Given the dynamism of today's market and the ever increasing degree of Assignment

Given the dynamism of today's market and the ever increasing degree of competition globally, produce a critical assessment of - Assignment Example In regard specifically to the business sector, the involvement of certain business tools and frameworks in the promotion of globalization seems to be extended. Reference can be made, for example, to the information systems, in all their forms. Information systems are highly related to globalization. Moreover, these systems are likely to be used by business worldwide as a tool for acquiring competitive advantage. The above role of information systems is presented in this paper. The Porter Five Forces model is used for explaining the involvement of information systems in the increase of business competitiveness, both locally and globally. Table of contents Executive Summary 2 1. Introduction 4 2. IT and competitive advantage 4 2.1 Effects of globalization on business – information systems and their relationship to globalization 4 2.2 Business processes and their relationship to information systems 7 2.3 Evaluation of the use of information systems as tools for increasing busines s competitiveness – Porter’s Five Forces model 10 3. Conclusion 12 References 14 Appendix 15 1. Introduction Aligning business processes with organizational objects is one of the most critical challenges that organizational leaders worldwide have to face. On the other hand, business processes are not standardized. Rather, they have to be changed continuously so that they can keep the organizational competitiveness high. Information systems can be considered as a tool that help business processes to achieve the above target. In practice, the use of information systems in organizations has been related to globalization. This view can be considered as justified if taking into consideration the following fact: information systems have been expanded across business activities of all sectors mostly because certain businesses have emphasized on the particular systems. Since the role of information systems in enhancing organizational profits and improving businesses processes has been made clear, the popularity of these systems worldwide has been increased. The relationship between information systems and globalization is examined in this paper. Particular emphasis is given on the potential use of information systems for achieving competitive advantage. It is proved that, indeed, information systems can play such role. However, it is necessary for the involvement of these systems in organizational activities to be carefully planned and monitored, otherwise the relevant plan will be led to a failure, either in the short or the long term. 2. IT and competitive advantage 2.1 Effects of globalization on business – information systems and their relationship to globalization. The high value of information systems for the development of business activities cannot be ignored. In order to understand the involvement of information systems in modern organizations it would be necessary to refer primarily to the effects of globalization on businesses; then, th e role of information systems in supporting business activities could be understood. Modern market is characterized by a ‘global integration’ (Walker 2004, p.171). This means that a firm can survive in the global market only if it is able to strengthen its processes so that they can secure the firm’s competitiveness towards its rivals (Walker 2004, p.171). At the same time, Doole and Lowe (2005) that globalization has set a new challenge for all businesses: instead of trying to keep their existing market position,

Business Law Essay Example for Free

Business Law Essay Introduction Law plays important roles to protect benefits, obligations and bringing fair for everybody in society. This report gives information about tortuous liability, contractual liability, vicarious liability, the tort of negligence and defences. After that, I can determine liability of person who is responsible when violations as well as providing advices for the legal problems in business of VJSC. (3.1) Contrast liability in torts with contractual liability Tortuous liability will be applied when occurs the law violation of civil nature that infringes on the rights and legal interests of others as a legal entity or individual. In addition, the rights and legal interests are not specified in the contract between the parties. Contractual liability is the parties sign in the contract based on satisfy about agreement, negotiation and terms of contract. They are completely voluntary to enter into a contract and having contractual liability each other. The tortuous liability and contractual liability have the same point are violations of the law and suffer liability under civil law. The liable party has responsibility for compensation by payments for any losses from their wrong. Differences: Tortuous liability Contractual liability A law violation of non-contractual damages. Parties related to the violations which they have no contractual relationship with each other even they are strangers. Tort is the basis for generating tortuous liability so the person wronged has responsibility to any persons who are damaged from their behaviour. Cannot measure clearly the damages. Difficult to determine exactly compensation rate so the compensation will be based on the actual extent of damage occurred. A violation of the contents which parties signed in the contract. Parties have a close relationship because they have time for agreements and sign the contract together. If the breach of contract occurs that the person violated have a contractual liability to the other party of the contract. The damages can be quantitative because they are regulated in the contract. The compensation under the liquidated damage that means compensation which determined based on the