Censorship And Freedom Of Speech Essay - 1947 Words

Censorship is becoming a great issue lately especially in china.there is type of censorship moral ,political ,book and intent.it is by definition anything can be offensive or harmful so it must be banned usually by high authority as governments .it is arguable whether the governments have the right to censor the media or no.people debate it because it is limit the freedom of speech and press if the authorities have the power to control media by controlling the information. However,media should not be censored because it minimizes the freedom of speech, restraints the access to important information and it is pro-dictatorship. To begin with there are some disadvantages for censorship .freedom of speech is compromised. It cuts down people’s ability to express their ideas freely using the internet people will be scared to share their real knowledge and thought. As a result, they might use self-censorship to guarantee their own safety well-being .(Gilman).for example ,The Hong Kong Journalists Association published a report the growth of censorship is a threat china also, in hong kong the freedom of speech is declined .the worst consequence is that there are some perpetrators and instigators of crimes of violence against the media and journalists. Those who encourage people to violent toward media enjoying the impunity of not being punished(Beijing s invisible hand reaches ever deeper into Hong Kong media May 2016 ). Censorship hinders the freedom of press therefore,itShow MoreRelatedEssay on Censorship and Freedom of Speech658 Words   |  3 PagesCensorship may be protection from inappropriate materials, but it also limits free speech. For the limitation of free speech, it is reasonable why people are emphatically against censorship. It is understood that there is a need to filter some of the materials released in today’s society, but too much is being done by people who have no right meddling with everyone’s rights. Civilization has always been plagued by a never ending battle being fought over what is deemed right and wrong. In today’sRead More Freedom of Speech vs Censorship Essays1231 Words   |  5 Pageshas many rights, the most important is the freedom of speech which provides an umbrella of protection over our remaining rights; however, all of our rights are under attack beginning with the First Amendment which is under constant assault by censorship. The Constitution of the United States says that â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the peopleRead MoreCensorship Will Always Interfere With Freedom Of Speech1396 Words   |  6 Pages Censorship will always interfere with freedom of speech. In Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, censorship is one of the main topics depicted. Censorship including the banning of books has been an issue though out history. There has been violence similar to the book burnings by the Firemen in the novel. In Bradbury’s novel, Guy Montag is a Fireman who cannot understand why books have to be burned. He questions what is in the books that can’t be shared with people. Guy questions his boss, CaptainRead MoreFreedom of Speech vs. Censorship on the Internet2126 Words   |  9 PagesFreedom of Speech Vs. Censorship: Children on the Internet The internet is a very controversial communication device in today’s society. If desired, one could find information on nearly any topic they choose. Censorship and free speech is a widely discussed topic when dealing with the current freedom of the internet especially when dealing with young minds. Should the internet have censored topics which would be illegal to post and/or view freely by children? Should the internet be a free-for-allRead More Internet Censorship Means No Freedom of Speech Essay2128 Words   |  9 Pagesthese facts, restrictions such as censorship should not be placed upon the Internet. Instead of censorship and regulation by the government, we as users of the Internet should be able to practice self-regulation. Censorship of the Internet violates the First Amendment of the Constitution, and thus robs us of our right to freedom of speech. Since cyberspace is a fairly new concept, any restrictions placed on the Internet by the CDA will determine the degree of freedom we will enjoy on the Internet inRead More Prevent Internet Censorship, Save Freedom of Speech Essay1293 Words   |  6 Pages Public scrutiny of many popularly viewed sites has resulted in the call for restrictions in order to prevent the harmful aspects of the internet. This controversial topic has created a rift in website surfers from around the world. Internet censorship is the control of access to information presented on the internet. Advocates of internet restrictions argue that popular sites are the source of obsessions which result in crumbling relationships, put minors in danger of cyber bullying and internetRead MoreStudies in Contemporary Literature: Free Speech1622 Words   |  7 Pages Censorship is the suppression of speech or other public communication which may be considered objectable, harmful, sensitive, politically incorrect or inconvenient as determined as determined by the government, media outlet, or other controlling bodies (Wikipedia, 1). This can be done by governments and private organizations or by individuals who engage in self-censorship which is the act of censoring or cla ssifying one’s own work like blog, books, films, or other means of expression, out of theRead MoreCensorship : Censorship And Censorship Essay1513 Words   |  7 PagesIn the modern sense, political correctness has become a form of censorship. With protestors forcing students to find alternate routes to school or pushing the administration to cancel guest speakers in fear of triggering students, the modern-day university is no longer a place of free, critical, thinking, but a place of censorship. Political correctness (is used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended primarily not to offend or disadvantage any group of people in society. InRead MoreCensorship Is Bad For The Modern World876 Words   |  4 Pages WHY CENSORSHIP IS BAD Censorship refers to the regulation of freedom of expression or any other information that may be sensitive or morally inaccurate to the people. This information can be considered immoral or politically inconvenient by religious groups, the government, ethnic communities and media outlets. Censorship originates back in ancient times in many different countries such as Rome and China. Censorship was mainly used for political, social and religiousRead More Cyberspace Hate Propaganda and Internet Censorship Essay1244 Words   |  5 PagesHate Propaganda and Internet Censorship The Internet is an ideal medium for hate groups, such as neo-Nazis, because of the mass exposure, inexpensiveness, uncensored nature and ease of publishing offered. The Internet allows hate groups to target a broad audience: impressionable children are the most vulnerable. Attempts at censorship fail because of the international nature of the Internet, and to a lesser extent, free speech contentions. Instead, the freedom of speech exercised by cyberhate groups

The Ethical Issues Of Physician Assisted Suicide Essay

Euthanasia is described as the intentional discontinuation, by the patient s physician, of vital treatment that could prolong the person s life. Assisted suicide occurs when a health care worker provides a patient with tools and/or medication that will help the patient kill him or herself, without the direct intervention of the care provider. This paper will define key terms for my argument against Physician Assisted Death, and why I believe it’s wrong, where I will provide a brief background of the situation. Next, I will provide a more a more thorough explanation of these important positions I provided. In conclusion, I would provide some ideas for taking action and possible direction for future research. I believe that the right to die is not ethical because many people feel that taking of a life is morally wrong. The ethical issues of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) are both emotional and debatable, as it ranks right up there with abortion. In the case of physician- assisted suicide it comes to the choices of pro-life, or pro-choice. I strongly believe in pro-life in the situation of (PAS). Some argue (PAS) is ethically permissible for a dying person who has indicated to escape the unbearable anguish at the end of life. Furthermore, it is the physician’s duty to relieve the patients suffering, which at times validates providing aid-in-dying. These opinions rely a great deal on the respect for individual autonomy, which distinguishes the rights of capable individualsShow MoreRelatedThe Ethical Issue Of Physician Assisted Suicide1580 Words   |  7 Pagesvice and virtue, this paper explores the relevance of Aristotle’s moral philosophy in modern day and will be applied to the contemporary ethical issue surrounding physician assisted suicide. By exploring Aristotle’s work through primary and secondary sources, this paper will discuss the greater good and happiness as it relates to not only the patient or physician, but as a member of a greater social circle and that of society because to Aristotle the role of the individual is less important than theirRead MoreThe Ethical Issues Of Physician Assisted Suicide1586 Words   |  7 PagesPhysician Assisted Suicide Physician Assisted Suicide Is it Right or Wrong? The ethical issues of physician-assisted suicide are both emotional and controversial, as it ranks right up there with abortion. Some argue physician assisted suicide is ethically permissible for a dying person who has choosing to escape the unbearable suffering at the end of life. Furthermore, it is the physician’s duty to alleviate the patients suffering, which at times justifies providing aid-in -dying. These argumentsRead MoreThe Legal And Ethical Issues Involving Physician Assisted Suicide1134 Words   |  5 Pageswhat conditions is physician assisted suicide morally acceptable, is the question at hand and did these states make the right decision on such a slippery slope debate. This paper will go on to explain one side of this very touchy debate, it will also consider objections from the other side, and ultimately defend the position physician assisted suicide is wrong not only morally but also, ethically. My argument for this thesis is provided below: P1: Physician assisted suicide violates the doctor’sRead MorePhysician Assisted Suicide : Controversial Healthcare And Political Realms Alike1218 Words   |  5 Pages Physician-Assisted Suicide Elissa Munoz-Tucker University of Arizona Abstract Physician-assisted suicide is controversial in healthcare and political realms alike. Currently, this end-of-life option is practiced in five states within the United States. Social concerns regarding assisted suicide revolve around ethical quandaries; providing the means to a patient’s death is contradictory to ethical principles of healthcare providers. Political concerns surroundingRead MoreEthical Considerations in Dealing with Changes in the Healthcare System929 Words   |  4 Pagessociety, ethical considerations are becoming a major factor in dealing with changes in the healthcare system. A topic of consideration that creates controversial discussion is the subject of physician-assisted suicide. Physician-assisted suicide is described as the act in which a physician provides the means necessary for the client to perform the act of suicide. The issue of physician-assisted suicide is viewed through many different perspectives. The topic of physician-assisted suicide has beenRead MorePhysician Assisted Suicide, When Is It Acceptable?1709 Words   |  7 PagesPhysician-Assisted Suicide, When is it acceptable? Assisted suicide had raised issues of great importance in the society particularly the most controversial of all, the physician assisted suicide in the health care field. Since Oregon and other states implemented the legalization of physician assisted suicide, the debates continues. The U.S. Supreme Court decisions in 1997 and the Pain Relief Promotion Act of 2000 (H.R. 5544) have kept these topics on the policy of the national agenda, along withRead MoreUtilitarian And Virtue Ethics Of Physician Assisted Suicide1314 Words   |  6 PagesPhysician Assisted Suicide Physician assisted suicide or PAS is a controversial topic in the world today. But the important question is, should physician assisted suicides be allowed in cases such as: the patient’s suffering is far too great and there is no chance of them getting better? This is a highly debated issue, that has activist groups on both sides fighting for what they think is the right thing to do. Physician assisted suicides can stop the excruciating pain a patient is in, especiallyRead MoreEuthanasia And Physician Assisted Suicide1629 Words   |  7 Pagesillnesses or major health problems, assisted suicide creates options to reduce the amount of suffering the patient must enduring. Dying with dignity could be beneficial for not only the person who is dying, but also the person’s family and loved ones. This option, however, is often viewed as unethical and immoral throughout society. Physician-assisted suicide offers an option for those with health issues but poses various et hical and social issues. Assisted death is practiced in two differentRead MorePhysician Assisted Suicide And Voluntary Euthanasia1348 Words   |  6 PagesPhysician-assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia is still under scrutiny for a number of reasons. â€Å"In spring, 1996, the Ninth and Second Circuits were the first circuit courts in the country to find a constitutional prohibition against laws which make physician-assisted suicide a crime† (Martyn Bourguignon, 1997). New York was one of the states that followed this prohibition. Eventually, The Ninth and Second Circuit, â€Å"allow physician-assisted suicide while attempting to protect individuals fromRead MorePHI 103 Final1311 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿ Should Physician-Assisted Suicide Be Legal? Eileen K. Cordova PHI 103 Instuctor James Hardy July 11, 2013 SHOULD PHYSICIAN ASSISTED SUICIDE BE LEGAL Physician-assisted suicide has been a controversial topic for over a decade now. In today’s society, physician-assisted suicide brings so many ehtical questions as such, who is the true owner of our lives? Should releiving pain and suffering always be the highest priority, or does it occure for a reason?

