Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe Paintings Essay

Leonardo DaVinci’s Mona Lisa is one of the most well-known paintings in the world. Show anyone from a 60 year old man to a 10 year old girl a picture of the painting and, most likely, they will be able to name the painting as well as the painter. While some say that DaVinci’s painting is the most famous of all created, many of Andy Warhol’s paintings are also easily recognizable. Almost everyone has seen the Campbell’s Soup Can series Warhol painted or his famous Triple Elvis print. This paper will be focusing on his Marilyn Monroe series, which I will be comparing and contrasting to the Mona Lisa. There are many obvious differences between the two paintings, such as the time period, color scheme, background and subject matter. My goal is to also point out some similarities such as their use of line, recreations, fame, and prominence in society. One of the major contrasts between the two works is the history behind the paintings. Andy Warhol was said to be fascinated with the actress Marilyn Monroe’s supposed suicide in August of 1962. Warhol proved the Proverb, â€Å"Good men must die, but death cannot kill their names† to be true, making his Marilyn Monroe series one of his most famous works. Warhol bought a publicity still of Marilyn’s 1953 movie Niagara, cropped it, enlarged the face, and reproduced it on eight different canvases. Each painting was given a different color scheme. These paintings were the first solo exhibition for Warhol. The most famous of the series, Lemon Marilyn, was bought and kept in a private collection until 2007. While the subject of Warhol’s painting is very well known and easily recognized, the subject of Leonardo DaVinci’s Mona Lisa was most likely commoner, and there are many different theories of who the woman could be. Some say the woman is DaVinci himself, in woman form. Others say it could be Lisa Gherardini; the wife of a wealthy businessman in Florence, Italy named Francesco Del Giocondo. DaVinci was commissioned to paint the Mona Lisa in 1503, and worked on it for four years before it was finished. DaVinci kept his painting for quite a while before he sold it to the King of France, King Francois, in 1516. (â€Å"Mona Lisa.† Lairweb.com. N.p., n.d. Web.) After the French Revolution, the painting was moved to the Louvre, where it remains today. The history behind the paintings also point out several more differences. There is only one Mona Lisa, while Warhol created many Marilyn paintings. The time period when the two painters lived was decades apart. DaVinci was alive from 1452-1519, while Warhol was born in 1928 and died in 1987. While Warhol was strictly an artist, DaVinci spent time as a mathematician, engineer, writer, and geologist as well. The two men’s styles of painting were very different as well. DaVinci painted in the style of chiaroscuro, the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, and sfumato. Sfumato is created by painting a color that turns slowly from light to dark tones to give off a kind of misty glow or smoky mystery. Andy Warhol was a major part of the Pop art movement. Jennifer Rosenberg of About.com quoted pop art as being, â€Å"a new style of art that began in England in the mid-1950s and consisted of realistic renditions of popular, and everyday items.† (Rosenberg, Jennifer. â€Å"Andy Warhol.† About.com 20th Century History. About.com, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.) Warhol used silk-screening to create Marilyn Monroe. Warhol is quoted as saying, â€Å"In August 62 I started doing silkscreens. I wanted something stronger that gave more of an assembly line effect†¦you pick a photograph, blow it up, transfer it in glue onto silk, and then roll ink across it so the ink goes through the silk but not through the glue†¦ I was thrilled with it. When Marilyn Monroe happened to die that month, I got the idea to make screens of her beautiful face the first Marilyns.† (â€Å"Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Prints.† Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Prints. Color Vision and Art, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.) DaVinci’s painting was progressive for the time. The traditional paintings of his time were of a head and shoulders portrait, in a very rigid or posed position. The Mona Lisa is painted all the way down to her hands, and she seems to be in a very comfortable, relaxed pose. Her pose is very linear, which conveys a sense of â€Å"formal and dignified ideas†. (ROEMER, CK. â€Å"Looking at Great Art Practice.† Http://www.studiocodex.com. N.p., 2007. Web.) This would be appropriate if this woman is the wife of a wealthy man, which is one of the speculations of the woman’s identity. Andy Warhol’s painting, on the other hand, seems almost regressive. Only Marilyn’s face is shown. She is depicted with a very serious expression, and is very unnaturally posed. This seems to project a sense of excitement or disorder, which represent Marilyn’s life very accurately. The two subjects of the painting are very different in appearance as well. The Mona Lisa has no makeup on. She is dressed very plainly and does not seem to be wearing any jewelry. Marilyn Monroe has a lot of make-up on and has her hair curled and styled. Marilyn seems to have a haughty or annoyed expression on her face, while Mona Lisa is smiling slightly and seems to be happy and content. Another major difference between the two paintings is the use of color. The Mona Lisa is depicted in very earthy tones. The tan color of the flesh seems closer to the viewer, while the muted browns, greens, tans, and blues seem to fade into the background. DaVinci used light and dark colors to highlight certain parts of the painting, such as the woman’s face and hands. The color palette is what would be expected if this was an actual photograph. Andy Warhol’s Marilyn is the complete opposite of the Mona Lisa. None of the colors are natural, except, maybe, the makeup, and can appear shocking to the eye at first glance. All aspects of the painting are bright; eyes, lips, eye shadow, and hair. Warhol painted Marilyn in ten different color combinations with 250 of each color variation. (Henry. â€Å"Henry On Pop Art.† ‘Henry On Pop Art’ N.p., 08 Aug. 2011. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.) While the actual colors used in the paintings are very different, the way the painters used the colors brings out a similarity in the two. Mona Lisa is dressed very dark and her pale face is framed by dark hair. The light colors used in the background seem to bring the woman to the front of the painting. This was most definitely done on purpose by DaVinci. He wanted the viewer to focus on Mona Lisa. The same can be said of Warhol. He uses a bright contrasting color for his background of Marilyn Monroe. Although the background color almost always matches that of Marilyn’s eye shadow, the background contrasts with the rest of the painting, bringing the face towards the viewer. The use of line in both paintings is also similar. No brush strokes are visible in either painting, and appear a bit foggy. The Mona Lisa is this way due to the technique, sfumato, discussed earlier. In Marilyn, it is hard to pick out a defined line in her hair, for example. The lines in DaVinci’s paintings are the same, flowing from one to the other. The Mona Lisa is blended so well that each section seems like a part of the next. The background of the Mona Lisa is a landscape with a river, bridge, trees, grass, and mountains. The view seems to go on forever, and there is no real focal point in the background. The backgrounds purpose in this painting in unknown, some say it is to contrast the peaceful look of the woman with a foreboding background. Others think it could have been as simple as DaVinci practicing with landscapes. Unlike Mona Lisa, the backgrounds of the Marilyn Monroe paintings are a solid color. The background contrasts dramatically with the colors in the actual face. The background pulls the viewer’s eye to Marilyn’s face, instead of something that could be happening in the background. Symmetry is another example of a way the two paintings are alike. The shape of the Mona Lisa is very symmetrical. The woman is sitting straight and a straight line down the middle of the painting would show equal parts. The woman’s body is a triangular shape, with the tops of her legs and hand forming the base, and her head becoming the point. Her face is very circular, and the smile she displays is an arch of a circle. (Roemer, CK. â€Å"Looking at Great Art Practice.† Http://www.studiocodex.com. N.p., 2007. Web.) Warhol gives his Marilyn Monroe paintings a subtle heart shape with the curves created by her hairline. The painter, like DaVinci, uses simple shapes as well, such as the half-moon of her eye shadow, or the slight triangles of her eyebrows, which also shows symmetry. DaVinci creates a feeling of depth and space in his painting. The fact that the woman is taller than the mountains in the background suggests that she is seated very close to the viewer, while the mountains are in the distance. The detail of the pleats in her skirt, the individual pieces of hair, and transparent veil that covers her head are small details that make the woman seem closer to the viewer. The walking paths and streams of water leading up the painting make the eye move upwards, and form a sense of continuous forest. The viewers understand that the landscape goes on for quite a while. (Roemer, CK. â€Å"Looking at Great Art Practice.† Http://www.studiocodex.com. N.p., 2007. Web.) In contrast to DaVinci, Warhol used space by placing Marilyn’s face in the middle of the painting. There is no real use of depth in this painting, because of the plain, contrasting color background. She almost appears to be completely flat against the surface. The eye is immediately drawn to the face in Marilyn Monroe. As mentioned above, the contrasting background color pulls the face forward, making the viewer notice her first. The same can be said of Mona Lisa, making focal point a similarity of the two. The woman in Mona Lisa is the biggest part of the painting. Her pale face offset by her dark hair and clothes draws the viewer’s eye to her. The position of her hands is right below her face, which also serves as a line to the focal point. The use of texture is somewhat absent from Warhol’s painting, while the Mona Lisa is full of texture, another difference in the paintings. The folds in the woman’s dress make the painting seem more realistic, while the uneven and sharp edges of the mountains in the background contrast nicely with the smoothness of the woman’s face and hair. The woman’s skin also has a dotted affect which makes it seem more lifelike, instead of Warhol’s Marilyn that seems fake and unrealistic. The use of value plays a huge role in both paintings. DaVinci uses abrupt changes in value; The pale skin of the woman face and hands against her dark hair and dress. He uses the same type of changes to show the wrinkles on the fabric of her clothing. (ROEMER, CK. â€Å"Looking at Great Art Practice.† Http://www.studiocodex.com. N.p., 2007. Web.) Andy Warhol uses value changes in the brightness of Marilyn’s hair against the darker background. The black tones used underneath her hair are darker than the color of her somewhat pale skin. Another similarity is the massive amounts of recreations or paintings based on the same subject. Many artists has done their own version of the Mona Lisa, making her their nationality, fat, and even making her another person altogether. Many artists have also taken Marilyn Monroe and painted her their own way. Both paintings still play a huge role in society today. You can buy phone cases, laptop skins, and even clothing with a picture of these paintings. Replicas of both paintings can be seen hanging on walls of homes, restaurants, and art galleries. Mona Lisa and Marilyn Monroe are both easily recognized and correctly identified in today’s society. A final similarity between the two paintings is the significance they both played in their style of art. Leonardo DaVinci’s Mona Lisa is said to have â€Å"become the prototype for Renaissance paintings.† (Lorenzzi, Rosella. â€Å"Mona Lisa.† Mona Lisa. N.p., 16 Jan. 2008. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.) Andy Warhol was affectionately known as the â€Å"Pope of Pop†, and his Marilyn Monroe series came to be one of the most well-known and popular works of pop art in his time. The final difference between the two, and most interesting, is that Warhol recreated DaVinci’s Mona Lisa in his own style; putting 30 Mona Lisas in one silk screen. Warhol is quoted as saying â€Å"30 is better than 1.† (Rose, Millie. â€Å"Postmodernism.† : Andy Warhol. N.p., 08 Nov. 2010. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.) The Mona Lisa is said to have been a major inspiration to Warhol, and he was honored to be able to have his own spin on this iconic painting. Obviously Warhol’s w ork did not influence DaVinci because of the time frame. While the differences far outweigh the similarities, both paintings are brilliant. Warhol was a major influence in the pop art world, and his paintings are still being used in many forms of advertising today. DaVinci is said to have been the ultimate example of what a portrait should be, and without a doubt, he has influenced many of the other famous painters today. Both men, while their styles couldn’t have been anymore different, have two of the most famous names in the art world. * Esaack, Shelly. â€Å"Lemon Marilyn, 1962.† About.com Art History. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2012. * â€Å"Mona Lisa.† Lairweb.com. N.p., n.d. Web. * Rosenberg, Jennifer. â€Å"Andy Warhol.† About.com 20th Century History. About.com, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2012. * Henry. â€Å"Henry On Pop Art.† ‘Henry On Pop Art’ N.p., 08 Aug. 2011. Web. 16 Dec. 2012. * ROEMER, CK. â€Å"Looking at Great Art Practice.† Http://www.studiocodex.com. N.p., 2007. Web. * Lorenzzi, Rosella. â€Å"Mona Lisa.† Mona Lisa. N.p., 16 Jan. 2008. Web. 16 Dec. 2012. * Rose, Millie. â€Å"Postmodernism.† : Andy Warhol. N.p., 08 Nov. 2010. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.