formula and stipulations that the parties have agreed in the contract. (3.2) Explain the nature of liability in negligence (3.3) Explain how a business can be vicariously liable A human who lives in society must follow the provisions of law is having a duty of care by respecting and protecting the rights and benefit legal of others. Negligence is behaviour which infringes on the rights and legal interests of others. However, these behaviours are not deliberate actions by an individual or entity who did not perform well their reasonable care which bring the consequences of monetary damages or personal injury. To sue a person who violating behaviour of negligence, the claimant need to prove those factors: Defendant owes the claimant a duty of care. Defendant breaches the duty of care. The tort of negligence has to a direct reason that brings damage or loss for the claimant. Vicarious liability is many people who related to damage occurs will have responsibility for the damage by misconduct. In business, the relationship of employer and employee is an important part of vicarious liability because employers will have the strong financial capacity to compensation to the injured party. Therefore, employer will be the main responsible for damage caused by their employee prescribed by law. After that, the employee has to  refund that amount for employer. There are factors to determine vicarious liability between employer and employee: They have a valid relationship employment between employer and employee. Employee implements the tort act in the course of their work that base on the agreement and requirement of employer. Case 1: there are two problems occur. The first problem The VJSC software company engages SP an event management company to coordinate and provide corporate hospitality for event’s clients. Trinh Van is an employee of SP and he installs equipments needed to serve for event in time constraint so he did not completely testing for all equipments. Unfortunately, an explosion happens causing some guest got minor burns and damage to the software. However, Trinh Van had left the company just one week before the event. Explain the liability in negligence and vicariously liable of the first problem. The negligent in this case is Trinh Van did not have fully in checking and testing for those things installed in the event. Thus, Trinh Van had violated the duty of care because with the nature of his work that he has a reasonably foreseeable the damage and consequences. Therefore, Trinh Van also breach duty of care because he did not have fully tested so that two damages caused by the explosion are clients of VJSC got minor burns and damage their software. Although Trinh Van had left SP one week before the event but at the time he performed his work that he still an employee of SP so there was a relationship employment and vicarious liability between Trinh Van and SP. Therefore, SP will have responsibility for damage by explosion and then SP has the right to require Trinh Van refund the amount that SP paid for caused damage of Trinh Van. Follow case Lister and ors Hesley Hall Ltd 2001 (Course book,2010) Children resident of a boarding school sexual abused by warden. Thus, the school was vicariously liable for warden because the nature of this job is supervise students during learning process which  created connection with the acts of abuse. To compliance with regulations of the duty of care that Trinh Van has responsibility to implement regulations about in checking and testing things installed to make sure that do not have any damage is likely to occur for clients as well as any assets in the area of the event. The relationship between SP and VJSC is a contractor to perform the event. However, the damage caused by explosion not only for software but also with some guess of VJSC. Otherwise, VJSC is the main subject of the event and they are an occupiers’ liability in the event so they have to ensure the safe for visitors who enter in the event. Moreover, VJSC has work done by SP as an independent contractor so that they also have vicarious liability for damage of guesses. The second problem. SP hired a SECurity contractor to protect for performing the event. The security staff’s had a specific instruction not to let anyone without an invitation. In case, someone who tries to enter the event without the invitation so the staff should inform to SP who then contact VJSC staff to attend and resolve the problem. However, Van Dao tried to enter into the event during the commotion and he was caught by Truong La who was SECuritys staff. The result was Van Dao injured by violenty of Truong La. Explain the liability in negligence and vicariously liable of the second problem. The regulations of SECurity that if any security guys have problems with people who try to enter without invitation so they should radio a member of SP who then contact VJSC employee to solve that problem. However, Truong La did not follow those regulations of SECurity when Van Dao enter in the event. As a result of Van Dao tried to unlawfully enter in the event during the commotion that he was twisted the arm and threw to the ground by Truong La so he breached the duty of care. Instead of the tort act, Truong La should hold Van Dao to prevent him enter the event and then inform this problem to  member of SP. Truong La had a tort of negligence in work because he has a reasonable foreseeable about damage for his act with Van Dao. Thus, the SECurity company has a liability for damage of Van Dao because Truong La is an employee of SECurity so there was a relationship employment between them. After that, Truong La has a liability to refund the amount that SECurity paid for caused damage of Van Dao. Base on case Lister and ors Hesley Hall Ltd 2001 (Course book, 2010) However, the compensation liability for damage of Van Dao will be reduced because mistake of Van Dao and Truong La were considered as contributory negligence so there are some defences for the tort of Truong La as: Van Dao is a trespasser. Van Dao can also predict there will be damage to himself in trespassing. Van Dao also has mistake for intentional enter in the event.   