Global Strategic Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Global Strategic Management - Assignment Example The latter entails using similar and confusing trademarks or service marks on a similar, not fake, product or service. Counterfeit goods are sold around the world. However, the vice is more prevalent in developing countries where it is relatively cheaper to produce a product (Sullivan & Chermak, 2013). For instance, Taiwan and China in Asia are exceptionally prone to counterfeiting. The practice is also found in developed economies, albeit to a lesser degree. Counterfeiting is not only illegal, but also unethical. It is unethical because it involves profiting from another person’s sweat, so to speak. The producers of counterfeit goods are not prepared to introduce their brands and grow them. Instead, they cut corners and try to profit from established brands behind the backs of their owners. The world over, business organizations adopt a variety of measures to address counterfeiting. These can be business, legal or technological. An example of a legal measure is an organization registering their trademarks. Today, it is common for large multinational corporations to have the various components of their manufactured in different jurisdictions then ship them to the assembly plant. Usually, this mode of operation is designed to take advantage of the advantages that various jurisdictions have to offer. For example, a manufacturer of smartphones located in Singapore may have their battery manufacturing plant situated in Finland. Under these circumstances, the smartphone manufacturer will do well to have all their trademarks registered in all the jurisdictions where parts of the smartphone are made. This is in addition to registering those trademarks in all the countries where the finished phones are sold. Some of the business measures that organizations take to combat counterfeiting include creating and maintaining an anti-counterfeiting department (Spink & Fejes, 2012). The key role of the department to initiate and implement measures to prevent the

Week 5 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Week 5 - Assignment Example The Learning Team had found that the initial ethics program that had been implemented by the company for over a year had lacked major factors that are needed for the proper upbringing of the ethics practiced within the company. The previous ethics program did not take into consideration the checking up on the rest of the staff that were working under the supervisors and managers. Studies have shown that training classes that are aimed at all of the employees in a company are the best teachers with regard to ethical behavior and meeting the expectations of the company’s top officers (Hadden, 2009). Proper enforcement of the company policies are also in need of improvement as a number of employees take for granted the lack of discipline that is given to them by the managers and supervisors. Seeing the changes that need to be made in order to improve the company, the Learning Team suggests the following in order to address the needed changes in the Ethics program within the company: gaining proper feedbacks from company employees and ethical training for employees. In order to address to the training for the employees at hand, studies have shown that a role playing type of company training would help employees interact more with one another and build rapport with one another. Proper ethics training would prove to create a good amount of accountability and would result to an environment that workers would make the right decisions in terms of ethics and thus include the maintenance of a highly productive work environment for them to stay in (Hadden, 2009). In order to get results on the implementation of the new set of company policies on the employees, rewarding systems are one way of catching the attention of the employee but instead of the reward, per se, attracting the employee, the work that comes from the reward would be something they would strive for more.

On First Looking Into Chapmans Homer

On First Looking Into Chapmans Homer John Keats On First Looking into Chapmans Homer is a sonnet in which he writes of the impact of reading Chapmans translation of Homer. Reading Chapmans Homer did more than spark Keats intellect. Chapmans Homer caused a massive explosion in Keats mind which allowed him to write as John Middleton Murray says one of the finest sonnets in the English language (Murray). In this paper I will show that Keats writes the poem On First Looking into Chapmans Homer after he had an epiphany as a result of reading Chapmans translation of Homer. George Chapman was an English poet, dramatist, and translator during the Renaissance. He is most remembered as the poet who translated the works of Homer. He was born in Hitchin around 1559. Chapman died in poverty in 1634, but left a wealthy estate of writing for all to inherit. John Keats, born in 1795, was an English Poet. He published three books of poetry. Keats lost both parents at a very young age. Keats was not born into aristocracy, he was not rich, and therefore was not very well educated. Most critics did not consider Keats to be credible poet. Because he was poor he could not marry the woman he loved and only achieved fame after his death in 1821. Andrew Motion of the Richmond Review writes: The story of John Keats is one of the best known lives in literary history. His working class origins, poor critical reception and tragically early death constitute a perfect blueprint for a popular archetype of the Romantic Poet (Motion). The poem On Looking into Chapmans Homer was written after Keats and his friend Charles Cowden Clarke was given a copy of Chapmans Homer. Michael R. Richards states: Keatss sonnet is a criticism in miniature, a capsulated criticism very much in tune with almost all the Romantic critics (Richards). Evidently, Keats used the poem as a vehicle to reveal the hidden treasure of literary wealth regarding Homer and his literary works that was not mimed by Pope. Keats uses the Italian (Sonnet) or Petrarchan form of the sonnet to structure his poem. The octet, which is the first eight lines of the poem, carries an abba abba rhyme scheme. The next six lines of the poem, the sestet, have a rhyme scheme of cdcdcd. As expected, line 9 of the poem introduces a change in the poem, formally known as a Volta, commonly called a turn. In the octet, Keats speaks of travels he experienced vicariously through his reading. Keats vivid imagination allows him to enter into the pages of the books and the words were as sparks causing his intellect to catch fire. In concert with the theme of Petrarchan sonnets, Keats uses the octet to introduce the problem when he writes: Oft of one wide expanse had I been told / That deep-browd Homer ruled as his demesne / Yet did I never breathe its pure serene / Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold. (5-8) First, it is fitting to look at the words used in the poem. Keats uses language that depicts expansive travel, major discovery, and an enriching sense of satisfaction. Using words like much, states, kingdoms, many, and islands, he successfully communicates that his travel was plentiful and varied. Next, he intimates discovery by alluding to astrologers finding new planets, and the imagery of Cortez first seeing the Pacific Ocean. Keats encapsulates the fact that he had heard of Homer and the euphoria of the vast impact of the newly acquired insight by declaring: Yet did I never breathe its pure serene / Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold / Then felt I like some watcher of the skies / when a new planet swims into his ken/ or like Stout Cortez when with eagle eyes / he stard at the Pacific. (6-11) Keats reading experiences in general, and more his specifically, reading of Chapmans Homer was so prolific, that he could only describe it in the sestet with metaphors and similes that bespeak grandeur of expanse, height and depth. The overarching metaphor is reading presented as travel. Hiliary S. Brautigam, in her essay, Controlled Passion writes: Keats dramatically establishes the narrative with the arresting first line, drawing the reader into the overarching metaphor that encompasses the poem (Bressler). A surface reading of the poem misleads the reader into believing that Keats is a man who has travelled to many places. Keats writes: Much have I travelld in the realms of gold / And many goodly states and kingdoms seen. / Round many western islands have been / Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold. (1-4) A closer inspection of the poem reveals that the word much quantifies travel that was done figuratively and not literally. So in this instance there is a twist of irony and there is also the masterful use of binary opposition whereby much is less in terms of Keats actual travel, but it is volumes in terms of travel through reading. The same mastery holds true for the concept of travel. As defined by Dictionary.Com to travel is: to move or go from one place or point to another(Dictionary.com). Denotatively, the word travel means moving between physical spaces; however, in Keats case, travel is not between physical spaces, but is over miles on mental projection. While Keats hero, Homer, though blind, travelled extensively, the vast majority of Keats travel was in the space of his reading. The further use of simile and metaphor makes an excellent segue for Keats use of imagery. Keats writes: Then felt I like some watcher of the skies / When a new planet swims into his ken / Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes / He stard at the Pacific and all his men (9-12). The simile watcher of the skies speaks of people who studied the science of astronomy. In the historical context, watchers of the skies or, astrologers are people who studied the skies. According to Chris Lawton, From around 3000 BC onwards, astronomy in its most primitive form had developed (Lawton). In the religious context, watchers of the skies were called Egyptian Magi, wise men, who were able to look at the skies and gain the knowledge and wisdom to predict events. The religious value of Magi can be found throughout the Holy Bible. For example, Matthew, in Matthew 2:1, 7 writes: Now when Jesus was born à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem Then Herod à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared (Matthew). Thus, Keats pronouncement that he felt like a watcher of the skies strongly implies the degree of wonder and amazement he felt when reading Chapmans translation of Homer. It was, for Keats, as though he became aware of a celestial event. Interestingly, the title of the poem On First Looking into Chapmans Homer the emphasis on Chapmans Homer alludes to the fact that Keats was aware of the interpretation of Homer as translated by the English Poet, Alexander Pope. Michael Richards writes: Keats had been previously acquainted with Homer, only through Popes translations, translations that Keats found artificial (Richards). Further, Richards claims: The Romantics criticisms of Pope and Chapman agreed with Keats in that it condemns the flaccidity, the polluted poetic diction, and the artificiality of Popes translation and praised the strength, purity, and originality of Chapmans (Richards). Until Keats read the translation by George Chapman, there was no awakening in him. Furthermore, the use of the word looking in the title employs irony and imagery masterfully. According to Dictionary.Com: look may be defined as: to investigate; to see (Dictionary.Com). It is fair to conclude that Keats reading and understanding of Chapmans Homer was so thorough that Keats could see by visualization the events, places, and people in Chapmans translation. In addition, the overarching themes of travel and discovery may very well be complimented by a theme of enlightenment or awakening. Through a theme of enlightenment or awakening, it may be argued that when Keats read Chapmans Homer, it was not the first time that Keats had heard of Homer; however, it was the first time that the life, legacy, and literary contributions of Homer united with the literary experiences and convictions of Keats, giving birth to a synergistic awakening which unleashed Keats creativity. Keats declaration of hearing Chapman speak out loud and bold is the climatic moment when he felt and understood the power of Chapmans translation. Keats believes that Chapman illuminated Homer better than any other poet. The Sestet of the poem shows an overpowering word picture. There is a picture of bewildering excitement, star-struck awe, and fulfilling silence, much like a lover anticipating a climax, then experiencing the climax, and after the climax, falling into a breathless, trance-like fulfilled silence. Keats writes: Then felt I like some watcher of the skies / When a new planet swims into his ken; / Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes / He stard at the Pacificand all his men Lookd at each other with a wild surmise / Silent, upon a peak in Darien. (9-14) As is expected of Italian Sonnets, there is a clear denouement in the sestet. The depictions of Cortez as stout and eagle-eyed are additional and effective uses of simile and metaphor that enhances the imagery. The word stout commonly evokes physical images of being hefty, round, bulky or fat. But, coupled with the expression eagle-eye, it most likely identifies with this interpretation as defined by Dictionary.Com: having endurance or staying power (Dictionary.com). It is a widely known fact that the vision of eagles is superior to that of humans. While lauding the superior vision of Cortez to identify the Pacific Ocean, Keats also shows the precision with which he scoured Chapmans interpretation. Thus, by combining stout with eagle-eye, the poem highlights the strength, stamina and precision of not only Cortez but also that of Keats. The allusions to strength and stamina bolsters Keats strong use of metaphors, simile, and imagery. The strength of these literary elements is testament to Keats belief that Chapmans Homer is superior to that of Popes. In the poe m, Keats atttributes the discovery of the Pacific Ocean to Cortez and not Balboa. It is not clear whether Keatss attribution was as a result of a careless scholastic approach, or, whether the attribution was as a result of the deliberate use of poetic conceit which is using extended metaphors to create an image. What is crystal clear though, is the fact that with diction, imagery, the use metaphor and simile, and the application of binary oppositions and irony, Keats allows the reader to envision how he felt when the life and works of Homer as offered by Chapman touched his pysche. The impact of Chapmans Homer complimented Keats historical, social and political perspectives. In October 1816 during the Romanic Era Keats penned On First Looking into Chapmans Homer. As was fitting during the Romantic Era, Keats glorified Homer in the poem. Of course, in the neoclassic era, Homers individual heroism would be frowned upon, since neoclassics preferred people who conformed to social norms. Like Homer, Keats elevates the art of using metaphors. Again, Like Homer, Keats also combines the art of using simile and metaphor to bring to life a literary work that might otherwise be mundane. Here is a comparison of how Homer and Keats combined similes and metaphors. Homer writes: The two immortals stepped briskly as wild doves, quivering, keen to defend the fighting men of Argos. (Fagles) Keats writes: Then felt I like some watcher of the skies / When a new planet swims into his ken (9-10). It is evident that Keats discovered the value of Homers use of metaphors and immediately made use of this powerful literary tool. In summation, I submit that Keats ability as a poet and his understanding of the purpose and elements of Poetry, in particular, imagery, simile and metaphors were awakened by Chapman because Chapman captured the essence of using similes, metaphors, and imagery and gave life to writing about Homer. Apparently, after observing Chapmans use of metaphor and gaining a deeper understanding of the power of the use of metaphor and simile, Keats appreciation for them as literary elements grew. Based on his newfound understanding, it is possible to assert that Keats view of Homer, as seen through the scope of Popes translation appeared tumultuous. However, Chapmans translation depicted a much clearer view of a man whose territory is serene. Chapmans translation was the catalyst for Keats climatic epiphany. Keats was able to clearly articulate how he felt before reading Chapmans Homer and how he felt after reading Chapmans Homer. The excitement felt by Keats as he discovered new truths about Ho mer and his work, is one that is shared and should be shared by any person seeking higher learner. John Keats so brilliantly and effectively conveyed the emotions he felt as he uncovered the dynamics of Homer that readers of the poem are drawn into the excitement of travel and discovery metaphorically. The imagery of Keats first as a poet who is reading for knowledge, then as an astronomer gazing into new truths, and finally as a explorer realizing that he had discovered a new world of literary skill was very vivid. The impact of Keatss discovery fueled him to demonstrate the skill and document the experience. As a result future students, poets, writers, translators, interpreters, and lovers of the literary world have a good specimen of the effectiveness of imagery, simile, and metaphor. The words of Keats following below are a fitting conclusion to his discovery of power of the metaphor. Keats writes: Oft of one wide expanse had I been told / That deep-browd Homer ruled as his deme sne / Yet did I never breathe its pure serene / Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold. WORK CITED Bressler, Charles E. Literary Criticism. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson, Prentice Hall, 2007. Dictionary.com. 10 July 2010 . Dictionary.com. 15 July 2010 . Dictionary.com. 19 July 2010 . Fagles. Think Quest .Org. 10 July 2010 . Lawton, Chris. tcp.co.uk. 5 July 2010 . Matthew.Blue Letter Bible. 8 July 2010 Motion, Andrew. Richmond Review. 27 August 2010 .