Ways in which teamwork can be beneficial to organisations

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Career Assesment Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

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INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT - Essay Example 19). Subject to its wide market network, high quality of its products, and the diversity of its products, Starbucks enjoys a magnificent customer base in the coffee other blend- drinks industry. In the report, the paper identifies the stakeholders groups of the company, its key competitors, and an analysis of its current strategy. The paper will also derive some recommendations on the company’s current strategy. Findings Starbucks Stakeholder Groups Starbucks stakeholders groups refer to persons, groups, or organization that has interest or concern in the company. The company’s stakeholders fall into three categories, which include primary stakeholders, secondary stakeholders, and public stakeholders (Bruhn-Hansen, 2012, p. 19). They specifically entail the shareholders who invented in the company’s shares, customers who purchase the company’s products and employees who work for the company across the world. The stakeholders also include the suppliers who provide raw materials to the company and farmers who produce coffee and benefit from the comprehensive programs that the company initiates to help farmers. Recently, families residing within the Silver Spring, Maryland community with children aged five and under became stakeholders. Governments and government agencies in countries where the Starbucks Company operates are also stakeholders in the company (Bruhn-Hansen, 2012, p. 19). Moreover, non-governmental organizations, which partner with Starbucks Company like Conservation International and Ecologic Enterprise Ventures are also stakeholders of the company. Additionally, all the communities that benefit from the company’s corporate social responsibility are stakeholders of Starbucks Company. Ultimately, franchisees that purchase the right to use the company’s trademarks, related brands, and proprietary knowledge for purposes of opening branches across the world also form part of Starbucks stakeholders. Starbucks Key Competitors Starbucks has close competitors in specialty coffee shops, doughnut shops, and quick service restaurants. Indeed, the completion comes from different sectors across the world thus demeaning the company’s market share. Caribou Coffee, which is specialty coffeehouse with 415 stores in the US, is one of the closest competitors of Starbucks Company. Second Cup which is a Canadian franchiser dealing in coffee is also a significant competitor alongside Java Centrale. Another major competitor is the privately owned Dunkin Donuts, which has about 5,000 stores in the U.S dealing with both doughnuts and coffee. Nestle S.A, which is a Swiss multinational food and Beverage Company and the largest food company in the world in terms of revenues offers great competition to Starbucks market share. Additionally we also have Darden Restaurants, Inc., which are a multi-brand restaurant operator  and Yum! Brands, Inc., Another worthy competitor is the McDonald, which is actually t he world’s largest fast-food chain restaurant (Mourdoukoutas, 2013, p. 1). McDonalds sells its products at a relatively lower price than Starbucks Company thus offering price competition. Indeed, since its upgrade in 2006, McDonalds is becoming an emerging competitor. More so, Panera’s Bread, which offers ambiance of casual dining, is also a competitor of Starbucks Company. Starbucks Company Current Strategy Starbucks adopts various

Strategies for assessing skills and competencies Essay

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Discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 11

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Refugees and Asylum Seekers Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Refugees and Asylum Seekers - Research Paper Example The situations that makes it impossible for a refugee to return to his home country must relate to something that makes it unsafe, dangerous or fatal for the individual to return to his home country. There are two facades to examine these situations that puts a person in danger. One angle is to view it from an individual perspective, where an individual, due to some activities or inherent situations is subjected to possible death, torture or inhumane conditions. On the other hand, a person might qualify to become a refugee if there is a situation that has been declared by the international community as a war or internal conflict. Chimni (2000) identifies that widest root cause of the exodus of refugees is ethnic reasons. This implies that people are more likely to become refugees because of persecution related to their ethnic views and identities. Chimni (2000) identifies two reasons for this. The first reason is that ethnic differences are susceptible to exploitation. Secondly, the control of a state by one ethnic group is likely to lead to threats to the lives of people of other ethnic origins. This definition of the term 'refugee' is consistent with Article 1 of the 1951 UN Geneva Convention. (Carlier, 1997). This UN statute makes it imperative for nations to take in persons who fall into the category of refugees to be given the status of refugee, which makes them entitled to some degree of help, support and rights in the host country (Carlier, 1997). Normally, a person who has a genuine fear in his home country moves into another country and applies for an asylum (Chimni, 2000). The asylum seeking process allows a potential refugee to present the reasons why he is fleeing form his home country. It is up to the authorities in the host country to assess the application and grant or refuse the application on several grounds. In most developed countries the reasons for seeking asylum is segmented to seven categories and each category has its own rules and proce sses (Hynes, 2011). Thus each application has to be put into one of the seven categories. When this is done, the relevant rules would be invoked based on the facts presented by the applicant. If the application is consistent with the rules for the specific category the application goes through, the asylum would be granted. And when this is done, a person's status is upgraded from asylum seeker to refugee. In this instance, the person is given basic necessities in life and allowed to live and work in the host country (Hynes, 2011). Technically, when an asylum seeker is granted refugee status, he cannot be deported back to his country of origin either until the person voluntarily goes back to the country or the situation in the country is declared over and there is no threat to the life of the individual in question. In some cases, an asylum application could be rejected on one of several grounds including abusive or unfounded (Hynes, 2011). An unfounded application is an application made by a person whose claim for asylum does not have a basis. An example is the case of a person who claims to be at risk in his home country because of a human rights situation that his country has guaranteed against. Such an application would be declined by most countries because it does not seem there is a real threat. The second form of rejection is where an asylum claim is defined as a means to a given end other than escape from a dangerous situation in a person's home country. A common

