East Asia History Essay Example for Free

East Asia History Essay Q1a Meaning of sumo and baseball in Japan In Japan, Sumo and baseball are the central sports and depict the cultural belief of achievement, individual effort and character. Sumo is very significant â€Å"to the roots of Japan and is a form of national pride. Therefore sumo is a reflection of the historical Japan, and is today the most important sport acting as a national symbol. Somo was always encouraged young men and boys. However with the growing number of the youth, who have not seen the importance of the traditions of their forefathers have discarded this sport and replaced it with the contemporary sport of baseball. This means that baseball is taking centre stage as the most popular sort especially for the urban youth. Sumo in a way is a representative of the old generation being replaced by a modern sport of baseball. Q3. The position of women in neo-Confucian cultures â€Å"It has been justly remarked that a nation’s civilization may be estimated by the rank which females hold in society. If the civilization of China be judged of by this test, she is surely far from occupying that first place which she so strongly claims† (Chinese repository, 313). This is the remark about women in China, and is correct by all means. In many cultures across the world women and men posses’ distinct functions and responsibilities and in the Neo-Confucian cultures women held a very important position but a lesser one from that of men. Confucians viewed the family â€Å"as a microcosm of the state† which was ruled by a male emperor, therefore it meant that the man was the natural head of the home. The position of women was at home where she was to assume the responsibilities or ‘Dao’ (woman’s way) of a wife and mother. Her other roles included the upbringing of children which included their education. The woman was called to be obedient to her father first, secondly to her husband and to her grown son. Such views portrayed a woman as a tool for men, which would lead eventually to such cultural practices of â€Å"foot-binding† (meant to limit the mobility of females and serve as erotic pleasure for the men. ) Other practices included the â€Å"cult of chastity† where windows were elevated to the role of â€Å"cultural heroes† also such practices led to such harsh traditions of selling unwanted daughters. http://chnm. gmu. edu/wwh/modules/lesson10/lesson10. php? s=0 Confucianism eventually was labeled as the â€Å"chief causes for Chinas failure to modernize† by the â€Å"May fourth â€Å"generation that comprised of communists and intellectuals. Buddhism in china and Japan changed the influence that Confucianism had on the belief of women’s position in the society. By late 19th century, the liberation for the women became a major driving force within the reform and revolution movements. Male crusaders advocated for greater role for the women in the transformation of their nation. Educated women from Japan and China rallied behind them and started speaking and writing publicly for the first time. This attracted opposition and protests from the conservatives and traditionalists who wanted the status quo of gender roles to remain. They viewed the female activists as â€Å"unseemly, unfeminine and too western†. (http://chnm. gmu. edu/wwh/modules/lesson10/lesson10. php? s=0) The journey to liberation for the women is not over yet; but bolder steps have been made towards this end. And in the contemporary East Asia, women have been honored alongside men for their militant participation against in the Taiping Rebellion, where Hakka women fought against Mancho government as soldiers. Q4.  The state of Chinese economy at the time of the Chairman Mao’s death in 1976 to date In May 16th 1966 Chairman Mao Zedong lunched the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution that resulted to widespread power struggles that almost brought China to the brink of Civil War. Because of this strain China’s Economy stagnated which also affected the social and political aspect of the republic. ( http://en. wikipedia. org) After the fall of ‘the Gang of Four’ Hua Guofeng and later in 1977 Deng Xiaoping led China in affirming the modernization Programme that had been started by Zhou Enlai in 1975. Deng Xiaoping further initiated new Policies towards achieving the Four Modernizations. The Policies played a very important role in revitalizing the economy of China. The policies played a very important role of strengthening the authority that managers and economic decision makers had as opposed to political or party officials. ( http://en. wikipedia. org) Through these policies workers were offered material incentives, research and education systems were highly strengthened and strategize for an increase in foreign trade. In the period between 1976 and 1978 the economy started peaking from the Cultural Revolution. China’s economy was wholly dependent on agriculture, which had been adversely affected by three years of poor weather in 1977 that saw the drop of agricultural output. However the harvest hit a record high of 14% in 1977 and 13% in 1978. ( http://en. wikipedia. org) Today China’s economy is rated among the highest in the world becoming the world’s second largest and rated as the fastest growing economy in modern history with ac consistent GDP of over 10 %. ( http://en. wikipedia. org)

Inequality Gap between the Global North and South

