Western Europe In Middle Ages Essays - Franciscan Spirituality

Western Europe In Middle Ages Saint Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) was born into a wealthy family at Assisi, Italy, the son of a cloth merchant. Francis received little formal education and during his youth was mostly preoccupied with having fun. As a young man, he was popular, charming, enjoyed practical jokes and was usually the life of the party. Because of his wealth, he generally picked up the tab and thus attracted a following of fun loving, rowdy young men and promiscuous women. When armed conflict broke out between the men of Assisi and a neighboring city in 1202, Francis eagerly volunteered for the cavalry but wound up getting captured after the first big battle and spent a year in captivity. Francis returned to Assisi hailed as a hero, but unknown to his friends he had undergone a transformation in his outlook during his captivity. Although he was once again the life of the party, he was now questioning his reason for existence. After much contemplation, including vivid dreams and mystic visions, he turned away from the pursuit of all worldly pleasures, sold all his property and donated the money to the Church. He then began a lifelong passion of caring for society's castoffs, the sick and poor, including lepers. His wealthy father reacted to his son's new lifestyle by disinheriting him. Thus Francis lived in utter poverty and even went without shoes. But his humbleness, extraordinary kindness and love for humanity attracted the attention of other young men and they also chose to give up worldly pleasures and follow him to spread the gospel and serve the poor. Eventually, as the brotherhood grew, its members traveled to other parts of Europe to preach, including France, Germany, Spain and England. A separate order for women was formed, now known as the Franciscan Nuns or Poor Clares. Francis had much love for animals with special fondness for the birds. He liked to refer to animals as his brothers and sisters. Legend has it that wild animals had no fear of Francis and even came to him seeking refuge from harm. In 1224, Francis went up onto a mountain and began a 40-day fast. During that time he is said to have had a miraculous vision and received the marks of the nails and spear exactly as they appeared on the body of Jesus during his crucifixion. After his death in 1226, Francis was declared a saint by Pope Gregory IX. For centuries after his death, his Franciscan order has experienced continuous growth and is still active today caring for the poor, educating, and continuing many other good deeds. (www.historypage.com) History Essays

Indigenous People - The Ainu essays

Indigenous People - The Ainu essays What are indigenous people, well there in universally accepted definition for indigenous people? There were certain characteristics that are common for indigenous people. Indigenous people tend to live in small populations. They have had their own land for quite some time. There cultural traditions are very strong. They have their own language. Indigenous people live in every part of the world. They can live in cold climates like the Arctic are they can live in the hot Amazon. There are approximately 370 million indigenous people in the world, belonging to 5,000 different groups, in 90 countries worldwide. Each indigenous culture has its own history so it makes it very unique. There many groups around the world I choose to write on the Ainu. Ainu means human The Ainu prayed and performed ceremonies to their gods. They had plant gods animal gods such as bears foxes and many more. The Ainu believed everyday life had examples of their gods including things like the sun the moon and the thunder. Prayers are offered on every occasion. There are plenty of gods in the Ainu cultural they have a god of fire, they have a mountain god the list goes on. Unlike most cultural the Ainu gods are not like we the gods that we know. If a god commits an error the Ainu are allowed to argue with them. There is mutual assistance between the gods and the Ainu. There are good and bad gods in this cultural which is similar to most cultural. The Ainu offers lavish gifts to the gods to please them. They would offer wines, salmon these are supposed to delight the gods and bring good fortune to the Ainu. There is also evil gods who bring diseases and mishaps. There are many ceremonies in this cultural throughout the year. There are ceremonies to send back spirits, ceremonies for ancestors. There is also a ceremony to launch the first fishing event of the year. The most frequent ceremonies of these are the ones that send spirits back. These spirits ...

Global operations management - multiculturalism and diversity Essay

Global operations management - multiculturalism and diversity management - Essay Example There are back office, front office, retail and wholesale operations as part of the operations management. Customer service is another area focussed by the operations managers. Customer service determines the success and failures of a business. It is aimed at building active relationships with the customers. Because of the highly globalized business environment at present, operations managers of modern era forced to interact with diverse customers and hence the success of operations managements at present depends on how well the operations managers are able to manage the multiculturalism and diversity in business. This paper briefly analyses the current operations management issues with respect to multiculturalism and diversity management. Some of the issues the host foreign country could face as a result of the expansion   The major issue in internationalising a business is the issues with respect to diversity and multiculturalism. No two individuals are alike; same way no two cou ntries are alike. Countries may differ socially, economically, politically, legally and culturally. All these aspects have a big say in operations management and hence success of international business depends on how well a country deal with these issues. ... ternational business (Victor, 2009) Communication is one of the vital segments of every business activities and language barriers often spoil effective communications. Communication may occur between the organization and its customers and the knowledge of a common language is necessary for effective communication. The business environment in different countries is different because of the economical, political, legal and social differences. For example, America and China are two entirely different countries politically, economically and socially and hence while doing business with China, America should consider the issues related to diversity and multiculturalism seriously. Social organizations in America and China are entirely different because of the cultural differences. In America, religion is a big entity whereas in China, it may not be the same. It is not necessary that two parties in a communication process may have similar knowledge or level of information (Contexting) in the topic of negotiation, especially when they happen to be of two different cultures. In other words, Americans and Chinese may have different levels of contexting and the knowledge of these differences is essential while conducting business negotiations. Authority and leadership styles are other areas in which America and China may differ. Americans are more dominating types compared to Chinese people. â€Å"The view of authority in a given society affects communication in the business environment significantly as it shapes the view of how a message will be received based on the relative status or rank of the message's sender to its receiver† (Victor, 2009). Non verbal communication, and the understanding the importance of time etc are also different in different countries which should be