Terrorist Attacks of Al Qaeda and Hamas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Terrorist Attacks of Al Qaeda and Hamas - Essay Example There will be clear comprehension as to what drives these groups, and since both of them are Middle Eastern in origin the research will point out that religion and culture are the two main ideologies that drive them to terrorist activities. The conclusion shows that since these people that partake in terrorist activities within these groups have adapted to this way of life there is no real way to change their mind sets and therefore it is an adverse sociological issue that will continue for years to come. Hamas and Al Qaeda view the justification for terrorism as stemming from their origin and the use of Jihad and conflict to resolve disputes. Nevertheless, other countries view the idea of conflict as being something irresolvable, despite how complex or trivial it might be if terrorist activities are the strategies being utilized to minimize it (Farah 2003). Nevertheless, in much of the Middle Eastern land it is moral in Islamic religion to use the strategy of suicide bombing or mass killing of people to gain control and understanding of other people. As for non Muslims, there is no motive for terrorism that is justified. Problems can be resolved between people or nations through negotiation. In the process of negotiation, no party should aim to be a winner; otherwise, the aim of the negotiation will be defeated. There is no motive or morality in terrorizing people for whatever reason, in the minds of non Muslims, in order to simply gain their approval. However, this is where Hamas and Al Qaeda groups differ from other groups in the Middle East. A good example of what instigates violence and terrorist activity in these groups' minds is with issues such as the widely reported Danish cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed, which caused immense damage to people and properties around the world as the Muslims used the opportunity to attack non Muslim interest throughout the globe following this occurrence. Obviously they took it to the extreme left wing as even with, the burning of churches and killing of innocent people, it did not make things right. Therefore, despite the outcome that presents itself, many Muslims see the act of terrorism as a fight for a just cause in defense of their religion and Prophet Mohammed. This is the main ideology that drives both of these terrorist groups. The terrorism that is taking place between Israel and Palestine (Hamas Group) is in much part due to the terrorist government group that is utilizing suicide bombers even during negotiations of peace (Melgreen 2006). Israel is willing to embrace peace and ready to negotiate to reach peaceful agreement. This is reflected in the statement by Farah (2003), "This country is in a fight for its life against the forces of darkness in this world. We can prevail only with consistency, fortitude and by doing what is right." Israel and Palestine can only reach an agreement through peaceful means. The use of suicide bombers in the negotiation process will only prolong the peace process because Israel will not want to concede to terrorist regime and Israel would want to protect its own people against terrorism. The new regime in the

The End of Innocence and the Darkness of Mans Heart Essay Example for Free

The End of Innocence and the Darkness of Mans Heart Essay In Lord of the Flies the author, William Golding, proves his theory on the origin of evil in many ways, a main one being the changes in the character Jack. William Goldings theory states that civilization prevents corruption. Human nature is evil but with the conformity of moral values, supervision, and consequences good behavior can be developed. In his book England is involved in a nuclear war and must evacuate the people. A group of private school boys who are presumably evacuees are dropped from a plane just before it crashes onto an uninhibited tropical island. The boys are called together by Ralph, who with Piggy had found a conch shell. As the other boys gather onto the platform another party of the boys, the choir, marches up. They are described as something dark or a creature, one of the first signs of evil. All of the boys decide to elect a leader and the candidates turn out to be Ralph and Jack, head of the choir. When the boys choose Ralph, Jack becomes enraged and Ralph offers that the choir be the hunters. Jack is then seen as the head hunter and a primary destructive force. Ralph, Jack, and another boy, Simon, head out to survey the land and assure that it is indeed an island. The boys have their first confrontation with a pig. Jack is unable to plunge his knife into living flesh and bear the sight of flowing blood because of the taboo of the old life. He is ashamed and vows next time he will kill it as he drives his knife into a tree trunk. This is one of the first major signs of troubleof the evil ahead. Jack is later described as an animal, symbolizing the loss of civilization. His transition into evil begins as the influence of his former life and the conditioning wears off. The hunters go out to hunt again and proudly return with meat. Jack remarks with pride about how they cut the pigs throat though he twitches as he speaks of this achievement. Jack has not yet reached the point of savage abandonment. His mind was crowded with memories; memories of the knowledge that had come to them when they closed in on the struggling pig, knowledge that they had outwitted a living thing,  imposed their will upon it, taken away its life like a long satisfying drink. Another sign of the conditioning wearing off is when Jack hits another boy, Piggy, breaking his specs, because Piggy stood up for himself and his beliefs. On another hunt, Ralph joins the hunters. This hunt is unsuccessful because the boar gets away but Ralph is proud that he hit the pig in the snout with a spear. After this failure the boys start a reenactment with Robert, a smaller boy, acting as the pig. They begin the chant Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in! and an overwhelming dark desire possesses the boys. This is the final stage before Jacks transition into complete evil. When Jack is angered that the boys do not want him as leader he travels to the other part of the beach and forms his own tribe. He informs the tribe that they are going to forget about a so-called beast and hunt. This hunt is an electrifying success. The boys hunted a helpless sow and as the afternoon wore on, hazy and dreadful with damp heat; the sow staggered her way ahead of them, bleeding and mad, and the hunters followed, wedded to her in lust, excited by the long chase and the dropped blood. When they kill the pig there is no twitch of conscience as Jack has fully transitioned into an evil boy. While the boys are feasting on this pig and celebrating their victory Simon is searching for the so-called beast. He runs into the pigs head on a stick, an offering for the beast. The head transforms into the Lord of the Flies (literal translation for Beelzebub, the chief of the devils) and Simon has an imaginary conversation with it. The Lord of the Flies explains that it is part of Simon, part of the boys, part of all men. He is the reason things are what they are. He is the demonic essence that is taking over Jack and the other boys in their evilness. Simon discovers that the beast is harmless and he goes running to the boys to share the good news. The boys are starting their dance when Simon runs into the middle of the circle and is killed. Simon becomes the suffering victim of the boys and of Jacks madness. The final and climactic abhorrence is the hunt for Ralph. Jack does not like Ralph because Ralph does not like Jack so Jack convinces the other boys that Ralph is the beast in disguise. Jack had previously explained to the boys that Simon was not really Simon, but the beast in disguise and he had not really been killed. At this point Jack is completely evil, as there is no civilization. In Lord of the Flies Jacks changes into evil prove Goldings theory about the origin of evil. As civilization is destroyed, Jack becomes more and more evil. At the beginning of the book one can see such signs of trouble as his reaction the failure to kill the pig. Into the middle the conditioning wearing off is rather apparent, as he becomes prone to killing. Finally, by the end Jack is completely evil. It is the end of innocence and the darkness of mans heart.

