Friday, January 24, 2020

Wrights Native Son as Communist Manifesto? :: Native Son Essays

Wright's Native Son as Communist Manifesto? Was Richard Wright's Native Son a story about his views towards Capitalism and Communism ? Did Richard Wright want to show the good and bad points towards Capitalism and Communism ? Or was this novel just about how a young man went through life and how society made him. Richard Wright's Native Son shows that he used the Dalton's, Thomas's, and Jan Erlone to represent Capitalism and Communism . After reading Richard Wright's Native Son, many believe the author purposely placed the Thomas family in a small, run-down home . The book shows this right from the start . Bigger and his family had to sleep in the same room, and big rats were running around the house . This shows the Thomas family represented the lower class, a trademark of Capitalism . I could not even imagine living there, especially with that huge rat .The house must have been very dirty and disgusting by today's standards . The author wanted to show how some families live under these severe conditions. He made us see vividly how they lived with this quote . "A huge black rat squealed and leaped at Bigger's trouser-leg and snagged it in his teeth, hanging on." This showed how broke they were by showing that there were giant rats living with them and how it had no fear of them . Richard Wright did not just not just want to show the con sides to Capitalism, he also wanted to prove the Capitalism has its good sides to it also . For instance, Richard Wright purposely placed the Daltons in a spectacular house and made them very rich and famous . Another trademark of Capitalism, the upper class. The author showed how some of the Capitalist folks lived . The upper class is very wealthy and basically gets what they want . Mr. and Mrs. Dalton had it made. They had chauffeurs, a huge house, and cars . They had too much money . They were giving away things to the needy, though they were giving away useless things to the needy like Ping- Pong tables. Richard Wright wanted to show that the upper class were afraid of the blacks . Not afraid of their individual physical strength, but

Thursday, January 16, 2020

In What Way Can China’s ‘Socialist Market Economy’ Be Regarded as Successful and to What Extent Is It Not Achieving Its Promise?