Clear Channels Grip on College Radio Essay -- Media

Clear Channel Communications, owner of 1,200 stations across the United States, has been undermining the values of diversity, localism, and market completion within the music industry since the media policy wars in the early 2000s. Since then, the radio industry arguably has lost a significant amount of the authenticity it once had. The only exception is college radio: the last safe haven for musical integrity. The only facet of radio not owned and controlled by a major monopoly. Recently, however, Clear Channel has gone to bed with college radio stations across the country. Although the corporate monopoly has shut out authenticity and artistic integrity from the mainstream, they still want more in order to completely wipe out independent music. The 1996 Telecommunications Act was the first major overhaul of telecom policy since the Communications Act of 1934; it covered everything from radio, television to cable TV (Garofalo, 440). The act removed the restrictions on the number of radio stations any one company could own, which accelerated the trend of a small number of companies owning the vast majority of stations. Clear Channel was a primary beneficiary. In 1995, Clear Channel owned 43 stations. By the early 2000s, it owned over 1,200 stations, which took in 20 percent of the industry revenues in 2001. In addition, Clear Channel owned over 700,000 billboards; it controlled 65 percent of the U.S. concert business; and it posted total revenues exceeding $8 billion (Garafalo, 440). Four companies controlled 90 percent of radio and revenue in the early 2000s. Serious implications for programming occurred due to the level of ownership concentration. According to Garafolo, â€Å"In one week, the forty top modern-rock stations ad... ...trick to profit. Clear Channel has taken major college stations to bed, and it’s not a gentle lover. Thus, local stations must not be lured by Clear Chanel’s diabolical plan. Instead, the stations must look the corporate villain into their deceiving eyes, and inform them that their conglomerating ways will not be tolerated; we must preserve the last refuge of music programming and expression on the radio airwaves. Works Cited (MLA) Garofalo, Reebee. Rockin Out: Popular Music in America. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2010. 439-40. Print. Kirkpatrick, Bill. "On Radio: Strange Bedfellows." Antenna. 25 Mar. 2012. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. Waits, Jennifer C. "Does ‘indie’ Mean Independence? Freedom and Restraint in a Late 1990s US College Radio Community." The Radio Journal: International Studies in Broadcast and Audio Media 5.2&3 (2008): 83-96. Print.

Article Critique Essay

The thought that peer exclusion is correlated with children’s classroom achievements and adjustment has been hypothesized since the 1930’s. Much research and empirical evidence for such hypotheses have since been collected, and seem to agree with the premise of the correlation. Peer acceptance is the main measurement of this study. In contrast with other types of peer relationships, peer group acceptance, or rejection, is strongly connected with academic readiness and achievement. This article focuses on peer sentiments and its effect on children’s adjustment. It differs from past studies in that its approach is to measure non-observable feelings about classmates, rather than only the observable interactions. The article begins by outlining past research, and developing a premise for the study from those previous studies. The main study that this research builds upon is that of a 2001 study by Eric S. Buhs and Gary W. Ladd, who also conduct this study along with Sarah L. Herald. The premise of the study, based on the 2001 study, is that once classmates express negative feelings and actions upon a peer, those feelings and actions act as a visible marker for further rejection by the larger peer group, and the rejected child as well; as a result, the rejected peers are flagged by their peers, and are left out of classroom interactions, and as a consequence, the rejected child’s learning is impacted ultimately leading to lower levels of achievement (Buhs, Ladd, and Herald, 2006, p. 2). The prior 2001 study found that â€Å"early peer rejection was negatively related to later achievement and that this association was partially mediated through peer maltreatment and declining classroom participation, respectively† (Buhs et al. , 2006, p. 2). The authors developed a hypothesis that built upon their previous study. Their hypothesis was stated as, â€Å"it was hypothesized that prolonged peer maltreatment increases the probability that children will disengage from classrooms (or the school context) and that increasing disengagement impairs children’s achievement. Thus, it was predicted that longer rather than shorter histories of peer maltreatment, after controlling for contemporary exclusion or abuse, would mediate the link between early peer rejection and later classroom disengagement† (Buhs et al. , 2006, p. 3). The authors further state that their purpose for conducting this study was to bridge the gap between the limitations of the previous study (it was only a one year study that attempted to predict students future outcomes) by conducting a more comprehensive longitudinal study over a six year period (kindergarten through fifth grade). Methodology The research study constructed six variables to measure the children with. They include, peer group acceptance/rejection, peer exclusion, peer abuse, classroom participation, school avoidance, and achievement. Peer group acceptance/rejection was conceptualized to mean â€Å"the extent to which individuals were liked/ disliked by classroom peers,† and operationalized by sociometric ratings that were collected from peers during kindergarten. One problem with this operationalization is the ability to comprehensively scale the true feelings of one peer toward another, especially during younger years. Scales, questionnaires, and observations might be too incomplete to capture the true meaning behind the dynamics of peer to peer interactions. Another issue is of how to evaluate separate peer groups. Many times classrooms encompass only a selection of developed peer groupings throughout the grade, and might be unfairly balanced toward one group. An example of groupings would be defined by the terms, â€Å"popular,† â€Å"punk,† or â€Å"nerds. † The research might be biased toward one group, if only because they were over represented in a class room. The variable Peer Exclusion was conceptualized as â€Å"the extent to which children were the target of peers’ nonaggressive rejecting behaviors, including behaviors such as ignoring, avoiding, or refusing to associate with them in the classroom context† (Buhs et al. , 2006, p. 3). The Variable Peer Abuse—the second form of peer mistreatment—was conceptualized to mean â€Å"the extent to which children were recipients of classmate’s aggressive and harassing behaviors† (Buhs et al. , 2006, p. 3). These two variables contained indicators to distinguish between chronic peer abuse, and situational peer abuse. Again, the issue that arises is the effectiveness of these measures. The interactions between childhood peers are complex, and can change daily. The variables Classroom Participation, and School Avoidance were used to measure disengagement from the classroom environment. A large issue with this is how to distinguish individuals who might be avoiding class as an outcome of separate circumstances. If poor participation and avoidance was only observed from the angle of peer interactions, then this view is biased toward the study. The study is seeking a correlation, and if outside factors aren’t controlled for, then they will biasly effect the results of their study. A child’s family life, neighborhood, economic status, innate ability, among other factors, could influence all of the variables that this study examines. The last variable, Achievement, was defined as â€Å"the accuracy with which children could solve progressively more advanced reading, mathematics, and spelling problems on an individualized achievement test† (Buhs et al. , 2006, p. 4). The issue that comes to mind with this variable is the way it uses tests to gauge â€Å"achievement†. Some students fare better on tests than others, while some students take time to develop adequate test taking skills. Another problem is how to control for separate curriculums in different classrooms, and the quality of what is being taught. Data (From the text) Buhs et al. , 2006, p. 5 Participants The data used in this investigation were gathered from a total sample of 380 children (190 girls These children were followed longitudinally from age 5 (kindergarten) to age 11 (fifth grade31 kindergarten class rooms across 10 schools, and by the fifth-grade data collection period, children were in 162 different classrooms across 32 schools. The sample contained nearly equal proportions of families from urban, suburban, or rural midwestern communities, and the sample’s ethnic composition was 17. 4% African American, 77. 1% Caucasian, 1. 6% Hispanic, and 3. 9% â€Å"other. † Family incomes were distributed as follows: 10. 9% of the sample reported total household incomes from $0 to $10,000, 10. 9% reported incomes from $10,000 to $20,000, 12. 6% reported incomes from $20,000 to $30,000, 12. 6% from $30,000 to $40,000, 12. 9% from $40,000 to $50,000, and 40. 3% reported incomes above $50,000. Results The study reports it’s results as, â€Å"peer group rejection is predictive of a range of chronic, negative peer behaviors that may alter both the social environment of the classroom and children’s adaptive responses within that context across the elementary school years. † (Buhs et al. , 2006, p. 11). It suggests that the facet of peer exclusion leading to reduced participation, and ultimately delayed achievements needs further study. It goes on to say that with further study, and thus more knowledge, an empirically based intervention program can be developed. Conclusion It can be argued that to have a complete understanding of the ever evolving and complex world of the social interactions in a school environment is close to impossible. The authors came into their study with a set premise, and expectations of the outcomes, and have seemed to found what they were searching for. The question becomes, how valid are the author’s findings, and can they be applied in a general manner across learning environments. I believe studies that look at complex interactions between children over several years, such as this study, might have too many outside interactionary forces that could effect the data and results. Works Cited Buhs, Eric S. , Ladd, Gary W. , and Herald, Sarah L. (2006). Peer Exclusion and Victimization: Processes That Mediate the Relation Between Peer Group Rejection and Children’s Classroom Engagement and Achievement?. journal of Educational Psychology 2006, Vol. 98, No. 1, 1–13.