In this case, even SP hired SECurity company and the relationship between them are contractor but SP is not an occupier of the event. Therefore, SP does not have a various liability with SECurity about the damage of Van Dao. (4.1) Apply the elements of the tort of negligence and defences in the above different business situations for the legal officer who is assigned to VJSC (4.2) Apply the elements of vicarious liability in above different business situations for the legal officer who is assigned to VJSC Bui and Do was to pick Tran Vu up celebrate at petrol kiosk of Vu’s father where Vu works part time because Bui and Do completed of a software project. Suddenly rockets from an organized fireworks display fall into the petrol kiosk and garage forecourt of Vu’s father. It leads to the car of Bui and Do catch fire and two of them escapes but Do was trap short in the car so he felt shock and fainted. In other hand, Vu gets outside the office to save the vintage Vespa as requirement of his father is Tran Cao. However, Vespa was completely destroyed. Apply the element of negligence and defences and vicariously liable Event  organizer will be liable for damage because the duty of care of organising a fireworks display is ensuring that there is no damage about health, safe as well as assets of the other. However, they breached duty of care because the launch mechanism for rocket had wrong assembled by the event organizer but this event was taking place. Causing by the negligence of event organizer’s that leads to rockets from the fireworks event crashed into petrol kiosk and also catch fire to Bui’s car. After that, the fire spread in a short time so the vintage Vespa of Tran Cao was destroyed. In general, the main damage in this case about assets are petrol kiosk, scooter, car and there is no damage about human because Bui and Do escaped from the fire and they just feel a bit sick. We can find out defences for event organizer if they properly installed for the rockets launch mechanism and make sure that there is no mistakes from fireworks process so we can consider that the accident of Bui, Do, Vu and Tran Cao is an unavoidable accident because event organizer cannot be foreseen or predicted by the exercise of ordinary care for this kind of accident. Based on case Stanley and Powell 1891 (Course book,2010) The facts: In a shooting party, Powell fired at a pheasant. Unluckily, the bullet hit on a tree and a pellet glanced off a tree that bring injured for Stanley who are a beater of Powell. Decision: The defendant will not have liable with claimant because this accident is no one can anticipate. However, in the fact of this case that event organiser had not been properly assembled for rocket’s launch mechanism. Therefore, event organiser got mistakes in organizing fireworks process that causes for damage of petrol kiosk, car, scooter and human. In addition, the unavoidable accident just applies to the damage or injury which does not result from negligence. Therefore, we cannot apply defences for event organizer so they will be liable for damage caused by their negligence. To organize a fireworks display that event organizer will has lots employee for implementing. Therefore, with the damage occurred that lead to vicarious  liability between the event organiser and the employee who has responsibility for installation rocket’s launch mechanism because there was a relationship employment between them so the event organizer has a liability for damage caused by their employees. Beside that, Tran Cao told Tran Vu â€Å"take the fire extinguisher, get outside and put the fire out and save the scooter†(Scenario) but Tran Vu cared for the injure of his colleague so the scooter was completely destroyed. In this case Tran Cao is principal and Tran Vu is an agent so between Tran Cao and Tran Vu also exists vicarious liability with the damage of Tran Cao’s Vespa. Therefore, the vicarious liability between Tran Cao and Tran Vu also help the event organizer in reducing liability for damage of scooter because it considered as a contributory negligence from two sides. Follow case Ormrod Crossville Motor Service 1953 (Course book, 2010) A car owner asked a friend to drive his car to Monte Carlo for his work and then they were going to holiday. However, a damage to claimant’s bus occurred by the friend’s negligent driving. In this case, the friend was driving to Monte Carlo is for the car owner’s purpose so he was vicariously liable wi th his friend. Conclusion From this report, we can realize that anyone in society need to have the knowledge about tortuous liability to know the way to solve law problems in life and business activities. Moreover, we also understand the importance of duty of care as well as the unfortunate consequences of non-compliance of duty of care to remind everyone should more carefully when doing anything. References Business essentials – Supporting HNC/HND (2010) London: BPP Learning Media Ltd – Aspects of Contract and Negligence for Business Course book, Introduction to types of tort, chapter 12. Business essentials – Supporting HNC/HND (2010) London: BPP Learning Media Ltd – Aspects of Contract and Negligence for Business Course book, Business and economic tort – Negligence, chapter 13. Business essentials – Supporting HNC/HND (2010) London: BPP Learning Media Ltd – Aspects of Contract and Negligence for Business Course book, Business and economic tort – Occupiers’ liability, chapter 13. Business essentials – Supporting HNC/HND (2010) London: BPP Learning Media Ltd – Aspects of Contract and Negligence for Business Course book, Defences and remedies in tort – Unavoidable accident case Stanley and Powell 1891, chapter 14.