Question 2: In what way can China’s ‘socialist market economy’ be regarded as successful and to what extent is it not achieving its promise? China is much more than just a mere country. It has been through many ups and downs and exciting changes in the Chinese society, from changes of dynasties to establishing a name under the ‘7 wonders of the world’ with its creation of the ‘Great Wall of China’. Its heritage and history for the past thousands of years have made China of what it is today. Hence, with Deng Xiaoping’s widely quoted phrases: â€Å"crossing the river by grouping for stones†, â€Å"Getting rich is glorious†, and â€Å"seek truth from facts, and not from ideology†, how has China develop and grown over the years? How did China attain its current economic prosperity? How did China seek the truth of its economy transition from a planned economy to a market economy over the decades? â€Å"In a planned economy, government controls and determine business ownership, profits, and resource allocation. The theory behind a planned economy is ‘communism’, which suggests that all property is shared equally by the people in a community under the direction of a strong central government. It is an economic system that involves public ownership of businesses. Rather than entrepreneurs, the government decides what products consumers will be offered and in what quantities. As the main planner, the government establishes trade polices that historically have been very restrictive in allowing foreign companies the opportunity to compete† (Stralser, 2004). China was a planned economy under Mao Zedong’s leadership as he thoughts was mainly equality, where he established nationalization of China’s economy through the control of markets by keeping it free from foreign dominations, price, and production as well as natural and human resources. He also introduced the promotion of egalitarianism and collectivism with little incentives, while individuals’ needs are not being realized. As a result, economic development in China was stagnant and there was not much of an economic progress. In the late 1930s, Oscar Lange started the idea of â€Å"Market Socialism,† an economy in which assets or methods of productions, were owned socially by the communist party or State, but which imitated the supply-demand price adjustment of the competitive market economy. Conversely, Lerner and Lange debated on the issue that the key element that is common to ‘market socialism’ is socialist (i. e. party) ownership and (managerial) control of assets. The key difference is that market-based allocation of goods and services versus centrally planned allocation of goods and services. In China, the ‘market’ element has expanded gradually since the start of the agricultural reforms in 1979 and the introduction of Urban reforms in 1984. In 1992, China publicly stated that its goal is a â€Å"socialist market economy with Chinese Characteristics. † Though China has successfully expanded the scope of the market, â€Å"socialist† (communist) control of factors remains very important. An understanding of these elements is vital to an understanding of the economic performance of China. Thus, China’s transition from a planned economy to a ‘Socialist Market Economy’ started in 1978, after the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, when Deng Xiaoping recognized the need to reform its economy and political structure, as China was experiencing economic and developmental problems under Mao’s leadership. Deng Xiaoping’s thoughts were different from Mao Zedong’s, as Deng Xiaoping believed in prosperity and efficiency for China’s economy. His aim was to raise living standards and introduced the ‘Four Modernisations’; namely the Industry, Agriculture, Science and Technology and Defence, by developing ‘a market economy with Chinese Characteristics’. Moreover, he establishes a contract responsibility system in agricultural areas and revives individual businesses in urban areas to understand and satisfy individuals’ needs. Furthermore, he decentralized a substantial amount of authority in state enterprises and reform the irrational price system due to the high demand and selling in the market. The call for such a change is for the reason that China was under a very centralized planned economy system that has high speed and excessive accumulation of national income at the expense of consumption, but produces a low result and consumptions due to poor planning and economic mismanagement. It led to the excessive emphasis on grain production and the low productivity of commune systems. On the other hand, China sees the need to be modernized and strong, thus establishing what Deng Xiaoping introduces, the ‘Four Modernisations’. In particular, the Industry sector, where overemphasis is placed on heavy industry while the light industry and services are being ignored. In addition to that, the Defence sector has placed too much emphasis on their national defence and lacked efficiency. Too much attention is placed on self-reliance (Riskin, 1987; Hsu,1991). Not forgetting the acknowledgement of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) mistakes in the Cultural Revolution, whereby permanent revolution, class struggle, mass movement and political unrest exist and the rejection of key theories of Maoism that has seriously damaged the Chinese economy (Wei, 2000). From the period when China was under Deng Xiaoping’s leadership till the end of 1998, China’s economic reform has gone through a transition from a planned economy to a market economy. And at present, China portray itself as a â€Å"Socialist Market Economy† or where it is called â€Å"Socialism with Chinese Characteristics†, which means that â€Å"using market forces to improve the efficiency of production while retaining a managed, predominantly state-owned economy and authoritarian control over political activity† (Dorn, 1998). Deng Xiaoping introduced both the economic and political reform program to achieve four major objectives, namely, instituting contract responsibility in agricultural areas such as the labour responsibility system that determines where a person can work legally and where it cannot; reviving individual businesses in urban areas; decentralizing a substantial amount of authority in state enterprises where the banking system has evolved little from a government department where loans are decided on the basis of provincial or national objectives and ability to repay is irrelevant to the variable cost of the capital. And lastly, reforming the pricing system, which simply means that the market rather than the government itself determines the pricing system. Cities or Provinces can and do price land to any buyer at any price. Infrastructure pricing and supply, mainly to foreign invested enterprises, is likewise determined on the basis of national or provincial or city objectives and can vary within the various enterprise. This is also applicable to the limit for some of the output of the State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) that remain subjected to the central department, who are their bosses for orders and directions. As for the economic reform, Deng Xiaoping came up with three propositions that are private ownership has useful place in a socialist economy; market forces should be allowed to influence the allocation of goods and the determination of prices and material incentives should be the principal mechanism for stimulating greater productivity and efficiency, for example, having rewards to set the moods up for the workers so that they would work hard to achieve their rewards and hence, increases productivity and efficiency. According to Virmani 2005, he mentioned that â€Å"in moving from the ‘Socialist’ to the ‘Socialist Market’ Economy, China has borrowed aspects from the â€Å"Nationalist Market Economies† of developing Japan, S. Korea and Singapore. The main purpose of China’s government was to be able to economically draw closer to the advanced countries through fast growth of average income. Consequently, China developed a national consensus to maximize GDP growth. The whole nation was called together to achieve this aim. The simplicity of this purpose of growth, investment and production made China much easier to decentralize its economy structure and ensure accountability at every level including that of the private corporate sector†. Now we move on to the political reform, Deng Xiaoping wanted China to seek a sharper and decisive break from Maoism and the Soviet model; de-maoisation by abolishing class struggle and permanent proletarian revolution; to reduce the role of ideology in political and intellectual life and also reduce Party’s role in making technical and administrative decisions. Therefore, separate the Party’s ideology and administrative competence area and also not forgetting the technical and political areas. Today, China’s ‘Socialist Market Economy’ can be regarded as successful due to the â€Å"high rates of growth China has sustained for the last quarter or a century, with GDP averaging 9% per annum. China’s trade activity, including both imports and exports, has grown an average of 15% a year since 1979† (Eswar, 2004). Its achievements were from political and economic decentralization that consist of the introduction of entrepreneurial autonomy to the Chinese economy, and to the new booming of rural industries, so as to offer higher employment opportunities, income and prosperity to the local communities. With reference to the World Bank research done on fighting poverty, the overall living standards for the vast majority of the Chinese population improved as 400 million people were lifted out of poverty, while business dynamism spread across China's urban and rural areas. As a result, its transition to a market economy system gives individuals a higher share of their earnings, increasing their per capital wealth. Furthermore, Virmani also mentioned, one of China’s most significant market innovations to its socialist economy was the product market (2005). It started with agriculture output markets in 1979 where initially agriculture markets were partially liberalised in a manner similar to that used in India for sugar and other markets in the sixties. This was a ‘Dual pricing and distribution’ system in which part of the produce continued to be handed over to the government at a controlled price, while the rest could be sold freely at the market price. Many of the rules circumscribing small-scale service activities were also abolished or ignored, resulting in a boom in collectively and individually owned restaurants and shops. Labour contracting services also developed in the interior provinces to supply construction workers to urban areas. Dual pricing in industrial goods was introduced by China in 1985-86, with prices on the market channel allowed to fluctuate according to market conditions. At this point, more than half of all industrial goods were still distributed at administered prices. Product liberalisation was gradually extended to the entire manufacturing sector. It has also been selectively extended to the real estate sector and retail trade. One of the recent evidence on China’s success is seen during the Beijing Olympics that showed to the outside world its successfulness, spectacular and advancement, prosperous and modernity is like any other west countries. But there is also the more genuine and in fact improved aspect of China that raised itself up, so to speak, in the earthquake that occurred in May in Sichuan, â€Å"with heroic rescue efforts by government at all levels, the army, and people from all walks of life throughout the country. The resilience and resourcefulness of the Chinese people are the real source of optimism. With a socialist ideal and politically conscious forces to pursue it, true reform is well within China's capacity† (Lin, 2009). However, like any other communist or socialist country, to a certain extent China is not achieving its promise because in China, the single party rule is none other than the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). To paraphrase Perkins (1994), ‘All political power in China is monopolised by the Chinese Communist party, a party that is organised along Leninist lines. Power is centralised at the top and not easily challenged from below. ’ The party is a hierarchy stretching from the party general secretary at the top to the party honcho in the smallest settlement/village. The objectives, broad approach to achievement of these objectives and the parameters within which lower levels can take initiatives, is decided at the top. national to provincial level, and the Metro cities and Town & Village level. Also, with reference to Virmani 2005, in China, all land is owned and controlled by the State, however, due to the historical heritage of cooperative ownership of farmland, the controlling system is slightly different in the rural areas. In many provinces, farming households supposedly have an ownership share in village and farmland, but lose this right if they move to the urban areas to work. Similar to every other Communist country, in this case, China, the Party controlled the labour unions and therefore the terms and conditions of work. Therefore, the overall policy approach to terms & conditions of employment, work hours and wages is decided by the CCP (at an appropriate geographical level or level of government). If the CCP decides to apply different work and pay rules in a particular province, sector, industry or type of enterprise (e. g. foreign invested) from those applied to general domestic enterprises, neither the (so called) labour unions nor the employees can do anything to change it. China’s labour market is also controlled through the Hukou system that determines where a person is entitled to live and work and receive State provided social benefits. Hukou is a resident permit given by the government. It is issued on family basis where every family have a Hukou booklet that records information about the family members, name, birth date, relationship with each other, marriage status, address and your employer. In other words, its legal residence in an area entitles one to access public schooling and healthcare, housing and job opportunities and/or land for farming. Legal change of residence is possible if either a person succeeds in getting a place at a senior middle school and then at a city college by clearing competitive exams for the same, or if the state allows it, say allowing firms in a city to hire permanent workers from nearby rural areas. The Chinese government used the family register system in order to control the movement of people between urban and rural areas. Thus, with Hukou System, it limits mass migration from the land to the cities to ensure some structural stability. Also, it was an instrument of the command economy. Hence, if people move without formal CCP permission, they are in effect illegal migrants with no rights. Chinese government’s restrictions on rural-urban mobility primarily operate through the Hukou system. A worker may live legally in an urban area, without acquiring an urban hukou as a permanent resident on a long-term permit or as a contract worker. Permits for legal residence are neither easy nor cheap to come by, and illegal migration has been increasing throughout the reform period. When the special economic zones were first opened, all labour contracts were with a Chinese labour bureau that is effectively controlled by the CCP’s ‘terms and conditions’ of employment. 100% of capital assets were owned and controlled by the State, that is the CCP. The management of these assets is distributed to different levels of government, which in turn is controlled by different levels of the party. Some are controlled at the National level through the departments of the central government and their CCP bosses. Others are managed or controlled at the provincial, City and Village level. As a result, China’s political system is interlocked and intertwined with the majority of administrative heads being Party members, who still is in today’s China, controls everything. For example, China’s listing could also be solely on the Hong Kong stock exchange or even a foreign exchange. This does not convert them into private enterprises as management control remains with the same CCP boss or his nominee or appointee who represents them. In conclusion, China is trying to establish an entirely diverse conceptual economic system that is neither a traditional socialistic economic system nor a capitalistic economic system. Furthermore, it is not apparent that â€Å"Socialist Market Economy† can be said to be socialism or capitalism. In fact, Deng Xiaoping made it clear that capitalism and socialism are both non-conflicting ideas, as both of them are tools for managing China’s economy. For this reason, China would like to be at the so-called ‘middle mark’ where it is not at the extremes of the both sides but rather in the centre, with a system that makes use of the virtues of both capitalism and socialism. The changes that were brought about by the success of the transition to a ‘Socialist Market Economy’ are that its agriculture system moved from People’s Commune system to the family based ‘responsibility system’ and land has become a commodity. Market prices were from a price fixing system to a dual-price system, where the market determines 80% and the government determines the remaining 20%, so as to strengthen and institutionalized the price system in the market. The banking sector changed its allocation of funds according to the policy to dual system partially making decisions on its allocation. The marketing of goods and services have changed from central planning to allocation to the market’s allocation of goods and services. China’s relation with other countries improved from economic isolationism to a desire to be active in the worlds economy via foreign investments and allowing labour into export production and export to sustain domestic growth. As a result, the national economy showed a fast and constant growth, the overall strength of China expanded evidently, the standard of living of the people improved together with time and distinctive esults have been attained in such activities as science and technology, education, culture, health and physical culture have advanced. The people of China are happier now with such changes in their life. And not forgetting that China’s political system is still governed by the Party, Chinese Communist Party (CCP), that makes China still a capitalist country that controls and determines everything and not achievi ng its promise. References Dorn, James A. ed. 1998. China in the New Millennium: Market Reforms and Social Development. Washington D. C. Cato Institute. Hsu, Robert C. 1991. Economic Theories in China, 1979-1988. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press. Lange, Oscar. 1971. On The Economic Theory of Socialism. New York. : Comparative Economic Systems. Lerner, Abba, P. Economic Theory and Socialist Economy: Review of Economic Studies 1934. Lin, Chu. 2009. The Socialist Market Economy: Step Forward or Backward for China?. Science & Society, Vol. 73, No. 2, April 2009, 228-235. Perkins, Dwight. 1994. Completing China’s Move to Market. Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. , No. 2, Spring 1994, pp 23-46. Prasad, Eswar. ed. 2004. China’s Growth and Integration into the World Economy: Prospects and Challenges. International Monetary Fund, Occasional Paper N 232, Washington DC. http://www. imf. org/external/pubs/ft/op/232/op232. pdf (accessed 04/05/09). Riskin, Carl. 1987. China's political economy: the quest for development since 1949. New York: Oxford University Press, Incorporated. Stralser, Steven. 2004. MBA In A Day: What You Would Learn At Top-Tie. New Jersey. : Wiley & Sons, Inc. Suliman, Osman. ed. 1998. China’s Transition to a Socialist Market Economy. Westport, CT. : Quorum Books. The World Bank, â€Å"Fighting Poverty: Findings and Lessons from China’s Success,† The World Bank Research, http://econ. worldbank. org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTRESEARCH/0,,c ntentMDK:20634060~pagePK:64165401~piPK:64165026~theSitePK:469382,00 html (accessed 04/05/09). Virmani, Arvind. 2005. China’s Socialist Market Economy: Lessons of Success. Working Paper No. 178. December 2005. Wei, Yehua Denni. 2000. Regional Development in China: States, Globalization, and Inequality. London. : Routledge.