Europe and the New World New Encounters Free Essays

Europe and the World: New Encounters, 1500-1800 On the Brink of a New World ? By the 16th century, the Atlantic seaboard had become the center of a commercial activity that raised Portugal and Spain and later the Dutch Republic, England, and France to prominence ? the age of expansion was a crucial factor in the European transition from the agrarian economy of the MA to a commercial and industrial capitalistic system. The Motives ? Contact w/non-Europeans remained limited until the end of the 15th century Fantastic Lands ? Europeans had always been curious about lands outside of Europe Economic Motives Although Muslim control of Central Asia cut Europe off from the countries farther east, the Mongol conquests in the 13thc reopened the doors ? Marco Polo went to the court of Kublai Kahn in 1271 ? His account of his experiences, the Travels was the most informative of all descriptions of Asia by ME travelers ? In the 14th, the conquests of the Ottoman Turks and then the breakup of the Mongol Empire reduced Western traffic to the East ? A number of people became interested in reaching Asia by sea ? Merchants, adventurers, and government officials had high hopes of finding precious metals and new areas of trade Religious zeal A crusading mentality was strong in Portugal and Spain The Mean ? The expansion of Europe was connected to the growth of centralized monarchies during the Ren. ? Ren. We will write a custom essay sample on Europe and the New World: New Encounters or any similar topic only for you Order Now Expansion was a state enterprise ? By the 2nd ? of the 15th century, European monarchies had increased both their authority and their resources and were in a position to look beyond their borders Maps ? Europeans had achieved a level of wealth and technology that enabled them to make a regular series of voyages beyond Europe. ? Potlolani – charts made by medieval navigators and mathematicians in the 13th and 14th which were more useful than their predecessors. They took no account for the curvature of the earth so were of little use for oversea voyages ? By the end of the 15thcentury, cartography had developed to the point that Europeans had accurate maps of the rest of the known world ? One of the most important world maps available was that of Ptolemy, who wrote Geography. It was available from 1477 on. It drastically underestimated the circumference of the earth, leading explorers such as Columbus to believe that he could sail to Asia Ships and sailing ? Europeans developed seaworthy ships as well as new navigational techniques ? They mastered the axial rudder and learned to combine lateen sails with a square rig. They could then construct ships mobile enough to sail against the wind and engage in naval warfare and heavy enough to carry goods over long distances ? Only w/the assistance of the compass and the astrolabe they were able to sail w/confidence ? They gained knowledge of the wind patterns of the Atlantic Ocean New Horizons: Portuguese and Spanish Empires ? Portugal took the lead in the European AOE when it began to explore the coastof Africa under the sponsorship of Henry the Navigator. ? His motivations were a blend of seeking a Ch. Kingdom as an ally for against the Muslims, acquiring trade opportunities, and extending chr. The Development of a Portuguese Maritime Empire ? In 1419, p. Henry founded a school for navigation. Shortly after, P. fleets probed southward along the west coast of Africa looking for gold ? In 1441, p. ships reached the Senegal River and brought back slaves ? they gradually went down the coast and in 1471 they discovered a new source of gold along the southern coast of the hump of West Africa—the Gold Coast ? They leased land from local rulers and built stone forts along the coast The Portuguese in India In 1488, Bartholomeu Dias was the 1st to round the Cape of Good Hope ? 10 years later, Vasco da Gama rounded the cape then stopped at several ports controlled by Muslim merchants. They then crossed the Arabian Sea and reached the port of Calicut in India ? p. fleets returned regularly, seeking to destroy Arabic shipping and establish a monopoly in the spice trade ? in 1509, a p. armada defeated a combined fleet of Turkish and Indian ships and began to impose a blockade on the entrance to the Red Sea to cut off the flow of spices to Egypt and the Ottoman Empire ? Goa became the headquarters for p. operations throughout the entire region ? The p. conducted raids against Arab shippers In Search of Spices ? In 1511, Albuquerque sailed into the harbor of Malacca on the Malay peninsula ? He thought it would help destroy the Arab spice trade and provide the pw/a way station on the route to the Moluccas, aka the Spice Islands ? Their attempted takeover of the area resulted in a struggle b/w the p and ms ? From Malacca, the p launched expeditions further east, to China and the SI ? there they signed a treaty w/local rulers for trade Within a few years, the p seized control of the spice trade from ms and got profits for the p monarchy ? The p empire remained limited b/c they lacked the power, population, and desire to colonize Asian regions ? Their success was mainly due to guns and seamanship Voyages to the New World ? the sp attempted to reach the same destination by sailing across the Atlantic. Their resources enabled them to establish a bigger empire than the p The Voyages of Columbus ? He felt that Asia could be reached by sailing west instead of east New Voyages John Cabot explored the New England coastline under a license from Henry VIII. Pedro Cabral found South America on accident in 1500. Amerigo Vespucci wrote letters describing the NW ? The 1st 2 decades of the 16thc witnessed oversea voyages that explored the eastern coasts of NA and SA ? Vasco Nunez be Balboa led an expedition across the Isthmus of Panama and reached the PO in 1513 ? Ferdinand Magellan went around the world in 1519 ? The sp were interested in the NW b/c the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas had divided the NW into separate p and sp spheres of influence and most of SA fell into the sp sphere. The route east around the COGH was p while the route across the Atlantic belonged to s The Spanish Empire in the New World ? Conquistadors – individuals motivated by a blend of glory, greed, and religious crusading zeal. Although authorized by the Castilian crown the groups were financed and outfitted privately. Their superior weapons, organizational skills, and determination brought them incredible success. They also benefited from conflicts b/w the native people and diseases. Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire ? In 1519, a S expedition under the command of Hernan Cortes landed at Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico. He marched to the city of Tenochtitlan, making alliances w/city states that had tired of Aztec rule. ? Especially important was Tlaxcala, a state that the Aztecs had been unable to conquer. ? When Cortes arrived at T he received a friendly welcome from Moctezuma who believed that he represented the god Quetzalcoatl ? They took M hostage and pillaged the city ? in the fall of 1520 the local population revolted against C and drove the invaders from their city ? Shortly afterward the Aztecs suffered from many E diseases from which they had no immunity. The S then destroyed pyramids, temples, and palaces. B/w 1531 and1550, the S gained control of northern Mexico Spanish Conquest of the Inca Empire ? In 1530, Francisco Pizarro landed on the PC of SA w/steel, gunpowder, and horses ? Soon, smallpox was devastating villages, killing the Incan emperor and leaving a disagreement over who would take his place, leading to civil war ? P and his soldiers marched on Cuzco and captured the Incan capital. By1535, P established a capital at Lima for a new colony Administration of the Spanish Empire Whereas the conquistadors made decisions based on expediency and their own interests, Queen Isabella declared the natives subjects of Castile and instituted the S encomienda, a system that permitted the conquering s to collect tribute from the natives and use them as laborers. In return, they were supposed to protect the I, pay them wages, and supervise their spiritual needs. ? S settlers brutally used the I to pursue their own economic interests. They worked on plantations and in mines ? the I suffered from many European diseases ? Dominican friars protested against the harsh I treatment ? In 1510 Anton Montecino spoke against it. In 1542, largely in response to the publications of Bartolome de las Casas, the government abolished the encomienda system and provided more protection for the I ? In the NW, the S developed an administrative system based on viceroys. ? S possessions were divided into 2 major units: New Spain (Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean) w/a center in Mexico city, and Peru(western South America) governed by a viceroy in Lima ? Each viceroy served as the king’s chief civil and military officer and was aided by advisory groups called audiencias, which also functioned as judicial bodies. By papal agreement, the Catholic monarchs of S were given extensive rights over ecclesiastical affairs in the NW. They could appoint bishops and clergy, build churches, collect fees, and supervise religious orders ? Missionaries fanned out across the SE where they converted hundreds of thousands ? The mass conversions brought the institutions of the CC to the NW New Rivals on the World Stage ? In the 17th century, northern E countries—1st the Dutch and then the French and British—moved to replace the P and S and create their own colonial empires ? The new rivalry soon had an impact on the rest of the world. Africa: The Slave Trade ? The P built forts the east and west coasts of Africa and tried to dominate the trade in gold. However, during the mid 17thc the D seized and number of P forts along the WA coast and took control over much of the P trade across the Indian Ocean ? The Dutch East India Company, a trading company established under government sponsorship, also set up in Africa at the COGH which soon became a permanent colony ? European explorations of the A coastline did not affect most people on the interior Growth of the Slave Trade Over the next 2c, the slave trade grew drastically and became part of the triangular trade connecting E, A, and Am ? The journey of slaves from A to Am became known as the Middle Passage ? At 1st, local slave traders obtained their supply from regions nearby, but as demand increased, they had to move further inland ? In a few cases, local rulers became concerned about the impact of the slave trade on their societies ? Protests from A were generally ignored by everyone ? As a rule, local rulers viewed the slave trade as a source of income and some sent raiders to unsuspecting villages Effects of the Slave Trade ? The importation of cheap manufactured goods from E undermined local cottage industry and forced families into poverty ? Led to depletion in some areas and deprived many African communities of their youngest and strongest ? the need to maintain a constant supply of slaves led to increased warfare and violence as A chiefs increased their raids on neighboring people The West in Southeast Asia ? P efforts to dominate trade in SEA were never totally successful. P lacked the numbers and wealth to overcome local resistance and colonize local regions. P empire was too large and P too small to maintain it ? S established itself in SEA when Mag landed in the PHL, enabling the S to gain control there and it became a base of trade for luxury goods ? The biggest threat to P came w/the arrival of the D and E, who were better financed ? the shift in power began in the early 17thc when the D seized a P fort in the Moluccas and then gradually pushed the P out of the spice trade, then the E later ? The D also began to consolidate their political and military control over the area. By the end of the 18thc, the D had succeeded in bringing almost the entire Indonesian archipelago under their control ? The arrival of the E had less impact on mainland SEA, where strong monarchies in Burma, Thailand, and Vietnam resisted foreign encroachment. ? To obtain economic advantages, the E became involved in factional disputes, though in general the states united and drove the E out ? In Vietnam, the arrival of Western merchants coincided w/a period of internal conflict among ruling groups in the country. Expansion had brought a civil war that temporarily divided the country into 2 separate states. The E powers began to take sides in local politics, w/the P and D supporting rival factions. ? the mainland states in Burma, Thailand, and Vietnam had begun to define themselves as distinct political entities. The Malay states had less cohesion and were victims of their own resources. The French and British in India The Mughal Empire ? Babur’s grandson brought Mughal rule to most of India, creating the greatestIndian empire since the Mauryan dynasty The Impact of the Western Powers ? At 1st , P dominated regional trade in the Indian Ocean, but at the end of the16thc, the B and D arrived on the scene. Soon both powers were competing w/Pand w/each other ? During the 1st ? of the 17th century, the B presence in India steadily increased. By1650, B trading posts had been established at Surat, Fort William, near the Bay of Bengal, and Madras on the southern coast. ? B success attracted rivals, including the D and F, but the B were saved by Sir. Robert Clive, who eventually became the chief representative of the East India Company in India. They were also aided by the refusal of the F government to provide finances to their people in India ? After defeating a Mughal army in 1757 at the Battle of Plassey, the BEIC received the authority to collect taxes from lands surrounding Calcutta. During the seven years’ war, the B forced the F to withdraw completely from India ? This marks a major step in the gradual transfer of the entire Indian subcontinent to the BEIC and later to the B as a colony China Western Inroads ? Although China was at the height of its power and glory in the mid 18thc, the 1st signs of internal decay in the Manchu dynasty were beginning to appear. Qing military campaigns along the frontier cost money and placed heavy demands on the treasury. At the same time, growing pressure on the land b/c of population growth led to economic hardship and rebellion. ? the decline in the QD occurred just as E was increasing pressure for more trade. The 1st conflict came from the north, where Russian traders sought skins and furs ? To limit contacts b/w E and C, the Q government confined all E traders to a small island outside the city walls of Canton and allowed them to stay only part of the year ? In 1793, a B mission led by Lord Macartney visited Beijing to press for liberalization from trade restrictions, but emperor Qianlong expressed no interest in B products Japan Opening to the West ? P traders had landed on the islands of J in 1543, and began stopping there on a regular basis to take part in trade b/w J, C, and SEAII. They were initially welcomed, the success of Cath missionaries however, created a strong reaction against the presence of Westerners ? When the missionaries interfered w/local politics, Tokugawa Ieyasu expelled all missionaries and J Chris were now prosecuted. The E merchants were next to go, the government closed 2 major trading post sand only a small D community was allowed to remain The Americas ? In the 16thc, S and P had established large colonial empires in the As. P continued to profit from Brazil and S had a SA empire, but S importance as a commercial power declined rapidly in the 17thc b/c of a drop in the output of the silver mines and poverty of the S monarchy ? By the beginning of the 17thc, P and S found themselves w/new challenges to their A empires from the D, B, and F West Indies The B held Barbados, Jamaica, and Bermuda, and the F had Saint Domingue, Martinique, and Guadeloupe. Both developed plantation economies worked by slaves which made cotton, tobacco, coffee, and sugar British North America ? The D were among the 1st to establish settlements on the NA continent after Henry Hudson discovered in 1609 the Hudson river. A. W/I a few years the D had established the mainland colony of New Netherland B. In the 2nd ? of the 17th century, competition from the E and F and years of warfare w/those rivals led to the decline of the D commercial empire. C. In 1664, the E seized the colony of NN and renamed it NY, shortly afterward the DWIC went bankrupt ? The E had begun to establish their own colonies in NA. The desire to practice religion, combined w/economic interests, led to colonization ? Both the NA and WI colonies of B were assigned roles in keeping w/mercantilist theory. They provided raw materials for their mother country while buying good from the latter. Navigation acts regulated what could be taken from and sold to colonies French North America ? In 1534 Jacques Cartier discovered the Saint Lawrence River and laid claim to Canada as a F possession ? It wasn’t until Samuel de Champlain established a settlement at Quebecin 1608 that F began to take interest in Canada as a colony ? In 1663 Canada was made the property of the F crown and administered by a F governor like a F province ? It was run like a vast trading area. The F state could not its people to emigrate there so the population stayed small. They also allowed their Continental wars to take precedence over the conquest of the NA continent. ? In 1713 in the Treaty of Utrecht, the F began to cede some of their A possessions to the E ? The decline of S and P led those 2 states to depend even more on their colonies, and they imposed strict mercantilist rules to keep others out. ? S tried to limit trade w/its colonies to S ships Toward A World Economy ? During the High Middle Ages, E had engaged in a commercial revolution that created new opportunities for townspeople in a basically agrarian economy ? The beginning of E discovery of the world outside in the 15thc led to an even greater burst of commercial activity and the inception of a world market Economic Conditions in the 16th Century Inflation was a major problem in the 16th and early 17th century ? This price revolution was a E wide phenomenon, although different areas were affected at different times ? Food was most subject to price increases, especially evident in the price of wheat ? Wages failed to keep up with price increases. Wage earners, especially agricultural laborers and salaried workers in urban areas saw their standard of living drop ? Commercial a nd industrial entrepreneurs also benefited from the price revolution because of rising prices, expanding markets, and cheap labor costs ? Governments borrows heavily from bankers and imposed new tax burdens on their subjects, often stirring additional discontent The Growth of Commercial Capitalism ? The E trade of the 16thc revolved around the Med in the south, the Low Countries and the Baltic region in the north, and central E, whose inland trade depended on the Rhine and Danube rivers ? As overseas trade expanded, the Atlantic seaboard began to play a more important role, linking the Med, Baltic, and CE trading areas together and making E a more integrated market that was more vulnerable to price shifts ? W/cheaper and faster ships, the D came to monopolize both E and world trade, although they were challenged by the E and F in the 16thc ? The commercial expansion of the 16th and 17th century was made easier by new forms of commercial organization, especially the joint-stock company ? Individuals bought shares in a company and received dividends on their investment while a board of directors ran the company and made business decisions ? Made it easier to raise large amounts of capital for world trading ventures ? Enormous profits were also being made in shipbuilding and in mining and metal lurgy, where technological innovations, such as the use of pumps and new methods of extracting metals from ores proved highly successful ? The mining industry was closely tied to family banking firms. In exchange for arranging large loans for Charles V, Jacob Fugger was given a monopoly over silver, copper, and mercury mines in the Habsburg possessions of CE ? These close relationships b/w governments and entrepreneurs could lead to success but also be precarious[pic][pic] ? The House of Fugger went bankrupt at the end of the 16thc when the Habsburg defaulted on their loans ? By the 17thc, the traditional family banking firms were no longer able to supply the numerous services needed for the commercial capitalism of the 17thc ? the city of Amsterdam created the Bank of Amsterdam in 1609 as both a deposit and a transfer institution and the Amsterdam Bourse, where the trading of stocks replaced the exchange of goods ? Most of the E economy still depended on an agricultural system that had changed little since the 13th century ? In eastern E, the peasants’ position even worsened as they were increasingly tied to the land in a new serfdom enforced by powerful land owners Mercantilism ? Mercantilism – the name historians use to identify a set of economic tendencies that came to dominate economic practices in the 17th century ? one of its fundamentals was a belief that the total volume of trade was unchangeable. Since one nation could expand its trade only at the expense of others, to mercantilists economic activity was war carried on by peaceful means ? According to mercantilists, the prosperity of a nation depended on a plentiful supply of bullion (gold and silver). For this reason, it was desirable to achieve a favorable balance of trade in which goods exported were of greater value than those imported, promoting an influx of gold and silver payments that would increase the currency of bullion ? They believed that governments should stimulate and protect export industries and trade by granting trade monopolies, encouraging investment in new industries through subsidies, importing foreign artisans, and improving transportation systems. By placing high tariffs on foreign goods, they could be kept out of the country and prevented from competing w/domestic industry ? colonies were deemed valuable sources of raw materials and markets for finished goods ? Mercantilism focused on the role of the state, believing that state intervention in some aspects of the economy were desirable for national good. Government regulations to ensure the superiority of export goods, the construction of roads and canals, and the granting of subsidies to create trade companies were all predicated to government involvement in economic affairs Overseas Trade and Colonies: Movement toward Globalization ? W/the development of colonies and trading posts in the Am and the East, Embarked on an adventure in international commerce of the 17th century ? What made transoceanic trade rewarding was not the volume but the value of its goods ? Trade w/i E remained strong throughout the 18thc as wheat, timber, and naval stores from the Baltic, wines from F, wool and fruit from S, and silk from Italy were exchanged ? [pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic]However, this trade increased only slightly as overseas trade boomed. From 1716 to 1789, total F exports quadrupled The Impact of European Expansion ? By the end of the 18thc, it appeared that GB would become the great E imperial power The Conquered ? The NA civilizations were virtually destroyed. Ancient social and political structures were ripped up and replaced by E institutions, religion, language, and culture ? In Africa, E involvement in the slave trade led to devastating effects, especially in coastal areas ? P trading posts in the east had little impact on native Asian civilizations, although D control of the Indonesian archipelago was more pervasive ? In C and SA, a ew civilization arose called Latin Am ? It was a multiracial society—Africans, natives, and E. It had less rigid attitudes about race ? E brought horses and cattle to the Americas. Horses revolutionized the life of the Plains Indians. The two civilizations also exchanged plants Catholic Missionaries ? S and P rulers were determined to Chr the native people ? this policy gave the CC and important role to play in the NW, one that added to church power ? Chr missionaries also went to China, the Jesuits were the most active ? they tried to point out the similarities b/w Chr and Confucian ethics ? Several hundred C officials became Catholics, but the Chr effort was ultimately undermined by squabbling w/i religious orders ? Soon Chinese authorities began to suppress Chr ideas throughout China ? They also went to Japan, where they converted some nobles ? the Jesuit practice of destroying idols and shrines and turning temples into Chr schools or churches caused a severe reaction ? The government ordered the execution of nine missionaries and a number of J converts. They were all eventually persecuted. The Conquerors ? Many E women found new opportunities for marriage in the NW b/c of the lack of women. A number of women also found themselves rich after their husbands were killed unexpectedly. ? When the mines at Potosi in Peru were opened in 1545, the value of precious metals imported into E quadrupled ? The 185,000 pounds of gold that entered the port of Seville set off a price revolution that affected the S economy ? Columbian Exchange- the reciprocal importation and exportation of plant sand animals b/w E and the Am ? E expansion, which was in part a product of E rivalries, deepened those rivalries and increased tension among E states ? Bitter conflicts arose over the cargoes coming from the NW and Asia. The Anglo-D trade wars and the B-F rivalry over India and Nam became part of a new pattern of worldwide warfare in the 18thc. Rivalry also led to state-sponsored piracy ? E came to have a new view of the world. They created better maps and new techniques, one of which was the Mercator projection, which tried to show the true shapes of landmasses, but only in a limited area ? E were initially startled by the discovery of new people. There were differing opinions, but most felt that the natives should be converted. Their relatively easy success in dominating native people enforced their feelings of superiority Top of Form How to cite Europe and the New World: New Encounters, Essay examples