Drives for Globalisation

Drives for Globalisation Q) Identify, define and describe three of the drivers of the recent wave of globalisation. Justify your selection, supporting your argument with the use of examples. Introduction Globalisation can be characterized by four factors; the growing worldwide interconnections, rapid, discontinuous change, increased number and diversity of participants, as well as growing complexity (Parker, 2005). According to the Dictionary of Economics (Bannock et al., 2003), the term; globalisation, is defined as the geographical shifts in domestic activity around the world and away from the nation states. It can also be referred to the interdependence of economies, through the increase in cross-border movement of goods, service, technology and capital (Joshi, 2009). Examples of such integrations can be seen in the growing presence of many multinational companies as they expand into new regions (i.e. McDonalds) and the outsourcing of manufacturing and services. There are four main areas that drive the recent wave of globalisation; however, as each area is very broad, this essay will focus on three drivers within the four categories. Drivers of Globalisation The four main areas of drivers for globalisation are market, government; cost and competition (see Figure 1). These external drivers affect the main conditions for the potential of globalisation across industries, which are mainly uncontrollable by individual firms. Market drivers include areas such as common customer needs and transferable marketing, whereby the emergence of global markets for standardized products has enabled corporations to cater demands in new markets with existing products (Levitt, 1983). Government influence is also a major driver, with policies leading to reductions in trade barriers and a shift towards an open market economy. With access to new markets and human capitals, in the area of cost advantage drivers, companies are able to gain new economies of scale by selling at higher quantities, as well as explore the advantage of low cost production through outsourcing and import. In the case of competitive drivers, the growing trade between nations along with f oreign direct investment (FDI) has helped to increase interdependence among countries and organisations, as well as exposing firms to new competitors. This essay will now focus on three more specific drivers from these four areas; the lowering of trade barriers in trade liberalization, the cost differences between countries, and the rapidly changing technology such as the internet. Globalisation is by no means a new phenomenon; periods of growing interconnections had existed throughout history, such as the Silk Road connecting Europe to Asia. However, unlike many of past waves, globalisation today represents much thicker relationships that involve many people and interactions in interconnected networks (Keohane and Nye, 2000). Hence, the reason for focusing on these three drivers is because they are some of the most important factors that influence and steer the recent wave of globalisation. The governments trade policies help to open the door to their economy, while the difference in cost provides incentives for investment such as overseas companies looking to benefit from low cost economies, at the same time, the rapidly changing technology helps to accelerate the rapid diffusion of free enterprises through new means of communication and improved mobility. Trade liberalization As a way to regulate their international economic position, trade policies has been used by various governments to control what goes in (imports) and out (exports) of the country. Most of the restrictive policies are for imports with the use of barriers such as tariffs  [1]  and non-tariff barriers  [2]  , whilst for exports, it tend to be stimulatory (Dicken, 2007). One of the key features and drivers of globalisation has been the liberalization of barriers on trade in goods and services. An important motivation for such action is usually related with market access, as many governments reciprocate each others liberalization decision, each can benefit from the market access provided for its export industries by the other reciprocating government (Hillman et al. 1995). For example, since major reforms to liberalize market since the 1978 and trade, China experienced some of the highest GDP growth (around 10%) in the world for decades where millions were lifted out of poverty. Although there has been a general shift towards trade liberalization around the world, countries still have differing policies and levels of liberalization depending on stages of development, culture and other political factors. One prominent international organization that promotes trade liberalization and brought major reductions in trade barriers is the World Trade Organization  [3]  (WTO), which has the competencies to both enforce existing trade agreement and to pursue new possibilities of liberalization (WTO, 1995). Preferential trading agreement can also take place between countries, such as the European Union (EU) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), where members have a common foreign trade policy and substantially reduce internal trade barriers among themselves (Hillman, 2008). Also, though international trade is getting more liberalized, it has not produced similar level of benefit to all countries. For example, the influx of cheap, subsidized agricultu re goods from western countries into poorer developing countries in the south after market liberalization, have devastated many local producers and increase in poverty, as it was the case for the Mexican corn famers  [4]  . Differences in cost between countries As a number of factors such as stage of development, location and demography varies between countries, the cost of factors of production: land, capital and labour, will undoubtedly differ as well. These differences also increase international trade and investment, thus further driving globalisation. For example, in the southern city of Guangzhou, China, 10,000 labourers work legal hours stitching shoes for Nike at $95 a month (Time, 2004). Therefore, it gives great incentive for companies such as Nike to outsource manufacturing work to China and other low cost economies, where goods can be made at a fraction of the cost as opposed to industrialized countries. As seen in the clothing industries, much of manufacturing has moved to the developing world, where there are small barriers to entry, labour intensive and only requires low levels of economic development in the host country. Also, low cost labour does not only apply to low skilled works, a highly skilled professional in emerging economies can still be much cheaper to employ compared to ones in developed countries while producing similar quality of result. For example, the Intel Centrino Duo mobile platform was almost all developed in Intels India development centre  [5]  . When the wages increase as the economy grows, production may be moved to another low cost economy. Of course, the variation in cost is not unique only in human capital, but also in many other areas such as raw materials, which can be influence by geographic location of the country. The cost advantage from outsourcing and importing can be negated by shipping and distribution cost, but when the difference is high enough, as it was shown in the huge variation in salaries between China and US; it will still be cheaper to import. Rapid change in technology Technological advancement in the past few decades have led to major improvements to global connectivity (Wellman et al, 2005), mobility and communication, which in turn helped to facilitate, drive and be driven by globalisation. Examples of technology change facilitating globalisation can be seen in all sectors, from agricultural, production lines, to finance. In particular, one of the most prevalent changes is in information technology, ranging from mobile phones to the internet, where people are able to connect to each other from different localities throughout the world and access all sorts of information (Nyiri, 2005). It is based upon the convergence of communications and computer technologies, shifting from analogue to digital systems. For example, a director in the US can conduct a meeting with managers based in India through video conferencing, saving time and money from such long distance travel. For instance, the Bank of America Corp has 400 video-conferencing systems, and the Cleveland banking company saves $200,000 a month in travel expense by using video conferencing according to one of its spokesperson (Bills, 2006). Although there are concerns of a digital divide between places that are connected and those that not, the recent development in mobile technology can help to overcome obstacles in communication access growth in p oor countries that lack fixed line infrastructures. In another area, innovations in transportation technologies have accelerated geographical mobility, as speed and efficiency of transportation are dramatically lowered. For instance, development in aviation technology from propeller aircraft in the 1950s to jet passenger aircraft by 1960s has cut travelling time by hours, resulting in greater convenience and international mobility. Overall advances in both transportation and communications technologies have made todays complex global economic system possible by overcome the frictions of space and time. Conclusion This essay has only covered some of the crucial drivers in the recent globalisation; there are a number of other drivers and conditions which make globalisation as it is today. Furthermore, each driver has their limitations to the extent of their influence. In the event of the recent global recession, globalisation has come under much criticism as economic shocks can be felt across the globe and affect many people due to the growing interconnection between countries. However, although closing an economy may insulate it from shocks, it can also mean stagnation in growth and even more severe internal crises. Hence, it is also important to remember that most, if not all drivers are dependent on one another, and that the way they are managed will have profound influence on the direction and success of the recent wave of globalisation. References: Bannock G., Baxter R. E. and Davis E. (2003) Dictionary of Economics, 7th ed. Penguin Reference, pp. 161 Bills S. (2006) Video Conferencing Gets Lift from New Technology, American Banker, The Financial Services Daily. Wed. Feb 15, 2006 Dicken P. (2007) Global Shift: Mapping the Changing Contours of the World Economy, 5th Ed, Sage Publications, London Hillman A. (2008)Trade Liberalization and Globalization, Readings in Public Choice and Constitutional Political Economy, Chapter 27. Springer US Hillman A.L., Long N.V. and Moser P. (1995) Modeling reciprocal trade liberalization: the political-economy and national-welfare perspectives. Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics, 131, pp503-515 Joshi R. M. (2009) International Business, Oxford University Press, New Delhi and New York. Keohane R. O. and Nye J. S. Jr. (2000) Introduction. In Joseph S. Nye, Jr and John D. Donahue (Eds), Governance in a Global World, pp. 1-41. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press Levitt T. (1983) The Globalization of Markets, Harvard Business Review, May/June 1983: 39-49 Nyiri K. (2005) A Sense of Place. The Global and the Local in Mobile Communication. Wien: Passagen Verlag. Parker B. (2005) Introduction to Globalization Business, SAGE Publication, pp. 6-9 Time magazine. (2004) How Nike Figured out China, by Matthew Forney, Sunday, Oct 17, 2004. Weblink: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,725113-4,00.html Wellman B. et al. (2005) Connected Lives: The Project. The Network Neighbourhood, edited by P. Purcell. Berlin: Springer World Trade Organization (1995) International Trade: Tends and Statistics (Geneva: WTO).