Public Private Partnership in the Philippines Essay

Methodology The researcher used the historical research method that provided information on the value of Public-Private Partnership in Philippine Infrastructure Construction. The data provides an overview on how valuable, whether it be for the benefit or detriment of the country, PPP projects are in the socio-economic paradigm. The gathered data were from relevant books, research papers, government data, and thru papers released by relevant parties. What is Public–Private Partnership? Public–private partnership (PPP) describes a government service or private business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies. These schemes are sometimes referred to as PPP, P3 or P3. 1 1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public%E2%80%93private_partnership 1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public%E2%80%93private_partnership One of the possible reasons why PPP is the format as to how the Philippine government is conducting most of its high budgeted infrastructure projects is clearly stated by Ferreira and Khatami â€Å"The private sector is playing an increasingly crucial role in the financing and provision of services that were traditionally the domain of the public sector. One of the key reasons is that governments are unable to cope with the ever-increasing demands on their budgets. Most infrastructure expenditures in developing countries have been funded directly from fiscal budgets but several factors such as macroeconomic instability and growing investment requirements have shown that public financing is volatile and, in many countries, rarely meet crucial infrastructure expenditure requirements in a timely and adequate manner.† PPP involves a contract between a public sector authority and a private party, in which the private party provides a public service or project and assumes substantial financial, technical and operational risk in the project. In some types of PPP, the cost of using the service is borne exclusively by the users of the service and not by the taxpayer. In other types (notably the private finance initiative), capital investment is made by the private sector on the strength of a contract with government to provide agreed services and the cost of providing the service is borne wholly or in part by the government. Government contributions to a PPP may also be in kind (notably the transfer of existing assets). In projects that are aimed at creating public goods like in the infrastructure sector, the government may provide a capital subsidy in the form of a one-time grant, so as to make it more attractive to the private investors. In some other cases, the government may support the project by providing revenue subsidies, including tax breaks or by providing guaranteed annual revenues for a fixed period. 2 2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public%E2%80%93private_partnership 2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public%E2%80%93private_partnership PPP in the Philippines The Philippines has a long history of public-private partnership (PPP) initiatives, which serve as a rich basis for future investments. As of now it is a priority of the Benigno Aquino III Administration probably due to its perceived socio economic benefits not only in the usual infrastructure projects like roads, expressways, bridges, transportation terminals etc., it is also going after sectors like information and communications, healthcare, etc. One of the forefront departments involved in Infrastructure development and PPPs is the Department of Public Works and Highways. As Infrastructures are means for our country to regain and sustain high economic growth, improve the social living standards of the people and remove the bottlenecks to international commerce and investment. Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is seen as â€Å"approach to invest resources for adequate road infrastructure. The Government has fewer resources to invest on Expressways. DPWH will undertake the reforms needed to create a more conducive environment for private business and help generate many more bankable projects.3† DPWH PROJECTS FOR IMPLEMENTATION IN 2011 1. NAIA Expressway (Phase II) 2. NLEx-SLEx Link Expressway (Unsolicited Proposal) 3. 3 Department of Public Works and Highways, PPP Projects 3 Department of Public Works and Highways, PPP Projects Daang Hari – SLEx Link | There were 10 PPPs announced for bidding in 2010, 4 were airport projects. The PPPs included: * the Cavite-Laguna Expressway project, * NAIA Expressway II, * LRT 2 East Extension project’ * Privatization of LRT-1 O&M, * Privatization of MRT-3 O&M, * LRT 1 Cavite Extension project, * Bohol Airport, * Puerto Princesa Airport, * New Legaspi (Daraga) airport, and * Privatization of O&M of Laguindingan airport. But some of these projects were shelved because the government wanted to be prudent about the structure and rules under which these would be bid out to private investors. Feasibility studies also took a lot of time. 4 4 Why the Initial 10 PPP’s were designed to fail by AYA LOWE 4 Why the Initial 10 PPP’s were designed to fail by AYA LOWE Rene Santiago, a transportation consultant said that opportunity losses due to delays in the PPPs are mounting. For the LRT-1 Cavite extension alone, he estimated the loss at P80 billion in the last 10 years. Santiago also estimated the losses for 2011 to 2013 to total P25 billion in economic costs. The value of the economic benefit loss of the LRT-2 east extension, which would not be completed until 2016, according to Santiago, is already P5.4 billion, more than half the cost of the project itself, which is P9 billion. According to Santiago, Manila was first among ASEAN countries to set up an urban railway — the LRT-1 built in the 1980s. â€Å"Many of ASEAN countries have now overtaken Manila,† he said, however.â€Å" From now until 2020, expect the Philippines to lag behind other countries in terms of railway projects,† he said. Based on the researched data Public Private partnership for infrastructures benefits are as follows: * It could increase and give greater infrastructure solutions due to private companies having more resources for research and development and use of innovative technology. * It will offer faster project completion and reduced delays because it skips most of the government red tape present in normal construction and funding is internal to the private sector so there are no projected delays due to budget release. * Its return of investment (ROI) is greater when compare to traditional methods, due to innovative design and financing approaches because of the experience of the private sector in marketing. * Risks are weighted from initial conceptual stages to determine the feasibility of a certain project * The operational and project execution risk is transferred totally to the private sector, leaving the public component on a win-win situation * It is a concept where early completion of the infrastructure is expected under expected budget, reducing the claims and change order process due to it being similar to a developers scenario. * It allows government funds to be re-directed to other important socio-economic areas because funding of projects are done by the private sector. * Reduces government budget and budget deficits, because the government is virtually getting an infrastructure for free. * Public Private partnership allows a reduce tax payment from users similar to the subsidies of the government in LRT, MRT. * Allows the government to direct the expected function of the project in accordance to their own interests But not everything is good about PPP, listed are some of the determined drawbacks: * PPPs have risks involved, and the government will the pay the price to transfer those risks to the private sector, risks like bankruptcy, possible failure of the project during operation. * Certain situations can affect the purity of the process due to specialized areas being improved, reducing the number of contractors available to perform the requested projects wherein sometimes monopoly of contracts happen. * Profits of the projects can vary depending on the assumed risk, competitive level, complexity and volume of the project being performed * Government representative must be highly specialized personnel and contracting experts mostly people from concerned agencies like DOT and DPWH have to have these kind highly trained personnel. CONCLUSION Based on the data gathered the proponent of the study has come to the following conclusion, the benefits of Public Private Partnership further outweighs its detriments as some of the drawbacks can be easily averted through proper project planning and control and preparation. For PPP to be successful, the government and the private sectors involved must do it in with careful urgency. The Philippines is a developing country as such progress and infrastructures needed to elevate our status would be beneficial if achieved in the shortest amount of time as possible, but these projects, if without ample considerations, may initially look promising but in the end may cause a lot of problems, and instead of helping become one of those elements that keep slowing the country down.

Giuseppe Parini essays

Giuseppe Parini essays Giuseppe Parini nato a Bosisio presso Milano, nel 1729, appare nella seconda met del 700 non solo come il rinnovatore della poesia italiana. Ebbe un atteggiamento problematico nei confronti dellIlluminismo francese (Voltaire e Rousseau). ...quando ebbe notizia di ci che accadeva nella violenta Rivoluzione francese, gett moltacqua sul fuoco. Ne respinse le posizioni antireligiose ed edonistiche; credendo nella religione come principio di ordine civile e rifiutando le maniere violente. Credette nella parit e uguaglianza degli uomini e nella necessit di riconoscere ad ogni individio, a prescindere dalla classe sociale, una pari dignit umana. A detta del De Santis, il magior critico dell800, Parini luomo della nostra letteratura, colui che ha ridato dignit alla parola, caduta nel cattivo gusto nellarte barocca prima e dal melodrama dopo. Parini intese la letteratura e larte quale supreme magistero educativo, in grado di migliorare la societ Si impegn a diffondere con le sue poesie una moderata razionalit in tutta la vita sociale, cercando di rimuovere I pregiudizi e le prepotenze che deformano I reali rapporti fra uomini e a far sviluppare le conoscenze pratiche capaci di renderli pià ¹ felici. Parini critic la classe aristocratica sul piano economico perch spese le ricchezze che derivarono dal lavoro altrui. Il loro ozio perch non si dedicarono allo studio ed anche nel piano civile perch non cercarono di farsi amare dal pubblico. Ma ci non significa chegli abbia voluto un annientamento dalla nobilit, tuttaltro, egli volle semplicemente un cambio di rotta di certi nobili, che utilizzarono la loro superbia per far valere la loro posizione sociale. La nobilt non dovrebbe essere eliminata ma dovrebbe p ...

The Code of Justinian (Codex Justinianus)

The Code of Justinian (Codex Justinianus) The Code of Justinian (in Latin, Codex Justinianus) is a substantial collection of laws compiled under the sponsorship of Justinian I, ruler of the Byzantine Empire. Although the laws passed during Justinians reign would be included, the Codex was not a completely new legal code, but an aggregation of existing laws, portions of the historic opinions of great Roman legal experts, and an outline of law in general. Work began on the Code shortly after Justinian took the throne in 527. While much of it was completed by the mid-530s, because the Code included new laws, parts of it were regularly revised to include those new laws, up until 565. There were four books that comprised the Code: Codex Constitutionum, the Digesta, the Institutiones and the Novellae Constitutiones Post Codicem. The Codex Constitutionum The Codex Constitutionum was the first book to be compiled. In the first few months of Justinians reign, he appointed a commission of ten jurists to review all the laws, rulings and decrees issued by the emperors. They reconciled contradictions, weeded out obsolete laws, and adapted archaic laws to their contemporary circumstances. In 529 the results of their efforts were published in 10 volumes and disseminated throughout the empire. All imperial laws not contained in the Codex Constitutionum were repealed. In 534 a revised codex was issued that incorporated the legislation Justinian had passed in the first seven years of his reign. This Codex Repetitae Praelectionis was comprised of 12 volumes. The  Digesta The Digesta (also known as the Pandectae) was begun in 530 under the direction of Tribonian, an esteemed jurist appointed by the emperor. Tribonian created a commission of 16 attorneys who combed through the writings of every recognized legal expert in imperial history. They culled whatever they though was of legal value and selected one extract (and occasionally two) on each legal point. They then combined them into an immense collection of 50 volumes, subdivided into segments according to subject. The resulting work was published in 533. Any juridical statement that wasnt included in the Digesta was not considered binding, and in future it would no longer be a valid basis for legal citation. The  Institutiones When Tribonian (along with his commission) had finished the Digesta, he turned his attention to the Institutiones. Pulled together and published in about a year, the Institutiones was a basic textbook for beginning law students. It was based on earlier texts, including some by the great Roman jurist Gaius, and provided a general outline of legal institutions. The  Novellae Constitutiones Post Codicem After the revised Codex was published in 534, the last publication, the Novellae Constitutiones Post Codicem was issued. Known simply as the Novels in English, this publication was a collection of the new laws the emperor had issued himself. It was reissued regularly until Justinians death. With the exception of the Novels, which were almost all written in Greek, the Code of Justinian was published in Latin. The Novels also had Latin translations for the western provinces of the empire. The Code of Justinian would be highly influential through much of the Middle Ages, not only with the Emperors of Eastern Rome, but with the rest of Europe.   Resources and Further Reading Grapel, William.  The Institutes of Justinian: with the Novel as to Successions. Lawbook Exchange, Ltd., 2010.Mears, T. Lambert, et al.  Analysis of M. Ortolans Institutes of Justinian, Including the History and Generalization of Roman Law. Lawbook Exchange, 2008.