Jack Londons To Build a Fire Theme Essay Example For Students

Jack Londons To Build a Fire: Theme Essay The significance of the words dying and death in Jack Londons 1910 novel, ;To Build a Fire; continuously expresses the mans dwindling warmth and bad luck in his journey along the Yukon trail to meet the boys at camp. London associates dying with the mans diminishing ability to stay warm in the frigid Alaskan climate. The main characters predicament slowly worsens one level at a time finally resulting in death. The narrator informs the reader that ;the man; lacks personal experience traveling in the Yukon terrain. The old-timer warned the man about the harsh realities of the Klondike. The confident main character thinks of the old-timer at Sulphur Creek as womanish. Along the trail, the man falls into a hidden spring and attempts to build a fire to dry his socks and warm himself. With his wet feet quickly growing numb, he realizes he has only one chance to successfully build a fire or face the harsh realities of the Yukon at one-hundred nine degrees below freezing. Falling snow from a tree blots out the fire and the character realizes he had just heard his own sentence of death. Jack London introduces death to the reader in this scene. The man realizes a second fire must be built without fail. The mans mind begins to run wild with thoughts of insecurity and death when the second fire fails. He recollects the story of a man who kills a steer to stay warm and envisions himself killing his dog and crawling into the carcass to warm up so he can build a fire to save himself. London writes, a certain fear of death, dull and oppressive, came to him. As the man slowly freezes, he realizes he is in serious trouble and can no longer make excuses for himself. Acknowledging he would never get to the camp and would soon be stiff and dead, he tries to clear this morbid thought from his mind by running down the trail in a last ditch effort to pump blood through his extremities. The climax of the story describes the man picturing his body completely frozen on the trail. He falls into the snow thinking, he is bound to freeze anyway and freezing was not as bad as people thought. There were a lot worse ways to die. The man drowsed off into the most comfortable and satisfying sleep he had ever known. The dog looked on creeping closer, filling his nostrils with the scent of death. Londons portrayal of the man does not initially give the reader the theme of dying, but slowly develops the theme as the story develops. The story doesnt mention death until the last several pages. The main character changes from an enthusiastic pioneer to a sad and desperate man. The conclusion of the story portrays the man accepting his fate and understands the old-timer at Sulphur Creek had been right; no man must travel alone inthe Klondike after fifty below. Typically, short stories written in the early 1900s often conclude the story with a death or tragedy. Londons story is no exception. This story follows the pattern by illustrating events leading up to and including death. Thesis Statement- The significance of the words dying and death in Jack Londons 1910 novel, To Build a Fire continuously expresses the mans dwindling warmth and bad luck in his journey along the Yukon trail to meet the boys at camp. .