Immigration to the US Essay -- Immigration Naturalization

There are many Asian immigrants that come to the United States in hopes of living out their American dream of becoming United States citizens. My parents came here exactly for that same reason, so they can give my sisters and I the opportunity to live a better life. We were fortunate enough to have our relatives help us get here, making it a little less difficult for us compared to other families that took a different path to becoming citizens. However, it was not always this easy for an Asian immigrant family like ours to become naturalized citizens. It used to be near impossible for immigrants of Asian descent to become a United States citizen, but in recent years, there have been a spur of people with Asian ethnicity who are able to naturalize. From the time the Puritans touched the soil of this land to the creation of this country’s new government, America was always envisioned as a â€Å"homogeneous† nation of people of European decent. John Winthrop and his Puritan followers came to this new land with the â€Å"errand† of creating the â€Å"new† England, a colony of one racial identity (Takaki 15). It is surprising to learn that even the founding fathers of this country were against having people other than â€Å"whites† to settle in this land where according to them â€Å"..all men are created equally†. Ben Franklin, for example, shared the same belief in his 1751 essay Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind. â€Å"The English were the ‘principle Body of White people’, and Franklin wished there were more of them in America† (Tanaki 16). Thomas Jefferson also shared the same view in his Notes on the State of Virginia, expressing his fear o f possibly tainting the country with people of colored skin (Tanaki 16). With that i... ...yclopedia, Web. Takaki, Ronald. Strangers From a Different Shore: a History of Asian American. first. New York: Back Bay Books/ Little, Brown and Company, 1989. 14-420. Print. "United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, Web. . United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind, Certificate From The Circuit Court Of Appeals For The Ninth Circuit., No. 202. Argued January 11, 12, 1923.—Decided February 19, 1923, United States Reports, v. 261, The Supreme Court, October Term, 1922, 204–215. Waldo R. Browne (ed.), "Japanese-American Passport Agreement," in What's What in the Labor Movement: A Dictionary of Labor Affairs and Labor Terminology. New York: B.W. Huebsch, 1921; pg. 261.

Faith in Faulkners Light In August Essay -- Faulkner Light August Rel

Faith in Faulkner's Light In August Religion is a big part of the southern world that Faulkner creates in Light In August. It is also a major theme of the novel. Most characters seem to use â€Å"Lord† and â€Å"God† very often in their dialogue, which shows that religion is never forgotten by the members of this society. Light in August portrays a type of religious fundamentalism. In this fundamentalism, among the people of the south, there is only one proper way of following and implementing religion in one’s life. Characters are constantly trying to justify killing, hatred, and racism through their faith. The creation of hatred and racism is the result of each character’s belief that theirs are the only genuine beliefs and therefore, it is their responsibility to carry out the work of God in their own personal way and through their own reasoning. Two characters that are blinded by their own version of living a religious life are Mr. Hines and Mr. McEachern. I will argue that the obsession with their religion and their belief of how it should be followed is an ideology that fails each of these characters in their purpose. Consequently, the more these characters are faced by failure the more they try to embody God and take actions as if they are the Almighty Himself. Ironically, while using religion as a shield these characters fail to see their own sins. These characters see their sins instead, as the most essential and virtuous deeds and the work of God. From the moment Mr. McEachern picks up Joe Christmas from the foster home he stresses the importance of religion to Joe. While introducing himself, Mr. McEachern explains to Joe, â€Å"†¦I will have you learn soon that the two abominations are sloth and idle thinking, the... ...forced upon them. There are other types of religious extremists, like Doc Hines, who see those who do not share their faith as enemies and believe that they are a curse of God and therefore, should be eliminated through killing. These ideologies, even though seen in our world today, cannot be the definitions of faith and religion. In fact, the violence created through them defies the very basic beliefs associated with most world religions. Mr. McEachern and Doc Hines are blinded by their faith and their approach to implement religion in their lives and the lives of others is a forceful and violent one. In the end, both characters fail to spread their faith and instead their forceful teachings and extremist beliefs perpetuate more evil than good in the name of God. Works Cited Faulkner, William. Light in August. New York: Vintage International, 1990.

Community and Survival in Sula :: Sula Essays

Community and Survival in Sula Sula by Toni Morrison is a very complex novel with many underlying themes. Some of the themes that exist are good and evil, friendship and love, survival and community, and death. In Marie Nigro's article, "In Search of Self: Frustration and Denial in Toni Morrison's Sula" Nigro deals with the themes of survival and community. According to Nigro, "Sula celebrates many lives: It is the story of the friendship of two African-American women; it is the story of growing up black and female; but most of all, it is the story of a community" (1). Sula contains so many important themes that it is hard to say which one is the most important. I agree with Marie Nigro when she says that Sula is a story about community. I believe that community and how the community of Bottom survives is an important theme of the story. But I do not believe that it is a central theme of the story. When I think back on the novel Sula in twenty years, I will remember the relationship and friendship betw een Nel and Sula. I will not remember the dynamics of the community. One of Nigro's main points of her article is how Morrison shows how important work is to the community of Bottom in order to survive. Nigro believes that work is important in Sula because it helps define or not define such as in Sula's case, who the characters are. Nigro argues that the people of Bottom take survival serious because they live in a white male, world. The residents of Bottom do their best by working odd jobs and scrimping and helping each other when in need (2). But they know that they will always have to remain within the boundaries of the hostile white world (2). According to Nigro, survival is also very important for Eva and Hannah. They know they do not have much opportunity being black and female, so they prepare for the winter by canning food in the summer (2). Eva definitely knows how serious survival is because she goes to the extreme of cutting off her own leg (2). Jude is another character, Nigro points out, that needs work.