How A Report Writing Course Can Tame Big Data

How A Report Writing Course Can Tame Big Data Once upon a time, there was a warning was that big brother could be watching. Well, today big data is doing his job. Big data is everywhere all the time. Gartner, the information research technology and advisory company posits: Big data is high-volume, high-velocity, high-variety information assets that demand cost-effective, innovative forms of information processing for enhanced insight and decision making. Wikopedia pipes in with: data sets so large that traditional data processing applications are inadequate. If computers need help making sense of big data, pity the person charged with writing a report summarizing the results. Big data is creating a culture in which businessand IT join forces to realize value from data. Companies make decisions based on big data but first it has to be visualized and translated into a report that can communicate the results to key decision makers and ensure they understand it. Communicating Big Data in a Business Report Since reports are one of the most important forms of written communication in the business world, the key is to find someone who both understands the brave new world of big data and also has a knack for the type of clear concise writing a report calls for. However raw talent is not enough. Skills needed for report writing, like the ability to differentiate the essential from non-essential, organizational judgment, and clarity of communication, are acquired more often than inherited, it's a good ideal that the person charged with the task first attend a report writing course. Basic Insights Language and layout are important if a report is to be accurate and understandable. No matter whether it is a scientific report, financial report, research or medical, there there are a few basic insights of good writing to keep in mind. A well-written report..... anticipates the readers' questions. In order to accomplish this, the writer should periodically review what he is writing and attempt to see it from the point of view of a reader, especially one skeptical about the world of big data. is like a good teacher. It strives to explain the facts is like math. It has logic and structure. It takes a pile of facts and assembles them into a clear accessible, understandable structure. is simple. Simple is not to be confused with simplistic. Big data is complicated. A skilled report writer knows how to deconstruct it and make it comprehensible. avoids jargon. The world of big data is full of its own language. A good report uses accessible language. A Few Well Put Words of Advice These tenets can be applied to any type of writing, but as with any written undertaking, preparation is the key. In the case of big data, it involves sifting through the facts. For a few words of advice on this who better to look to than Albert Einstein ? "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." - Albert Einstein While all data is important, only essential data needs to be included. Writing a report calls for self-editing, especially when dealing with data. It is easy to become overwhelmed by the amount, but understanding what's important to the business can help decide what to include and what to leave out. "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." - Albert Einstein No matter how well the report writer understands the findings, he is essentially keeping them to himself if he can not communicate them to those reading the report. If they are to act on his insights, he has to simplify the message so that it resonates with them. Since today's business world feeds on information, report writing is an essential and marketable skill. To learn about how to write the type of reports that can further your career, contact us for information about our report writing courses. Or, download the report writing course outline.

Significance of a Salesperson to Push Products Essay

Significance of a Salesperson to Push Products - Essay Example From this paper it is clear that salespeople cater to overt the needs the needs of the buyers. This is because they also have the personal need and want to make a sale not just for cash, but a proper ego which is improved by success whilst somewhat weakened even though motivated and not shattered by failure. Salespeople also have the capability of catering to learning and social connectedness needs, development needs, and long-term problem solving, and as a consequence enhancing consumer well being such as a salesperson showing the client how to use a mobile phone. As the study highlights Johnson and Wilson argued that consumer loyalty, especially customer satisfaction or buying usually relies on delivering wellbeing, performance differences between the salespeople with knowledge or a learning on developmental goal orientation and salespersons with a proving or performance goal orientation. It has been shown that salespersons with a learning orientation perform better. Salespeople build better relationships with their industries and consumers by going beyond their stated needs. Salesperson through good relations can secure a supply contract for their firm’s products. The relationship between management skills are crucial for selling success than closing skills implying that relationship-oriented salesperson are more likely to be better at determining underlying, non-hedonistic needs. According to Brock, salespeople assist customers to think differently about their businesses, to discover opportunities to enhance operations, quality, cust omer satisfaction and profitability, to discover new opportunities, and lastly, reduce risk.  

Critically assess your placement's view of the doctrine of God to Essay

Critically assess your placement's view of the doctrine of God to demonstrate how it helps or hinders the missional engagement of your church within its local context - Essay Example The support and the quality interactions provided to be the Churches in the local communities has therefore, always been considered beneficiary in the Christian society. However, the type of interaction and teaching being imparted by different Churches depend on their understanding of the Doctrine of God and the concept of Trinity according to which, God exists in three forms, namely father, son and the Holy Spirit2. Taking all these aspects into consideration the discussion in this study will remain focused towards understanding the concepts of Doctrine of God. In addition, the discussion will also elaborate on the question that whether the Doctrine concept hinders or helps interaction of the Churches with the local communities. Accordingly, the discussion will also comprise of the evaluation of ‘four part missional theology analysis method’ with the intention to develop a succinct understanding regarding the non-existence of Churches in the absence of the Holy Spirit. Before understanding the impact of ‘Doctrine of God’ on the interaction of Churches with the local communities, a brief understanding needs to be attained regarding the theological concept. Contextually, it can be stated that different cultures have varied patterns of projecting their belief in God. For instance, in Christianity, the divineness of God has been elaborated in two specific forms. The first form of God has been projected to be ‘transcendent’, whereas the second form of God is projected as ‘immanent’. In the transcendent form, God has been elaborated as the divine power free from any dependence on this world3. Likewise, in the immanent form, God has been described as an active participator within all the happenings in the world. Correspondingly, the necessity of understanding this fact resulted in the emergence of the Doctrine of God concepts wherein the statements and attributes made by God were evaluated4. For instance, attributes, such as

The evolution of the wireless phone network Research Paper

The evolution of the wireless phone network - Research Paper Example Not shockingly, a number of the industries, which are being drastically revolutionized, are those that cope with the human senses, comprising of entertainment, education, advertising, health care and, sadly, warfare. Simply put, technology or telecommunication has changed people’s way, as well as the pace of life (Lee, 2001). Below follows a brief discussion of how inventions in wireless phone network has changed communication. Changes to How We Communicate Instant Messaging (IM) Instant messaging (IM) refers to a form of communication over the Internet, which provides an instantaneous transmission of text messages from a sender to a receiver (Webb, 2008). In push technique between two or more individuals using personal computers or mobile phones, along with internet service providers, instant messaging mainly offers real-time and express written language-based online messaging. Instant messaging has changed the way humans communicate as the technology sends information extrem ely fast (Schiller, 2003). No sooner does the sender send the message than the receiver, receives it. Instant messaging also offers instant relies to messaging creating efficiency in communication (Richard & Smith, 2006). SMS Short Message Service (SMS) refers to a text messaging service with regards to mobile phones or the web. SMSs use standardized communications protocols, which offer the exchange of short text messages between mobile phone devices or fixed lines (Lee, 2001). According to research, SMSs are the most broadly used data application in the globe, with 78% of all mobile phone users or 3.6 billion active subscribers. Also, SMS is being used as a form of direct marketing referred to as SMS marketing. It has fastened the way people communicate through their mobile phones, and also at a relatively cheap cost (Richard & Smith, 2006). Twitter and Facebook Social network sites have substantially changed the way human beings relate, as well as communicate, with one another (R ichard & Smith, 2006). Facebook and Twitter have allowed individuals throughout the globe to be part of one society and be capable of communicating through diverse forms. One way to communicate on Facebook and Twitter is by adding another person (Prasad & Ruggieri, 2007). Once an individual adds another, they both become friends, and this forms new friendships. These days, numerous friendships are created through Facebook and Twitter, and they allow people to communicate constantly. Telecommuting Telecommuting or telework refers to a working arrangement in which workers do not travel to a central place of work. An individual who telecommutes is referred to as a teleworker, telecommuter, or, at times, as a home-sourced worker. A lot of teleworkers work from home whereas others sometimes referred to as nomad employees, use mobile telecommunications skills to work from restaurants or other diverse locations (Lee, 2001). According to a Reuter’s survey, roughly one in five workers all across the globe, particularly workers in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia, telecommute habitually. Also, nearly 10% of all workers work at home in the above mentioned places. For communities, telecommuting offers cheap employment through enhancing the employability of circumstantially marginalized persons like work at home parents and the disabled, caregivers, retirees and people living in rural areas. Telecommuting eases traffic congestion and

Photography as Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Photography as Art - Essay Example The path is a murram road. From the murram road it is evident that image was taken on a hilly forest. Looking at the middle ground, the path seems to be rising from lowland to highland, which indicates that the image is on a hilly place. From the path, there are indications that vehicles use this murram road more often since there are prints of tyres. On the left had side of the image from foreground to background, there are trees that are closely grown. The trees are of different trunk sizes; thing and thick. In addition, there have different shapes, sizes, and colors of the leaves. Whereas some are dark green, there are trees with yellowish leaves and others have light green leaves. Some trees have thick leaves while other are made of up thin leaves. What’s more, the trees in the images have varied branches where some are having short branches and others are having long branches. The trees are closely packed that going through the forest may be a difficult thin. On the background of the image, the trees give a beautiful view of the image. The middle and top of the background is all covered with trees of the forest. The whole image, a combination of trees and the murram path are ground view focus where the camera specifically focused on the area. The image is well composed with the background, middle, and foreground clearly depicted. The top, middle, and center are also depicted very well without leaving out the fact that the left, right, and central positioning of the image was well done. A bright light has been used on the image to provide clear vision on the contents. The bright light used makes it possible to see the different colors of the trees, differences in shapes and trunks, as well as the how densely populated the forest is from the image (Krages 19). In addition, the bright line gives a vision of the murram path in a clearer way where viewers are able to identify the stretching of the road from lowland to highland. Different colors have been

Realisms, Fantasy And Utopia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Realisms, Fantasy And Utopia - Essay Example However, mansions and gold have proven to be resources of greed and unhappiness throughout human history and to be in the presence of God would be to stand in stark contrast to pure Grace, the human existence frail and without virtue in comparison, thus there is no way in which a human can understand what it would mean to live in a state of perfection. When trying to imagine Utopia, it is likely that it will change from individual to individual. Thus, Utopia, as it is represented as a community, cannot exist as perfection, a place in which perfect peace and harmony can be found, would not exist. There is little that can be found in this world that represents a one-sided place in which all things are found to have value and elevated meaning to all people who reside in this place. Utopia must be all things to all of its inhabitance, and there has been no place, time, or setting in which this type of nirvana has been reached. Human existence is defined by its struggles, by the way in wh ich one point of view comes into conflict with another. In fact, this type of conflict is necessary for the satisfaction of many people. Thus, a place with harmony and without conflict would be a hell for some people, their ambitions stilted by the inability to engage in conflicts of ideologies. Without those types of conflicts, dissatisfaction would be born of complacency, apathy, and boredom. To find perfection would kill the spirit, thus the humanity of human life would be discovered undone. Therefore, the only type of Utopia that could exist would not be in creating a place that left all people fulfilled and in peace, but one that changed the human nature to no longer have ambition. In this world, bliss would rule the human spirit, thus whatever existed within the space that was Utopia, would allow for harmony and satisfaction. The fact is that Utopia cannot be a place, it can only be a condition of life, a situated state in which the human need to strive and to be in conflict i n order to achieve greater achievement and enlightenment was no longer a part of the human experience. Utopia is not a place, thus it cannot be achieved. This type of place is not within the ability of human imagination. To write of existence is to frame a place in which nothing happens, thus there is no story to its existence. Nothing would happen because if it were a true place, if Utopia existed, the people within it would move through their days without highs and lows of emotions. Without these highs and lows, there is no measure of emotional feeling, thus to know joy would not exist because there would be no sorrow against which to measure it. People have understood this through their religious history. Of all things, religion is the ultimate proof that Utopia cannot exist. There is no religion that has been found in the research for this discourse that does not reveal the need for balance. The closest is the Judeo-Christian religion that sets a course of beliefs that intends t hat the balance of good, the evil that weights the darker side of