Interest Group Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Interest Group - Essay Example n the media and popular culture, PETA has contributed directly and indirectly to the enactment of more comprehensive legislations concerned with animal rights. It has also played a central role – directly or indirectly – in the amendment of existing animal rights laws to create better, more holistic legislations that suit the animal rights agenda. The organization was formed in 1980 and has always been dedicated to protecting animals from abuse and suffering, especially at the hands of humans. PETA’s slogan is based on the notion that â€Å"animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment† (Singer 41). This message features prominently in the organization’s website, merchandise, and marketing material (Del Mar 26). The group trains members of the public and policymakers on animal abuse and advocates humane treatment of animals. Its headquarters are in Norfolk, Virginia, but it has international divisions to further its cause abroad. The organization believes that just like humans, animals have rights, and their best interests should always be considered, irrespective of their value to humans. Animals also experience pain and suffering and thrive when they are left to lead their lives in the way that fits their nature and environments. All of PETA’s activities are guided by the belief that all human and nonhuman beings have a right to be free from all forms of harm. According to the group’s mission statement, animal cruelty is one of the problems plaguing the world, and that deserves sufficient attention. The organization believes that everybody has a responsibility to prevent and oppose animal abuse at every opportunity (Singer 34). For 35 years, PETA has worked to create a global society in which people contemplate the needs of, according to Henry Beston, â€Å"the other nations† (Singer 57). In this regard, the group considers itself to be a protector of the rights of individual animals; this informs its belief that animals

English Literature Comparison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

English Literature Comparison - Essay Example Despite this, it required native speakers to begin putting some of the fallacies to rest. The purpose of the following essay is to compare the portrayal of Africa, its people and its religion with the portrayal of the white man in two novels, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness published in 1902 and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart published in 1959, as a means of illustrating how even a sympathetic treatment of the continent by a white man is insufficient to contradict traditional Western beliefs. The Western conception of Africa has always been shaped largely by the novelists and travel writers who have journeyed there. Not until relatively recently have any novels been published by native peoples who understood the more intricate natures of the societies that have called the continent home for centuries and adapted to its cycles. Until Dr. David Livingstone and Sir Henry Morton Stanley in the mid-1800s, no white man had ever reached the interior of Africa, making it very apt for the adoption of its label as an unknown entity. Although these explorations did little to further Western understanding of the people or the land, they did instigate plenty of speculation and conjecture, which became the stuff upon which misunderstandings to last centuries were founded. In many ways, the blank spaces found on Joseph Conrad’s map of Africa as a child have been duplicated within the minds of the average Westerner regarding many things to do with Africa and its people. As a resu lt of this almost exclusively one-sided depiction, Africa has traditionally gained a reputation as being a land of possibility for Western enrichment through the exploitation of its resources – agriculture, gold, even people. The West’s understanding of African people holds that they are mostly child-like in their primitive understandings, only

Moldovas Accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO)