The Aircraft Collision Issues

On March 27, 1977 at 1706:52 G. M. T. A KLM 747 collided with a Pan Am 747 in dense fog on runway 30 at Los Rodeos Airport in the Spanish Canary Islands. KLM flight 4805 was a 747-206B with serial number PH-BUF. Pan Am flight 1736 was a 747-121 with serial number N736PA. Both aircraft were properly maintained and airworthy according to the regulations of the country of registration. All crew members of both aircraft were properly certified and current for their particular crew member positions on the Boeing 747. The KLM captain had 11,700 hrs. With 1,545 of those hours on the 747. The First officer had a total of 9,200 hours at the time of the accident with only 95 hours on the 747. The flight engineer had 17,031 hours with 543 hours on the 747. The Pan Am captain had 21,043 total with 584 hours on the 747. His co-pilot had 10,800 hours with 2,796 hours on the 747. The flight engineer had 15,210 hours total flight time with 559 hours on the 747. KLM 4805 was a charter flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Las Palmas, Canary Islands on behalf of Holland international Travel Group. Pan Am 1736 was also a charter flight to Las Palmas originating in Los Angeles, California the previous afternoon with a stop over and crew change at New York (JFK). The two aircraft involved in the accident were diverted to Los Rodeos because of a terrorist bomb explosion at Las Palmas Airport. There was a threat of another bomb so for security reasons no one could land there. Upon arrival at Los Rodeos several other diverted airliners were already on the ground waiting to go to Las Palmas. The Pan Am parked next to the KLM. The captain of the KLM was constantly on the radio trying to find out when the airport would reopen. He was concerned that he and his flight crew were going to run out of duty time. He decided to get fuel while he was waiting in order to avoid the servicing delay that would be awaiting them at Las Palmas. Las Palmas was reopened while the KLM was in the middle of refueling. The Pan Am was ready to depart but had to wait for the KLM to finish refueling because they couldn't taxi around them. Both aircraft were given instruction to use the active runway 30 as a taxiway because aircraft were parked on the paralleling taxiway. The KLM taxied to the end of the runway and made a 180 degree turn to align itself for takeoff. The Pan Am lagged behind because a blanket of fog surrounded them making it difficult to find their turn off. The Pan Am crew was unsure which taxiway they were to get on. The controller told the Pan Am to exit at the 3rd taxiway. This didn't make sense to them because they would have needed to make a 135 degree turn. The fourth taxiway was only 45 degrees. As the KLM 747 completed its turn and the pre-takeoff checklists were complete the captain started adding power for take off. The first officer noticed this and said, â€Å"Wait a minute, we don't have an ATC clearance. The captain held the brakes and said, â€Å"No†¦ I know that. Go ahead ask. † The KLM requested ATC clearance. The tower read them their departure clearance but did not clear them for takeoff. The KLM captain advanced the throttles again as the first officer read back the clearance. The KLM first officer told ATC they were, â€Å"at takeoff. † The Pan Am heard this and said that they will report when clear the runway. They understood â€Å"at takeoff† to mean at takeoff position. The KLM second officer questioned the captain, â€Å"Did he not clear the runway – that Pan American? The captain said, â€Å"Yes, he did. † Moments later the Pan Am first officer noticed the takeoff lights of the KLM approaching fast. He shouted, â€Å"Get off, Get off! † The captain put in full power and tried to drive the airplane into the grass. The pilots on the KLM noticed the Pan Am slewing across the runway after V1 was called. The captain knew that there wasn't enough room to stop so he over-rotated causing the tail of his aircraft to strike the runway in a shower of sparks. But lift the KLM did – just before reaching the Pan AM. The KLM smashed (with a nose up attitude) into the port side of the Pan Am 747. The KLM continued airborne down the runway another 450 meters past the point of collision where it crashed with full fuel and burned killing all 248 souls on board. The Pan Am was soon engulfed in flames. The impact tore off the top of the Pan Am 747 fuselage from the tail to the back of the cockpit. The Pan Am with its entire top fuselage having been carried away by the KLM, caught fire killing 326 of the 396 souls on board. No one in the tower saw the accident because of the fog. Other aircraft waiting on the taxiway saw a series of explosions and reported them to the tower. Emergency crews were immediately notified. The dense fog delayed the effort of the emergency crews to find the planes. The firemen didn't realize that there were two aircraft involved until they were at the wreckage of the KLM and the fog cleared a little bit to see the Pan AM on fire further down the runway. The main cause of this accident was that the KLM captain took off without clearance. The captain also failed to heed the towers instruction to â€Å"standby for takeoff. Finally, the captain did not abandon the takeoff when it became apparent that the Pan Am was still on the runway. He was obviously in a hurry due to the fact that he and his crew might run out of flight time. They had been flying for a long time and probably had get-homeitis. KLM 4805 was nearing the takeoff minimums perscribed for KLM because of the thick fog which put more pressure on the Captain to takeoff. He didn't want to have to leave the aircraft over night and wait for a change of crew because that would inconvienience everyone and cost money. It is also interesting to note that a procedure error took place. This experienced captain should know the difference between being given takeoff clearance and being given a route of flight clearance. The fact of the matter is that the captain had been spending most of his time for the past ten years as a training captain at Schiphol Airport. â€Å"This tended to reduce his day to day familiarity with route flying and its procedures†(Job 177). This idea then leads to the probability that there was a miscommunication between the tower and the KLM. The tower controller and the Pan Am transmitted over each other information that would have prevented the accident. The tower said, â€Å"OK†¦ standby for takeoff†¦ I will call you. † The Pan Am said, â€Å"We are still taxiing down the runway! † The KLM only heard the controller say, â€Å"OK. † The first officer on the KLM declined to take their clearance while they were taxiing because they were too busy doing their pre-takeoff checklists. They instead received their clearance as they lined up for takeoff. This led the captain to believe that the airway clearance they were given also counted as their clearance to takeoff. The first officer already told him once that they didn't have their clearance. He wasn't about to do it again out of fear because the first officer felt resignation. He thought that this captain gave him his 747 rating only 95 flight hours ago and he was in no place to second guess him. The crew of the KLM had poor situational awareness because they turned a deaf ear to the conversations between ATC and the Pan Am crew. They never heard the tower tell Pan Am to report when they were clear. This is proven by the emphatic response to the flight engineers query as to whether or not the Pan Am was cleared of the runway. The captain and first officer said, â€Å"Yes, he's cleared! † The Pan Am crew contributed to the accident by missing their assigned taxiway. If they had turned at the assigned taxiway they would have been off the runway in time. There are several contributing factors to the Tenerife disaster that could have been avoided. If any one of these mistakes didn't happen, the accident would have never happened. If the Pan Am crew had better charts and diagrams of the Los Rodeos Airport, they would have never missed their turn off. The Pan Am would have been off the runway in plenty of time. If the KLM crew was not in such a hurry, the captain would not have commenced takeoff roll before distinct clearance to takeoff. If KLM had Cockpit Resource Management training, the first officer would not have felt intimidated by the captain. He would have corrected the captain again for trying to takeoff without adequate clearance. The captain would have been trained to accept the input of his fellow crew members. If the Pan Am first officer and the tower had not stepped on eachother over the radio, the KLM would have heard both warnings that would have prevented the accident.

Online Shopping in India

Online Shopping in India is evolving fast and has the potential to grow exponentially, with the internet penetration growing far and wide. Now a days Indian e-commerce is getting mature. Indians are increasingly seen using the internet to get more information and to shortlist preferences. When it comes to online shopping, Indians are proving that they can surely beat the world. Average middle class Indians are getting more tech-friendly in terms of consumer electronics, changing the way India shops. The customers can easily compare the prices of any product among different vendors . Online shopping stores put the convenience of shopping at our finger tips. The traditional Indian mindset about shopping is conservative. Consumers want to touch and feel the product before buying it, and also make sure that they get the best bargain, the best deal. But with modernization and the ultra fast pace of life today, the scene has changed. The constraint of time is one of the big reasons of the increasing dependencies on Online Shopping . There are many benefits of buying the products on-line. Wide variety of products are available in portals. People don't need to go to markets or malls in search of better deals. One can find everything here and also individuals can shop at anytime of the day. These portals are open 24 hours and 365 days. A person can save lot of their precious time. Buyers can also get lots of variety and best deals here. They can also compare the product prices and find themselves with a better option. Online Shopping has been revolutionized by the presence of a large number of Online Shopping Store / Portals in India that offer wide variety of products. And it doesn’t stop with variety, today there are online shopping portals that offer discounted rates, free shipping all over India .

Intercultural communication Essay

The power distance refers to the closeness, or lack thereof, between a person of authority and his or her subordinates. Those that hold the power of authority, that is those people who can bring about a change of some type, are also, many times, those who present with some type of symbol of their authority when attending a meeting, or otherwise on display. For example, in an Arabic country, a person in authority might wear a richly decorated robe and head covering while those in subordinate roles might be dressed in a less elaborate robe and plain head covering or a suit. The language one uses also denotes their position of authority. For example, a person in authority in a more democratic and informal society would usually address a subordinate by his or her given first name instead of using a salutation such as Mr or Ms along with the person’s last name as would be the case in a more formal, less democratic culture. In addition, there is ample body language displayed both by the person in authority and by those whose are not in authority. A person of authority will usually command a presence in a room by presenting oneself in the front and center of a group of people. Subordinates to the person in power will flank that person by standing back away and behind the person in authority. Indeed, depending on the culture of the person in authority, that person will either talk to their subordinates in an aloof way that can seem to be almost rude to someone that is unused to it. The countries that demand this sort of communication include those located in the Arab speaking areas of the world, as well as Russia and China. In other cultures, such as those found in Australia, Canada, and Japan, there is more of an egalitarian mood to the interactions between a person with the power of authority and their subordinates. This is characterized by mutual respect between both parties that is not found in those more conservative countries.