A Study On Space And Time Media Essay

A Study On Space And Time Media Essay The ability of humans to create, change, adapt to and enhance their surroundings, their interactions, and their lifestyle has been an incredible feat throughout mankinds existence. Even ancient inventions such as the wheel or the discovery of fire have propelled humans forward, enabling them to build tremendous, continuously developing infrastructures throughout the world. With these ever-developing infrastructures in place, the rapidity of movement and communication has been constantly increasing. They have effectively shortened the time it takes to cross a certain distance. Time and space are the main factors of being; our movements, daily routines and interactions are entirely based around them. However, with technologies ranging from telegraphic communication to the internet and the mobile phone, time is, in some aspects of social live, not only being shortened but is becoming detached from space itself causing us to reconsider how time and space are actually related to each othe r. The concepts and parameters of time and space are particularly hard to define due to their complexity as Harvey (1989: p.203) states: â€Å"the objective qualities of physical time-space cannot be understood, therefore independently of the qualities of material processes.† We have learned to measure them and therefore have given them a basic characterization, so that there is a certain logical feeling to time and space, a sense of passive control. Without matter, time and space have no importance. Modern existence has revolved around understanding and ultimately decreasing time in order to shorten space. Due to mobility inventions starting with the horse cart and ending with the jet plane, the space we move backwards and forwards in has become compressed, while the measurements of space itself has not changed. Time was until the invention of the clock, hard to pin down. Obviously individuals were able to make out periods of a day (morning, midday, night), but there were no pro per time periods, no sense of timely organization. With the clock, society became more structured. Employees were allocated work hours, social meetings could be allocated to a specific hour in the day and a clear timely division between work time and recreational time was put in place. During the industrialisation and even nowadays, this time control has put an exact time structure for allocated movements in an allocated space. It allowed bureaucratic systems to emerge, with which control and structure was implemented into social live. The clocks effect is immense, possibly just like the internet is having an effect on society in post modern society. Space on the other hand is more straightforward for individuals to perceive. Harvey describes space in a social context as â€Å"‘stations (places where certain activities like working, shopping etc. occur) and ‘domains where certain social interactions prevail† (Harvey, 1989: p.211) However, defining space as station s and domains, could also be seen as an oversimplification of space itself. This definition, as Harvey even states himself â€Å"makes no attempt to understand why certain social relations dominate others, or how meaning gets assigned to places, spaces, history, and time.† (Harvey, 1989: p. 212) This simplification and Harveys contradiction to it, shows that there is more to space than just simple stations or domains. Space is not necessarily easily definable. Space and our perception of it are under constant fluctuation, causing us to observe different spaces different. There are private spaces, public spaces, restricted spaces, spaces controlled by a specific group of people. Time and space are intertwined with our social actions and social statuses. There are two important theories of how time and space relations are changing throughout modernity and post modernity; Giddenss time-space distanciation and Harveys idea of time-space compression. Giddens refers to a development â€Å"which tears space away from place by fostering relations between ‘absent others, locationally distant from any given situation of face-to-face interaction† (Giddens 1990, 18) as well as â€Å"lifting out of social relationships from local contexts of interaction and their restructuring across time and space† (Giddens 1990, 21). Giddens calls this disembedding. This means that time and space distance themselves from each other, furthermore we ourselves are lifted out of time and space in a social and communicative context. The need for a physical space to communicate is becoming less central. Harveys idea of time-space compression on the other hand touches upon the fact that with a globalising world, individuals who live in very dista nt places are able to experience the same things at the same time. In essence, this means that they live in the same space, having the same experiences during the same time period. Harvey thus points out that due to our constant development of new communication technologies; the space we move around in and the way we communicate, becomes compressed because we are able to cover the same distance in less time or in no time at all. Both of these two theories about rethinking time-space relations state the fact that information and communication technological advances are central to creating a world that in all places is synchronized. However, a completely electronically synchronised world is far from becoming an actual reality. How can time and space be understood in a postmodern era, where due to new media technologies time and space have changed? As stated earlier, communication changed due to the emergence of immediate communication. The telegraph has changed the idea and concepts of real time. There no longer was the need for oral communication in the same space, and written communication was replaced by the immediate communication technologies. Written communication, took long periods of time to move from sender to recipient, while the telegraph was able to overcome these time ‘gaps. Capitalism, with its need for ‘speeding up time to thus reducing space to increase production and consumption, media technologies, such as the telephone, television, the mobile phone and ultimately the internet have all caused the diminishment and perception of space further than the telegraph, and increased production and consumption due to its increased outreach without the hindrance of space. Space, as state d before plays an integral role in shaping society, and with it constantly being challenged by new emerging media and technologies, the way we see space changes. In a modern capitalist society, companies, who at first were only capable of reaching people in a confined space, are able to advertise and reach targeted consumers globally. A perfect example of a diminishing space rift is Coca Cola. Due to a globalising world, and the achievement of immediate worldwide communication, they were able to market their product worldwide, produce it worldwide. We no longer perceive a person that lives halfway across the globe unreachable. We are able to communicate with them instantly with the new media mediums being put to use. A good example of this are the call centres based in India, who do not actually cater to the Indian public, but to the British, who often are not even aware of the fact that they are making a call across the globe. This is evidently a space and time reduction. â€Å"Sp ace appears to shrink to a ‘global village of telecommunications and a ‘spaceship earth of economic and ecological interdependencies† (Harvey, 1989: p.240) The more technological advances occur, the more are needed, thus the rate at which they are researched and