Moldovas Accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) The World Trade Organization (WTO), successor of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) founded in 1947, today represents a common institutional frame- work for the development of trade relations among its members, based on the principles harmonized at the international level through a number of multilateral agreements. At present the WTO includes 140 countries, with another 32 countries having an observer status. Moldova, Armenia, China and Vanuatu are at the final stage of accession. Today only a few countries with planned economies in their past and some developing countries have remained outside the WTO. Integration, of the developing countries and of the countries with their economies in transition, into the international trade system offers a good opportunity to take full advantage from the participation to enter the globalization process. Countries with their economies in transition view the WTO, whose rules of international trade are being established and monitored , as a structure that offers an important opportunity for integration into the world economy and of the improvement of their national legal framework in the economic and commercial field. The WTO basic functions are as follows: to facilitate the application, administration and successful functioning of the WTO laws and regulatory framework; to promote the achievement of objectives of each WTO agreement that concerns specific trade issues; Proceeding from these functions, the WTO can be viewed as an international structure, which for its member states represents the following: a forum for negotiations of issues concerning trade relations and matters incorporated into international multilateral treaties; a forum for future international negotiations, representation of each members interests; a legal and institutional framework for the application of the results of talks between states; a framework ensuring the application of rules and procedures for settling disputes between states; a framework providing for the use of the mechanisms of scrutinizing and ensuring transparency of commercial policies. 3.1. Advantages of the World Trading System The world trading system is not perfect, particularly taking into account the attempts of the Member States to have after their accession, the current rules revised. However, since the establishment of the WTO in 1995, countries involved in this system maintain that a state outside the system should be aware of the advantages the WTO offers to its members and of the reasons in favor of the WTO membership. In most cases, the decision of countries to apply for the WTO membership was influenced mainly by political factors, as their economic and commercial interests were not one of the major factors in initiating the accession process. On the other hand, candidate countries were conscious of certain disadvantages of staying away from the WTO bilateral and multilateral agreements are not sufficiently comprehensive, the image of a non-member state among foreign investors is not favorable enough etc. In this order of ideas we suggest looking into the advantages of accession to the WTO. As it was mentioned above, the WTO rules were produced on the basis of the world trading system, specifically a set of rules established by the consensus of all 140 Member States of the World Trade Organization. These rules are said to make life easier for everybody, since the decisions within the WTO are taken by consensus, likewise all multilateral agreements have been negotiated and then ratified by the parliaments of each Member State. The WTO agreements are compulsory for every country, developed or less developed, big or small. Without a multilateral forum, such as the WTO, the more developed countries would have had more freedom to impose unilaterally their will on their smaller partners. Free trade reduces living expenses. A great deal of research has been done on the conflict between protectionism and free trade. Protectionism is expensive: it always raises prices. The WTO system pursues the goal of removing trade barriers by following the rules of the game set by mutual agreement and is based on the principle of non-discrimination. This brings lower production costs, lower prices for goods and services, and as a result, life becomes less expensive. The world trading system offers a much wider range of various products. Import provides for a better choice of goods and services of different quality. Even the quality of local goods can be improved in conditions of competition generated by import. Imported goods are not used only as a finished product, but also as materials, components and equipment for the production of local goods. This allows manufacturers to broaden the range of products, services and technologies applied, which ultimately contributes to the increase of exports. Trade increases incomes. Analysis and estimates of the impact of the Uruguay Round (in other words, of the establishment of the WTO) or of the creation of the European Union (EU) common market, proved that these processes brought about considerable additional revenues, which greatly stimulated economic development. Trade incurs challenges and certain risks — local manufacturers have to offer products of the same quality as the imported ones, yet not all producers succeed in this. However, the fact that there are additional revenues means that there are resources for the governments allowing for redistribution of the available benefits. This can help business operators become more competitive in the traditional fields or in the newly developed and promising ones. Trade stimulates economic growth, which implies, among other things, creation of new jobs. It is true, however, that some jobs are lost as a result of the expanding commercial activities. The same applies to the technological progress: the implementation of new technologies creates new jobs, while at the same time, cuts down jobs requiring an un- skilled labor force. In both cases, a coherent policy facilitates settlement of the employment problems, thus ensuring a better final result, particularly in conditions of a free trade, and also provides for the use of advanced technologies. It is known that trade, which ensures a more efficient and adequate use of production resources, generates division of labor among countries. An additional advantage offered by the WTO system is an increase of efficiency with less expenses. This becomes possible due to the important principles laid on the basis of the system. These principles are as follows: non-discrimination, transparency of rules and regulations, commitments to remove trade barriers and increase the access on other markets, fostering trade through making customs procedures easier and uniform, and others. à ¯Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¿ In the WTO framework governments are in a better position to defend themselves from being lobbied by some smaller groups. Thus, governments can carry on a commercial policy that satisfies the interests of all parties involved in the economy. At first sight, the application of certain restrictions on imports seems to be an efficient method of supporting the economic sector. In fact, it imbalances the economy and affects other sectors. At the same time, it is well known that making exceptions leads indirectly to tax evasion and corruption. In some cases, even the protected sectors are affected. When the policy of support given by the State is incoherent and is not rendered until the final consolidation of the capacities of enterprises, the latter at a certain point can go bankrupt or be swallowed by big corporations. Due to the fact that the WTO framework covers a wide range of sectors, if there is a case in which a pressure group resorts to lobbyism in order to be protected, the government can put up resistance to such pressures, motivating it by the fact that an agreement suitable for all sectors of the economy has to be reached. In practice governments often invoke such a reason. The system encourages good government. Governments often use the WTO framework as a practical external restriction for the elaboration of economic policies, by giving the following reason, we cant act differently because its against the WTO regulations. According to the WTO rules, once a commitment has been undertaken, it would be difficult to change this decision. For business this means a greater certainty and clarity in conditions of trade. For governments this means more discipline and correctness. Also, the world trading system contributes to peace consolidation. It seems a bit exaggerated, and yet, the system contributes to strengthening peace in the world, since, to some extent, peace is a result of the application of the two basic principles of the WTO, particularly, ensuring continuous trade and offering a fair and constructive way to settle trade disputes. An eloquent example is the trade war of 1930, when the involved countries competed in raising trade barriers in order to protect local manufacturers. This fact deepened the Great Crisis and played a certain role in the outbreak of World War II. A key-element of the WTO system is the fact that disputes are solved in a constructive way. Naturally, the development of trade may generate trade disputes which can lead to serious conflicts. Therefore, a great deal of tense international trade situations can be settled by the organizations specializing in tackling trade disputes, such as the WTO. A growing number of disputes brought before this organization reflects closer economic ties throughout the world, a growing number of the WTO members and an increasing confidence in the capacity of this system to settle disputes [2]. To summarize the advantages of the WTO membership, we can name some of them: a) the implementation of the WTO agreements, in general, offer wider trade opportunities to the Member States; b) multilateral regulations with a higher degree of restrictions ensure a safer and a more stable trade environment and provide more certainty in trade relations; c) only Member States can take advantage of the rights laid down in the WTO agreements; d) the WTO agreements have substantially improved transparency of commercial policies and of the practices of trade partners, a fact that strengthens safety and stabilizes trade relations; e) only the WTO members have an access to the mechanism of settling disputes with a view to defending their rights and commercial interests; f) membership status offers an opportunity to take part in multilateral negotiations, thus, ensuring the promotion of each members commercial and economic interests. 