The Clinton administration

In a more modern sense, the conflicts in Bosnia, Somalia, and Rwanda were liberal efforts to assist the U. N. in maintaining humanitarian ideals throughout the globe. The Clinton administration could not gain support for these efforts from Congress, which showed that we had a liberal leader at the helm of a realist Congress. Today, the need for international cooperation is greater than ever. Global borders, once so vital, have eroded to the point that they are no longer visible to any but the most redoubtable warmongers.In an era where one can contact Bora Bora in an instant, the necessity of communication and understanding is greater than ever. It is true that human nature will not change; what we can change is the manner in which we deal with it. Many people argue that the United Nations is an impotent organization whose time has passed. Others debate that the U. N. is the only forum in which the smaller nations of the world have a voice. Unfortunately, both views are correct. For instance, in the case of Bosnia, Serbian soldiers seized 350 UN peacekeepers as hostages.The United States was forced to intervene in August of 1995. By November of 1995 the nations of Bosnia, Serbia, and Croatia arranged to sit down and discuss the matter, and by the 21st of that month an agreement was signed (Mingst 121). In this instance, then, the UN was powerless and had to look once more to the U. S. to provide international leadership. Realists quote this episode as the strongest example of their belief in the importance of military leadership. For the American public, too, military leadership is palatable, but only if the conflict is brief.Other organizations, such as the ICC, or International Criminal Court, are of more recent origin. While it is not a new idea to punish nations in retaliation for war crimes, using an international forum in which to do so is an idea founded after the conflicts in Yugoslavia and Rwanda. The ICC covers a very specific group of crimes and seek s to penalize the individuals responsible. The dictates that the ICC covers are genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression. The ICC should help to avoid extradition issues in that the ICC has absolute jurisdiction over these aspects of international law.It will also serve as a sounding board for enforcing individual and national accountability (Mingst 190). In order to comprehend the effectiveness of international organizations, one must first analyze how liberals and realists view them. Realists are basically state-centered; that is, they believe that states only act to preserve their own self-interests. While they acknowledge that international law has a place in preserving order and the status quo, they also feel that states only comply with international laws because it serves their self-interests to do so (Mingst 191).Order brings benefits; therefore states should comply with imposed order to reap these benefits. For example, it behooves states to f ollow the dictums of maritime law and not invade foreign waters. Conflicts can be costly on an economic, psychological, and military level; therefore, most states abide by international laws to avoid reaping these costs. As for international organizations such as the UN, realists are skeptical. They feel that most of these organizations have more weaknesses than strengths. They aver that the UN has proven unproductive and ineffective.An example of this might be the failure of the UN to enforce the 2003 resolutions against Iraq. In this manner, they claim, international law will only stand to reinforce the powerful states, because the dominant states are the only ones with the means to bring such causes to fruition. The realist belief system is essentially anarchic—they believe that states only cooperate with one another because it is in their self-interests to do so. If they choose to disregard the strictures of international law, they will also do so, particularly if the law in question directly affects their economic or military wellbeing.Realists believe that international organizations and NGOs are completely useless in that they have no means of enforcing their dictums. They cite as examples the failure of the UN during the civil war in Yugoslavia. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the nation of Yugoslavia had no effective arbiter, i. e. the U. S. S. R. , to mediate disputes. Yugoslavia had major fault lines within the country: religious, political, cultural, and historical (Mingst 204). The conflicts that resulted after Russia could no longer control the nation were so ferocious that the world was appalled.Serbian leaders tried to maintain unity in the face of strong opposition from separatist movements from the Slovenian, Croatian, and Bosnia-Herzegovinian nations. Several countries jumped into the fray, supporting one cause or another, but this only served to make the situation worse and emphasized the ideals of Yugoslavia as a divided nation. Both the EU and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) tried to start negotiations, but none could come to a successful conclusion. Fighting broke out among the warring factions in the meantime.At this point, the UN got involved to try to deliver humanitarian aid and establish a peacekeeping force. In the end, no international arbiter was able to settle the conflict, and Yugoslavia ultimately ended in the division of the country into four separate nations: Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Slovenia. In this manner, then, realists assert that this was the ultimate failure of international organizations versus the self-interests of states. The liberal view on international organizations is that human beings will ultimately follow the ideals of right.Therefore, they follow international law because it is morally just to do so. In the liberal mind, all states will benefit from doing what is right and moral, and international organizations represent t he ultimate culmination of this goal of international cooperation. States have general expectations about other states’ behavior (Mingst 190). In a system of mutual cooperation and respect, liberals argue, the system of international law will succeed. They do agree with the realists on one point: the system only works if powerful states become involved.A request for aid or a diplomatic protest from a small or weak nation will most likely be ignored unless the vulnerable nation has a powerful ally. On the plus side of this argument, this type of international hegemony is precisely why treaty organizations and international courts function so well—they keep the large powers in check while protecting the interests of the smaller states. Thus it befits all nations to cooperate on an international level. The United States is not the only party to blame, however. The only nations who seem to take the U. N.completely seriously are the ones who have the least power to affect c hange. The United Nations needs to act more quickly and definitively and not leave the burden of responsibility on the U. S. While our role as the defenders of freedom is one which we have embraced readily in the past, it is not viable for the future. The U. N. and the WTO need to impose harsher penalties for those nations that fail to meet international laws, and the ICC needs more power to punish wrongdoers. In short, we need to stop being an anarchic collection of deviant nations and come together to fight for humanity.This solution sounds simplistic, and is one which we may never realize within our lifetime. It is not an impossible solution, however. The EU was a pipe dream for years. Many of the European nations had resentments and issues that dated back for hundreds of years. What we and the international organizations can do is this: we can find a sustainable global economy and we can find viable solutions to issues that concern all of us. We can review the U. N. Charter and eliminate all outdated and useless language.If this does not work, perhaps forming a new organization might be the key. We could take responsibility for nuclear weapons and finally make a definitive decision concerning their use and misuse. The easiest way to maintain global stability from terrorism would be to create a permanent U. N. army, with all nations represented. The U. N. would then have the military might to go beyond its peacekeeping duties but would be able to stop conflicts before they escalated. Ratification and acknowledgement of the ICC would also be a positive change (simpol. org).If all nations knew that tyrants and terrorists would be punished accordingly and brought to justice it might eliminate the temptation to hide these criminals. John Bunzi of the International Simultaneous Policy Organization believes that these solutions are possible. As he writes, â€Å"The Simultaneous Policy is a peaceful political strategy to democratically drive all the world’ s nations to apply global solutions to global problems, including combating global warming and environmental destruction, regulating economic globalization for the good of all, and delivering social justice, peace and security, and sustainable prosperity† (simpol.org). The relevance to me as the reviewer is that the article allows me to infer my own ideas of human performance and how it can relate to my own business practices. The vacuum system is used too often in organizations and the needs and dilemmas of certain business training, and practices comes into full view as felonious when I read the article. In the article, it mentions that there are positive and negative consequences in the feedback level. If a worker is performing at the top of his or her ability then the company’s response is more work, which they conclude is a positive feedback.Instead of continual delivery of on-time projects, because the worker is being laden with work they stop performing so well b ecause they see that their co-workers are getting paid the same amount as them, but without the extra work. So, the dilemma is that the organization might view certain types of feedback as positive while the worker sees it as negative and thus the feedback affects the performance of their work. I have seen this played out many times in my own business relationships.It shows me that a clear line of communication in the human performance system is integral to the performance of the entire organization. Without clear communication the faults in an organization remain unaddressed in certain training programs and as the authors state, the company does not always know what is ‘broken’, to what extent, what area is at fault (human performance? ), how the performance is lacking in output, and what activity is causing the deficiency. Each of these areas, in my experience, is typically ignored in the business world.No one wants to be assigned blame; so general maneuvers such as t raining programs are instilled as answers to what is wrong, when in fact what is wrong might not even be known. To further examine the tenacity of the aforementioned groups that provided succor to Bosnia certain questions should be research. The first question that needs to be asked is the cons of having an organization come into a country without having full knowledge of the situation; in the case of Bosnia however it was with the media that the world became aware of the genocide and thus, under the strict rules of advocating for human rights, the United States had to step in.In some instances, the predicted behavior or reaction an institute exhibits in a chaotic environment isn’t calculable; this is witnessed repeatedly in the Bosnia conflict as no one organization stepped into the situation of Bosnia until after genocide and after destruction; the political world knew what was about to occur in this realm of the disintegrating Yugoslavian countryside, no political party or nation took responsibility and helped Bosnia. The human capacity for enduring extreme environments is astounding.In the case of Bosnia however, a far less serious outcome may be become of the situation had prescience been used. Even if every level of organization is cooperative to the output deliverance of the institute, the reliance of that output depends on the human element, and that element must not be regarded as capable of extreme high performance of extreme low performance. Thus, when Bosnia effectively asked for help from Europe and the United States they did not expect either to say ‘no’.Questions that should also be raised alongside the general ones presented in this paper in regards to the way in which national organizations have decided to deal with the Bosnia conflict are the benefits the people receive after being released from refugee camps or concentration camps: where will the people go? Who will help them? Each of these questions is relevant when cons idering human endurance in any capacity. The lack of, or the involvement of, these questions can deter a person from achieving their home or even of a company of maintaining in the person the belief that aid came when there was some to offer.In human performance, though the macrocosm is important, there should also be a high degree of microcosm involved in the international environment if the question is about raising acknowledgment in all levels of political policies, and maintaining that performance. Research at this level should yield supporting data to human endurance and further state the fallacy in the vacuum system where communications are lost such as when does Bosnia need help, should they be helped, etc.?Institutions such as NATO and the UN do not work to their highest quality in a vacuum. A vacuum isolates the institute from the people who need their help. In a vacuum setting the assumption of progress being made is linked to training input without any direction to what i s fundamentally wrong with performance. If the organization doesn’t know what is wrong and tries to fix it, then nothing seriously is being accomplished. Also, if the international organization does have a downfall, then to what extent is that downfall hindering performance?An alternative to this vacuum procedure of dealing with pitfalls in the international environment is to view country in need of aid as a priority. There are five points in the performance system when it comes to international politics and state agendas, they are: the institute, input, output, consequence, and feedback. At each level there is an interdependent relationship that allows for a well performing organization. Since the relationships are dependent on each other for high performance the organization must be adaptive.In this adaptive system there are three levels: organization level, process level, and the individual level. To improve an organization and to steer clear from the vacuum effect, an org anization must consider that within the society these levels, and improving performance, depend on whether or not on each level’s problems are being addressed and this begins with the question, it what ways have the international organizations failed? The main strength of the international organization lies in its ability to dissect and expound the idea of fast performance when a country is in need of such swiftness.The organizations, especially the UN exude well thought out plans and deliver the idea of human rights being their number one priority as can be witnessed in their involvement with Bosnia during the crisis years. There are six variables by which the UN, NATO, etc must measure themselves, they are; performance specifications, task interference, consequences, feedback, knowledge/skill, and individual capacity. In this system these points make for a higher quality performance.Another strength of the UN is that it doesn’t parlay the fault of lack of succor on a ny one country entirely but instead they focus on the positive and try and enlist help from other countries instead of bribing other countries, but allows for fault in all parts of the hierarchy in social concern. Both performers and how the UN addresses weakness in the input/output system should be under scrutiny, because the weakness must be dealt with in all parts of the hierarchy in order for the UN to be successful. ConclusionIt may be surmised that Bosnia, though perhaps unavoidable could have been handled in a better international capacity, as such the genocide that was endured could have been side stepped. In fact, the new initial facts that the UN should support itself in political and international quarry as stated above should, chiefly among the idea of working towards stronger and better human rights, include the cooperation of other countries in its venture. The purpose of such an organization is to ensure that something like the genocide in Bosnia is not repeated.Work Cited Cox, Marcus. The Right to Return Home: International Intervention and the Ethnic Cleansing In Bosnia and Herzegovina. The International and Comparative Law Quarterly. Vol. 47, No. 3, pp. 599-631. July 1998. Gutman, Roy. A Witness to Genocide. Macmillan Publishing Company. New York. 1993. Lieber, Robert J. : The Eagle Adrift: American Foreign Policy at the End of the Century. Glenview, Ill. Scott, Foresman, 1998. Mingst, Karen A. Essential Readings in World Politics. New York, NY. WW Norton & Company, 2004.Mingst, Karen A. Essentials of International Relations. New York, NY. WW Norton & Company, 2004. Reiff, David. Slaughterhouse: Bosnia and the Failure of the West. Simon & Schuster. New York. 1995. Slack, Andrew and Roy R. Doyon. Population Dynamics and Susceptibility for Ethnic Conflict: The Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 139-161. March 2001. Walt, Stephen M. International Relations: One World, Many Theories. Foreign Policy, Iss . 110. Pg. 29-45. Spring, 1998. www. simpol. org