put to use gradually increases, which also in turn causes time to speed up at the same rate. The capitalistic need of ‘instant noodle products constantly advances. Ultimately the internet, since its emergence has become an extension of our space, and a shortcut through time. The internet has replaced post mail, bulletin boards, shopping catalogues, libraries, video rentals, etc. It has not only replaced all these, it has reduced the time needed to access them and use them. Modern communication has become time based rather than space based. With mobile phones, instant messaging and social networking sites, we no longer have the need for space for communication. Our communication has made space, in a social context, physically redundant. In premodern society on the other hand, the need for space was vital for communication, due to the lack of communication technologies. Space and time in that case were equally important. Here it must be understood, that space itself is a hurdle that has to be overcome in order for human interaction to take place. Surveillance and new media technologies are closely interlinked. This idea touches upon Foucaults panopticon, where prisoners, workers, schoolchildren etc. are able to be watched and surveyed from a single point. The idea of this social control has taken a new turn. Society can now be under constant observance, CCTVs and other monitoring devices can be installed anywhere in a country or even abroad, and can be immediately be viewed hundreds of kilometres away. Thus the idea of social control in coordination with time and space has changed as well. Are the virtual spaces that we have created the same space as we occupy? Considering that these virtual spaces are not actually physical. We know that the space we occupy physically exists, because of our ability to sense (hearing, smell, touch, sight and taste). Social movements and interaction, has until recently been entirely confined to this ‘space. With the emergence of the electronic virtual space, we have created a dimension which we cannot touch or smell. However, we are able to see and hear it. We are able to use this virtual space from the space that we occupy. We create avatars, to represent ourselves in this virtual space. Or is this virtual space, actually part of our space? Has it caused us to understand time and space differently? While we cannot be physically present on the internet, we have used it to extend and at the same time change our social space. The internet, as well as other electronic media, changes our social surroundings. We no longer have to meet a friend, colleague or family member in a physical space; due to the internet we have the ability to not change our spatial location, but can simply contact them via social networking sites, instant messaging software or other internet or telecommunication based means. Furthermore, touching upon capitalism again, in reference to the internet, consumption is changing. The internet enables us to shop, without moving further than our doorstep to pick up a parcel delivery. We can order any item imaginable, ranging from groceries to electronics to cars to land. We can buy them directly from retailers or take part in auctions on eBay. Giddens asks the question â€Å"Why is the separation of time and space so crucial to the extreme dynamism of modernity?†(Giddens, 1990: p.20) Giddens then proceeds to answer the question and argues that the separation of time and space is the â€Å"prime condition of disembedding† (Giddens, 1990:p.20). Disembedding is not only the removal of individuals from the boundaries of time and space, but also the disembedding of entire institutions. This shows that time-space distanciation happens on a much larger scale. It is not only the communication between single individuals, but the communication of entire companies, institutions, and even entire countries. The disembedding that Giddens mentions, is the product of new media technologies. Furthermore, this affects the basis of contemporary social life. The societies we live in nowadays are highly globalised. This is not only due to the fact that people of different origins live in the same country, but that people can by t he click of a button, order products, programs, or receive information on and from any other country. The relations between time and space, has definitely changed with every communicative technology. Due to new media technologies such as the internet and the mobile phone, we are now able to communicate without having to be in a designated space. We can be in the most public of places, yet be able to talk to someone that was not even in that area. The internet allows us to receive information, communicate with literally anyone instantly, no matter where they are without having to be physically present. It has enabled the emergence of multinational corporations, the intertwining of cultures. Time and spaces relation however, has always been under constant change and will continue to change with every technological advancement we make.

Asian-Pacific Markets Essay -- Economy, Emerging Market

Asian-Pacific markets have been enjoying an extremely favorable economic climate generated by high global liquidity over the past three years. In 2006, for example, the excess of liquidity and the overall positive economic performance of these countries led to the lowest sovereign spreads in history falling below 200 basis points, as shown in Exhibit 1. Among the mechanisms contributing to this process are: 1) the low interest rates in mature markets (the U.S., the U.K., Europe, and Japan), until recently declining due to the burst of the dotcom bubble in 2000; 2) the steep yield curve, providing incentives for carrying leveraged positions; and 3) the low long- term interest rates in the U.S. relative to the country’s economic growth rate. The overall liquidity, together with the reduction on risk perception that it creates, have encouraged global institutional investors to take strategic positions in Asian-Pacific markets, thus narrowing the spreads even more. Furthermore, the average credit classification provided by international rating agencies for the countries composing the EMBI+ has gone up to the highest level ever (Ba1/BB+ as of September 2006), expanding the base of investors even more. This scenario has allowed Asian-Pacific economies to finance their debt via local currency issues in the domestic and foreign markets, thus allowing them to improve the composition of their public debt by extending its maturity profile, reducing the proportion denominated in foreign currency and accumulating reserves. Nevertheless, the crucial issue for Asian-Pacific markets is whether the current level of sovereign spreads is sustainable in the face a potential reversal of cyclical factors, such as those involving liquidity, ch... ... the dependent variable (interest rate), a common approach for determining sovereign spreads that significantly raises the coefficient of fit (R2 ). Third, the model uses macroeconomic fundamentals and gover- nance indicators specific to each country as explanatory variables, instead of proxies for repayment capacity. These proxies, generally ratings or other holistic constructs, are usually subject to criticism regarding the methodology for scale conversion or their ability to predict currency crises in Asian-Pacific economies.5 Furthermore, the proposed model analyzes the country-specific vulnerability (sensitivity) to a global risk shock. Such elasticities are further decomposed into eco- nomic fundamentals and governance indicators, with the objective of assessing whether, and to what extent, country vulnerability can be mitigated by improving such variables.