LLM Human Rights -International criminal law Essay

LLM Human Rights -International criminal law - Essay Example ncy of international armed conflicts facilitated by the oppressive regimes has not only caused grave violation of fundamental human rights but has also radically spurred the rate of victimization. Although, according to reports, the number of deaths since World War II, has declined significantly, there are still several regions wherein such conflicts have caused wide spread damage and loss of life and property raising the death toll in the process, and all efforts to contain or restrict such conflicts have largely been reported to be unsuccessful1. Such victimization caused by international armed conflicts include genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, extra judicial carnages, persecution, and random arrest detainment etc, which amount to a grave violation of the international human rights law 2. Present-day armed conflicts, are more often than not, occur on account of strain between governments of different nations or in case of non international armed conflicts, between non state actors or minority groups and the governing authorities. The analytical report presented by the U.N. secretary general on the minimum humanitarian standards, state that modern day conflicts are most often, driven by conditions whereby a particular group or groups take up arms against the other in the quest for attaining their own political aspirations and goals, for instance, for seizing control, or creation of self – government for safeguarding the rights of their particular minority groups, or with a view to depose the existing ruling authority and establish their own regime. Some other characteristic factors which give rise to such conflict include situations where the present government has disintegrated or is rendered permanently incapacitated or is disinclined to arbitrate, impede or avert such violence between the armed groups3. Moreover, the types of human rights abuses which occur during such armed conflicts reveal that the civilian population in

Realisms, Fantasy And Utopia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Realisms, Fantasy And Utopia - Essay Example However, mansions and gold have proven to be resources of greed and unhappiness throughout human history and to be in the presence of God would be to stand in stark contrast to pure Grace, the human existence frail and without virtue in comparison, thus there is no way in which a human can understand what it would mean to live in a state of perfection. When trying to imagine Utopia, it is likely that it will change from individual to individual. Thus, Utopia, as it is represented as a community, cannot exist as perfection, a place in which perfect peace and harmony can be found, would not exist. There is little that can be found in this world that represents a one-sided place in which all things are found to have value and elevated meaning to all people who reside in this place. Utopia must be all things to all of its inhabitance, and there has been no place, time, or setting in which this type of nirvana has been reached. Human existence is defined by its struggles, by the way in wh ich one point of view comes into conflict with another. In fact, this type of conflict is necessary for the satisfaction of many people. Thus, a place with harmony and without conflict would be a hell for some people, their ambitions stilted by the inability to engage in conflicts of ideologies. Without those types of conflicts, dissatisfaction would be born of complacency, apathy, and boredom. To find perfection would kill the spirit, thus the humanity of human life would be discovered undone. Therefore, the only type of Utopia that could exist would not be in creating a place that left all people fulfilled and in peace, but one that changed the human nature to no longer have ambition. In this world, bliss would rule the human spirit, thus whatever existed within the space that was Utopia, would allow for harmony and satisfaction. The fact is that Utopia cannot be a place, it can only be a condition of life, a situated state in which the human need to strive and to be in conflict i n order to achieve greater achievement and enlightenment was no longer a part of the human experience. Utopia is not a place, thus it cannot be achieved. This type of place is not within the ability of human imagination. To write of existence is to frame a place in which nothing happens, thus there is no story to its existence. Nothing would happen because if it were a true place, if Utopia existed, the people within it would move through their days without highs and lows of emotions. Without these highs and lows, there is no measure of emotional feeling, thus to know joy would not exist because there would be no sorrow against which to measure it. People have understood this through their religious history. Of all things, religion is the ultimate proof that Utopia cannot exist. There is no religion that has been found in the research for this discourse that does not reveal the need for balance. The closest is the Judeo-Christian religion that sets a course of beliefs that intends t hat the balance of good, the evil that weights the darker side of