APUSH Gilded Age Important people Flashcard

APUSH Gilded Age Important people

unite 7 M1 laden Essay

unite 7 M1 laden Essay unite 7 M1 laden Essay 3 Methods of communication that uses communication skills ï‚â€" M1 A script or role play for a PCD appointment ï‚â€" Teacher: hello Mrs Brown, Melisa please sit down Mrs Brown: Thank you and call me Lynette Teacher: so what do you think of the school Lynette: what Melisa says it sounds pretty good. Melisa: mum Teacher: so lets look at you achievements in school, it looks pretty good but it seems like you are slipping maths with a satisfactory in you behaviour what happened? Melisa: yeah I'm not that bad its just most of my friends are there but I still do my work Teacher: maybe try to respect you teacher I know its not intentional try to whisper and don’t interrupt her when she talks, its very important for you guys to be listening maths it’s a big deal. Lynette: what I see so fare I’m quite impressed Melisa but ill make sure she behaves better in maths Melisa: can I get the phone I wanted Teacher: is that the reason you did well in you work Melisa: of curse it motivated me Teacher: you should do that Lynette more often, her attendance is very good she still on 100% keep it up, ok lets make a targets for next PCD appointment first could be maintain an excellent attendance and second could be to improve your behaviour in maths. Teacher: are you concerned about anything else Lynette: no thank you very much Teacher: see you Melisa Tomorrow Melisa: yeah see you tomorrow Verbal communication ï‚â€" The verbal communication I used: ï‚™ The teacher greets the parent and welcomes them with open arms this is a sign of respect. ï‚™ The teacher welcomed them nicely to show that they are able to help them whatever the situation. ï‚™ They hade positive attitude with her towards her bad behaviour in maths this shows that they are trying to solve the situation that has occurred. ï‚™ Melisa talked about what she was going to get out of her good result in school this show that she is listing even if

Online business Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Online business - Research Paper Example No longer is it essential for stores to be a physical entity, but a virtual one that is accessed using a personal computer, items on sale viewed, selected, and then purchased all from the comfort of a chair at home. One then has to just wait for the delivery of these items. The Online Store The online store exists in virtual reality as an URL on the World Wide Web. Getting to the store requires using the URL to present the web pages of the store on the computer screen. The experience of window shopping as practiced earlier changes in with online stores. Surfing through the web site addresses of the several online stores from the luxury of chair at home, provides the window shopping experience. In the physical retail store a sales clerk helped one identify items of need, but in the online store one would have to go through the pages of the online store, identify items of interest, and look at the promotional offers on them before finalizing the purchase. In the physical store one push ed a cart around and dropped the chosen items in a cart and took it to a sales clerk, who tallied the items and presented a bill. The bill was then paid for by cash or credit cart. One walked out of the store the proud owner of the items purchased. In an online store there is the virtual cart. Clicking on the items one wishes to purchases, puts the items virtually into the cart, with the advantage of immediately knowing the total value of the purchases at that given time. Once the purchases have been completed, the different kinds of payment options appear on the screen. One then has to choose the payment option and provide the relevant details. The online store verifies the payment and then ships the items to you. All tat one has to do is await the delivery (Lohse & Spiller, 2003). The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Online Store The quick growth of on-line stores reflects the apparent advantages of an online store over the physical stores. On-line stores are quicker to set up in that there is no need to locate and rent or build physical space, once the necessary tie-ups with suppliers are complete. It is much easier and faster to set up the web site with the requisite number of pages containing the details of the business. In addition to the speed with which an online store can be set up, it is also less expensive to set it up. Building or rental costs are avoided, along with the need to buy and stock the goods. The products move out from the manufacturer or whole seller, with a limited investment in them. In addition to cost advantages in setting up an online store, there is the advantage of low operating costs, with added benefit of keeping the online store open 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. There are also several competitive advantages, particularly from the perspective of customer. The foremost of these is convenience and flexibility in the actual purchase processes and the delivery of the purchased goods (Chakrabarti & Kardile, 2 002). Furthermore, the lower costs in setting up an online store and running it in comparison to a physical store translates into lower costs of the items, which is an attraction for customers (Keen Web Templates, 2011). It is not all hunky-dory for online stores. There are disadvantages too. Poor imagery on the websites leads to bad impressions of the products and the online store. In addition customers

JCPenney Research and Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

JCPenney Research and Analysis - Assignment Example are operating under this Company (J.CPenny)Mostly its stores are located in big shopping malls and some in power stores. Due to this strategy J.C Penny became very popular shopping Company among the people. J.C Penney is also trying to contribute in opening the stores like standalone stores, to follow the consumer desires, keeping in mind what its competitors are providing to the public. The success of J.C. Penney grew over time because of its strong logo name, advertisement; pricing strategy which grabbed the public’s attention towards it. J.C. Penney suddenly fell down and faced the serious issues regarding its income. Due to swift drop in income, J.C. Penney pulled itself back into its earlier form and also brought the changes in its stores. Issue faced by J.C. Penney was the lack of communication with its consumers. The consumers didn’t have the clarity about the schemes and the down quality of the products, and left confused.It was effective to the middle class people earlier, all this new ideas, good deals& information on products, reasonable pricing. But J.C. Penney failed to fulfill its strategy of ‘everyday low price ‘approach in comparison to ‘Wal-Mart’, which turned in the interest of customer’s disappointments. J.C. Penney has put its whole effort to satisfy its customers against ‘Wal-Mart’ pricing strategy, but it couldn’t keep it up (Its Over For J.C. Penney). When Ron Johnson became the new CEO of J.C. Penney he faced a number of problems regardi ng J.C. Penney. During the recession period 2009 to 2011, J.C. Penney’s net income fell from 18billion dollars to 17billion dollars, and sales went to 150 dollars per square foot. Among the department stores criteria this figure of sales lies at the rank of lower third. Suddenly this Company lost its identity. J.C. Penney’s target was the middle class families, who can’t

The principal powers available to the courts in England & Wales in Essay

The principal powers available to the courts in England & Wales in connection with statutory interpretation - Essay Example The literal rule means that the words in the statue are given their ordinary and natural meaning .I t is supposed that if some extraordinary meaning was to be given to a particular word, the lawmakers would have specified it in the statue and if they have not; then the ordinary meaning of the word should be followed. The 18th and 19th century saw a trend towards the strict implementation of the literal rule for the statutory interpretation. This was the era in which the supremacy of the Parliament had been established and courts were reluctant to give any other meaning to law other than the one which had been explicitly stated by the parliamentarians. In the Sussex Peerage Case of 1844 the court made the observation that if the words of the statue are precise and unambiguous; then the courts do not need to interpret them in any other way or take a broad view of the words used in the statue. The court observed in the above-mentioned case that the words of the parliament give the best indication of the intention of framing the statue, no further exploration of the intent is required by the courts of law.1 The literal rule has been hailed by many jurists as well as the law commission. This rule is said to have encouraged precision in drafting of the statues. It also ensures that law making remains the preserve of the elected representatives of the people and the courts are not able to give a new direction or definition to the law. The judge it is argues should not be given the flexibility to take a broad view of the law as it is not their function to make laws. However the law commission of 1969 was critical of the courts for relying too heavily on the literal rule2. The commission observed that there are many limitations of language which should not become the ground for denial of justice. The judges will be abdicating their responsibilities if they were to give more weight age to the words rather than to the intent with which the law has been framed. The Golden Rule If after applying the literal rule of statutory interpretation the courts arrive at a result which is absurd or arbitrary, the courts can substitute a new meaning in place of the absurd result. This is called as the Golden rule of the statutory interpretation. The Golden rule of the statutory interpretation ensures that the intent of the law makers is given precedence over the actual words which are used in the statue. The Adler vs. George case of 1964 is considered as a classic example of this rule’s interpretation.3 This case was concerned with the conviction of a person under the Official Secrets Act of 1920 in which he was charged with creating nuisance and hindering the work of officials in the Royal Air Force Station. The official secrets acts said that a person who creates hindrance in the ‘vicinity’ of a Government installation is liable for punishment. The defendant claimed that he