Private and Public Notes of a Native Son Essay -- James Baldwin

The Private and Public Notes of a Native Son The middle of the twentieth century saw the height of the civil rights struggle of African Americans. Amid this tumultuous era rose up a generation of prominent African American writers, and among them was James Baldwin. In â€Å"Notes of a Native Son,† an essay that he wrote more than a decade after his father died, Baldwin recalls and reflects on his troubled interaction with his father, a man whom he has hated all his life. His vivid narration of his father and his personal encounters around the time his father died reveals the evolution of his view on the racial issues in America. Baldwin extensively draws on his past experience as an embodiment of the public experience shared by many other people to make a strong case for his argument. James Baldwin never fails to express his disgust for his father. Not far into the essay, he reminds the reader of the two race riots in 1943, and he mockingly describes this state of instability and social discontent that coincided his father’s death as â€Å"a corrective for the pride of his eldest son† (63). According to Baldwin, not only did his father always fail to establish contact with people, including his children, he attempted to keep his children from contact with the outside world. He forbid his children to play Louis Armstrong’s records, distrusted all white people, and constantly associated his children’s friends with the devil. Although he had good intentions, he never managed to convert them into pleasing deeds, and he, in Baldwin’s own words, â€Å"treated almost everybody on our block with a most charitable asperity† (67). Baldwin’s mental image of his father is little short than that of a tyrant. This com parison is ... ...hich, in his case, were his dead father and his new born sister. To believe in unimportant things such as skin color will only led to one’s destruction, because, as he comments, â€Å"hatred, which could destroy so much, never failed to destroy the man who hated.† (84). He maintains that accepting things as they are while at the same fighting with one’s full strength against injustice are two conflict ideas that one has to hold in mind. Baldwin does not intend to teach his moral discovery to the reader as an absolute truth. In fact, he concedes that he too has questions that the future will answer. However, supported by his narration and analysis of his private and the public experiences, he makes a strong argument. Works Cited Baldwin, James. â€Å"Notes of a Native Son.† 1995. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1998. 63-84.

Deception Point Page 63

â€Å"Obviously, this is devastating for the senator,† the analyst was saying. â€Å"The President and NASA have claimed an incalculable triumph with this discovery. News like this would revitalize the President's campaign regardless of Sexton's position on NASA, but with Sexton's admission today that he would go so far as to abolish NASA funding outright if need be†¦ well, this presidential announcement is a one-two punch from which the senator will not recover.† I was tricked, Sexton said. The White House fucking set me up. The analyst was smiling now. â€Å"All of the credibility NASA has lost with Americans recently has just been restored in spades. There's a real feeling of national pride out there on the streets right now.† â€Å"As there should be. They love Zach Herney, and they were losing faith. You've got to admit, the President was lying down and took some pretty big hits recently, but he's come out of it smelling like a rose.† Sexton thought of the CNN debate that afternoon and hung his head, thinking he might be sick to his stomach. All of the NASA inertia he had so carefully built up over the last months had not only come to a screeching halt, but it had become an anchor around his neck. He looked like a fool. He'd been brazenly played by the White House. He was already dreading all the cartoons in tomorrow's paper. His name would be the punch line to every joke in the country. Obviously, there would be no more quiet SFF campaign funding. Everything had changed. All of the men who had been in his apartment had just seen their dreams go down the toilet. The privatization of space had just struck a brick wall. Taking another hit of cognac, the senator stood up and walked unevenly to his desk. He gazed down at the unhooked phone receiver. Knowing it was an act of masochistic self-flagellation, he slowly replaced the phone receiver in its cradle and began counting the seconds. One†¦ two†¦ The phone rang. He let the machine pick up. â€Å"Senator Sexton, Judy Oliver from CNN. I'd like to give you an opportunity to react to the NASA discovery this evening. Please call me.† She hung up. Sexton started counting again. One†¦ The phone started ringing. He ignored it, letting the machine get it. Another reporter. Holding his bottle of Courvoisier, Sexton wandered toward the sliding door of his balcony. He pulled it aside and stepped out into the cool air. Leaning against the railing, he gazed out across town to the illuminated facade of the White House in the distance. The lights seemed to twinkle gleefully in the wind. Bastards, he thought. For centuries we've been looking for proof of life in the heavens. Now we find it in the same fucking year as my election? This wasn't propitious, this was goddamned clairvoyant. Every apartment window for as far as Sexton could see had a television on. Sexton wondered where Gabrielle Ashe was tonight. This was all her fault. She'd fed him NASA failure after NASA failure. He raised the bottle to take another swig. Goddamned Gabrielle†¦ she's the reason I'm in this so deep. Across town, standing amid the chaos of the ABC production room, Gabrielle Ashe felt numb. The President's announcement had come out of left field, leaving her suspended in a semicatatonic haze. She stood, lock-kneed in the center of the production room floor, staring up at one of the television monitors while pandemonium raged around her. The initial seconds of the announcement had brought dead silence to the newsroom floor. It had lasted only moments before the place erupted into a deafening carnival of scrambling reporters. These people were professionals. They had no time for personal reflection. There would be time for that after the work was done. At the moment, the world wanted to know more, and ABC had to provide it. This story had everything-science, history, political drama-an emotional mother lode. Nobody in the media was sleeping tonight. â€Å"Gabs?