3.2. The Republic of Moldovas Accession to the WTO Accession, accomplished in the appropriate conditions, is a rather difficult and complicated process that may be delayed and that requires a high level of competence and coordination of government institutions, as well as a political consensus to efficiently promote national interests. The accession process involves thorough bilateral and multilateral negotiations with all WTO members concerned in the policy carried on by the candidate, which can procrastinate the process of accesion. Countries in the process of accession are bound to examine and adhere to all multilateral agreements, and, optionally, to the two plurilateral agreements, adhesion to which de jure is not compulsory. In fact, the contracting parties to these agreements expect that the candidate becomes a party of these agreements in the accession process to the WTO. This condition turns automatically into a commitment, also observed in the context of discussions and positions of the WTO member states during multilateral trade negotiations. Accession of the Republic of Moldova to the WTO was determined by the advantages offered using the legal framework of international trade and by the reasons in favor of WTO membership. Back in 1993 the Government of the Republic of Moldova applied to join GAIT. The request, which following the creation of the WTO in January 1995, had been reiterated by Moldova. The purpose of accession to the WTO was to urge the process of integration into the world economy, which provides for building a democratic society, an economy based on market economy principles. The accession was motivated also by specific disadvantages of a non-member status in the WTO, in conditions when bilateral trade agreements were not sufficiently developed. It was also motivated by an adverse image, especially among foreign investors, generated by the out of the system status. Accession negotiations coincided with the structural and systematic reforms program and with the elaboration of the countrys economic policy, including the commercial one. However, an underdeveloped administrative system and a lack of human and financial resources directly affected technical capacities providing for this complex process of accession to be conducted shortly and efficiently. Besides, in addition to the fact that it was necessary to adopt a concept to promote a commercial policy which would comply with the WTO multilateral obligations, Moldova, as any applicant country, was required to accept concessions with regard to the access to the goods market and to the consolidation of customs tariffs, as well as with regard to the commitments in the field of internal support in agriculture, and the special commitments concerning trade in services. It should be mentioned that in the course of Moldovas accession the attitude of the main trade partners towards the applicant countries became harsher compared to the period of accession to GATT. The standards of adhesion have been raised considerably. Some WTO members took a firm position requiring the applicant countries to accept a higher level of obligations compared to the one accepted by the initial members, having already included the eventual results of the next future multilateral negotiations. In practice, thi s means that the Republic of Moldova had to accept the level of tariffs consolidation and certain commitments in the services area comparable to the level of the developed countries. At the same time, the Republic of Moldova did not have the opportunity to benefit from certain provisions stipulated by the WTO agreements, which provide a special and preferential regime offered to the developing countries. The status of a developing country was not given to any applicant country with their economy in transition during the period in wich they entered into the accession negotiations with the WTO. This situation made negotiations a lot harder for Moldova  than for other candidates included in the UN list of developing countries. Despite these difficulties, as compared with the other CIS states, Moldova launched a very active process, being outrun only by Kyrgyzstan and Georgia. Initially, in conformity with the accession procedure, a memorandum on the foreign trade regime was presented. Later, a Working Group for the accession of the Republic of Moldova was created comprising 24 WTO members (the European Union having one vote), followed by rounds of questions and answers. Numerous bilateral and multilateral negotiations have been conducted on the access to the goods and services market, on offering subsidies in agriculture and on aligning national legislation on the WTO regulations The most intense negotiations were conducted with Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic. India, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Slovakia, USA, Turkey and the EU The longest in duration and the most consistent were the negotiations with the EU, the United States, Australia, Canada, India, and Bulgaria A special part in the accession process was both the adjustment of the current legislation to the regulations adopted by the Uruguay Round, and the elaboration of new laws in the areas that have a direct or indirect impact on foreign trade. The negotiation process lasted long due to a negative influence of a number of factors, some of which have already been mentioned. Another important factor was the absence of an adequate institutional framework and of mechanisms of elaboration of policies necessary for the operation of a market economy at the beginning of the negotiation process, which was supposed to ensure rapid development of the latter, ft is also known that frequent changes in the upper level of administration affect and considerably tarry, the accession process. These reasons have slowed down the elaboration and adoption of an adequate national legislation, a fact noticed by the Working Group members on the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the WTO. Protraction of the Republic of Moldovas accession has partially offered some facilities to the WTO members that only the WTO framework can offer. Since the presentation of the memorandum on the foreign trade regime and, later, of the replies to the questions of the working group members for working out the Report of the Working Group and of the Protocol of Accession, Moldova had to submit a great deal of information from different fields related to commercial policies, which required significant expenses. The more this process was delayed, the more information was requested, which sometimes indirectly allowed the member states to speculate on some of the plans or strategies of the applicant countries. For example, in the process of the accession of the Republic of Moldova, information in the following areas was required: practices and prices regulations, the taxation system, subsidies in agriculture, foreign investments, the environment, customs tariffs, including preferential tariff s, payments for customs procedures, exemption from customs duties, license on import, export regulations, trading enterprises owned by the state, standardization of imported goods, sanitary and phyto-sanitary standards, foreign exchange operations, and the protection system of intellectual property rights, etc. It should be mentioned that the presentation of this information was compulsory or unavoidable, since the purpose pursued was to advance the accession process. On the other hand, all these have led to facilitation of the aims of the major WTO actors, who use different levers in the accession process in order to have the applicant countries undertake anticipated commitments within the WTO, thus ensuring their alignment on the subjects discussed during multilateral negotiations. As a non-member country we have already missed many opportunities to negotiated on various bilateral agreements with the states of Central and Eastern Europe the WTO members. Foreign business operators are discouraged by the lack of a clear set of rules, which would allow them to set up their business on the basis of internationally recognized principles. The relations of cooperation in the economic and commercial fields with the countries of the European Union or of the Central Europe Free Trade Area (CEFTA) have been blocked or not given pertinent importance. Treatment of the economic system of the Republic of Moldova as one that is not based on market principles