Report on setting up a mcdonalds franchise in UK

Report on setting up a mcdonalds franchise in UK McDonalds has been proved as successful business through the globe for quite some time now. This report aims at exploring the business potential in setting up a McDonald franchise by researching into its franchise structure. It gives information about the terms and conditions for becoming the McDonalds franchise along with the brief history of its business. It focuses on the strength and weakness of the business and discusses the macro environmental factors that may affect the franchise business. I had further focused on any problem that may arise during the functioning of the franchise and performed a VRIO analysis to check the sustainability of the business. The report end with a brief conclusion about the entire report suggestion whether it is beneficial to go ahead with the project. Introduction The fast food business is fast growing business in the UK and when talking about fast food most often the first name comes to the mind is the McDonalds. It has been a very successful business in its category for a long time now. This report discusses about setting up a franchise of McDonalds in UK and the pro and cons of owning a McDonald franchise. McDonalds has been making profits and is growing even in the current economic downturn. The figure below shows the growth of McDonald over the last year. Figure: McDonalds Historical stock chart (advfn.com, 2010) The above figure shows clear growth of the company selected to invest in getting franchise for. The growth also triggered an interest in researching for getting an franchise for McDonald and get good returns on the investment. This section is divided in to two where the first give a brief account of McDonalds business history while the later discusses the terms and condition for setting up a franchise. The data collection is majorly done from the McDonalds cooperate and associate websites. The later sections discuss the SWOT analysis and the VRIO and finally the report concludes with conclusion and recommendations. McDonalds brief history McDonalds was started by the Dick and Mac McDonald in 1940 in San Bernandino in California. It was a typical drive-in featuring a large menu and car hop services. It started as a barbeque restaurant but in 1948 the actual McDonalds was launched when McDonald brothers shut their restaurant for alterations. The menu was reduced to nine items and staple of the menu was the 15 cent hamburger. Within a year the potato chips were replaced by the world famous French fries. Through its history McDonalds kept on evolving and capturing the expectations of its customers. In 1954 a multi-mixer salesman Ray Kroc met Mc brother to sell his mixers but was fascinated by the operations. The following year in 1955 he opened the first franchise of McDonalds in Des Plaines, Illinois and by 1965 there were over 700 McDonalds restaurant through out United States. In 1958 McDonalds sold its 100 millionth hamburger and by 1959 the 100th McDonald restaurant was opened. In 1965 McDonald celebrated its 10th an niversary with its first public stock offering at $22.5 per share. 1966 saw the first TV commercial of McDonald featuring Ronald McDonald who became an instant hit. In 1967 first McDonald restaurant opened in Canada and Puerto Rico and at present it is having its presence in 118 countries. Over time McDonald kept launching products that gain individual brand images like the Big Mac, quarter pounder and happy meal. The first McDonalds restaurant in Britain opened in Woolwich, south-east London, in 1974 (mcspotlight.org, 2010). In 1978 5000th restaurant was opened in Japan and two years later it celebrated its 25th anniversary. In 1996 McDonald went online as its internet site macdonald.com was launched. McDonald has been evolving rapid in terms of product, technology and organisational strength over the years. McDonald Franchise operation The fast food industry has grown many folds in recent years with many new international and local chains competing with each other. Operating a fast food restaurant has many factors to be considered right from its competitors to the demographics and socio- cultural factors concerning its customers. In case of McDonalds the big brand name and massive advertising may help running the franchise but the most important is obtaining a franchise license. McDonalds people are very concerned about their customers and therefore very careful about whom they choose to serve their customers. The financial terms and conditions involving a McDonald franchise are as follows; The typical cost for owning a McDonalds restaurant ranges from  £125,000 to  £325,000. The investor are required to provide at least 25% of the value as unencumbered funds, the remaining 75% can be funded through a bank loan with favourable funding terms (mcdonalds.co.uk, 2010). Theres also a one-off franchise fee of  £30,000 and a training deposit of  £5,000 which is refunded when you complete your training (mcdonalds.co.uk, 2010). There are also ongoing fees. These include: Monthly rent on the premises, based on sales and profitability (usually ranging from 10% to 15%) Service Fee for use of the McDonalds system 5% of sales Contribution to the national marketing spend, currently 4.5% (mcdonalds.co.uk, 2010). And the returns? Cashflow (before debt repayment) typically ranges from  £95,000 to  £200,000 per year for each restaurant but this isnt guaranteed: it could be more, it could be less (mcdonalds.co.uk, 2010). Apart from the above terms and conditions the common questions arise about the benefit the investors get. The investors get equipment and license to operate from a location for a fix term and investors buy the profitability of the business. The McDonalds management expect its franchise owners to actively participate in the daily business of the restaurant and the franchise owners are not allowed to sell their ownership to other person without the managements permission. SWOT Analysis of McDonalds McDonalds has been a successfully evolving business since 1955 and almost half of the top corporate staff employees started as a restaurant level employee. Fortune Magazine 2005 listed McDonalds as the Best Place to Work for Minorities.(McDonalds fact sheet, 2007) The franchise owners and their staff are also required to undergo training in McDonalds. Moreover it invests around a billion USD in training its staff every year. Strengths McDonalds was ranked number one in Fortune Magazines 2008 list of most admired food service companies. One of the worlds most recognizable logos (the Golden Arches) and spokes character (Ronald McDonald the clown). Attractive McDonalds packaging are so popular among the children that according to the Packard Childrens Hospitals Centre research concluded that children age 3 to 5 prefer food given in McDonald packaging over the food without packaging. McDonalds bears a high corporate social responsibility value. They own Ronald McDonald House facilities providing very low cost room and board, food and sibling support for families with children needing extensive hospital care.They also sponsor Olympic athletes and local teams. It is global company that operates more than 23,500 restaurants in 118 countries. Their diversified presence gives them the ability to withstand economic fluctuations which are localized by country. They are very good in adapting to local cultural appeal and requirements. For example, they dont sell beef products in India and facilitate separate entranceto male and females in Middle East, as well serving Halal meat in Muslim dominated regions in UK as well. They are globally present in all major airports, and cities, along the highways, tourist locations, theme parks and inside shopping mall. Locations are selected with careful consideration and selecting the busiest locations possible. They have an efficient, assembly line style of food preparation. In addition they have a systemization and duplication of all their food prep processes in every restaurant (marketingteacher.com, 2010). McDonalds ensures strict compliance with the food quality used in its restaurants and invest producing fresh farm products. The external products used by McDonalds like cheese, yogurt, mayo etc are from top brands who ensure strict quality measures like Kraft Cheese, Nestle Chocolate, Dasani Water, Newmans Own Salad Dressings, Heinz Ketchup, Minute Maid Juice. McDonalds pioneered the provision of printed nutrition fact of its products on its packages. McDonalds offers salads, fruit, roasted chicken, bottled water and other low fat and calorie conscious alternatives. McDonalds has grown into a very big and trustworthy brand worldwide and especially in UK and US so opening a franchise in UK comes with the added advantage of the brand name which help getting the customers easily. McDonalds invests a large amount in advertising in print and motion media thus making life easier for its franchise. Weaknesses McDonalds venture into pizza making failed badly affecting their ability to compete with fast food pizza chains. They have yet to capitalize on the trend towards organic foods. McDonalds have problems with fluctuations in operating and net profits which ultimately impact investor relations. From the perspective of franchisee the problem they have to face is that they cannot use their owned property to run a franchise if it nota site of interest to McDonalds. In that case they have to bear an additional sum for renting place offered by McDonalds. Opportunities The current UK generation is more attracted towards healty or low calorie food thus McDonalds has a very good chance introduce healthy or low calorie hamburgers. Provide optional allergen free food items, such as gluten free and peanut free. It has a great scope in introduce hot beverages along with healthy breakfast option helping it compete with coffee shops and other fast food restaurants. Threats Their marketing to children often attracts criticism from parent advocate groups questioning their ethics. In Britain, McDonalds has infamously registered itself in to the record books for fighting the longest-ever libel suit in the country (mcspotlight.org, 2010). High food safety standards need to be maintained even a small contamination issue can land them in trouble. The other threats are from major international fast food restaurant chains like KFC, Burger King and Subway etc. Apart from the big names it faces potential threat from the local fried chicken chains. In order to decide on investing in the franchise a VRIO analysis of McDonald is done in the next section to test the sustainability of the venture. VRIO Analysis for McDonald franchise in UK VRIO stands for Value, rarity, Imitability and organisational support where Value is the firm ability to neutralise external threats using resources and capabilities. Rarity is control if resources in the hands of few while imitability is the difficulty to imitate in any way. Value: Mc Donald hold a high value in accordance to its brand image and exploitation of the available resources which had helped it evolved successfully for more than five decades. Rarity: The utility of the resource may be franchise oriented and spread through its breadth but the main control still remains in the hands of the top 50 management authorities. The franchisee has to follow the company rules strict to run a franchise of McDonalds. Imitability: McDonald may not be difficult to imitate in aspect of the product but its functionality is very difficult to achieve. Organisation support: McDonalds is always ready to exploit new resource and evolve and the organisation structure is well organised and provides a good support to its franchise operations. Value Rarity Imitability Organization Competitive implications Network infrastructure Yes Yes No Yes Temporary competitive advantage Diversified revenue base Yes Yes No Yes Temporary competitive advantage Leading market position Yes Yes Yes Yes Sustained competitive advantage The VRIO framework of McDonalds Looking at the above VRIO frame it can be said that McDonald has a sustainable competitive advantage and thus it seem to be vice decision to invest in the project. Conclusion The report deals with the franchise operation of McDonald and UK was selected as the location for the franchise. UK was selected on basis of the brand image and success of the franchise network of McDonalds. It has a very good customer base in UK which are very loyal as well. McDonald has good organisational support to its franchise in terms of training and publicity. It also operates a centralized recruitment drive which helps the franchise to get desired employees without having a headache to hunt for them. The SWOT analysis reveals a large number of strengths as well good opportunities to work on thus large scope to increase profitability. The VRIO analysis also indicates a competitive sustainability thus it is recommended to invest in the project.

Schedules of Reinforcement Essay -- Behavior Management

The schedule of reinforcement has many variables, as well as many ways behavior is reinforced. In order to completely create reinforcement schedule the person must understand the behavior that they wish to change. In my case, the behavior that I wish to change is eating habits. In this paper, I will explore the different schedules of reinforcement and how each would work towards changing my behavior, as well as cause weight loss. My eating habits are very easy to explain, I eat when I am hungry which is not very often. This causes my body to store whatever nutrients I do take in, as well as any fat. This way of eating, in addition to medications I have and am taking make it extremely hard to lose any weight. The first reinforcement schedule to explore is continuous interval reinforcement. The way this is done is by strengthening the behavior by rewards each time it occurs (Feldman, 2011). As Skinner hypothesized the rapid depletion of rewards, in Skinner’s case food pellets, can and should be taken for granted (Morgan, 2010). In my case, a continuous reinforcement of eating healthily would not be ideal because the reinforcement desired is weight loss. With continuously losing weight comes many health problems, especially if the drop is brisk. Another problem with continuously strengthening that behavior is the rewards themselves begin to mean little. The next reinforcement schedule the Skinner developed is the partial reinforcement schedule, meaning behavior is strengthened with a reward only part of the time (Feldman, 2011). The partial schedule of reinforcement is further divided into four different categories, the fixed ratio, variable ratio, fixed interval, and variable interval. The fixed ratio schedule is where after... ...fore I have taken the steps outlined in this essay and made a change in my behavior by joining Weight Watchers. The final plus to weight loss is being able to fit into a wedding dress. At the current time, I am unable to fit into the dress I want, as they do not make a size big enough to fit all of me. By following the fixed ratio and variable interval schedules of reinforcement I will be able to lose the weight in order to stay healthy and fit into my dress. Works Cited Feldman, R. (2011). Operant Conditioning. In Essentials of Understanding Psychology (9th, pp. 179-182). New York, New York: McGraw Hill Companies, Inc. Freedman, D. H. (2011). How to fix the obesity crisis. (Cover story). Scientific American, 304(2), 40-47. Morgan, D. L. (2010). SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT AT 50: A RETROSPECTIVE APPRECIATION. Psychological Record, 60(1), 151-172.

Dissent vs. Disagreement Essay

In agreement to Daniel J. Boorstin’s theory, one can recall several events in the history of America’s democracy when disagreement paved the path for discussions and solutions but dissent only produced greater separation. Disagreement is the basis for democracy because each citizen has a choice to agree or disagree and try to make a change. For example, in the 1950s, Brown v. Board of Education was a product of constant disagreement between Americans about whether segregation of schools is constitutional or not. Because of these ongoing debates, the decision was made to end segregation in schools. Similarly, a tragic genocide in Sudan causes many arguments between the American people as the problem worsens and Americans must decide if they should step in. Again, the disagreement of the American democracy acts as its foundation for success and unity, while in Boorstin’s words, a democracy is â€Å"killed by dissension†. If in the 1950’s, the African Americans chose to go on living with dissension, or deciding to forever â€Å"feel apart from others†, then perhaps America would not have a black president today. Because many people disagreed with the harsh racial segregation and discrimination of that time, they were able to act on their opinions and make a change that influenced the future of America. African Americans fought for equality by disagreeing, instead of dissenting, and their efforts are evident in today’s unsegregated society. In Boornstin’s words, â€Å"A person who dissents is by definition in a minority†. The African Americans did not want to be known as the lesser minority, but by equal citizens of the American democracy, and the way they succeeded in making their struggles known was by debating and arguing against segregation and discrimination. Brown v. Board of Education was an outcome of one of their acknowledged actions. Because of this decision, segregation in schools were finally deemed unconstitutional. An improvement was made in the American democracy, and it was because of the â€Å"life blood of democracy†, which in Boorstin’s words, is known as â€Å"Disagreement†. Unlike the Brown v. Board of Education Decision, the American government mostly used dissension to deal with the genocide in Sudan. Some call it, â€Å"The Silent Genocide†, because there were many, many, casualties but there was no awareness for the issue. Although many recognized that the issue was appalling, few took action and produced debates and disagreements, causing the issue to linger instead of improve. The regular disagreement which â€Å"a liberal society thrives on† was overshadowed by dissension and ignorance. The genocide in Sudan was not able to be fully helped, or helped at all at first. As Boorstin says, â€Å"dissension is its [democracy’s] cancer† and this is evident in this case because Americans chose to dissent and feel apart from this problem, which only caused it to get worse. Boorstin recognizes the differences between dissension and disagreement in a way that makes evident that dissent is unproductive to our society’s conflicts whereas disagreement serves as the first step to reaching a solution. While Brown v. Board of education is an example of how disagreement led to improvement, the issue of the genocide in Sudan showed how a great amount of dissension and a lack of discussion, disagreement and knowledge, can turn out to be a democracy’s â€Å"cancer†.