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

The Geography of Crimea

Crimea is a region of the southern area of Ukraine on the Crimean Peninsula. It is located along the Black Sea and covers almost the entire area of the peninsula with the exception of the Sevastopol, a city that is currently being disputed by Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine considers Crimea to be within its jurisdiction, while Russia considers it a portion of its territory. Recent severe political and social unrest in Ukraine led to a referendum on March 16, 2014, in which the majority of Crimea’s population voted to secede from Ukraine and join Russia. This has caused global tension and opponents claim that the election was unconstitutional. History of Crimea Throughout its very long history, the Crimean Peninsula and present-day Crimea have been under the control of a number of different peoples. Archeological evidence shows that the peninsula was inhabited by Greek colonists in the 5th-century BCE and since then there have been many different conquests and invasions. Crimea’s modern history began in 1783 when the Russian Empire annexed the area. In February 1784 Catherine the Great created the Taurida Oblast and Simferopol became the center of the oblast later that same year. At the time of Taurida Oblast’s establishment it was divided into 7 uyezds (an administrative subdivision). In 1796 Paul I abolished the oblast and the area was divided into two uyezds. By 1799 the largest towns in the territory were Simferopol, Sevastopol, Yalta, Yevpatoria, Alushta, Feodosiya, and Kerch. In 1802 Crimea became part of a new Taurida Governate that included all of Crimea and a portion of mainland areas surrounding the peninsula. The Taurida Governate’s center was Simferopol. In 1853 the Crimean War began and much of Crimea’s economic and social infrastructure was badly damaged as most of the war’s large battles were fought in the area. During the war, native Crimean Tatars were forced to flee the region. The Crimean War ended in 1856. In 1917 the Russian Civil War began and control of Crimea changed around ten times as various political entities were set up on the peninsula. On October 18, 1921, the Crimean Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic was established as a part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (SFSR). Throughout the 1930s Crimea suffered from social problems as its Crimean Tatar and Greek populations were repressed by the Russian government. In addition, two large famines occurred, one from 1921-1922 and another from 1932-1933, that exacerbated the region’s problems. In the 1930s, a large amount of Slavic peoples moved into Crimea and altered the area’s demographics. Crimea was hit hard during World War II and by 1942 much of the peninsula was occupied the German Army. In 1944 troops from the Soviet Union took control of Sevastopol. During that same year, the region’s Crimean Tatar population was deported to central Asia by the Soviet government as they were accused of collaborating with Nazi occupation forces. Shortly thereafter the region’s Armenian, Bulgarian and Greek populations were also deported. On June 30, 1945, the Crimean Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic was abolished and it became the Crimean Oblast of the Russian SFSR. In 1954 control of the Crimean Oblast was transferred from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. During this time Crimea grew into a large tourist destination for the Russian population. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Crimea became a part of Ukraine and much of the Crimean Tatar population that was deported returned. This led to tensions and protests over land rights and allocations and political representatives from the Russian community in Crimea sought to strengthen the region’s ties with the Russian government. In 1996 Ukraine’s constitution specified that Crimea would be an autonomous republic but any legislation in its government would have to work with Ukraine’s government. In 1997 Russia officially recognized Ukraine’s sovereignty over Crimea. Throughout the rest of the 1990s and into the 2000s, a controversy over Crimea remained and anti-Ukrainian demonstrations took place in 2009. In late February 2014 severe political and social unrest began in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, after Russia suspended a proposed financial aid package. On February 21, 2014, Ukraine’s president, Viktor Yanukovych agreed to accept a weakening presidency and hold new elections by the end of the year. Russia however, refused the deal and the opposition escalated their protests causing Yanukovych to flee Kyiv on February 22, 2014. An interim government was put into place but further demonstrations began to take place in Crimea. During these protests, Russian extremists took over several government buildings in Simferopol and raised the Russian flag. On March 1, 2014, Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, dispatched troops to Crimea, stating that Russia needed to protect the ethnic Russians in the region from extremists and anti-government protestors in Kyiv. By March 3rd, Russia was in control of Crimea. As a result of Crimea’s unrest, a referendum was held on March 16, 2014, to determine whether Crimea would remain a part of Ukraine or be annexed by Russia. The majority of Crimea’s voters approved secession but many opponents claim that the vote was unconstitutional and Ukraine’s interim government claimed that it would not accept the secession. Despite these claims, lawmakers in Russia approved a treaty on March 20, 2014, to annex Crimea amid international sanctions. On March 22, 2014, Russian troops began storming air bases in Crimea in an effort to force Ukrainian forces from the region. In addition, a Ukrainian warship was seized, protesters seized a Ukrainian naval base and pro-Russian activists held protests and rallies in Ukraine. By March 24, 2014, Ukrainian forces began to withdraw from Crimea. Government and People of Crimea Today, Crimea is considered a semi-autonomous region. It has been annexed by Russia and is considered a part of Russia by that country and its supporters. However, since Ukraine and many western countries deemed the March 2014 referendum to be illegal they still consider Crimea a part of Ukraine. Those in opposition say that the vote was illegal because it â€Å"violated Ukraine’s newly re-forged constitution and amounts to †¦ [an attempt]†¦by Russia to expand its borders to the Black Sea peninsula under a threat of force. At the time of this writing, Russia was moving forward with plans to annex Crimea despite Ukraine’s and international opposition. Russia’s main claim for wanting to annex Crimea is that it needs to protect the ethnic Russian citizens in the region from extremists and the interim government in Kyiv. The majority of Crimea’s population identifies themselves as ethnic Russian (58%) and over 50% of the population speaks Russian. Economics of Crimea Crimea’s economy is based mainly on tourism and agriculture. The city of Yalta is a popular destination on the Black Sea for many Russians as are Alushta, Eupatoria, Saki, Feodosia, and Sudak. The main agricultural products of Crimea are cereals, vegetables, and wine. Cattle, poultry and sheep breeding are also important and Crimea is home to a variety of natural resources like salt, porphyry, limestone, and ironstone. Geography and Climate of Crimea Crimea is located on the northern part of the Black Sea and on the western part of the Sea of Azov. It also borders Ukraine’s Kherson Oblast. Crimea occupies the land making up the Crimean Peninsula, which is separated from Ukraine by the Sivash system of shallow lagoons. Crimea’s coastline is rugged and made up of several bays and harbors. Its topography is relatively flat as most of the peninsula is made up of semiarid steppe or prairie lands. The Crimean Mountains are along its southeast coast. Crimea’s climate is temperate continental in its interior and summers are hot, while winters are cold. Its coastal regions are milder and precipitation is low throughout the region.