Snow Falling On Cedars :: essays research papers

Snow Falling On Cedars Vs. Stranger In The Kingdom When I first read Howard Frank Mosher’s novel Stranger In The Kingdom I was astonished that something like that took place in Vermont. I have always been under the misconception that racism isn’t extremely prevalent in our local culture today. Once again my white American’s views were challenged when I read Snow Falling On Cedars, by David Guterson. The two books seem to me to be exactly the same story, only they occur about forty years apart from each other. The book are so synonymous with each other, that most of the characters are comparable. As the story of David Guterson’s book unfolds, we find ourselves looking through the eyes of a man that has lived on the island for most of his life. His name is Ishmael Chambers. Ishmael seems to be a perceptive child, and soon gets to know one of the island’s many Japanese girls, named Hatsue. As fate would have it, they fall in love with each other in Shakespeare-like-fashion. The problem of them coming from two different races of people forces them to be secretive about their relationship. When Hatsue is forced to move away because of WWII regulations, she ends her relationship with Ishmael, sending him into a life filled with jealousy and grief. Howard Frank Mosher paints the same portrait for us, only in a more commonly know setting. A black man and his son are cognizant of their color when they are forced to live in a town of solely white people. As the murder trial unfolds, we find out that the man’s son also has been having a relationship such as the one Ishmael and Hatsue had. He had been having "relations" with a white mail-order bride that had just arrived in town. They kept this secret because of the obvious problems it would have caused with the bigoted townspeople. In both stories, a love between two different people has evolved. Similar to each story the only reason the two young people were separated was due solely on the race and social standing. (The similarity to Romeo and Juliet here is amazing. I am beginning to think that all modern love stories are based on that play; West Side Story.) I believe that stories such as these will continue to happen indefinitely in the future. Ever since Columbus first set foot on the New World, racism and prejudice has been an issue.