Rode and Road

Rode and Road Rode and Road Rode and Road By Maeve Maddox An article on the sports page of my morning paper quoted the owner of the winning horse praising the jockey: Victor road him really well. The reporter was reaching for the past tense of the verb ride: Victor rode him really well. The error is embarrassing, but etymologically speaking, the words ride and road are related. Note: If you’re interested in the scholarly details, explore the entries for ride, road, and raid in the OED. I’m just giving a short version. The verb ride derives from a word that had the following meanings: to sit on and direct a horse or other animal to travel on horseback to travel in a vehicle to transport goods by vehicle to direct the movement of a vehicle (of a ship) to lie or float at anchor; later (12th century) to float on the water All of these meanings still attach in modern English, for example: Having been reared in the West, Cooper knew how to ride horses and was able to get a job as an extra in a frontier film, The Thundering Herd (1925). The captain of a smaller craft might throw out an anchor if the ship needed to ride out a storm. The most common use of the noun road in modern English is to refer to a wide cleared pathway with a specially prepared surface along which motorized vehicles travel. In coastal place names, the plural Roads refers to a sheltered section of water where vessels may lie at anchor in safety: Hampton Roads  is the name of both a body of water and a metropolitan region in Southeastern Virginia, United States.   The ship  anchored in the Savona  Roads  and was reported to the Custom House on the same day. The Tuscarora left Southampton Water on the 30th of January,  but  anchored in  Yarmouth  Roads, and remained there until the 1st of February, when she proceeded as far westward as Portland. Related or not, rode and road are different words and careful spellers keep them separate. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Creative Writing 101Round vs. AroundNeither... or?

Biography of W.E.B. Du Bois, Activist and Scholar

Biography of W.E.B. Du Bois, Activist and Scholar W.E.B. Du Bois (William Edward Burghardt; February 23, 1868–August 27, 1963) was a pivotal sociologist, historian, educator, and sociopolitical activist who argued for immediate racial equality for African-Americans. His emergence as a black leader paralleled the rise of the  Jim Crow laws of the South and the Progressive Era. He was a co-founder of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and has been called the Father of Social Science and the Father of Pan-Africanism. Fast Facts: W.E.B. Du Bois Known For:  Editor, writer, political activist for racial equality, co-founder of the NAACP, often called the Father of Social Science and the Father of Pan-AfricanismBorn:  February 23, 1868 in Great Barrington, MassachusettsParents: Alfred and Mary Silvina Du BoisDied:  August 27, 1963 in Accra, GhanaEducation: Fisk University, Harvard University (first African American to earn a doctorate degree from Harvard University)Published Works: The Philadelphia Negro,  The Souls of Black Folk, The Negro, The Gift of Black Folk,  Black Reconstruction,  The Color of Democracy, The CrisisAwards and Honors: Spingarn Medal, Lenin Peace Prize  Spouse(s): Nina Gomer, Lola Shirley Graham, JuniorChildren: Burghardt, Yolande, stepson, David Graham Du BoisNotable Quote: â€Å"Now is the accepted time, not tomorrow, not some more convenient season. It is today that our best work can be done and not some future day or future year. It is today that we fit ourselves for the greater usefuln ess of tomorrow. Today is the seed time, now are the hours of work, and tomorrow comes the harvest and the playtime.† Early Life and Education Du Bois was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, on February 23, 1868. The Du Bois family was one of the few black families living in the predominantly white town. In high school, Du Bois was already focussing on racial inequality. At age 15, he became the local correspondent for the  New York Globe  and gave lectures and wrote editorials, spreading his ideas that  black people needed to politicize themselves. Du Bois attended an integrated school where he excelled. Upon his graduation from high school, members of his community awarded Du Bois with a scholarship to attend Fisk University. While at Fisk, Du Bois experience of racism and poverty was markedly different from his life in Great Barrington. Du Bois, consequently, decided to dedicate his life to ending racism and uplifting black Americans. In 1888, Du Bois graduated from Fisk and was accepted to Harvard University where he earned a master’s degree, a doctorate, and a fellowship to study for two years at the University of Berlin in Germany. He was the first black American to earn a doctorate from Harvard University. Academic Teaching Career Du Bois followed his first teaching job at Wilberforce University with a fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania to conduct a research project in Philadelphia’s seventh ward slums. Researching racism as a  social system, he was determined to learn as much as he could in an attempt to find the â€Å"cure† for prejudice and discrimination. His investigation, statistical measurements, and  sociological interpretation  of this endeavor were published as  The Philadelphia Negro. This was the first time such a scientific approach to studying social phenomenon was undertaken, which is why Du Bois is often called the Father of Social Science. Du Bois next taught at Atlanta University, where he remained for 13 years. At Atlanta University, he  studied and wrote  about morality, urbanization, business and education, the church, and crime as it affected black society. His main goal was to encourage and help social reform. Opposition to Booker T. Washington Initially, Du Bois agreed with the philosophy of Booker T. Washington, the preeminent leader of African-Americans during the Progressive Era. Washingtons activism and life work were all aimed to help black Americans become skilled in industrial and vocational trades so they could open businesses, assimilate into American society as engaged citizens, and become self-reliant. Du Bois, however, came to greatly disagree with Washingtons incremental, compromising approach and he outlined his arguments in his collection of essays, The Souls of Black Folk, published in 1903. In these essays, Du Bois argued that white Americans needed to take responsibility for their contributions to the problem of racial inequality. He delineated the flaws he saw in Washington’s argument, but nevertheless, he also agreed that black Americans must take better advantage of educational opportunities to uplift their race as they simultaneously fought racism directly. In The Souls of Black Folk he elaborated on his concept of double-consciousness: It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at ones self through the eyes of others, of measuring ones soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his twoness- an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder. Organizing for Racial Equality In July 1905, Du Bois organized the Niagara Movement with William Monroe Trotter. Niagara Movement took a more militant approach to fighting racial inequality. Its chapters throughout the United States fought local acts of discrimination and the national organization published a newspaper, Voice of the Negro. The Niagara Movement dismantled in 1909 and Du Bois, along with several other members, joined with white Americans to establish the NAACP. Du Bois was appointed director of research. In 1910, he left Atlanta University to work full-time as the publications director at the NAACP, where he served as the editor of their magazine The Crisis from 1910 to 1934. In addition to urging black American readers to become socially and politically active, the hugely successful publication later showcased literature and visual art of the Harlem Renaissance. Break With the NAACP By the 1930s, the NAACP had become increasingly institutionalized while Du Bois had become more radical. Because of these differences with the NAACP, he left the magazine and organization in 1934 and returned to teaching at Atlanta University. Du Bois was one of a number of African American leaders investigated by the FBI, which claimed that in 1942 his writings indicated he was a socialist. At the time, Du Bois was chairman of the Peace Information Center and was one of the signers of the Stockholm Peace Pledge, which opposed the use of nuclear weapons. Racial Upliftment Throughout Du Bois’ career, he worked tirelessly to end racial inequality. Through his membership in the American Negro Academy, Du Bois developed the idea of the â€Å"Talented Tenth,† arguing that educated African-Americans could lead the fight for racial equality in the United States. Du Bois’ ideas about the importance of education would be present again during the Harlem Renaissance. During this flowering of black literary, visual, and musical art, Du Bois argued that racial equality could be gained through the arts. Using his influence during his time as editor of The Crisis, Du Bois promoted the work of many African-American visual artists and writers. Pan-Africanism Du Bois concern for racial equality was not limited to the United States. He was an activist for equality for people of African descent throughout the world. As a leader of the Pan-African movement, Du Bois organized conferences for the Pan-African Congress, including its first in 1919. Leaders from Africa and the Americas assembled to discuss racism and oppression- issues that people of African descent faced all over the world. In 1961, Du Bois moved to Ghana and renounced his U.S. citizenship. Death Over the course of his two years in Ghana, Du Bois health deteriorated. He died there on August 27, 1963, at age 95.  Du Bois was given a state funeral in Accra, Ghana. Legacy Du Bois was a central leader in the fight for racial upliftment and equality in the 20th century. In the world of academia, he is considered to be one of the founders of modern sociology. His body of work  inspired the creation of a critical journal of black politics, culture, and society called  Souls. His legacy is honored annually by  the American Sociological Association  with an award for a career of distinguished scholarship given in his name. Sources Appiah, Anthony, and Henry Louis Gates, editors. Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. Oxford University Press, 2005  Du Bois, W.E.B. (William Edward Burghardt). Autobiography of W.E.B. DuBois: a soliloquy on viewing my life from the last decade of its first century. International Publishers, 1968.Lewis, David Levering. W.E.B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race 1868–1919. Henry Holt and Company, 1993

Turn around a plant of an engineering company thats losing money Literature review

Turn around a plant of an engineering company thats losing money - Literature review Example The engineering plant in Plymouth is currently losing out money which has been accounted to major areas of difficulty that have been identified in the operation of the engineering plant in Plymouth. The company manufactures chemical pumps for use in pumping a wide range of fluids like the oils, industrial fluids, chemicals, petrol, diesel, etc. The chemical pumps manufactured by the engineering plant of the company in Plymouth have been of poorer quality and a large number of pumps are being sent back by the customers for repairing. This has been eating up productivity time for the engineering plant in Plymouth and the company has been engaging into repetitive work that involved wastage of time and money required for scaling up the production levels. The relationship with the suppliers is also an area of problem (Kozami 46). The suppliers of the Plymouth engineering unit are frequently late in delivering the components and parts of the chemical pump. There have been increasing reluct ance of the suppliers in dealing with the company and supplying the parts required to assemble, manufacture and repair the chemical pumps. The third area of problem increases with the dissatisfaction of the customer as they tend to move away due to the extended time required for repairing of the products and the lower quality of products. The machineries and equipments used in the plant have become old and are subject to frequent breakdown. The replacement parts for repairing the machineries have also become difficult to obtain. Although the workforce of the Plymouth plant is skilled, their morale have been down due to the risk of closure of the plant and few workers fear that the management trainee has been sent to the plant for hastening the process of shut down (Bechet 78). All these are major problems that have been identified for the engineering plant in Plymouth. Review of literature: ways to handle problems in short term and long term A review of the literature provides the w ays to handle problems in the engineering plant in the short term and long term considering the situational problems due to which the company has been facing major difficulties in its operation with the internal and external stakeholders. The literature review suggests that every engineering plant faces the challenge of maintaining its equipments and machineries with time as they grow older. The engineering plants have also struggled to maintain the quality of its product due to several challenges of finance, relationships with the suppliers, etc. The ability to manufacture high quality products on a sustainable basis, provide repairing services to the customers, maintaining strong relationships with the customers and keeping high morale of the workforce of the engineering plants have determined the success level of the engineering plants (Sekhar 56). The engineering firms have adopted effective ways to ensure that they are able to handle the problems in their manufacturing units in the short term without moving to a position where they could easily run out of funds. In cases where the companies have faced situations in which the workforce have been down in morale, the managers of the engineering plants have held meetings with the workforce where it has explained that there is