Inequality Gap between the Global North and South Introduction: The term Global South refers to â€Å"The Third World† which it colloquially replaced to describe the poorest countries in the world, countries particularly in the South Asia, Middle East, Central and South America, Africa and Oceania that were unaligned with either the Communist Soviet bloc or the Capitalist NATO bloc during the Cold War. There is an immense social, economic and political gap between the wealthy Global North and the poorer least developed countries of Global South. The Geographical division of the world differentiating the rich from the poor starting from the Global South includes all of Asia except Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, and the South East Asian ‘dragons of Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand; all of Africa; the Middle East, except the oil-rich UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain; and Central and South America. The North includes Europe; the USA, except Bermuda and the Bahamas; Canada; and the European republics of the former Soviet Union. Newly industrialized countries such as South Korea and Taiwan now have more in common with the industrialized North and fast-developing Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, and Chile than with other countries in the developing world. (http://www.talktalk.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0030871.html) The Third World or Global Souths persistent underdevelopment can be explained by analysing both the internal and the external factors that consistently contribute towards halting its progress. When Imperialism started in United States, which was a natural product of economic pressure due to sudden advance of capitalism which needed foreign markets for goods and investments. Europe was going through the same scenario, overproduction in the sense of excessive manufacturing plants and surplus capital which could not find stable investments within the countries, forced Great Britain, Holland, Germany and France to place large portions of their economic resources and capital outside their own political domain and stimulate a foreign policy of expansion to new regions and areas. Germany in the early 1900s was suffering severely from what is called a glut of capital and manufacturing power and had to move to new markets and trade settlements were forced upon Asia Minor, West Africa and other colonies. Improvements in method of production and industrial revolution boosted a machine economy with one nation after another adapting industrial methods, it became difficult for their mer chants, manufacturers and financiers to dispose profitably their economic resources, so they used their Governments in order to secure for their particular use, some distant underdeveloped countries by annexation or protection. These economic conditions of affairs form the taproot of Imperialism.(Hobson, 1954) Hence my point being that the developed world has used the developing world for its own gain and cheaper raw materials and labour. Due to the relationship of interdependence between world economies and world trade there are dominant countries which expand because they are self sufficient and there are dependent countries that can only do this only as a reflection of these dominant countries. The concept of dependence allows us to see the situation of these countries internally as a part of the world economy. In the Marxist tradition, the theory of imperialism has been developed as a study of this process of expansion of these imperial centres and their quest of world domination. Scholars following the Marxist tradition have presented the most extensive analysis of foreign economic policy. Karl Marx himself was primarily concerned with developments within national economies, although he did not ignore international and global problems. The international aspects of capitalism assumed a place of importance for Marxist scholars. Marxist theories can be divided into two basic types: instrumental and structural. (Laski, 2003) Instrumental Marxist theories view governmental behaviour as a product of direct social and societal pressure. In its sophisticated form, Marxist arguments analyze the general ties between the government officials and the capitalist sector. I would like to quote Mr. Harold Laski here who argued that ‘historically we always find that any system of government is dominated by those who at the time wield economic power; and what they mean by ‘good is, for the most part, the preservation of their own interests. (Laski, 2003) Structural Marxist have different arguments. They do not link the behaviour of the state to any capital class and see the state playing an independent role within the whole capitalist system. Analysing this from an economic perspective, we can see that capitalism is not self sustained towards general equilibrium in the long run profit because the labour cannot be exploited in the long run due to technological advancements which decrease the ratio of labour to capital in the long run. This process leads to more goods produced than its members can consume also known as under consumption and this drives the weaker firms out of the market and capital accumulation and greater power in the hands of owners or managers of capital. The relationship between giant multinationals, advanced capital societies and foreign activity has been emphasized by some recent Marxists like Harry Magdoff and James O Conner. Through the behavioural theory of the firm, Magdoff suggests that corporations are systems of power and each firm tries to control and capture its own market. This fact could not be realized at the beginning of capitalism because the level of competition was too high. Businesses seek to maximize control over actual and potential sources of raw material and foreign markets. The foreign investment by these multinational guarantees this control. And these corporations are the foundation of the American capitalist system and their political power is immensely great and for these reasons the United States, the leading capitalist nation in the world maintains an international economic system with minimum constraints on the functioning and operation of these giant multinationals. (Magdoff, 1960) Although another Marxist James OConner maintains that in modern capitalist systems, monopoly sector is the most important source of profits. However the monopoly sector can expand rather quickly than demand and employment and this leads to aggressive foreign policy. Thus overseas activity can create new opportunities of investment, sales and profit. Marxist analysts have also suggested a relationship between capitalist system, military expenditure and imperialism. This military power is important in direct sense because the use of force may be necessary to keep foreign areas open to investment and trade. (Connor, 1973) One of the main focuses of these capitalists was the supply of cheap raw materials and United States was itself dependent on foreign sources for some commodities that were essential for industrial operations and also military equipment. One author argues that all American foreign policy can be explained by the need â€Å"to insure that the flow of raw materials from the Third World is never interrupted.