Brechtian Techniques

Bertold Brecht (1898 – 1956) founded the so-called new, or â€Å"epic theatre† that creatively reworked the principles of traditional â€Å"Aristotelian† drama, in order for the plays to correspond to modern demands. Brecht characterised his position in dramatic art as social-critical. He was an active antifascist and thus centered his works on major historical events and gave them a social-political meaning. From the formal point of view, Brechtian techniques were based on defamilirisation of the event. First and foremost, he transposed the event into third person.He uses new concept of author’s time, i. e. time as it is perceived by the narrator of the play. The latter usually tells about the events that happened in the past and comments them. In doing so, he freely operates various layers of time, so that the whimsical structure of the story reminds that of a recollection or a dream. Finally, an important element of Brechtian drama is its increased conv ention, for instance the action can be interrupted by speaking stage directions aloud and or via usage of placards and signs.The drama â€Å"Zoot Suit† (1978) by Luis Valdez’ efficiently uses the Brechtian principles and techniques. Like many of Brecht’s dramas, this work is a passionate social protest that shows the injustice of the society with purely Brechtian didacticism. Valdez wrote this play at the end of â€Å"turbulent seventies†, which in the US were characterised by increased social activity of minorities fighting for their rights, and Mexican Americans were among these.Thus, the playwright addresses the times, when the Mexican American identity was only forming, and yet it was oppressed and discriminated by the police. Valdez implies that the same thing may happen or even happens in his times and protests against it. In this respect his play may be linked with activities of Guerilla theatre, which considered itself to be a cultural revolt agai nst war and a mouthpiece of social protest movements. Valdez’ play also has explicit antiwar and protest connotations, and in accordance with Brecht’s conception, his art serves political purposes.Furthermore, action is presented and commented by the narrator, the fictional El Pachuco, which is the condensed embodiment of Mexican spirit (pachucos were Mexican American youth who emphasized their Mexican identity and wore zoot suits). He converses with the protagonist of the story, Henry Reyna, and in some episodes interferes into action (for instance, he takes the place of Rudy Reyna in an uneven fight with sailors). Moreover, from the very first words Valdez emphasizes Brechtian convention. For instance, the drop curtain is â€Å"giant facsimile of a newspaper front page† (1, 1992).Besides in his first monologue EL Pachuco says that he is an actor who plays El Pachuco and recollects this myth. This indicates another Brechtian technique. The narrated action takes place in the past. The setting, as described by the author, emphasizes that the age of zoot suits is in the past: â€Å"The somber shapes and outlines of pachuco images hang subtly, black on black, against a back-ground of heavy fabric evoking memories and feelings like an old suit hanging forgotten in the depths of a closet somewhere, sometime† (1, 1992).At the same time, in the end El Pachuco says that this legend still lives and is topical, for at least he is interested in telling it. However, this is not the objective past time of Aristotelian drama, but rather narrator’s individual perception. El Pachuco can retard action by making the judge repeat for the second time that â€Å"zoot haircuts will be retained throughout the trial for purposes of identification† (ibid). He also uses sudden retrospections, for example when Henry mentions Saturday night dance, El Pachuco snaps fingers and makes this event repeat.In another instant, he skips witness’ st atement, saying â€Å"You know what. We've already heard from that bato. Let's get on with the defense† (1, 1992). Besides the conventionality is emphasized by various other interruptions of action. An interesting example of this is when the arrested pachucos stand in a line, the Press starts and they continue the headline. In another episode the Pressâ€Å"moves the bundles of newspapers on the floor to outline the four corners of a jail cell†, i. e.makes the decorations for the next scene in jail (1, 1992). To sum up, the play â€Å"Zoot Suit† by Luis Valdez exemplified Brechtian understanding of social-political role of art and demonstrates a number of Brechtian techniques of the â€Å"new theatre†, among them accentuated conventionality of action, transposition into third person (use of narrator) and into the past, connected with the present, and forcible handling of time. References 1. Valdes, L. (1992). Zoot Suit. Zoot Suit and Other Plays. Houston, TX: Arte Publico Press. Pg 22-94.