Detecting preventing or mitigating DoS or Distributed DoS attacks Research Paper

Detecting preventing or mitigating DoS or Distributed DoS attacks - Research Paper Example This process requires a large network of computers running malicious program. To acquire the network, the attacker uses software that recruits vulnerable computers (Glen, 2013). That is, the computers with improperly patched antivirus, out of date antivirus and without antivirus (FU, 2012). To recruit machines into his/her DDoS attack, the attacker may follow several processes. Firstly, the attacker may use a machine infected with malicious programs to search, find, and infect another machine (Patrikakis, Masikos, & Zouraraki, n.d.). The infected machine joins the previous in the haunt of the unprotected machine and infects them. Secondly, the attacker may create a long list of the machine he/she want to recruit before infecting them with the malicious software to make them join his/her army of attacking computers (Glen, 2013; Patrikakis, Masikos, & Zouraraki, n.d.). Notably, some public servers, when compromised, become effective to the attacker when creating the hit list (Patrikakis, Masikos, & Zouraraki, n.d.). For instance, the attacker may run topological scanning where one machine is infected and finds other machine to infect through url it stores (UMUC, 2012). Local subnet scanning uses a compromised host to attack another computer within its own network without firewall detection as it uses the information stored in the local addresses (UMUC, 2012). Lastly, permutation scanning infects the machines allocated a regular pseudorandom combination record of IP addresses (Patrikakis, Masikos, & Zouraraki, n.d.). It searches for uninfected machine in the IP addresses and infect it. When it identifies the infected machine, it jumps over it to the uninfected (UMUC, 2012). The process stops when the infected machine finds several infected machines while it scans (Patrikakis, Masikos, & Zouraraki, n.d.). There are various frames used in the wireless network as a way of

Research-Based Position as to the Gun Control and Gun Ban Research Paper

-Based Position as to the Gun Control and Gun Ban - Research Paper Example Apparently, the problem lies in agreeing what particular firearms should be included within the assault weapons definition that is being proposed by the federal government for a comprehensive ban. One hereby asserts that the federal government should first assume sole responsibility and jurisdiction for imposing a statewide assault weapons ban, in conjunction with stricter gun control laws to minimize gun-related deaths and injuries. Relevant Statistics and Literature Review In the statistical information presented by Alpers & Wilson (2013), the authors disclosed that there have been alarming increases in gun-related deaths since 2000, as shown in Figure 1. It could be seen that the total number of deaths in 2000 was noted at 28,663 and increased to 32,163 in 2011, representing a 12.21% increase. This number of gun-related deaths clearly happened during times when state-governed gun control legislations were being imposed. Likewise, there are good books that provide accurate informat ion regarding firearm laws in each of the state for the citizens’ awareness (Kappas, 2013). ...1). As such, there was a clear indication that there is a strong link that related higher or stricter gun control laws to the number of firearm-related fatalities. Figure 1: Total Number of Gun-Related Deaths in the United States Source: Alpers & Wilson, 2013 The chart shown below represents the mortality rates related to firearm, the computed strength scores according to the number of legislative laws and gun control enactments, as well as the total number of fire-arm related deaths from a four-year period commencing on 2007 up to 2010. It could be evaluated that the State of Ohio has been noted to have a legislative strength score of quartile 3: from 5 to 8 laws, a mortality rate of from 8.1 to 10.1 per 100,000 population, and a total of 4,431 in firearm-related deaths. The highest number of gun-related deaths were noted coming from the State of Louisiana at 3,318 for the 4-year p eriod and the least legislative strength score of 0 to 2 laws; as well as a mortality rate of 13.1 to 18.0% per 100,000 population (Fleegler, Lee, Monuteaux, Hemenway, & Mannix, 2013). Figure 2: Firearm-related mortality rates, legislative strength scores, and total firearm deaths in the United States, 2007 through 2010.  

Critically evaluate the claim that employee involvement and Essay

Critically evaluate the claim that employee involvement and participation initiatives contribute to increased employee motivation and productivity - Essay Example Employee participation gives an impression of value and power to the employees in the organization. Employee participation and involvement in the matters of enterprises provides maximum benefits to the firm as the employees work more honestly in order to maintain their records in the organization. The terms employee involvement and employee participation were first used in 1970s (Farnham, 1993, p.361). After the introduction of these terms a number of companies adopted employee participation programs which were designed with an aim to create better workplace plans and implement such operational programs which would bring benefits for the firm and the workers. This kind of programs, which are known as managed work panels, action commissions or employee-administrator committees, usually offer a forum in which workers may present suggestions or thoughts to administration relating to workplace topics and get administration reply. Many administrators judge that this sort of worker-employer teamwork is extremely advantageous to both parties and valuable for the corporation itself to participate in a worldwide economy. The employment department carried out a survey of employee involvement programs practiced by 377 British organizations and observed that employee involvement raises with the company size and value of financial involvement plans have raised from 53% in 1988 to 77% in 1991(Farnham and Pimlott,1995,p.421). The survey further tells that most of the companies which were surveyed have a program formed which can help the employees to join them. Employers also play a major role in encouraging the employees to work harder. These days the employers consider it as an important duty to converse with the employees and make the relations as better as possible. They are further forming employee committees which would help the employees to come forward with their problems. These committees help in decreasing the gap between the employers and the workers. This further creates an environment of security amongst the employees and would encourage them to work harder. The employers which emphasize on th e employee morale and relations get the benefits accordingly. These benefits can be in the form of high productivity and good quality. Furthermore the employees would not want to keep a distance from the management if all their demands are being met. Here the employers are also taking the advantage as the risk of strikes and employee co-ordination can be avoided. Employee involvement and participation can be divided in to different forms and hence by using these forms we may conclude if employee involvement and participation initiatives contribute to increased employee motivation and productivity or not. The first form of employee involvement is communication which is considered to be one of the most important methods of catching employees' and employers' attention. Some administrators find it worse to use communication with their employees in order to solve problems. However the CBI concluded that communication, itself, is not responsible for the occurrence of any problem but it is the matter of changing views and approaches. Communication should be used to identify the differences and understand the problems rather than criticizing and creating problems. Employees' involvements in the company using communications motivate