† (Dean, 1966) Marxist theories tend to explain the effect of imperialism and capitalism on underdeveloped countries. A famous quote of Karl Marx, â€Å"Capitalist production, therefore, develops technology, and the combining together of various processes into a social whole, only by sapping the original sources of all wealth the soil and the labourer.† Modernization Theory is another competing theory which tends to explain the underdevelopment of the Global South and also gives an essence of the internal factors involved in its causation. Modernization Theory suggests that the cause of underdevelopment in third world nations is their own policies and socio-economic structures that are based on feudalism, tribal system, family/cultural ties and primitive economic structures. The Third World society is lacking rules, regulations, law rule of jurisprudence and democracy and their underdevelopment is a product of their own slowness and failure to adapt to the modern worlds patterns of efficiency to modernize and develop themselves. While the modernization theory does recognize that the developed world has a role to play in the progress of the third world, the main focus of modernization theory is that the developed countries only have limited responsibility for the underdevelopment of the third world as the third world is largely respo nsible for its own poverty. They have a traditional societal approach and the new generation is expected to imitate their ancestors. In these societies there is hardly any belief of development and improved living conditions or the eagerness to engage in fundamental social changes such as a switch from subsistence economies to market economies. Traditional economies is where groups and individuals in position of immense power cause corruption and halt economic development and redistribute profits into their own hands. In order for underdeveloped countries to develop they have to abandon their traditional approach and their social and cultural models in replacement for the western traditions of free market system, good governance and stable economic planning. For capitalism to take hold and entrepreneurial environment with individual innovation and political freedom is required. (Isbister, 2003) A sound economic environment which will draw investment and prudent spending of public funds by officials for maintaining social infrastructure such as public safety and education is necessary for development. Disciplined monetary and fiscal policies are needed to create an investing environment for both domestic and foreign investors. Rule of law such as tort law and contract law should be enforced for businesses to expand from traditional family/tribal/cultural ties to person who will be trusting non-relative person, who will invest capital.    The benefit that the first world can give to the underdeveloped nations is the transfer of technological knowledge and assistance though enabling transnational corporations to introduce advance technology in their third world branch of plants. (Isbister, 2003) While the modernization theory implies that underdeveloped countries have to follow the same path of the first world , the dependency theory opposes the modernization theory and rather argues that impoverishment of the third world is caused by the economic well being of the first world. While contemporary dependency theory is largely Marxist in origin (Isbister, 2003), the foundation for the concept of dependency theory goes way far back to Adam Smith who acknowledged that the imperialist economic practices of the European nations had denied colonized peoples the benefits of socio-economic progress. The dependency theory argue that unfair economic practices and unequal trade conditions transfer the surplus generated in the dependent countries to dominant countries; financial relations are based on the viewpoint of the dominant countries based on export and loans of capital giving them interest in return and also control over the developing economy. Trade relations are based on monopolistic control of the market and the developing country are exporting their profits and interests out of their country but also bear the loss of control of their domestic resources. From colonial dependence in earlier times where the colonial countries of Europe economically dominated the colonized countries, to the financial-industrial dependence of the nineteenth century, where raw materials where supplied from these developing nations, each of the forms of dependence corresponds directly to the control that the first world had over the dependent world. Third world poverty is, therefore, not the result of tradition or accident but rather the direct result of plunder conducted by the first world for its own development and to sustain its economic position. As a result of first world actions in shaping the world order, in the eyes of dependency theorists, the third world has been impoverished and rendered incapable of balanced development. (Isbister, 2003) These two main theories discussed above (Modernization Theory Dependence Theory) are the primary theories of political science which try to explain the connection of Third World poverty and underdevelopment. The