Multinational Companies Power Essays - Taxation, Free Essays

Multinational Companies Power Essays - Taxation, Free Essays Multinational Companies Power In what ways do multinational companies exercise significant power over the US government UG COURSEWORK COVERSHEET School of Politics and International Relations 0Please check this box if you are happy for your work to be used as an exemplar for future students. Your work will remain anonymous and will be used for guidance only. STUDENT NUMBER: SEMINAR TUTOR: YEAR: FIRST 1 SECOND 0 FINAL 0 ASSOCIATE 0 ERASMUS 0 (check the relevant box with a double-click) MODULE CODE: POL 105 COURSEWORK NUMBER/TITLE: In what ways do multinational companies exercise significant power over the US government? WORD COUNT: 2358 ________________________________________ A First ClassB Upper SecondC Lower SecondD ThirdE DeficientF Fail Task fulfilment Research Quality of Argument Structure Presentation Representation of Sources STRENGTHS: WEAKNESSES: HOW TO IMPROVE: Provisional Mark: ___________ In what ways do multinational companies exercise significant power over the US government? In todays era of globalisation, multinational companies exercise a substantial amount of power influencing the political sphere through campaign funding and lobbying to say the least. For some, this has led to the government representing corporations more than it represents people. Throughout this essay the extent of corporate political influence will be explored assessing in what ways multinational corporations engage in the political process and whether this involvement truly has an effect. As aforementioned the power of multinational corporations over the US government is significant, a key way this can be reflected is through their ability to reduce their tax and in some cases even avoiding tax. There are a number of ways some of the worlds most well-known companies do so, with an end goal of achieving tax-levels which serve their best interest. Some corporations carry out a process of corporate inversion, which involves the relocation of a companys base to a country with low-tax jurisdictions. As a result of this corporations such as Apple have reduced their corporate income tax by an average of $10 billion-a-year for the past four years. This strategy allowed them to pay an effective tax rate of 12.6% one of the lowest among U.S. corporations. Currently corporation tax in the U.S stands at 35% the highest overall rate of any of the worlds developed economies. This contrast in corporation tax undoubtedly indicates the power of MNCs translated through the first dime nsions of power in its simplest form by multinational corporations (A) exercising power over the government (B). This is reflected in that although there are laws in place multinational corporations bypass and circumvent these laws. Their economic power provides them with the means to establish more favourable conditions for their company to prosper, ultimately maximising their profits. In this context the power of MNCs over the US government is prominent in that their superior economic resources puts them in a position to exploit the existing tax loopholes for corporate benefit. Nonetheless this can be undermined in that multinational corporations do not possess full exception from tax and that although they may carry out measures to avoid tax; this doesnt go unnoticed by the government. Corporations such as Apple have come under fire from the Senate Subcommittee; with the investigations chairman Carl Levin coming to a conclusion that Apple used a complex web of offshore entities to avoid paying billions of dollars in US income taxes. Additionally the Obama administration has also undertaken measures to curtail tax inversion. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew passed a bill which would significantly diminish the ability of inverted companies to escape U.S. taxation. As a result this clearly indicates that the government retains power as they continue to exercise authority over such corporations ensuring that legal jurisdictions are followed. It ultimately challenges the view that multinationals have vast amount of power which allows the government to disregard thei r tax avoidance. However this doesnt weaken the fact that multinational corporations still possess a significant amount of power over the government in regards to taxation. Due to corporate inversions and other forms of tax avoidance by multinationals, they have forced the US government to form a debate about the current levels of corporation tax and what type of action should be taken to subvert corporate inversions. President Barack Obama's 2015 budget proposed making inversions harder to do by raising the foreign ownership required. Congressional Democrats have made similar proposals. This influence over the US government can be expressed through the second dimension of power.

Definitions and Examples of Word Formation

Definitions and Examples of Word Formation In linguistics (particularly morphology  and lexicology), word formation refers to the ways in which new words are made on the basis of other words or morphemes. Also called derivational morphology. Word-formation can denote either a state or a process, and it can be viewed either diachronically (through different periods in history)  or synchronically  (at one particular period in time). See examples and observations below. In  The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language,  David Crystal writes about word formations:   Most English vocabulary arises by making new lexemes out of old ones - either by adding an affix to previously existing forms, altering their word class, or combining them to produce compounds. These processes of construction are of interest to grammarians as well as lexicologists. ...  but the importance of word-formation to the development of the lexicon is second to none. ... After all, almost any lexeme, whether Anglo-Saxon or foreign, can be given an affix, change its word class, or help make a compound. Alongside the Anglo-Saxon ​root in ​kingly, for example, we have the French root in royally and the Latin root in regally. There is no elitism here. The processes of affixation, conversion, and compounding are all great levelers.(David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press, 2003) Processes of Word-Formation Apart from the processes that attach something to a base (affixation) and processes that do not alter the base (conversion), there are processes involving the deletion of material. ... English Christian names, for example, can be shortened by deleting parts of the base word (see 11) This type of word formation is called truncation, with the term clipping also being used. (11a) Ron (-Aaron)(11a) Liz (-Elizabeth)(11a) Mike (-Michael)(11a) Trish (-Patricia)(11b) condo (-condominium)(11b) demo (-demonstration)(11b) disco (-discotheque)(11b) lab (-laboratory) Sometimes truncation and affixation can occur together, as with formations expressing intimacy or smallness, so-called diminutives: (12) Mandy (-Amanda)(12) Andy (-Andrew)(12) Charlie (-Charles)(12) Patty (-Patricia)(12) Robbie (-Roberta) We also find so-called blends, which are amalgamations of parts of different words, such as smog (-smoke/fog) or modem (modulator/demodulator). Blends based on orthography are called acronyms, which are coined by combining the initial letters of compounds or phrases into a pronounceable new word (NATO, UNESCO, etc.). Simple abbreviations like UK or USA are also quite common.(Ingo Plag, Word-Formation in English. Cambridge University Press, 2003) Academic Studies of Word-Formation - Following years of complete or partial neglect of issues concerning word formation (by which we mean primarily derivation, compounding, and conversion), the year 1960 marked a revival- some might even say a resurrection- of this important field of linguistic study. While written in completely different theoretical frameworks (structuralist vs. transformationalist), both Marchands Categories and Types of Present-Day English Word-Formation in Europe and Lees Grammar of English Nominalizations instigated systematic research in the field. As a result, a large number of seminal works emerged over the next decades, making  the scope of word-formation research broader and deeper, thus contributing to better understanding of this exciting area of human language.(Pavol Ã…Â  tekauer and Rochelle Lieber, preface to Handbook of Word-Formation. Springer, 2005)- [R]ecent voices stressing the importance of investigating word formation in the light of cognitive processes can be interpreted f rom two general perspectives. First of all, they indicate that a structural approach to the architecture of words and a cognitive view are not incompatible. On the contrary, both perspectives try to work out regularities in language. What sets them apart is the basic vision of how language is encapsulated in the mind and the ensuing choice of terminology in the description of the processes. . . . [C]ognitive linguistics concedes closely to the self-organizing nature of humans and their language, whereas generative-structuralist perspectives represent external boundaries as given in the institutionalized order of human interaction.(Alexander Onysko and Sascha Michel, Introduction: Unravelling the Cognitive in Word Formation. Cognitive Perspectives on Word Formation. Walter de Gruyter, 2010) Birth and Death Rates of Words Statistical Laws Governing Fluctuations in Word Use from Word Birth to Word Death.   Just as a new species can be born into an environment, a word can emerge in a language. Evolutionary selection laws can apply pressure on the sustainability of new words since there are limited resources (topics, books, etc.) for the use of words. Along the same lines, old words can be driven to extinction when cultural and technological factors limit the use of a word, in analogy to the environmental factors that can change the survival capacity of a living species by altering its ability to survive and reproduce. Source Petersen, Alexander M. Statistical Laws Governing Fluctuations in Word Use from Word Birth to Word Death. Scientific Reports volume 2, Joel Tenenbaum, Shlomo Havlin, et al., Scientific Reports, Nature, March 15, 2012.