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Rhetorical Analysis Of John Obama s Speech - 935 Words

In the rhetorical form pathos Obama’s writing invoke the seriousness of slavery and inequality in America. Through his writing Obama highlights much of the unjust and shameful history of America pertaining to race. Obama’s speech highlights the history of racial discrimination in America and how the issue has evolved over the years, yet is still an ongoing thing. With Obama being one who can recall the struggle of being black and growing up in America, much appeal to emotion simply comes from his personal story. In a passage Obama states, â€Å"I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible† (5). Here it can be seen that Obama connects with his audience in letting them know that nowhere else would his story be able except America. It is also important to note that Obama at the ti me was the first serious black candidate to run for president. Patriotism and the love for his country promotes Obama to care about the problems which exist and is something he wants his audience to also share with him when they think about what direction the country is headed. Through this Obama is able to remind his listeners that in America anything is possible and to be a citizen of America is a proud thing to be, promoting patriotism and determination for others knowing that despite the challenges they deal withShow MoreRelatedRhetorical Analysis Of Barack Obama s Election National Convention Address1518 Words   |  7 PagesSpeech 1315-302 Rhetorical Analysis of Barack Obama 2004 Democratic National Convention Address In this paper, I choose the speech of the previous President, Barack Obama; Illinois state senator, his speech address to the 2004 Democratic National Convention marked an important moment in the trajectory of African American rhetoric. I am really impressive his speech because it was strong to affect to our emotion, our realizations and our passion for a strong America. The general theme of Barack ObamaRead More Rhetoric in the American Immigration Debate Essay1659 Words   |  7 Pagesdiscourse even more convoluted. In analyzing three prominent voices in the immigration debate, US president Obama, journalist Sonia Nazario, and Arizona congressman J.D. Hayworth, we can evaluate the effectiveness of the different rhetorical approaches by whether or not they reach their intended audiences. Nazario fulfills her journalistic raison d’à ªtre by succeeding at objectivity, while Obama and Hayworth as politicians succeed by lying by omission in speeches and in writing in order to pursue policyRead MoreIran And The P5 + 11931 Words   |  8 PagesRouhani as a crime against humanity. Fast forward to 2015 and now Iran and six world powers are trying to reach a preliminary agreement on their goals to limit Tehran s nuclear program in exchange for lifting economic agreements. However Iran will only sign the agreement if economic sanctions are removed the first day of the deal s implementation. The Iran Nuclear deal started when talks led to a breakthrough interim agreement agreed in November of 2013 that was known for being called the GenevaRead MoreInstructive Text Types11631 Words   |  47 Pagestextual communication in which the encoder deals with factual phenomena in space like persons, objects, relations. The distinctive base includes a linking verb (seem, look) either in present or past form plus a locative adverbial. Structure of sentence: S (NP) +P (V +Pres\Past) +A (Adv P\PP) The Slobozia Mare village is in south of Moldova. These texts are based on representation of phenomena in space. Encoders can deal with this contextual focus from a subjectiveRead MoreMass Media in General and Newspapers12440 Words   |  50 Pagesmethodology. The second part (Part B), development, consists of 3 chapters. Chapter I discusses the theoretical background of every matter mentioned in the title of the study related to newspaper headlines and translation. 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But we consider that theRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 PagesReasons ................................................................................................ 236 Deceiving with Loaded Language ................................................................................................... 238 Using Rhetorical Devices .................................................................................................................. 240 Review of Major Points .............................................................................................