modernization theory adds value to these countries intrinsically and shares the fact that if the LDCs(less developed countries) do not change and move from their traditional socio-economic societal structures to the more modern and western style of governance, capitalism, democracy and rule of law. In my point of view the structure of dependence, by this I mean a situation in which one economy can only expand if another economies expansion in expected i.e. its own growth is dependent on a dominant countrys growth. The possibility of generating new investments depends on the existence of financial resources in foreign currency for the purchase of capital, machinery and raw materials that are not available domestically. The capital-industrial development depends on the amount of foreign currency a nation has to buy the raw materials and inputs for its industrial sector. The balance of trade in these countries is also less favourable and also the trade relations take place in a highly monopolistic international market which tends to lower prices of agricultural products, raw materials exported and raise the price of industrial capital equipment. Belonging to a Third World country myself and living majority of my life there in Pakistan, I personally think that the modernization theory goes beyond the dependency theory to explain the position of these LDCs as far as the internal factors are concerned where the more traditional society of the Third World like Pakistan need stability and change of reforms. Rule of law, democracy, equal distribution of wealth, human rights and openness in the mindset of a nation is very important for progress. However I do agree with the dependency theory in explaining the new world order which is purely market and capitalist. The true influence of external forces and world has been seen on developing nations and their economies. Foreign capital retains control over the most robust and dynamic centres of the economy and sends the profits back to the home country causing a highly unfavourable capital account in the LDCs Balance Of Payments thus ultimately limiting the supply of imported inputs. And the value of their export is usually very low and unfavourable terms of trade compared to the capital and technological export base of the First World. However the dependency theory criticises the modernization theory, both these theories tend to explain the economic gap between rich and poor countries. I tend to see the modernization theory with some bias as well because they suggest that the way of the western world is the only way towards development and progress but with development of nations such as China, whose export-manufacturing growth and totally different way of governance has proved the western philosophy wrong. However, in LDCs such as my country Pakistan, the feudal system has to be abolished. Feudalism halts the advancement of generations of workers and creates slavery and halts all kinds of advancement because of traditional ancestral approach unequal distribution of resources and wasting of what could actually be future human capital. I find parts of both these theories convincing for explaining the economic gap between the developed nations and the countries of Global South. External factors from the dependency theory and the internal factors of the modernization theory, together dissect completely the causes of the economic gap between the whole South/North divide. Bibliography: Connor, O. (1973). Fiscal Crisis. Dean, H. (1966). Scarce Resources. Gold, L. Recent Development in Marxists Theories Of the Capitalist State.(1975) Gold, L. W.(1975) Hobson, J. A. (1954). Imperialism. London: George Allen Unwin . http://www.talktalk.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0030871.html. (n.d.). Isbister, J. (2003). Promises Not Kept: Poverty and the Betrayal of Third. Laski. (2003). Foundations Of soverignity. Magdoff, H. (1960). Imperialism without Colonies.

Industrial or Economic Espionage :: International Business Competition Essays

Industrial or Economic Espionage A small Mississauga electronics safety equipment company is broken into. Although filing cabinets and desks were rummaged through, nothing was seemingly taken. An officer discovered the company had drawn up a bid for $7 million dollar contract a day or so before the break-in. The contract in question was for a foreign country. It was later discovered that the company in question was known for its aggressive economic espionage. An iron ore shipping company was also broken into. At first it was thought that the target had been the firms computers. But, nothing was taken, it was assumed that the burglars had been scared off. Within thirty minutes it was discovered that the company was approaching its fiscal year end. staff eventually found that most of the recent database backup tape was missing. A Quebec based company with the laser-based system for inspecting materials used in, among other things, the stealth aircraft, had three computers stolen. On their harddrives were confidential codes for specialized software used by the Canadian Armed forces. The above are all true examples of the modern threat facing international business today known as industrial or economic espionage. The end of the cold and economic pressures have increased the risk of economic espionage. The collapse of the Soviet Union has left unemployed KGB and other former communist bloc intelligence agents selling everything from Russian night vision devices to completely assembled and functional bugging devices. Even friendly western European governments have been caught spying on private corporations based in the U.S. and other countries, while industrial competitors sometimes hire private companies to collect competitive intelligence from their corporate rivals( Lester:96). What exactly is economic espionage? how prevalent is it? Who does it? How do they do it? and what can we do to stop it. These are the questions that will be looked at in the following pages. First lets look at, what exactly is economic espionage. Espionage and intelligence is no longer the exclusive domain of monarchs and governments, it has become a must for modern international business. Large corporations around the world particularly in western Europe and Asia now hire agents to gather intelligence on their competitors and other countries. The goal of economic espionage is to steal trade secrets, plans and confidential procedures or anything to give your company or country a competitive edge over another (Perry:1996). The areas that interest industrial spies the most include radiation transfer technology, systems diagnostic and testing software, traveling wave tubes, aviation technologies, microwave monolithic integrated circuits, inferred signature measures software, radar technologies, wet