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 48

Case study - Essay Example The fans who purchase the premium and the non-premium seats fail in reselling these tickets in the secondary market. Furthermore, the high pricing of the seats has led to the stadium experiencing their lowest attendance to date. The empty seats in the stadium are noticeable especially with the matches being televised. The seats closer to the pitch have a lower number of fans compared to other seats in the stadium (Mowen et al 554). The Yankee management fails to acknowledge the economic situation of a majority of their fans as they continue to enforce this pricing plan. Various factors influence the pricing of Yankee tickets. First, the post-season games such as the play-offs determine the pricing of the tickets. The presence of stars such as Derek Deter and others dictate the value of tickets in the stadium. When Derek Jeter announced he would retire from the sport, all the tickets to his last matches were sold out and ridiculous prices. The level of competition dictates the pricing of the tickets in the stadium, the tickets for the finals usually cost more than those of normal league games (Mowen et al 554). The failure to sell out all the seats in the Yankee stadium reduces the reputation of the Yankees. The reduced reputation results in low performance by the Yankee players which consequently means that the baseball enterprise will incur losses. Reduced income in contrast to the investment into the billion dollar stadium represents losses to the grand enterprise. Furthermore, the stadium requires maintenance throughout the whole baseball season and the income from the sale of seats will not cover this expense (Mowen et al 556). The financial impact of the unsold seats is great due to the stature of the world richest team. The revenue from the seats is used in the aforementioned activities and in financing other activities.

The French Language And The Slave Trade Assignment - 1

The French Language And The Slave Trade - Assignment Example The effects were both social and economic. In terms of social effects, it led to conflicts among Africans themselves. The French used to bribe some Africans to lure and capture their own. After the others had begun realizing what was going on, they started revenging against the collaborators. It led to â€Å"misery and loneliness. This is because the French were capturing on the active and healthy individuals who would look after cows, plow their farms or go out hunting for food so that their children and older parents and other beneficiaries could benefit from them† (Parkman, 36). Another social effect of the slave trade is language. The local languages of the Africans where the French were carrying out their trade changed drastically. The languages were mixed in some instances with the French whereas others the Africans adopted the French language entirely.In West Africa where these incidences were highly reported, the national and official language is French. This is evident in countries such as Mali, Senegal, Cameroun, and others. The trade hence led to a change in languages (Leroy, 04). Additionally, the mixture of the traditional African culture with foreign French culture resulted in the erasure of the African culture. The French ensured that their culture is superior and more felt on the ground than the traditional African culture. Since then, the African culture in those countries was erased and replaced with the French thus affecting Africans more. In fact, most of the children who were born after the transatlantic trade do not recognize a lot of their cultures (Dubois, 51). The economic impacts were as many as the social ones. First, there was exploitation of Africa’s resources by the French. â€Å"After they realized that the West African countries were rich in natural resources, the French began exploiting them and sending to France where they would benefit them.