Monday, December 23, 2019

Treton Discrimination Case - 1050 Words

Investigation Report of Employment Discrimination at Treton Communications David Erving Oregon Institute of Technology Abstract Equal employment opportunity has been has been a major concern in American history. Although the nation was founded on the principles of individual merit, hard work and equality; discrimination still persists. Therefore, laws have been enacted to protect those who have been the victims of employment discrimination. A benchmark in employment laws is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Included in Title VII are Equal Opportunity laws prohibiting racial harassment and religious discrimination in the workplace. An employee has filed a formal complaint alleging such†¦show more content†¦It was the reactions of his fellow employees to Maalick’s religious practices that formed the basis of the complaints of religious discrimination and racial harassment against the company. The investigation found many instances of discrimination and harassment on the part of management as well as other employees with regard to EEO laws and Maalick’s rights as an employee. Thes e instances are listed below: When Maalick requested a week’s vacation to attend a very important religious preparation and confirmation process. Clive Jenkins, his supervisor, questioned the authencity of his religion Maalick confided to Jenkins of his religion but heard comments from other employees that showed obvious signs that Jenkins shared Maalick’s private information Upon changing his name, which was a religious custom, Maalick was ostracized by other employees and his office was defaced with racist literature After he complained to his supervisor, he was ignored After the Human Resources manager was informed of the discrimination and harassment, she alerted the department heads and other employees instead of following the company’s Internal Compliance policy of notifying only the field compliance officer. If she had informed only the compliance officer, she would have passed the responsibility to the proper person. Instead Maalick faced retaliation from other employees due to her negligence Due to these circumstances, the company’sShow MoreRelatedWhat Elements Of Law Are Important For Other Workers At Treton Represent Discrimination And Harassment? Essay1394 Words   |  6 Pagesactions of other workers at Treton represent discrimination and harassment? What elements of law are important for Treton to consider? In this particular case, Mr. Maalick received very clear and convincing racial and religious discrimination from both his supervisor and from his co-workers. The employees of Treton blatantly violated the Civil Rights Act and the Equal. Employment. Opportunity Commission. These acts do not allow, under any circumstances, discrimination based on the idea of race, colorRead MoreAnalysis Of Treton Communication, Inc.1247 Words   |  5 Pagespaper is to analyze Treton Communication, Inc. regarding possible employee discrimination. The objective will be examined by explaining what is legally required in order for religious discrimination to exist, is Treton Communication, Inc. guilty of religious discrimination, and what is legally required for racial harassment to exist. In order to gain a deeper understanding the actions of the Human Resources (HR) director will be evaluated in response to a possible discrimination complaint. In conclusionRead MoreEssay on Case Study 11104 Words   |   5 Pagesï » ¿ BUSI642: Case Study 1 Religious Discrimination and Racial Harassment: What Ever Happened to MarShawn DeMur? January 17, 2015 Case Discussion Questions 1. Identify and describe the specific issues Maalick encountered in the workplace. Do the actions of other workers at Treton represent discrimination and harassment? What elements of law are important for Treton to consider? Maalick encountered religious discrimination on several occasions while at work. The first instanceRead MoreCase Study 11513 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿Case Study 1 Amar Vora Liberty University Case Study 1 1. Identify and describe the specific issues DeMur encountered in the workplace. Do the actions of other workers at Treton represent discrimination and harassment? What elements of law are important for Treton to consider? DeMur found very clear issues that can relate to Harassment and Equal Employment Opportunity discrimination within his work place. It started when his supervisor was hesitant to grant him days off for a religious eventRead MoreThe Equal Protection Clause Of The United States Constitution1496 Words   |  6 Pagesor will be several morals violations among citizens that must be addressed. Particularly, in this case on Religious Discrimination and Racial Harassment in the Workforce. Specific Issues Maalick Encountered in the Workplace Specific issues Marshawn DeMur encountered in his workplace are the company code of ethics violation, hostility in the workplace, racial harassment and or religious discrimination, safety violations, and misconduct. Most of these are Human Resource (HR) workplace ethic violationsRead MoreReligious Discrimination And Racial Harassment1450 Words   |  6 PagesCase 1: Religious Discrimination and Racial Harassment Ken Davis May 20, 2016 BUSI 642 Dr. Amy Banta Introduction The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution sanctioned all 50 States to protect all citizens, by requiring that all citizens are treated according to the Bill of Rights, by protecting â€Å"the inalienable rights of all its citizens† (Fisher, 2013, pg. 3). Although, the inalienable rights of men are projected differently, both from

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Transcoding Jpeg Free Essays