Cultural Determinants of Terrorism Essay Example for Free

Cultural Determinants of Terrorism Essay Orchestrated objectives within well-organized terrorist groups suggest that principles of organizational psychology apply to terrorist organizations, under the cultural influence of each one (Borum, 2004). There is much cause for optimism in understanding terrorist organizations, for as Alder and Gunderson (2008) write, â€Å"Luckily, we have learned that global complexity is neither unpredictable nor random† (p. v). The call for research has never been more pressing. Introduction â€Å"Terrorism is an elusive subject, evading precise political, jurisprudential, and cultural definition† (Oliveri, 2008, p. 49). It depends upon the definition of ‘terrorism’. â€Å"With over 100 definitions, this is not an easy task; there is no common understanding of what constitutes ‘terrorism’; no clear and universally acknowledged definition actually exists† (Franks, 2007, p. 2). The definition Munger (2006) proposes that is used for this paper is, â€Å"Culture is defined as the set of ‘inherited’ beliefs, attitudes, and moral strictures that a people use to distinguish outsiders, to understand themselves and to communicate with each other† (p. 131). The distinguishing characteristic of ‘them’ and ‘us’ is perhaps the fundamental belief generated within cultures that makes terrorism towards others possible. Whether viewed in terms of extremist Muslim culture or right-wing American culture, cultural identity supports the conflict of ideologies. Ward (2008) says, â€Å"Terrorism has taken the academic world by storm† (p. 248). The Psychology of Terrorism only became a legitimate academic study in 1982; â€Å"terrorism is far from a new phenomenon, traceable to the French Revolution and the Nihilists of 19th Century Russia† (Franks, 2007, p. ). Undoubtedly, it goes much further into the annals of history than the 19th Century, â€Å"the concept of terrorism had no meaning in history until the modern era† (Bratkowski, 2005, p. 764). Prior to modernity, terrorism was so much a part of daily culture it was normal behavior, without a specific word for it. In fact, for most of Christendom, â €Å"humankind has always provided a justification for killing and instilling terror in fellow humans† (p. 764). It is only recently that most cultures have placed a label of immorality on selective murder to achieve political or cultural ends. Our species has a protracted history and prehistory of terrorism. One might wonder why terrorism has â€Å"taken the academic world by storm†. Insights from Psychology â€Å"Terrorist violence most often is deliberate (not impulsive), strategic, and instrumental; it is linked to and justified by ideological (e. g. , political, religious) objectives and usually involves a group or multiple actors/supporters (Borum, 2004, p. 17). Since terrorist objectives originate within multinational organizations, principles of organizational psychology apply to all terrorist organizations, under the cultural milieu of the organization in question. What is now certain is that terrorism is not a psychopathological aberration, as was originally thought in psychoanalytical circles (Crenshaw, 1992). Terrorist organizations are composed of clear-headed individuals, often with advanced university degrees. Merari (1991) collected empirical data on suicide bombers, and found that psychopathology is almost never a factor in a terrorist’s profile. In fact, â€Å"prevalence of mental illness among samples of incarcerated terrorists is as low as or lower than in the general population† (Borum, 2004, p. 34). This is a clear indicator that we are dealing with psychologies of organization, and not groups of crazed sociopaths. Survival of the organization, a tenet of organizational psychology, has clear implications for the terrorist mindset (Post, 1989), even though â€Å"research on the psychology of terrorism largely lacks substance and rigor. While cultural factors are important, much study remains. â€Å"Future research should be operationally-informed; maintain a behavior based focus; and derive interpretations from analyses of incident-related behaviors† (Borum, 2004, p. 3). The main problem with such a venture might be that terrorists are not giving interviews or taking surveys. Borum points out that â€Å"there is a broad spectrum of terrorist groups and organizations, each of which has a different psychology, motivation and decision making structure† (p. 5). This further underscores the need to be on guard against the ‘stereotypical terrorist organization’: there is none. In a terrorist organization, â€Å"two key narcissistic dynamics are a grandiose sense of self and ‘idealized parental imago’. If one can’t be perfect, at least one can be in a relationship with something perfect† (Borum, 2004, p. 9). Association with a world figure such as Bin Laden satisfies this need; this can lead us back to US culture: promulgation and amplifying worldwide terrorism, via the news media. Bin Laden often makes the evening news, and every time he does, his ‘world stature’ is elevated, especially in the min ds of his followers. It the name Bin Laden was unknown, how much less effective would al-Qaeda become? Media has some degree of culpability, if not complicity in promulgating terrorism worldwide by providing free publicity to organizations and their cause. According to Paul Marsden (CPM, 2001, p. 1), â€Å"the amount of media coverage devoted to these events, by television networks and newspapers, correlates positively with the rise in subsequent `copycat events. This is darkly consistent with the substantial body of evidence for suicide contagion the idea that suicides beget suicide. † If distraught teenagers copy Columbine style shootings, how much more are suicide attacks from terrorist cells encouraged by watching the evening news? Unintentionally but effectively eulogizing angry teens and terrorists alike hold moral implications for the major news media, which need addressing by society. Organizational Psychology provides some insight: if a culture perceives it is losing its ability to contribute its share to the world stage, conflict will result (Rahim, 1986; Katz ; Kahn, 1978). Considering that entire cultures may feel they are losing their ability to contribute because of intervention of external cultures upon their own culture is likely one requisite to the creation of worldwide terror organization formation. Cultural factors of extremist Muslim society While many in the West view extremist Muslim terrorism as irrational behavior by deranged individuals, â€Å"it is perfectly possible to understand terrorism as a rational decision problem, if we accept the premise that culture matters† (Munger, 2006, p. 132). â€Å"Islamic societies, not exclusively, but perhaps to a greater extent than most other nations, are committed to an idea of the perfectibility of humans in societies, through moral education and imposition and enforcement of moral law (Sharia) based on the Quran† (p. 142). This religious adherence adds a great deal of resistance to compromise from outside cultures, and bolsters the extremist elements within Islamic society. Much of the cultural foundation of extremist Muslim culture is their unique interpretation of the Quran: â€Å"The contemporary terrorist mentality and culture, which are rooted in absolutist, either-or, good-and-evil world views, resist efforts to negotiate. Accommodation, bargaining, and mutually acceptable compromise are not envisioned as possibilities within many terrorists’ mental framework† (Smelser ; Mitchell, 2002, p. 1). It appears that once a terrorist organization is established, the only ways to eliminate it is either when they accomplish their objectives, to destroy them, or to take away their reason to exist, which will allow Skinnerian extinction to follow over time. The ‘destroy’ method is problematic and costly: how does one destroy an ideology? Islamic terrorists are well-connected using technology; their geographic locality is literally everywhere and nowhere. Culturally-attuned uses of information technology† are a major source of cross-cultural influences in the creation and sustaining of terrorist organizations (Bailey ; Grimaila, 2006, p. 534). Terrorist organizations are expert in spreading and sustaining their ideology around the world. Once indoctrinated into a group, people will generally follow orders, no matter how extreme or violent, as long as the individual perceives that the order was issued from the appropriate authority (Milgram, 1965). Cultural influences caused normal students at Stanford to transform into ‘merciless prison guards’; once given the role and the authority, al-Qaeda recruits mold easily to orders from Bin Laden. Not only do they have a physical authority, which relieves their individual conscience from objecting, but also they further believe that Allah Himself sanctions Bin Laden and themselves in their efforts to establish Sharia law throughout the world (Bailey ; Grimaila, 2006). There is substantial agreement that the psychology of terrorism cannot be considered apart from political, historical, familial, group dynamic, organic, and even purely accidental, coincidental factors† (Borum, 2004, p. 22). Borum also states, â€Å"Significant differences [exist] both in, 1) the nature and level of aggression in different cultures, and 2) aggression can be environmentally manipulated; both findings that argue against a universal human instinct [of violence]† (p. 12). Diamond (20 04) argues that environmental influences are paramount in understanding why cultures are the way they are. The Fertile Crescent, once the cornerstone of agriculture, became radically altered once all the forests were clear-cut, leaving mostly a barren desert environment. It is interesting to note that the foundation cultures which harbored the seeds of al-Qaeda all come from this former environmental paradise. Therefore, while culture probably has the most influence on the creation of terrorist organizations in the short term today, environment certainly has a large degree of impact over the long term, and might have a large impact in the short term via militaristic or political manipulation. For many critics, global or ‘hyper’ terrorism has become an ultimate expression of acutely depressed geopolitical chaos† (Ward, 2008, p. 252). Geopolitical chaos produces environments ripe with opportunity for recruiters toward the cause of terrorism. Without addressing and rectifying the chaotic areas of the world, it is highly doubtful, that global terrorism will end. Cultures th at feel oppressed or depraved on the world stage may rise in rebellion against the oppressing culture(s), with or without religious dictate. Muslim culture is producing the lion’s share of high-visibility terrorists in the world today (Borum, 2004). One way to understand Muslim culture as it relates to the creation of terrorism is to look at Hofstede’s dimensions. Generally, Islamic countries have large inequalities of status, forming a small ruling group, and a large ruled group with limited power. Hofstede (2001) shows, those Arab cultures have large Power Distance (PDI) (80) and Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI) (68). When these two Dimensions are combined, it creates a situation where leaders have virtually ultimate power and authority. It is not unusual for new leadership to arise from armed insurrection – the ultimate power, rather than from diplomatic or democratic change† (Borum, 2004, p. 44). Virtually the only method available for the downtrodden in Arab society to express their need for change is by armed insurrection. This is a valuable insight into the cultural creation of Arab-based terr orism, possibly the most important one. Naturally, from the ‘terrorists’ point of view they are not terrorists at all but â€Å"freedom fighters†, fighting with their only available means to enact positive change. Does this mean efforts at establishing democracy in Muslim states are likely to fail? Cultural roots run deep, and are resistant to change by outside cultures (Weiten, 2004), so the question of democracy introduced and established by Westerners is a highly speculative venture. Finally, take the case of a female suicide bomber. It was originally assumed that the young woman who committed this act was â€Å"innocent, ignorant, and of questionable morality† (Brunner, 2007, p. 961). It is difficult for Westerners to imagine otherwise. Subsequent interviews revealed that she was educated, showed no signs of emotional disturbance, and was â€Å"as highly intelligent and more independent than other girls in her society, but still fully within the range of normal† (p. 961). The key point is that she was â€Å"fully within the range of normal†, according to the culture that she grew up within. By not understanding her culture, Western culture had labeled her â€Å"innocent, ignorant, and immoral†, overlooking key factors with which to fully understand why a mentally stable young woman would commit such an act, and more importantly, to be able to deal realistically with the rise of extremist terrorism through a lack of cultural understanding. Cultural factors of the United States There is a cultural precedence of powerful nations to label other nations as ‘evil’: a threat to ‘civilization’ (Ivie, 2005). In the U. S. , â€Å"this is a very old cultural theme, deeply ingrained into the political psyche† (p. 56). This cross-cultural mindset of powerful nations is one part in the creation of terrorists in weaker cultures, a type of self-fulfilling prophecy: the call to destroy the ‘barbarians that threaten democracy’ is an ancient one; Greece and Rome had similar ongoing open-ended campaigns against terrorists, as does the U. S. today (p. 55). The main trouble with an open-ended campaign is that it never ends†¦ another cultural perception that needs adjustment on the world stage in order to arrive at peace in the world. Looking at the cultural history of the US, the ‘savage’ has always been the object of distain and genocide, in order to ‘make way for civilization’ (Ivie, 2005). The genocide of indigenous peoples of the North American continent is well documented, even using biological terrorist tactics of germ warfare; giving ‘gifts’ of small-pox laden blankets to Indians without acquired immunity against devastating disease (Diamond, 1997). Oliverio (2008) writes, â€Å"It was also a matter of common sense that the Aryan race was superior. This taken-for-granted reality of Aryan superiority led to the extermination of millions of American Indians, millions of African slaves bound for America, and countless indigenous cultures throughout the world† (p. 21). Powerful cultures that label weaker cultures as savages are a powerful impetus to the creation of terrorism. It is a recent habit of the American Right to wage war against abstractions (Comaroff, 2007, p. 381). The line between metaphorical and real war, blurred beyond recognition, gives rise to such cultural terms as ‘the war against drugs’, ‘the war against poverty’, ‘the war against illegal immigration’ (Sherry, 1995), and has become the standard of cultural mind-set in America today. Again, the US has a â€Å"militarized world-view extended to declaring metaphorical wars on disease, crime, engaging in ‘trade wars’ with foreign competitors, and fighting ‘culture wars’ with one another† (p. 58). â€Å"Culture wars† is the main point in question: how can peace ever prevail if acts of war against culture prevail? Even the Olympic Games that followed 9/11 became a forum for the core Bush Doctrine (Falcous ; Silk, 2005). How does the reduction of civil liberties fare with the response to terrorism? Not allowing college professors to speak out against governmental policies associated with the war on terror (Crowson ; DeBacker, 2008, p. 296) is one form of right-wing authoritarianism that many Americans think needs implementation. A disturbing trend of loss of personal freedoms that some associate with fascism. Taken as a whole, US domestic and foreign policy regarding