Foundations of Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Foundations of Literature - Essay Example Neverthless, in order for a story to work it must have some basic elements. It must have a plot—or a narrative in which things happen and unfold. It must have characters—people and actors who do things and with whom the reader can relate. It must have a setting—in other words a place where the action happens. And it must have a point of view—a perspective from which the story unfolds. Without these things, the story would be of little interest to anyone. In order to develop the plot of a story, a solid narrative is most important. Things must happen, characters must act. Otherwise the plot doesnt exist. A plot is a compilation of events, usually leading towards some sort of climax. A good example of all of this is James Joyce’s story â€Å"Araby† is similar to many of the other stories in the collection Dubliners in that romantic ardour or feeling is influenced by the profound Roman Catholicism, which is a staple of Irish life. Many other stories feature narratives about love and religion in which both are often thwarted. The worship of â€Å"holy† figures, dead and alive, colours the lives of the living in Joyce’s stories, no matter how much they might try to blot them out. Plot, narrative, characters and setting are evident throughout the story. Araby is the story of a sensitive boy who worships a friend’s sister from afar. He spends so much time thinking about her that he effectively idealizes her, much as a more religious person might idealize the Virgin Mary or Jesus Christ. He imposes unrealistic expectations on the girl and his relationship with her and hopes that she will redeem or save him from the occasional drabness of his life. The overall message of the story is that religion creates unrealistic expectations of the world and costs much more than it is worth. Even if the narrator were able to go Araby and bring back the girl a

Public Safety and Privacy Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Public Safety and Privacy Analysis - Essay Example Back in the 1970's the Supreme Court tackled in the case of Roe v. Wade the issues of pregnancy and even abortion as private matters (Chaiten, 2004). Today, however, the shift is on making the aspects of private realm as pertinent concerns of the state, especially when it comes to the issue of public safety. In the case of People v. Samson, the court ruled upon the rights of a parolee. The facts of the case focus on the encounter between the parolee and a police officer. It was September 6, 2002 police officer Alex Rohleder, while patrolling, saw and recognized the parolee Donald Curtis Samson whom he heard from his colleagues as having 'a parolee at large warrant.' Rohleder approached and inquired. Samson declared that he was then 'in good standing with his parole agent.' All the same, police officer Rohleder decided to conduct a search and justified the said search by claiming that as a parolee, there is a need to make sure that Samson obeys the laws and rules. It is a mere privilege that Samson has been set out of prison and he will be discharged Samson if he has 'nothing illegal.' There is actually a condition on Samson's parole that grants any officer the right to search at any time whether or not there is a warrant. This is a valid condition and it is implemented to all parolees i n the State of California. The police officer found cigarette box and discovered a plastic bag with methamphetamine. Samson was arrested. Samson filed a motion to suppress evidence, but this was denied. He was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment. He appealed before the Court of Appeals which affirmed the validity of the parole search. Analysis There are some situations and events that people undergo at present that are claimed to justify the interference of the state into what used to be purely private matters. This can be attributed to the onset of globalization and the too many changes it has brought to the society. It is a fact that most of the crimes committed today are those that goes beyond what the public can right away see. Some people are molested, harmed and harassed, even if there is no physical contact because of the internet and computer technology. Also, the terrorism that the whole world was able to witness in September 11, 2001 has left many people constantly paranoid of their safety in the public and in their homes. Evidently, these events called for the sudden reshaping of state laws and policies. These also prompted the need to shift paradigms and for the state to pry into the private realm to reveal any bad intent that may cause damage to the public. To many people, the question still remains. Who shall delineate the line on what remains private and what is public when the need arises Who shall say that the government can intervene in most private decisions an individual or household shall make (Chaiten, 2004) How shall every private individual be assured that the rule of law will constantly be implemented and that the inquiry into the public realm is justified This cannot go unresolved as people have witnessed how tendency to abuses and prejudices can harm a small number of people out there. The State is inviolable. Its general principles lie in serving the people that constitute it. Yet, it remains as a mere legal concept. Its

