personal life where she mentioned that â€Å"time management† is an area she improved with time. Displayed planning skills in her ability to design workflow for the Orientation program. * Identified essential skills for planning which include team discussions, research, benchmarking, setting objectives and implementation. | Essential CompetencyPlanning and Organizing Tendency to establish an efficient and appropriate course of action for self and others 1. Tell me about an example where you had to plan and organize a task in a short time-frame. 2. Tell me about your experience in designing the Orientation program. Who did it involve? 3.What a re the tools that you used for recruitment and selection since you did that in your previous job? | 3| * Showed experience in leadership skills through her involvement in various committees where she acted as President. * Acquired skills in leadership by attending a multitude of forums on the subject * Showed experience in managing and coordinating team activities and assign/delegate responsibilities (approximately 17 people) * Managing â€Å"emotional situations† with staff with empathy. * Displayed firmness if employees do not complete a task they have been assigned. Identified that lessons learned from leadership are: planning, being firm and having people accountable for their work. * Tries to sympathize and listen to employees. | Essential CompetencyLeadership Promotes and generate of cooperation among the team to achieve a collective outcome 1. In your resume, you mention that you have â€Å"leadership† skills, can you elaborate more on this? How many people did you manage in your last job? what did you learn from that experience? 2. What are the best ways of improving the performance of a team? 3.Demonstrate how you use your leadership skills to achieve project 4. What did you learn? 5. Please describe a time when you had to provide feedback to others on their performance. How did you go 6. What kind of feedback did you provide? | 3| * She displayed professionalism and confidence when facing a conflict whereby she maintained her position or opinion bc it is based on facts and respected other people's different opinion. * She seems a bit â€Å"stubborn† regarding her opinions which are based on facts. * Identified that â€Å"best practice† and policies are the best way to address a problem r make a decision * She respects the hierarchy of the organization and the decision making process should respect that hierarchy. | Desirable CompetencyDecision-Making and problem solving (Desirable)Tendency to make swift decisions and judgm ents even in the absence of all necessary information. 1. Give me an example where you had to make decisions in the absence of your Manager? 2. How did it go? 3. What did you learn? 4. Tell me about a time when you had conflicting priorities and what you did to resolve them. 5. What kind of problems do you handle best? 2| * Uses IT in analysis at her work. * Developed a new system that combines IT and HR that can produce data and statistics relevant for HR and Finance. * Knowledge in ERP systems and KPI development. | Desirable CompetencyData Analysis (Desirable)Tendency to analyze, organize, understand and present data. 1. What kind of IT skills did you acquire? How did you apply this in your work? 2. Tell me about a system you developed that helped organize the data. | 3| * Candidate interested in the job since she feels that it provides growth to her career | General Comments|Interview Evaluation ( group discussion)| * Considerable experienced in all HR functions * Sufficient kno wledge of management of office operations ( skills in IT and time management) * Good record in leadership and supervisory skills * Confident and organized. * Good skills in starting new projects * Has good initiative and self-motivation * May not have sufficient basic financial skills but is knowledgeable in excel sheets | DecisionCandidate is accepted for the position and offer letter to be sent by recruitment office. Signature †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Date †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ALICO Insurance LLC P. O. Box 2. UAE, Abu Dhabi Phone 00000000 – Fax 11111111 June 27, 2012 Hayyah Al Ali 11603, Abu Dhabi Dear Ms Al Ali, ALICO is pleased to offer you a job as an Office Manager of the First Nations Office located in Abu Dhabi. We trust that your knowledge, skills and experience will be among our most valuable assets. Sh ould you accept this job offer, per company policy you'll be eligible to receive the following beginning on your hire date. Salary: 45,000 AED monthlyBenefits: ALICO provided benefits for employees, including the following: Education assistance Health, dental, life and disability insurance Profit sharing Vacation and personal days To accept or decline this job offer: Sign and date this job offer letter where indicated below. Fax all pages of this job offer letter back to us. This offer is valid for one month from the date of send. If we didn’t receive any reply from you within a month this offer will be cancelled. For any clarifications, kindly contact Recruitment Department, Phone 897987789.We hope to welcome you on board personally. Sincerely, Abdulaziz Ali Recruitment Manager, Human Resources Accept Job Offer By signing and dating this letter below, I, Hayyah Al Ali, accept the job offer of Office Manager by ALICO. Signature:_________________________________ Date:_________ ____ Decline Job Offer By signing and dating this letter below, I, Hayyah Al Ali, decline the job offer of Office Manager by ALICO. Signature:_________________________________ Date:_____________ ALICO Insurance LLC P. O. Box 2. UAE, Abu Dhabi Phone 00000000 – Fax 11111111 June 27, 2012Mr. Moamen Azab 11603, Abu Dhabi Dear Ms Mary, We appreciate your interest in ALICO and the position of ‘Office Manager’ for which you applied. Though the selection committee appreciates the time you invested during the panel interview, it has selected another candidate who has experience in human resources-a main requirement for the position. Thank you for interviewing with our team. Everyone enjoyed meeting you and we hope that you consider applying for our open positions for which you qualify in the future Sincerely, Abdulaziz Ali Recruitment Manager, Human Resources