oil consumption, and support for oppressive regimes, is set aside in deference to critical scrutiny of individual behavior and the forms of ‘moral lassitude’ associated with a culture of dependency† (Hay ; Andrejevic, 2006, p. 344). So at least part of the U. S. cultural mindset is about securing its own economic interests at the expense of decency and fairness on the world stage. Many people think that the U. S. would never have bothered with Iraq if they had no strategic oil supplies, especially in the Middle East and Europe. This belief can only inflame world tensions further. Understanding cross-cultural inter-dependencies A surprising interdependency, regards the Bush Administration itself. According to Kellner (2004), not only Jihadists are responsible for ‘spectacular acts of terror’, but also both Bush administrations. They deployed â€Å"Manichean discourses of good and evil which themselves fit into dominant media codes of popular culture; that both deploy fundamentalist and absolutist discourses† (p. 41). This is extremely similar to the â€Å"contemporary terrorist mentality and culture, which are rooted in absolutist, either-or, good-and-evil world views, resist efforts to negotiate† (Smelser ; Mitchell, 2002, p. 1). The Bush administration openly declares its refusal to communicate with terrorist organizations or states, which is absolutist. We know that incentives flourish within such organizations (Munger, 2006). Incentives usually take two forms: 1) recruit members that are prone to obey and please within a cultural setting (e. g. collectivist rather than individualist cultures), and 2) â€Å"Create a set of incentives that reward loyalty, by giving access to excludable near-public (â€Å"club†) goods† (p. 131). Mohammed Atta reportedly was â€Å"at a strip club spending a lot of money, shouting anti-American slogans, and left a copy of the Quran before he left† (USA TODAY, 2001, p. 1). This incident seems to have fallen under ‘club goods’ instead of operational funds, because it was the night before the hijackings, and such excessive cash was no longer needed. This says nothing of the influence U. S. culture had on Atta, a devout Muslim going to a strip club, one day before he â€Å"meets Allah†. There is no such thing as a ‘terrorist state’, in the absolute sense. Triandis, Bontempo, Villareal, Asai, and Lucca (1988) have shown that national cultures never equate to individual or subgroup cultures, so while a totalitarian governing body may indeed be a terrorist organization, the general populace can in no way be held accountable for the actions of a few. It is a stereotypical mistake to label an entire country as terrorist. It is important to realize that â€Å"both differences and similarities in behavior occur across and within cultures; psychological processes are characterized by both cultural variance and invariance† (Weiten, 2006, p24). Regrettably, â€Å"quite a few nations are culturally reasonably homogeneous† (Hofstede, 1998, p180), and this may mean that a few nations may be mostly extremist in their outlook. Discourses from the Bush administrations paralleled closely to speeches given by Hitler, Pope Urban II, and others: â€Å"an appeal to a legitimate power source external to the speaker; an appeal to the importance of the national culture under attack; the construction of an evil enemy; and an appeal for unification† (Graham, Keenan, ; Dowd, 2004, p. 213). Kellner (2004) feels that â€Å"the disparity between the vast amount of information freely available to all through multimedia sources, and the narrow vision presented on the major news media via television is a travesty†, and a major cultural factor responsible for the deployments of the Bush administrations’ controlled mass media (p. 61). While arguments that ‘freely available news sources from uncontrolled sources’ might suggest this no longer to be a cultural factor, culture by nature takes time to change, and most Americans probably place more credence in the evening news than the newer Internet sources (Kellner, 2003). Another example of how cross-cultural misunderstandings regularly occur between nations: â€Å"when one cultural message sender transmits information to another culture, chances of accurate transmission are reduced† (Alder ; Gunderson, 2008, p. 72), and when nations or organizations refuse to send information between cultures as both the Bush administration and the al-Qaeda organization currently do, virtually no chance of accurate transmission occurs. Stalemate results and wars go on, indefinitely; clear contributors to terrorism. Perhaps nowhere is the question of terrorism more complex than in the European Union: â€Å"European counterterrorism culture is a difficult concept due to the fact that the regional level of analysis encapsulates a range of different national cultures. Europe has always been a rich mixture of various cultures, and ‘terrorism’ is a culturally charged term† (Rees, 2007, p. 220), hence the difficulty in consensus. Conversely, in China, we could expect to find a unified definition of terrorism under the centralized government (Diamond, 1997). While China is suspect of â€Å"using the post-9/11 discourse of counterterrorism to cloak their own domestic priorities† (Rees, 2007, p. 224), most of their counterterrorism efforts are likely to gain support with the Chinese public as being in the accord of the countries best interest: China being a collectivistic nation. â€Å"Terrorists focus their recruitment where sentiments about perceived deprivation are deepest and most pervasive† (Borum, 2004). This helps us to understand why American involvement in Iraq actually helps create recruitment opportunities for al-Qaeda. Destroyed economies, infrastructure, and family support (via killed family members), create extreme deprivation, desperation to right cultural wrongs, and enrage cultural dictates for retribution (Borum, 2004). It even gives insight into where al-Qaeda might be concentrating recruitment efforts in America. For youth torn between two cultures in a foreign land, identity crisis may result from exposure to the foreign culture, and the chiasm between their parent’s cultures: â€Å"radicalism offers simple answers to the big questions they are grappling with† (Ongering, 2007, p. ). The human tendency to stereotype will easily adapt to simple answers rather than grapple with difficult questions (Weiten, 2004). Extrapolated, it may be easier to recruit a terrorist, than to prevent a person from taking up the cause in the first place. Does cultural pressure on a subgroup help to create violent extremists? Muslim communities in America, â€Å"Not only had their religion being p resented incorrectly, but its adherents were being equated with terrorists† (Baker, 2006, p. 302). Considering the degree that Muslim communities in the Western world are subject to intensified scrutiny, and even unwarranted acts of violence against them by US citizenry (Ward, 2008), a good assumption is that many young Muslims will adapt an extremist ideology in response to cultural threat (Sirin ; Fine, 2007), and some of those extremists will turn terrorist. It seems to be a never-ending spiral escalation of one cultural assault upon the other: the ‘Crusades’ continue†¦ It is a real ‘Which came first, the chicken or the egg? ’ question. Which side began this milieu of cultural attack and counterattack? Perceptions run the gamut: â€Å"The terrorist presents a story of heroism and necessary sacrifice. The counter-terrorist presents a counter-narrative of defiance and vengeance, replacing the image of the martyr with that of inhumanity, even bestiality† (Ward, 2008, p. 254). We reminded again of weaker cultures as ‘savage’, and as we have come to see, cross-culturally, nothing could be further from the truth from both extreme perspectives. Another cultural misunderstanding that may have helped to escalate tensions is the perception that the Muslim community in America did not stand up in unison and denounce the acts of 9/11 as atrocious. This initial silent response interpreted by many Americans as tantamount to condoning such acts of terrorism (Munro, 2006). Paradoxically, this lack of public outcry may have been the result of Muslim culture itself, with the majority of Muslims feeling that it was obvious that they had nothing to do with the attacks, and therefore no reason to take a public stand (Munro, 2006). A form of ‘vigilante counter-terrorism’ develops in American culture, which gives rise to anti-Muslim sentiment and acts of violence (Johnson, 2003). One probable contributing factor is termed: â€Å"Sudden Jihad Syndrome† (Pipes, 2006). The perpetrator, â€Å"for all outward appearances, a young Muslim man, well adjusted to Western society, considered friendly; one day, without warning, he acted out an independent Jihad, which injured nine students† (Pipes, 2006). Such unforeseeable and unpredictable behavior influences non-Muslims to stereotype many Muslims as having the same potential toward â€Å"Sudden Jihad Syndrome†. This of course creates an atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust between cultures: how can you tell who the enemy is just by looking at them? Discussion There is no cultural ‘quick fix’ to this pervasive problem confronting the modern world. â€Å"The general policy approach has to be adaptive, opportunistic, and multisided. The conventional problem-solving logic so attractive in American culture—find a problem and then fix it—is of limited utility, and a longer term, more contextualized approach is necessary† (Smelser et al. , 2002, p. 4). For instance, the Global War on Terror (GWOT) as espoused by the Bush Doctrine includes toppling ‘rogue nations’ as part of the effort to thwart terrorism (Borum, 2004). Focusing on ‘nation rebuilding’ of states, that are otherwise subject to deterrent, rather than on organizations that transcend geographic localities and are not subject to deterrent, is a lack of proper cultural understanding of the issues, and will lead to further cultural misunderstandings. It makes sense that if powerful cultures do not make accusations against weaker cultures not understood, or interfere in the sovereign rights of weaker nations, that a large amount of terrorism will fail to manifest by lack of unwanted cultural impetus from foreign powers. One of the biggest troubles seems to be, that powerful countries can arouse their masses which are â€Å"easily pressed into service to rally the nation, quell dissent and effectively inoculate the public against any alternative perspective† (Ivie, 2005, p. 56), the main point being to limit any alternative cultural perspectives as being legitimate relative to one’s own ‘superior’ cultural perspective. This is error. â€Å"An increasingly militarized culture of fear† (p. 9), such as is dominant in the US today, and which has been developing over many decades, cannot reduce the threat of terrorism in the world. Indeed, Muslim culture dictates that retribution be demanded when a family member is taken. Each errant US bomb inevitably creates more ‘terrorists’ (Borum, 2004), cultural ‘deviants’ are created that never would have existed otherwise. Rumors and hundreds of websites have sprung up claiming that FEMA has erected hundr eds of internment camps on American soil is a disturbing part of the changing culture in America today. A Google search of ‘American internment camps’ will pull up hundreds of unsubstantiated claims of such camps, including specific locations; further highlighting the cultural atmosphere of increasing paranoia. Finally, what can help prevent Muslim youth in the U. S. from taking a violent path? According to Sirin and Fine (2007)â€Å"Research that the successful integration of both one’s own culture and the dominant culture, leads to more positive developmental outcomes†¦whereas marginalization, that is disengagement from both cultures, is associated with mental health problems for immigrant youth† (p. 52). Society certainly would do well to address issues of marginalization, in order to help prevent future â€Å"Sudden Jihad Syndrome† (Pipes, 2006). Conclusion While this paper has focused mainly on US and Muslim extremist involvement, state and non-state respectively, it is important to remember that many other states and organizations exist whic h perpetrate terror. Terror is a two way street, with few exceptions. Perhaps the ultimate defense against terrorism is to understand the cultural and cross-cultural causes of it, and with proper knowledge, address the issues at hand. We must avoid stereotypes at all costs, because â€Å"Nearly all terrorists are extremists, but most extremists are not terrorists† (Borum, 2004). â€Å"Long-term orientation versus short-term orientation† (Franke, Hofstede, ; Bond, 1991) may provide insights into which culture holds greater strength in the GWOT. U. S. culture demands immediate results, and has little tolerance for long term strategies, while extremist Islamic culture is bond by the vision of Mohammed, and is prepared to sacrifice for centuries if need be (Borum, 2004). Fortunately, unnecessary warring between cultures may diminish substantially as one of the biggest single benefits of cross-cultural understanding and application of organizational psychological research (Brislan, 1983). â€Å"It is argued that we now live in an age of ‘hyperterrorism,’ where the nature and scale of terrorism has reached a new level, and that the question of ‘How to deal with international terrorism is quickly becoming the defining issue of our age’† (Ward, 2008, p. 248). It is imperative that we make every effort to understand the cross-cultural determinants of terrorism, regardless of cost. Additionally, â€Å"terrorism is a discourse that affects all our lives, and the collateral argument that terrorism somehow validates the occasional abrogation of so many of our most cherished legal principles, is something that should concern all of us† (p. 249). Hogan (2006) offers: â€Å"Due to the logistical and analytical challenges of cross-national comparisons, studies to date have concentrated largely on single nations† (p. 64). While much work remains, understanding the vast scope of cultural interdependencies that help create terrorism is an extremely complex task yet must be undertaken if we are to come to terms with global terrorism. As Hostede (1998) states, â€Å"constructs are products of the mind with which we attempt to understand and predict human behavior in an infinitely complex world†, and all constructs are flawed to some degree. In an infinitely complex world, we will never entirely eradicate terrorism in its many manifestations. Our best hope to eradicate the bulk of organized terrorism is through scientific understanding and conscientious application of rational solutions, freed from cultural bias. â€Å"Culture lies entirely on the â€Å"nurture† side of the ledger, as against â€Å"nature†, or truly nherited traits† (Munger, 2006, p. 134). Solutions to the specter of terrorism will manifest through understanding and responding to such cultural nurture. This paper has posited that understanding other cultures can help to reduce tensions between cultures, which give rise to terrorism and counterterrorism conflicts. As Munger (2006) points out, â€Å"a shared understanding of something that identifies insiders, and excludes outsiders because they do not share this understanding† (p. 133), is perhaps the fundamental commonality between conflicting sides. If we can short-circuit this exclusionary identity concept, by education and promulgate understanding by either, or both sides, and act upon it with responsible communication between parties, then perhaps modern terrorism as we know it will eventually end. It may take many years, because established terrorist organizations are not open to compromise (Smelser ; Mitchell, 2002), but such efforts may play a large part in helping to prevent future recruitment, and help eliminate the need for terrorist organizations within the cultures that originally spawned them; losing their luster they slowly fade from existence.