Melvin Berena BTC640 February 1, 2012 Abstract There is a transcoding scheme that proposed to compresses existing JPEG files without losing the quality. It does it by using the H. 264-like block-adaptive intra prediction to use inter-block relationship of quantized DCT coefficients that are stored in the JPEG file. We will write a custom essay sample on Transcoding Jpeg or any similar topic only for you Order Now This prediction is performed in spatial domain of each block composed of 8? 8 pels, but the corresponding prediction residuals are calculated in DCT domain to ensure lossless reconstruction of the original coef? cients. Block-based classification is carried out to allow accurate modeling of PDF’s. A multi-symbol arithmetic coder and the PDF model is used for entropy coding to predicting residual of each DCT coefficient located in the in JPEG files. For monochrome JPEG images end result usually shows the reduction of coding rates about 18 – 28 %. Transcoding [Scheme] Scheme is a digital-to-digital data conversion method of converting to another type/format, like movie or audio files. This is frequently done when a particular target device does not support the file format or has limited storage capacity that requires a reduced file size. This is also done to convert incompatible or out dated data to a better and modern format. One good advantage of transcoding is to reduce storage cost. Example, Cineon and DPX are widely used as a standard movie format but it cost a lot of space (2hour movie = about 8 terabytes). It would be demand more storage and processing power to handle this this kind of file format. However, transcoding into a JPEG2000 lossless format has better compression performance than other lossless coding technologies. The Challenge The number one challenge I faced was when I approached this academic paper review and read the abstract. I did not understand a lot of information printed in this paper but as I kept reading the whole article I started getting a basic idea of what the paper is talking about. I took me a lot of time to just read the Abstract as I was using the search engine (Google) to understand every other word. The second problem I faced was when I approached the Spatial Domain, I still don’t completely understand that concept but I get the basic understanding how the object ends up with the blurriness effect as the object enters a repetitive intensity variation. References Academic Paper review: http://zenit. senecac. on. ca/wiki/imgs/Lossless_re-enconfig_of_jpeg_images. pdf Websites: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/JPEG#Block_splitting http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Transcoding http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Point_spread_function http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Discrete_cosine_transform http://www. eurasip. org/Proceedings/Eusipco/Eusipco2011/papers/1569428105. pdf (Coding rates) http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Entropy_encoding http://research. microsoft. com/en-us/people/fengwu/screen_icme_06. pdf (Block-based Classification) How to cite Transcoding Jpeg, Papers