The Collapse of Communism in the USSR and Eastern Europe Essay Example for Free

The Collapse of Communism in the USSR and Eastern Europe Essay Analyses of the collapse of communism have followed a dialectical path since the early 1990s, explaining the implosion first as the direct result of US pressure, then as the inevitable fall of a flawed system, and finally, as a combination of the two. This fluctuation has occurred as national archives from both the East and the West have become increasingly accessible, giving historians a more complete picture of trends that may have contributed to the climate within the Eastern bloc at the beginning of the relevant period. Indeed, such documents have been instrumental in dispelling the view that the pivotal events of 1989 had relatively short-term roots. Some analysts have developed reasonable arguments tracing the fall of the Warsaw Pact back only as far as 1985, but for the most part, these are unsatisfying, ignoring critical factors such as the rise of the hawkists in America, and the role of world-wide peace movements. In addition, the release of top secret CIA files has shed interesting light on the under-rated Afghan conflict. These suggest that far from being yet another target for moralistic US containment, Afghanistan was set up by the Americans as an attempt to trap the Soviets in an exhausting Third World contest- to give them their own Vietnam. This discovery, and others relating to the nuclear arms race, technology, the media, and human rights debates, indicates that while not as active as initially supposed, the US was highly instrumental in bringing down European communism. At the same time, however, evidence of a self-perpetuating economic crisis, a crisis which was to spawn the powerful dissident movements in Eastern Europe, can be seen in Soviet archives as early as 1960. It could thus be argued that communism was, as an impractical, unpopular system, doomed to eventual failure. That this occurred on such a grand scale, however, and as early as 1989, must be attributed to Gorbachevs dramatic reform policies; these were in turn shaped by both external and internal pressures, as well as the particular political matrix, formulated under Khrushchev, in which Gorbachevs career began. In order to fully understand the forces that pushed Moscow towards such reforms, it is necessary to begin with the 1970s and the Soviet Union under Brezhnev. This was a period that left a strong legacy economically and thus shaped the local and international environments to a significant degree. A time of superpower dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente, both East and West were feeling the strain of Cold War competition- President Nixon of the U.S. looking for a way to liquidate the Vietnam War, and Brezhnev beginning to find the arms race excessively expensive. Trade between the two sides increased, and the common goal of nuclear non-proliferation led to various limitation agreements, such as the ABM Treaty of 1972. It was within this context, as Brezhnev was finally able to turn his attention to the process of catching up with the West financially and technologically, that the extent of the economic crisis in the communist states first became apparent. Dissent in Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, and, to a lesser extent, East Germany, had rung the alarm bells frequently throughout the preceding two decades, but the dilemma had never really absorbed much of the leaderships notice until now. Due to poor management of state funds, corruption within the system- granting party officials special luxuries, and an unbalanced emphasis on industrial manufacture, living standards within the Eastern camp were at a universal low. This was despite successful oil and steel production, the proceeds from which went to the maintenance of the KGB and the military presence in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Commodities were difficult to obtain, having been sacrificed for power plants that were needed to support industry, and, as a result, labour productivity and life expectancy were on the decline. In addition, government subsidies ate up such a large portion of the state budget that foreign trade had to be restricted, and importing rationed. These conditions had long been the fuel for various dissident undercurrents, which were intensified by strict censorship; as Timothy Sowula puts it, nothing nurtures dissent like the inability to express it.1 Although not anti-communist in essence, being rather concerned with democratizing socialism than with implementing Western ideology, these movements, particularly in Hungary and Poland, called for a reduction in state control, and promoted pluralism, and were thus clearly founded on a lack of faith in communism as an economic mechanism. These groups would later develop into powerful policy-setting factions. That they should be given more freedom to express their views first dawned upon the Soviet leadership during Brezhnevs tenure, as the intervention in Czechoslovakia in 1968 and the crushing of Solidarity in 1981 proved destructively expensive both financially and in terms of propaganda. These trends- of economic decline and accompanying dissent- were clearly of predominantly internal beginnings. Basic faults in the system, such as excessive state control, corruption, over-emphasis on industry and the military, in addition to the characteristically repressive environment, caused the crisis situation to emerge as rampant by the 1970s. As recently upgraded spy systems relayed, irregularly it is true, updates on these problems to the West, they were picked up by hawkists within America and taken into careful consideration by those in charge of developing foreign policy. Dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente had, once again, lost its luster in the eyes of many instrumental figures, and was viewed not merely as an expression of Americas weakness but also as a cause of it. 2 In addition, U.S. failures such as Vietnam and Watergate had damaged Western morale, and President Jimmy Carter was under pressure to make a strong reinstatement of American prestige. The main source of this pressure, a new political branch later branded neo-conservative, became prominent in the late 1970s, and followed Richard Piper in stating that: The notion that through accommodation you could change (the Soviets) was faulty. To change them you needed a very hard line policy.3 It was this branch, in control of perhaps the majority of the votes in the Senate by 1979, that formulated the adjusted US line: the exploitation of Soviet weaknesses in several different forums. The first arm of this strategy was clandestine support for the existing dissident movements in Eastern Europe. Solidarity, for instance, was largely dependent on printing equipment smuggled in from the U.S, using it to put out regular bulletins coordinating strikes, presenting political advice, and informing members of trade union meetings. The same equipment was also used to publish forbidden books and essays for Solidaritys extensive underground education system. This was not exclusive to Poland, either- evidence suggests that Washington furnished insurrectionist organizations in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany with similar printing machinery. This sponsorship effectively laid the platform for the reform campaigns that were launched both subversively and in the main-stream political arena. In addition, there are numerous records of visits by American politicians to pro-Western officials in Eastern Europe, encouraging them in their resistance, and helping them to develop the petitions that they placed before the leadership in their respective countries. Thus, it is clear that the U.S. did play a relatively influential role in developing the capacity of these movements, although they were, as already stated, self creating and sustaining. In other words, it would be fair to say that while it did not incite their sentiments, the U.S. did equip those who fought for the fatal reforms that would bring down communism. Another important forum of U.S. pressure was the human rights debate. This had begun in 1975 with the signing of the Helsinki Final Act, but had not really evoked wide interest until approximately five years later, as a strong realpolitik contingent in the West had spurned the human rights issue as an unnecessary ideological digression. It was only as Jimmy Carters public promotion of humanitarianism, a tactic which had been rarely used since Vietnam, succeeded in gaining popular support, that U.S. policy makers reincorporated the human rights line into their scheme. And, indeed, this proved a worthwhile investment. Inciting peace movements across the West, and providing the dissident factions in the East with a weapon with which to fight oppression, the Helsinki Final Act, when brought to life, became a powerful document in the context of Cold War competition. It provided a frame of reference by which the peoples of the world could judge both domestic conditions and superpower behaviour in the various conquests of the 1980s. It formed the foundation for reformist debates behind the Iron Curtain, particularly on the subjects of state sovereignty and dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente. While it gained great public acclaim as a rare superpower agreement to play by the same rules, however, the Helsinki process was in fact treated with little respect by its signatories. That the U.S. valued it as something that the media could use to bring out Soviet atrocities, both within its own quarters and in places like Afghanistan, more than as a genuine moral code, was evident in Washingtons ongoing support of brutal military dictatorships in Central America, and its collaboration with apartheid South Africa. Likewise, the Soviet Union ignored the terms of the act, which were not legally binding, and opposed the freedom of traffic and of the press that it stipulated. Ultimately, although thus under-rated by the Kremlin, the Helsinki Final Act was to facilitate one of the major exposà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s of the communist system, officially dissolving the myth that communism was socialism with a human face.4 Of course, the success of this human rights operation depended largely on the media. In fact, it was as coverage of peace demonstrations in the West reached the East that an echo effect began to occur, winning support for the dissident movements and dividing central party regimes- a crucial hollowing process that would set up the later implosion. With the tight censorship exercised by Eastern regimes during this period, it may seem surprising that Western media so dramatically influenced areas such as Poland and Hungary, but highly developed technology had basically put an end to the shielding and isolating of peoples in communist countries. This was particularly true in East Germany- the normalization of relations with West Germany in August 1972 and resulted in East Germans being allowed to watch West German T.V. As had been the case throughout the Cold War, what happened in Germany set the tone for the rest of Europe. Combined with Washingtons equipping of Solidarity, this media traffic had under-estimated ramifications. Not only did it expose the peoples of the communist world to the human rights debate, it also, and perhaps more importantly, allowed them to experience the full extent of the disparity between living conditions in the East and living conditions in the West. This, a tribute to the merits of capitalism, and a tool for awakening civilians to their own economic repression, mobilized reformist movements in a way that even Washington, responsible for developing the technology for this project, had never anticipated. Running parallel to these subtler channels of pressure was the typically forefront issue of nuclear arms. And, indeed, a dramatic shift in U.S. nuclear policy around 1978-79 can be discerned, although demand for a zero option in Europe was a consistent theme throughout the relevant period. To return briefly to the 1970s and dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente, we see the nuclear arms race denounced as pointless- a vicious circle.5 Both the U.S. and the Soviet Union made marked steps during this passage of the Cold War towards the dissolution of the contest- with the partial test ban treaty of 1968, and the ABM treaty of 1972. Approximately mid-way through Jimmy Carters term, however, the soft-line policy was reversed, and the U.S. began to pressurize the Soviets by developing MRVs, and escalating the production of unlimited weapons. In addition, NATO formulated a tough response to the previously unanswered SS 20 missiles, which allegedly targeted Western Europe. The proposed introduction of the Pershing II and Tomahawk missiles in West Germany and the Netherlands was a new approach, replacing the former agreement to engage in talks on the matter. That this shift coincided with the realization that the nuclear arms race was exhausting dwindling Soviet resources and morale, suggests that it was the direct result of new insights into Soviet behaviour. As American pressure in this arena continued to rise with the development of SDI, the reality that the USSR lacked the power to retaliate began to dawn upon those in charge of foreign policy. One would think, with the traditional gauge of Cold War tensions- the nuclear contest, in such a unilateral state, that superpower relations were becoming progressively peaceful. The irony that summit talks consistently coincided with outbreaks or accelerations in external conflicts demonstrated, however, that this was not the case. In fact, if the impression that the Soviets were suddenly more pro-dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente than the U.S. in the nuclear sense even emerged, Washington quickly eradicated it by turning the worlds attention to undoubtedly aggressive Soviet behaviour in the Middle East and Angola. Exploitation of the Soviet tendency to get involved in Third World conflicts became perhaps the focus of U.S. foreign policy during the late 1970s and early 80s, as can be seen in the most obvious and important example: Afghanistan. The superpower-funded war in Afghanistan was, as stated earlier, misunderstood until perhaps a few years ago. At the time of its occurrence, and during its immediate aftermath, U.S. involvement in Afghanistan was generally defined as an extension of containment, justified with the characteristic moral charge and talk of liberating Afghan captives from an unwanted regime. According to this view, the Soviet Union entered Afghanistan to suppress popular sentiments that threatened their dominance, prompting an objection and military response from the U.S. New evidence suggests, however, that the launch of the covert CIA operation in Afghanistan was hardly a reaction to Soviet movements. On the contrary, substantial U.S. activity was recorded in the area as early as 6 months before the deployment of the Red Army, as officials stirred up opposition to the government, promising military support for an insurrection. Mr. Brezezinksi, adviser to Carter at the time, sums this up, saying: According to the official version of history, aid to the moujahideen began during 1980after the Soviet army invadedBut the realitysecretly guardedis completely otherwise.6 Having established this, we can see that U.S. involvement in Afghanistan had a far from peaceable source; quite the opposite, the plan of action was to induce a Soviet military intervention.7 The purposes of this operation were multiple, but are encapsulated in Brezezinksis statement, quoted earlier, that this was the (Soviets) own Vietnam8- in other words, a conflict designed to exhaust economically, raise disputes at home, and as a touch-point for propaganda. And it worked, too. Domestically, by the time the conquest was five years old, and had claimed thousands of Soviet lives, it had become extremely unpopular, fuelling dissent, and disillusioning even faithful communists. Economically, a battle fought in the mountains with helicopters against the powerful US FIM-92 Stingers was expensive, and, in addition, created a rift between the Red Army and the Soviet leadership as the fighting went on past the desired date of departure. Further, since the West controlled the international media, it was able to present coverage of the exchange with a prejudice, emphasizing the Soviet atrocities and the number of civilian deaths. Human rights were, as one would expect, a major talking point within this context. In addition to undermining the Soviet Union in the above ways, Afghanistan was used as a pretext to end every vestige of dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente. The promising grain trade that had sprung up between the U.S. and the East was abruptly brought to a close. Then, Washington pressured the Saudi Arabian leadership, which was co-operating with the CIA in Afghanistan, to lower oil prices, and thus undercut the Soviet monopoly. Simultaneously, the White House denounced the SALT II Treaty as meaningless, and began inciting people in the West to express their disapproval of Soviet actions by boycotting the 1980 Moscow Olympics. The result of all these manouevres was a dramatic heightening in temperature in the Soviet Union, as it found itself stretched and tested at numerous points- economic, political, and military. It is clear, then, that it was a combination of both internal and external forces that shaped the political climate in Moscow in the critical mid-80s period. An additional factor, overlooked in that it is better defined as a context than as a force, was the legacy of dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente and democratization that Khrushchev had left the communist party. While gradually eradicated from main-stream politics as its negative effects began to emerge in Eastern Europe and China, this remained an important influence in specific circles. It had a particular impact on those whose careers had begun under Khrushchev, as his anti-Stalinism left a lasting imprint on minds trained to worship an infallible Soviet leadership. These politicians, many harbouring inclinations towards democratization and reform despite Brezhnevs harsh Sinatra Doctrine, were to emerge as central figures in the Kremlin by 1985. This created an entirely new environment, uniquely receptive to the heightening pressure for refor m that was applied through the previously mentioned channels. Mikhail Gorbachev, a leading figure within this political contingent, was elected head of the communist party both as a result of the natural process outlined above, and as officials realized that the public would best submit to someone with plans for reform. His policies have been cited as the major cause of the collapse of communism, which is reasonable in a limited sense, but they must be viewed as the product of the existing domestic and international situations rather than as a theoretical digression. Faced with such economic, political, and military strain, Gorbachev virtually had no other choice than to seek to minimize Soviet expenses. And this meant, of course, reorganizing the empire for efficiency (perestroika). It also entailed pacifying the masses by giving them a voice; the policy of open discussion, known as glasnost, reduced censorship and allowed debates on ideology to take place. This approach was developed with the aim of liquidating factions such as Solidarity, by giving them certain concessions, for example, freedom of speech and of assembly. As later became evident, however, both this policy and perestroika had a far from calming effect in the Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe. Ultimately, Gorbachevs reforms destroyed communist rule because they compromised the central police force and terror necessary to its survival- allowing pluralism, and opening gateways to the West. This took place in both an economic and a political sense, so that capitalist influences infiltrated almost every sphere of Soviet society. The first of Gorbachevs policies to make an impact was perestroika, which was put before the Kremlin in June 1987, and began to affect the economic structure almost immediately. As early as August, the Soviet Union had begun to make overtures to British prime-minister Margaret Thatcher, arranging for Western businesses to be established on Soviet soil, and opening up the oil trade. A series of joint ventures were set up the following year, although they were never to achieve the stated goal of helping the USSR to advance technologically. At the same time, petroleum production was restored, state planning diminished, taxes regulated, and a law passed permitting private businesses to operate. These changes were to affect almost everyone- many negatively, as alterations in factory relationships caused workers to lose their jobs. In fact, this economic democratization actually worsened living conditions- that this occurred just as the people were becoming exposed to the comparative wealth of Western nations as traffic flow and the media opened up, ensured that perestroika contributed significantly to the fall of communism. This exposure came with the policy of glasnost, introduced in the Soviet Union in late 1987, and entailing the open discussion of communist ideology both through the media, and within the Party. Its inception was accompanied by Gorbachevs declaration before the UN that he would not intervene in the internal affairs of other Warsaw Pact countries. Together, these liberalizations virtually ended communist terror, opening the way for reform. In addition, the new media freedoms enabled programs detailing past Soviet atrocities, such as the gulags and the Great Purges, to be broadcast. At the same time, the inefficiency of Stalins mechanisms and the extent of state corruption in the past were made known in full to the public. This greatly undermined the peoples faith in the system- it eroded the CPs social power base, by bringing down its traditional corner stones- the hierarchy of the politburo, and CP dominance. The effects of these policies were first evident in Eastern Europe, as dissident movements supported by Gorbachev began to gain power. In Poland, for instance, the previously banned Civic Society was able to rise to a position where it could negotiate for economic reforms and other freedoms- freedoms which would eventually lead to pluralism. Hungary followed a similar course, its underground organizations receiving encouragement and inspiration from Gorbachev, and Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria, while slower to get started, eventually experienced much the same thing. This process- the rise of dissent and the consequent introduction of non-communist elements into the party- escalated as it became increasing clear that Moscow had no intention of opposing democratization. It culminated in 1988-89, as a series of insurrections, some violent, some peaceful, brought about the reinstatement of free elections and the overthrow of communist regimes across Eastern Europe. This implosion is perhaps symbolized by the fall of the Berlin Wall, which occurred after Gorbachev liscensed Hungary to open its border and thus provide an escape route for East Germans. It was echoed in the Soviet Union two years later- the Red Army had staged a brief coup in the interests of a military intervention in Eastern Europe, and had failed. Gorbachev had tried to regain popular support, and had proposed a new constitution, dismissing the CPCC, but Estonia, Ukraine, and Belarus nonetheless declared their independence. By 1991, communist rule in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union was over, and the world was left to reflect on the sad, bizarre chapter in human history,9 that had just been written. It can thus be confirmed that the decline of communism after 1985 was the direct result of Gorbachevs policies. And, in this sense, it was an internal force that brought about the actual collapse that occurred, although, as already established, this was shaped both by U.S. pressure and conditions within the Eastern bloc. It is important, in addition, not to overlook the role that American policy played in these latter years. That Reagan and Thatcher continued to build western economies that far outshone those in the East certainly kept the pressure on the communists. Likewise, Regan constantly challenged Gorbachevs commitment to peace, demanding that he open this gatetear down this wall.10 For the most part, however, the collapse was self-contained after 1985. It is perhaps best summarized by Erik Chenoweth in his article, Common Elements of Successful Opposition to Communism: pluralism is an anathema to communism andcan survive communisms system of terror, where the systems terror is balanced by societys opposition.11 1 Timothy Sowula, The Helsinki Process and the Death of Communism, 2002. 2 Richard Piper, Dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente and Its Demise, 2001. 3 ibid. 4 Timothy Sowula, ibid 5 Colonel-General Nikolai Chervov, as quoted in Dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente And Its Demise, 2001 6 Brezezinksi, The Afghan Caper, 2004 7 ibid. 8 ibid. 9 Robert Reagan as quoted in Misinterpreting the Cold War- www.foreignaffairs.org/19950/001fareviewessay5008/richard-pipes.html 10 ibid. 11 http://www.idee.org/cubaideas4.html