Has Globalisation Made The World More Dangerous?

Has Globalisation Made The World More Dangerous? Currently the world grapples with the worst economic downturn in decades, a growing body of research suggests the complexity of the modern global economy may make us more vulnerable than ever to catastrophe. Globalisation has impacted societies around the world in both positive and negative ways. Despite positive changes in certain areas though, there are two significant factors that make the globalised (and globalising) world a more dangerous place with respect to the rise of non-State threats. The spread of information and technology greatly increases the risks associated with any given terrorist attack; and economic transformations related to globalisation have left large portions of society disenfranchised while increasing the polarisation of wealth. Furthermore, the globalisation of culture, economics and religion has been a main reason for the increase in non-state threats and violence carried out by insurgents. Since the emergence and expansion of globalisation in the 1990s, t he world has experienced increased problems. The proposed problems are; increased terrorist activity, gaps between religion and cultural ideologies widening, global financial systems being less stable, dangers of pandemic diseases increasing, and global climate change becoming a major danger. One has to explore the extent to which globalisation has created a situation in which non-State threats can thrive and affect a wider number of people, thus making the world a more dangerous place. Globalisation can be defined as the integration of economic, social and cultural relations across borders (CLARK, 1997), and Globalization is best understood as the creation of a variety of transboundary mechanisms for interaction that affect and reflect the acceleration of economic, political and security interdependence. (KAY, 2004: 10) The term non-State threats refers to groups and individuals such as ethnic militias, cults, organised crime and terrorism. (CHA, 2000) Although terrorism has no wid ely accepted definition it has come to mean the use of violence by small groups to achieve political change. (BAYLIS, SMITH, OWENS, 2008: 372) The relationship between non-State threats and globalisation is difficult to describe accurately, but it is inaccurate to suggest that globalisation is responsible for their rise, but technologies associated with globalisation have been exploited. Furthermore the economic transformations that have occurred due to globalisation have made it easier for terrorists to operate globally, communicate between one another and manoeuvre arms, and the breaking down of national territorial and trading boundaries also means that threat can travel further distances. The question asserts that there has been a rise in non-state threats. Indeed, the post cold war era has seen a rise of non-State forms of insurgency and violence, most notably in Mexico, Palestine, Bosnia, Somalia and Rwanda. Global Conflicts seem to be changing from wars between states to wars within them. Of the 89 conflicts between 1989 and 1992 only 3 were between states. These conflicts were seen to be non-State, post-ideological, and more devastating in terms of their human effects. Indeed the world has become a more dangerous place in the last twenty years. However, in order to make a judgement on whether globalisation has been the main cause, one has to assess the extent to which globalisation has helped increase the level of threat posed by non-state insurgency and the potential harm this can cause to the global population. Firstly, globalisation has made the world a more dangerous place as the technological advances associated with globalization have improved the capabilities of terrorist groups to plan and conduct operations with far more devastation and coordination. (BAYLIS, SMITH, OWENS, 2008: 378) The spread of technology, due to globalisation, has huge implications when considering the risk of any given terrorist attack. Globalisation has resulted in more trade, more connectivity, more markets, and more openness, and has therefore greatly enhanced the likelihood of any of a number of weapons of mass destruction, biological, chemical or nuclear, becoming accessible to terrorist groups. Today the potential harm that one terrorist attack can cause is staggering. Weaponry is more widely available in the modern day because they are far more easily bought, sold and transported. Advances in technology have contributed to The mobility of ideas, capital, technology, and people (WEBBER, BARMA, KROENIG, RAT NER, 2007: 50). Therefore non-Sate threats of the present day have a far greater capacity to cause harm globally due the advancement of world communications, transport and other technology. Todays international terrorism owes much to globalisation. Al Qaeda uses the internet to transmit messages, it uses credit cards and modern banking to move money and it uses cell phones and laptops to plot attacks. Globalisation has also empowered terrorist groups as it has allowed an un-censored increase in the volume, range and sophistication of propaganda materials. (BAYLIS, SMITH, OWENS, 2008) An example of this can be seen from 1997 when a website posted the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movements communiquà ©s and videos during the seizure of the Japanese embassy in Lima. Furthermore, the terrorist organisation, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, has a website that promotes the group as internationally accepted and that they are committed to conflict resolution. Any computer can be used for propaganda purposes, such as with the printing of leaflets, and globalisation has allowed its influence to reach the furthest corners of the Earth. This has made the world more dangerous as the harmful ideals and objectives of terrorists can be spread with ease, and are more accessible to the general public, through the internet, video and various other methods. The technological advancement brought on by globalisation has also meant non-state threats like terrorists can mount co-ordinated attacks, from various areas, in different countries. (BAYLIS, SMITH, OWENS, 2008) The London Underground bombings in July 2005, the Madrid bombings in March 2004 are but two examples. Extremist, fundamentalist groups, terrorists, criminals, and drug smugglers have been enhanced by the globalisation of technology and information. (CHA, 2000) Technologies including hand held phones and radios have allowed insurgents to operate independently and at substantial distances from one another. For example the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) standard ensures that any compliant phone will work anywhere in the world where a GSM network has been established. Therefore insurgents can conduct attacks in locations that are geographically separated by large distances. The improvement in global communications brought on by globalisation has certainly aided mil itant Islamic non-State threats as they appear presently to have global depth, power, and reach. For example, the 9/11 hijackers utilized cheap and readily available pre-paid phone cards to communicate between cell leaders and senior leadership and, according to at least one press account, coordinated final attack authorization prior to the jets taking off from different locations. (BAYLIS, SMITH, OWENS, 2008: 380) Moreover, to a certain extent, terrorism has become much harder to counter due to globalisation because groups such as the Islamic fundamentalists have developed into a virtual global community rather than a hierarchical organisation with fixed training camps and headquarters. Various measures have been put in place for privacy on the internet such as passwords and the development of 64 and 128 bit encryption software which is tough to crack. Threatening Non-State groups are fairly well protected in their virtual community. Therefore, not only have technological advanceme nts, spread throughout the world by the process of globalisation, allowed terrorists to co-ordinate with more efficiency, but they have provided more security for non-State threatening actors as well. Terrorist groups have been able to leverage technological developments designed to shield a users identity from unauthorized commercial or private exploitation (GUNARATNA, 2002: 35). Globalisation has also helped Non-State threats of the present day have incredible mobility and what is more frightening is their potential lethality as well. Globalisation has made the crossing of international boundaries far easier. In recent years terrorists have been able to move rapidly between borders, making efforts to track them very complicated. Global commerce has been expanded hugely and this has helped increase the mobility of non-State threats. The volume of air travel and goods that pass through ports has increased exponentially through globalization (BAYLIS, SMITH, OWENS, 2008). The expanding global system of markets has meant border security measures have been relaxed in many areas. Moreover, demands for the efficient supply, manufacture and delivery of goods has made life more difficult for Sates to prevent terrorists exploiting gaps in security measures, which were originally created to deter illegal activity. An increase in mobility has also made it easier for thre atening non-State groups to transfer expertise between one another, and it has become easier for terrorist groups to establish operational bonds with their counterparts and sponsors across the world. Such collaboration flourished in the 1990s, and members of the international terrorism community are believed to have trained in many countries such as Afghanistan; Bosnia-Herzegovina; Chile; Colombia; Iran; Iraq; Libya; Mexico; North Korea; Pakistan; Sudan; Syria; and Turkey. Moreover globalisation has increased the potential lethality of non-State threats. Globalization may allow some terrorist groups to acquire, manufacture, and use weapons of mass destruction in order to conduct catastrophic attacks. (BAYLIS, SMITH, OWENS, 2008: 382) Since the end of the cold war we have been given reason believe that attacks in the future by threatening non-State groups may involve weapons of mass destruction. For example, evidence recovered in Afghanistan in 2001 outlined plans by Al Qaeda to prod uce and test biological and chemical weapons. Globalisation has facilitated access to weapons as opportunities to transport weaponry internationally have grown substantially with the opening of markets and increased trade associated with a globalising world. It has greatly enhanced the likelihood of threatening non-State actors gaining possession of weapons of mass destruction, and therefore there has been a substantial increase in the harmful potential that modern day terrorist attack entails. The breaking down of national trade barriers and the move towards a global free market by globalisation has certainly aided non-State threats. Globalisation is coupled with an ideology of free markets and free trade and a decline in state intervention. (SHELLEY, 2006) The opening of markets has its global benefits but it can also aid terrorists as it has increased their capability to organise and strike globally. The 9/11 attacks are the best example as it was the heart of the US that got struck, which is a fair distance from the Al Qaeda heartland in the Middle East. Globalisation has made the transfer of money across borders literally instantaneous, and opportunities to transport weapons internationally have grown substantially with the opening of markets and increased trade associated with a globalising world. (LI, QUAN, SCHAUB, 2006) The acceleration of trade between states, has resulted in the establishment of Multi-National Corporations (MNCs), and has thus instituted transnati onal organisations that operate by their own rules and regulations rather than that of the governments. The creation of transnational organisations has facilitated trade with less government intervention and this has supported the boom of illicit trade as there are fewer regulations from the government to check the system. Furthermore, the rise in illegal trade of drugs and arms has made it easier for terrorists to fund their organisations and broaden it. As a result of this illicit trade, today terrorism has, in a sense, become a transnational organisation that cannot be easily checked and corrected by the government. Thus terrorists pose more threat to a greater number of people due to globalisation. The current wave of international terrorism, characterised by unpredictable and unprecedented threats from non-state actors, not only is a reaction to globalisation but is facilitated by it. (CRONIN, 2002) A relevant example for this would be resurgence of Al Qaeda and regrouping of T aliban, both labelled as terrorist organizations, funded with cash from heroin trade. (SHANTY, 2008) Globalisation has also made the world more dangerous by creating a system in which international crime, a form of non-State threat, can prosper. Transnational criminals are major beneficiaries of globalisation. Terrorists and criminals move people, money, and commodities through a world where the increasing flows of people, money, and commodities provide excellent cover for their activities. Both terrorists and transnational crime groups have globalised to reach their markets, to perpetuate their acts, and to evade detection (SHELLEY, 2006), thus making the world essentially more dangerous. Globalisation advocates the reduction of international regulations and barriers to trade and investment in order to increase trade and development. However, it is these conditions of a globalised environment that are crucial to the expansion of crime, as the decline in regulations have been exploited and has provided criminals with greater freedom. Transnational crime groups have been able to exte nd their reach by exploiting loopholes of state based legal systems. They travel to regions where they cannot be extradited, base their operations in countries with ineffective or corrupt law enforcement, and launder their money in countries with bank secrecy or few effective controls. By segmenting their operations, both criminals and terrorists reap the benefits of globalization, while simultaneously reducing their operational risks. (SHELLEY, 2006: WEB) Furthermore, globalisation has resulted in global trade increasing enormously, meaning there has been a larger flow of legitimate commodities but also an increase in illicit merchandise. Essentially the world has become more dangerous as globalisation has facilitated the movement of drugs, arms and contraband; which can in turn be used to generate profit for illegal non-State organisations. The drug trade was the first illicit sector to maximise profits in a globalised world. However, as the market for drugs became more competitiv e and law enforcement responses increased, the risk became greater meaning criminals have subsequently sought to benefit financially from other operations like arms trafficking and trade in people. A major service industry has also developed to serve all forms of transnational criminals (SHELLEY, 2006: WEB). For example, providers of false documentation and money launderers such as Riggs Bank in Washington D.C which was prosecuted for laundering money for the dictator of Equatorial Guinea. Overall globalisation has had quite a profound effect on the international criminal community. It has created a situation in which it is easier to prosper from illicit activities, and thus the world is worse off for it. Globalisation is seen by many in todays world as an invasion of different cultures by western (predominantly American) products and materialism. Therefore violence has been sighted by many non-State actors as the only method to preserve certain traditions and values from Americanisation. Western secular, materialist values are increasingly rejected by those seeking to regain or preserve their own unique cultural identity. (BAYLIS, SMITH, OWENS, 2008) Therefore the world may have become a more dangerous place as the process of globalisation, which is viewed by many as a silent American invasion of western ideals and goods, has and will continue to provoke violent reactions throughout the globe. Since the 1990s there have been many social changes due to globalisation, and the spread of free market capitalism appears to overwhelm the identity or values of certain groups. As the new globally connected system is not to the liking of many people, cultural friction may translate into confli cts divided along religious or ethnic lines to preserve cultural identity. Furthermore, economic transformations related to globalisation have left large portions of society disenfranchised while increasing the polarisation of wealth. As Sandbrook and Romano point out, in the era of globalisation, [Economic] inequality has risen in most countries, and in many cases sharply. (SANDBROOK, ROMANO, 2006: 107) Certain fringe groups have suffered terribly from the economic impact of globalisation. Other classes amongst society may have much to gain but the sense of deprivation of those who dont may become a powerful motivator for violence, and globalisation has left out those who pose the greatest threat. The western post-industrial states of the global North dominate international economic institutions such as the World Bank, set exchange rates, and determine global fiscal policies (BAYLIS, SMITH, OWENS, 2008). These actions can often be unfavourable to underdeveloped countries, and provide motivation for many in the global South to shift loyalties to illegal act ivities such as terrorism. Globalisation has provided access to a world market for goods and services, but this has often been perceived as a form of western economic imperialism, and thus can also motivate violence. Globalisation is widely believed to have had a generally positive impact on global economic growth, but the effect of globalisation on employment and the distribution of incomes have been intensely debated in recent years. It does create pressures leading to increased inequality in some countries and the need for structural adjustment in all. Therefore, many in the under-developed world have little opportunity to obtain wealth locally, and this has in turn caused mass emigration to urban centres. However movement is no guarantee of success, and in this case individuals may turn to violence for political or criminal reasons. In conclusion, globalisation has provided threatening non-State actors with a number of benefits. It has improved the technical capabilities of terrorists and given them global reach, and has created a system in which crime has become far more international. Moreover, globalisation has been seen by many as a western intrusion of other cultures and religions which has motivated violence. Essentially all these factors have certainly made the world a more dangerous place. However, in the era of the Cold War before globalisation took its largest strides, a war between the USA and the USSR had the potential to harm nearly everyone on the planet. This is something terrorists, ethnic militias, and global criminals can never achieve despite now having global reach. The potential threat posed pre-globalisation was greater than that of non-State threats of the present day. On the other hand the Cold War did not harm many at all whereas international terrorism now is causing problems all over t he globe. The world may indeed be more dangerous due to the increased powers of non-State threats thanks to globalisation, but the actual danger of new international terrorist networks to the regimes of stable states in the developed world, but also in Asia, remains negligible. Horrifying though the carnage of 9/11 was in New York, it left the international power of the US and its internal structures completely unaffected. (HOBSBAWN, 2008) Terrorism has advanced due to globalisation and has the potential to cause global harm but it can never challenge the existing world order. Globalisation has resulted in both criminals and terrorists developing transnational networks, dispersing their activities, their planning, and their logistics across several continents, and thereby confounding the state-based legal systems that are used to combat non-State transnational aggressors in all their permutations. Threatening non-State groups are major beneficiaries of globalisation. Terrorists and criminals move people, money, and commodities through a world where the increasing flows of people, money, and commodities provide excellent cover for their activities. Both terrorists and transnational crime groups have globalised to reach their markets, to perpetuate their acts, and to evade detection. Therefore, the world has indeed become more dangerous, to a certain extent, as globalisation has created a system in which threatening non-State actors can operate with more organisation and ease; and the consequences are that damage can be caused all over the modern day world.