Friday, December 6, 2019

Detailed Marketing Research Sample

Marketing research Apple believes on gathering the competitive edge over the competitors through innovation and the innovation comes from understanding the needs and requirements of the consumers. Apple beliefs that consumers are not responsible for finding their needs as the company itself is responsible for finding the needs and demand of the consumers. iPhone is one of the best innovation done by Apple and to gain competitive edge over the competitors especially, over Samsung, Apple does huge sort of market research related activities. Apple does the market research not only for understanding the needs of the consumers throughout the world but it does the market research because the leader of innovation wants to generate and incorporate the needs in the mind of the consumers (YouTube, 2014). Apple believes the concept of market research so that, they can understand the adoptability of the consumers and the choices of the consumers. In the product line of Apple most of the products are found as the i nnovation and the introduction of innovative products provide the company a reputation, competitive edge and brand name in the world market. Once the product becomes matured or the products go in the growth stage in the market the competitors of the company introduce the similar kinds of products and in the mean time the company gains the competitive advantage over the competitors. The primary and the secondary research are used to collect data and for continuing the entire market research process very carefully. The primary research process is that research process in which the data are collected on the first hand basis and generally, the company conducts the primary research by taking the insights of the customers only. Apple conducts the primary research to gather the information of the customers about the product information. For iPhone, Apple generally does the primary research to add some information in their websites and to gather the feedbacks from the customers in order to enhance the efficiency of their products and services. The secondary research on the other hand helps to gather the information about the competitors of the company. From, the newspapers, business magazines and business journals the secondary research is being conducted. The marketing research is used by Apple i phone to understand the positioning strategy of the competitor, the insi ghts of the consumers regarding the products and services of the organization and it is also used to understand the needs and requirement of the consumers to a large extent. Marketing research process The marketing research process comprises of several stages and those data collection, data processing, data analysing, evaluation of the information and finally the presenting the data. The company iPhone conducts the research by focusing on data collection especially through the focus group interview for the primary survey method. In the secondary research process the company used to gather the information through business journals and magazines. Apple iPhone to understand whether the customers are happy with this iPhone or not or to find out the position of the company in the mind of the consumers, gather the data. The raw data is then processed by sorting and tabulating before it is analysed. To convert the data into information the data are analysed by the researchers. The analysts are responsible to evaluate the information through the data analysis process. From the market research process iPhone comes to know about th4e preferences of the consumers in the specific geographical area. For example, from the market research survey it is understood that why the Chinese consumers demand for iPhone more than the smartphones. Secondly, to evaluate the reasons for purchasing the products of the company are understood by the market research process. The market research process answers the questions regarding why the Iphone is still popular than the smartphones among many users though the smartphones various attractive features. The market research questions have replied the company that in China people are more cautious and enthusiastic about the several features of iPhone which are known as the great driver for the company. By conducting the survey it is understood the level of sales potentiality in China and how the distribution channels can be formed (YouTube, 2014). A case has been cited over here where the market research has been used to understand the preferences of the consumers. Apple believes that it is the leader of innovation but it is important for the company to understand what the customers believe. The research surveys have also answered iPhone regarding why people choose iPhone though there is a presence of Andriod device. The surveys in almost 7 countries have replied that Trust Apple Brand is the most important factor why people have purchased the iPhone and not the Smartphone devices. The research study says that features and designs are the two main factors which act as a factor of differentiation for the company. The company can use the facts and information gained from the survey and then can formulate the strategies in order to sustain in the long term. Future of marketing research The future of marketing research will depend on the technological development of the marketing research methods. The future marketing research would depend on the success of data collection method. The main market research tool which is used by Apple iPhone is the focus group information but the dependency on the focus group interview is not stagnant in nature and the company needs to change the way of research in the long run. The future marketing research process needs to focus on more data than ever. The future marketing strategy needs as much as possible data and information so that; the marketers would not need to depend on the judgemental decisions. The future marketers would need the data for making the future decisions and for that full passion is required. In the competitive business environment every competitors want to collect data and on the basis of the collected data the marketers establish the business decisions. The most likely tool which is used for gathering and col lecting the data is survey method. But, the survey method is considered as the most tiring method for the consumers. People are bored off in providing information through the telephonic information and through the survey method. The future marketers should focus on some more scientific methods which are reliable in nature (YouTube, 2014). Because, taking decisions without focusing on the data will be proved as a costly phenomenon. The business decisions cannot be made on the basis of the judgement of the managers and the experience of the managers. As Apple claims that they are the need generator rather the need identifier and that is the reason the market research is not conducted by them to understand the prevailing need in the existing market. But, in the future scenario before innovating the products and services it will be important for the company Apple iPhone to understand the prevailing demand in the market. Demand estimation would be a great strategy for the market in this respect. In the new market scenario the company Apple iPhone should emphasis on some strategies to gather the data from the market which will provide more effective and huge amount of data to the company. For example, the eye tracking, brand equity research, concept testing and ad tracing etc to understand the current position of the company. The methods of survey and sampling The survey method is conducted to know the insights of the selected sample size. The population is considered as the whole or the universe where the sample is considered as a part of population. The sample size generally does not exclude the size of 1/10 of the entire population. The sample survey is being done so that, the time frame and the resources can be matched with the availability. The more the size of the sample the less will be the extent of errors in the entire sampling process. The sampling can be classified into two different parts and those probability sampling and non-probability sampling. The probability sampling is considered as the sampling method where the inclusion of each and every member is similar in nature. In the non-probabilistic sampling method the judgemental method is engaged and the possibilities of the inclusion of the sample members are not same in the inclusion process. The sampling technique comprises several processes including simple random sampling, systematic sampling, multi-stage sampling, stratified sampling and cluster sampling. The simple random sampling refers to that sampling process which has a chance of equal selection. Using the lottery methods and random sample generation the simple random sampling technique can be used. The simple random sampling is not used where the exclusion criterias are high and the sample size has been decided as large in nature. Apple iPhone does the random sampling to conduct the customer survey. For understanding the reasons for the product purchase the company Apple iPhone uses the random sampling technique. The systematic sampling technique which is considered as one of the non-probabilistic sampling and the sampling is done in a very systematic manner which is possible when the sample sizes are known and small for the company. The company Apple iPhone uses the stratified sampling which is also known as a non-probabilistic sampling. While conducting the survey to understand the purchase behaviour of the consumers of seven different countries the stratified sampling method was used (YouTube, 2014). The samples from different countries are being selected on the basis of stratified sampling. The stratified sampling technique is used because a specific set of data is required. Questionnaire and application in IPhone Company Questionnaire is a set of questions which are asked to the respondents for the purpose of obtaining particular type of information. The objectives of the questionnaire are collecting the appropriate data; compare the collected data and making the data in use of analysis, reducing the question bias etc. The questionnaire can be of different types; it can be descriptive in nature, can be analytical in nature and also can be self-administered in nature. The self-administered questionnaire can be used by the iPhone company so that, the researcher can send the handouts to the respondents, mailing questionnaire is also an important aspect of the company and the telephonic surveys are also possible for the company iPhopne. iPhone can arrange every kinds of questionnaire depending on the type of information the company wants to gather and on the number of available sample size it has. The mail questionnaire survey is done by the company when the relationships with the respondents are stable and when the company needs to take the feedback from the respondents about the product or service characteristics. The analytical questionnaire also can be used by the company iPhone to find out the association between two variables. The company for understanding the customer behaviour uses the descriptive questionnaire method. For example, the questionnaire is being made by IPhone Company to know the perception of the consumers of seven different countries and the researcher can use the close ended questionnaire for getting the compact insights of the consumers. One sample questionnaire is discussed below: What are the reasons for using the iPhone over the smartphones? Options: a. Design of the iPhone Product features of the iPhone Price of the iPhone Image of trust related to the name of Apple The descriptive questionnaire can also help out the company to find out the positioning of the company. For example, one descriptive question is being formed and mailed to the customers. Do you think the company iPhone is able to secure the culture of innovation till date? In the above mentioned question the respondent would have the choice for providing their in-depth insights and knowledge. The researcher requires such kind of questionnaire survey when the in-depth analysis of the topic is required. Reference YouTube, (2014). Marketing Briefs: What is Market Research?. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-q2vwa_n2I [Accessed 9 Aug. 2014]. YouTube, (2014). What is Market Research? An Informative Presentation.. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq391bgs6h0 [Accessed 9 Aug. 2014]. YouTube, (2014). Future of Marketing Research.mp4. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m547hHWvKk4 [Accessed 9 Aug. 2014]. YouTube, (2014). Sampling. Part 2 of 2 on Surveys and Sampling.. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owN9hLq-Eac [Accessed 9 Aug. 2014]. YouTube, (2014). What is a Questionnaire?. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfEga-dr_Ww [Accessed 9 Aug. 2014].