† Yolanda's voice was sympathetic. â€Å"Let's get you back into my office before someone realizes who you are and starts grilling you on what this means for Sexton's campaign.† Gabrielle felt herself guided through a haze into Yolanda's glass-walled office. Yolanda sat her down and handed her a glass of water. She tried to force a smile. â€Å"Look on the bright side, Gabs. Your candidate's campaign is fucked, but at least you're not.† â€Å"Thanks. Terrific.† Yolanda's tone turned serious. â€Å"Gabrielle, I know you feel like shit. Your candidate just got hit by a Mack truck, and if you ask me, he's not getting up. At least not in time to turn this thing around. But at least nobody's splashing your picture all over the television. Seriously. This is good news. Herney won't need a sex scandal now. He's looking far too presidential right now to talk sex.† It seemed a small consolation to Gabrielle. â€Å"As for Tench's allegations of Sexton's illegal campaign finance†¦ † Yolanda shook her head. â€Å"I have my doubts. Granted, Herney is serious about no negative campaigning. And granted, a bribery investigation would be bad for the country. But is Herney really so patriotic that he would forgo a chance to crush his opposition, simply to protect national morale? My guess is Tench stretched the truth about Sexton's finances in an effort to scare. She gambled, hoping you'd jump ship and give the President a free sex scandal. And you've got to admit, Gabs, tonight would have been a hell of a night for Sexton's morals to come into question!† Gabrielle nodded vaguely. A sex scandal would have been a one-two punch from which Sexton's career never would have recovered†¦ ever. â€Å"You outlasted her, Gabs. Marjorie Tench went fishing, but you didn't bite. You're home free. There'll be other elections.† Gabrielle nodded vaguely, unsure what to believe anymore. â€Å"You've got to admit,† Yolanda said, â€Å"the White House played Sexton brilliantly-luring him down the NASA path, getting him to commit, coaxing him to put all his eggs in the NASA basket.† Totally my fault, Gabrielle thought. â€Å"And this announcement we just watched, my God, it was genius! The importance of the discovery entirely aside, the production values were brilliant. Live feeds from the Arctic? A Michael Tolland documentary? Good God, how can you compete? Zach Herney nailed it tonight. There's a reason the guy is President.† And will be for another four years†¦ â€Å"I've got to get back to work, Gabs,† Yolanda said. â€Å"You sit right there as long as you want. Get your feet under you.† Yolanda headed out the door. â€Å"Hon, I'll check back in a few minutes.† Alone now, Gabrielle sipped her water, but it tasted foul. Everything did. It's all my fault, she thought, trying to ease her conscience by reminding herself of all the glum NASA press conferences of the past year-the space station setbacks, the postponement of the X-33, all the failed Mars probes, continuous budget bailouts. Gabrielle wondered what she could have done differently. Nothing, she told herself. You did everything right. It had simply backfired. 74 The thundering navy SeaHawk chopper had been scrambled under a covert operation status out of Thule Air Force Base in northern Greenland. It stayed low, out of radar range, as it shot through the gale winds across seventy miles of open sea. Then, executing the bizarre orders they had been given, the pilots fought the wind and brought the craft to a hover above a pre-ordained set of coordinates on the empty ocean. â€Å"Where's the rendezvous?† the copilot yelled, confused. They had been told to bring a chopper with a rescue winch, so he anticipated a search-and-retrieve operation. â€Å"You sure these are the right coordinates?† He scanned the choppy seas with a searchlight, but there was nothing below them except-

Hw assignment revised Essay

Culture includes everything about a particular group’s way of life; from high art to the most ordinary behavior (what we eat for breakfast, for example). It is defined as the manner of life for a whole society and the sum of socially transmitted behavioral patterns and can be classified into values, norms, institutions and artifacts. The set of distinctive features of a society or a social group, which includes emotional, spiritual and intellectual, can be called as culture. It encompasses the community’s ways of existing together, its value systems, customs and ideals. Everything we do, from our food to our behavior can be considered as culture. From the essay, â€Å"From Culture to Hegemony, culture is defined as the norm of life. Barthes who used the model of linguist de Saussure, sought to uncover the latent meanings of the norms. He tried it from boxing to little things. Transmission of culture is done through language, material objects, customs, institutions, and art, passed from one generation to another generation. Usually, this transmission remains intact and â€Å"pure†; however, when foreign influences set in either through cultural diffusion and/or assimilation, naturally, the native culture will have become irreparably modified. In â€Å"From a Native Daughter†, Haunaini-Kay Trask, bemoans the rape of her native lands culture. How the haole invaded their land and proceeded to change their history. For her historians like the missionaries from whom she had her education, were a part of then colonizing horde, one part colonized the spirit and the other the mind. She believed that any outsider were to understand them, one should first know their language, their songs, their chants, their customs, and their bond with the ‘aina (the land). She said, â€Å"This bond is cultural, it can only be understood culturally†¦Ã¢â‚¬  IDEOLOGY: Ideology includes the underlying ideas that shape culture. These ideas are often what we take for granted, i. e. they are unconscious. For example, the idea that success is gained through going to college and getting a high paying job seems so obvious as to be truth. However, it is part of an ideology. A trick in identifying ideologies is to look for undefined terms in a statement. What does â€Å"success† mean and where did that meaning come from? Ideology is the organized collection of underlying ideas that shape the culture. Being unconscious, they are often taken for granted. They are abstract thoughts applied to reality and every society has an ideology on which they base their actions on. From Marx’s Ideology as quoted in Subculture: the meaning of Style by Dick Hebdidge, ideology is defined as a set of common beliefs that lie beneath the awareness commonly known as â€Å"common sense†. This common sense, although transparently, validates ideas. These taken for granted phenomena can function as signs, which in turn, will reflect the reality of the culture and can be analyzed through mapping them on a range of potential meanings. Power and class are parameters which extends and vary ideology thus making it achievable to have different levels of divided labor. Our education system is the one who is responsible in instilling the ideology into the individuals of the society. In other words, the ideologies are maps of probable meanings which serve to have persons think their way into positions of power or subordination. HEGEMONY: A form of power usually built on ideologies. Instead of bullying (i. e. using coercion) to get your way, it’s easier and more sustainable to make your victim believe that your way is the right way. For example, car makers don’t have to force us to buy new cars at gunpoint; it’s easier to make us think that getting a new car every couple of years is simply what one does. The underlying ideology might be that newness equals human progress. Hegemony is the subtle almost undetected authority of one individual over another and/or one group of people over another group. This dominance however doesn’t use threats or force. Naturally, the dominant party in our society has their advantages. For example, a dominant party can dictate the terms of trade to its advantage. Moreover, our cultural perspectives became in favor of the dominant group. It controls the way ideas are discarded or neutralized. It happens in a process where hegemony alters our notions of common sense of a given society. According to the Gramsci, hegemony is the association of social groups exerting total social authority through coercion, imposition of thought or shaping consent. Familiar examples of this include the selling of cars where you coerce your buyers to buy because it is only right that you get yourself a car and thinking that it is simply what one does after a few years of using an old car. It may also because of the ideology that’s behind it is that a new car means an improvement in your lifestyle. Hall is also quoted in Subculture: the meaning of style, in the chapter, From Culture to Hegemony, Hall (1977) was cited saying, â€Å"hegemony refers to the situation in which a provisional alliance of a certain social group exerts total social authority over other subordinate groups not only through coercion or by the direct imposition of ruling ideas but by winning and shaping consent so that the power of the dominating class appears to be legitimate and natural†¦ â€Å" DEFAMILIARIZATION: Lastly, defamiliarization, also called â€Å"ostanenie† is a method of forcing the audience to see common things in an unfamiliar way. It is done in order to improve the insight of the familiar. Religion is a tried and tested way of bringing order to a world of chaotic events. In the article, World View and the Analysis of Sacred Symbols, from the Antioch Review by Clifford Geertz wherein he describes how religion is composed of sets of symbols that are in turn composed of meanings that can only be stored in the symbols. He says that a people’s ethos is the way they dress or their movements and the way they talk. In general it is the quality of their lives while the world view is the cognitive aspect reflects how the people view the natural order of things as they are found in their world. All of these things are in some way or another affected by the religion of the people. Geertz considers the wajang as the clearest illustration of the relationship between the metaphysical (i. e. religion, belief etc†¦) and the people of Java’s actual values. The wajang is the ritual shadow play using puppets that usually lasts all night and well into the early morning. The gamelan is the director musician and storyteller all in one. The most famous characters in the wajang are the Pendawas and the Korawas, and their endless wars. The Pendawas represent the five senses that must always work together to come up with just and good decisions. They represent calm detachment from the everyday events of life which is the way these myths are interpreted and translated into the actual culture that is in the peoples of Java. The Korawas on the other hand represent passion and indiscretion. They are the representative icons that depict the capacity of religion not only to set the standards of ideal living but also delineate the workings of evil and destruction. Just like the Navajo looks at everything that is good and productive as in the form of a circle and thus evokes the circle in everything they do, so does the Javanese in their quest to detach themselves from the passions of everyday life to transcend into inner serenity and peace. Their world views affect their ethos and in turn dictate how they view their reality and consequently how they react to it. The concept of defamiliarization as defined above is also effectively illustrated in the article by George Orwell, Shooting an Elephant. In this article he tells the readers how he had to kill the elephant not because he had to do it to save the people, or because it is truly a danger, in spite of it having killed a â€Å"coolie†, he says that he killed the animal to save himself from looking like a fool it is expected of him to not be afraid, to be consistent (and thus consistent in his initial impulse to kill the elephant). His nationality and the empire he represents have created such a concept that as a member of the empire he is expected to conform to. Thus his actions no matter how mundane and ordinary they are will not have correspondingly simple interpretations at least as far as the natives are concerned.