Amistad Essay example -- essays research papers

Vanessa Breslow  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Professor Dublin 11/17/99  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  History 103-3 L’Amistad   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Amistad, ironically a ship that means â€Å"friendship,† was the setting of one of the most historical slave revolts led by black Africans in 1839. This revolt gained considerable attention from the American population, the media and well as other international interests. It was the black insurrection on board the Amistad that ignited the underlying issues of politics, slavery, sectionalism, religion, trade rights, and anti-British sentiment that already plagued the nation at the time of the Amistad incident. The controversy drew the entire world into the conflict over human and property rights, an issue that divided our nation and would eventually catapult it into war over the relationship of race and slavery to liberty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Treaties and Laws in the 1800’s sought to further slavery regulation by making it legal, but prohibiting the further importation of slaves. Great Britain banned slavery in its own colonies, and pursued the suppression of trade. The United States passed the Slave Importation Act of 1807, which declared further importation of slaves into the United States illegal. Yet these Laws proved to be unenforceable due to Presidential denial of power to halt trades in the United States, as well as the rising cotton production in the South and the demand for Cuban sugar and Brazilian coffee, both expanding the market for slave labor. Thus the 1817 treaty with Great Britain that also outlawed foreign slave trade especially hurt the Spanish colony of Cuba. In spite of the ban, slave-traders continued to smuggle in slaves for several decades and tried to pass them off as legal. Slaves were constantly kidnapped from their homeland and taken most on route to Cuba, where slave labor was in most frequent demand. In 1839, the two men, Jose Ruiz and Pedro Montes chartered the Amistad to transpor... ... and that selfishness was a card. Another negative association about slavery, viewed by evangelicals, was its association with great wealth. In the following November, the Africans, a translator, and some missionaries (both black and white) left for Africa aboard the ship the Gentleman. The arrival of those Amistad Africans who had successfully rebelled against slavery two years earlier, had ignited a sectional debate of significance within the United States. The immediate support of the blacks by leading abolitionists, when contrasted to the immediate denial by the federal government of the Africans right to be free, indicated how firmly different forces in the nation were committed to the slavery issue. General public response to the case revealed the importance of party allegiance, the divisiveness of slavery, the limited place of the black man, and the extreme aversion to the abolitionists and Great Britain shared by Americans at the close of the Van Buren administration. These prevalent and resistant differences would remain firmly settled in the United States, and would gradually tear the nation apart until there co mes a call of war to finally settle sectional differences. Amistad Essay example -- essays research papers Vanessa Breslow  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Professor Dublin 11/17/99  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  History 103-3 L’Amistad   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Amistad, ironically a ship that means â€Å"friendship,† was the setting of one of the most historical slave revolts led by black Africans in 1839. This revolt gained considerable attention from the American population, the media and well as other international interests. It was the black insurrection on board the Amistad that ignited the underlying issues of politics, slavery, sectionalism, religion, trade rights, and anti-British sentiment that already plagued the nation at the time of the Amistad incident. The controversy drew the entire world into the conflict over human and property rights, an issue that divided our nation and would eventually catapult it into war over the relationship of race and slavery to liberty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Treaties and Laws in the 1800’s sought to further slavery regulation by making it legal, but prohibiting the further importation of slaves. Great Britain banned slavery in its own colonies, and pursued the suppression of trade. The United States passed the Slave Importation Act of 1807, which declared further importation of slaves into the United States illegal. Yet these Laws proved to be unenforceable due to Presidential denial of power to halt trades in the United States, as well as the rising cotton production in the South and the demand for Cuban sugar and Brazilian coffee, both expanding the market for slave labor. Thus the 1817 treaty with Great Britain that also outlawed foreign slave trade especially hurt the Spanish colony of Cuba. In spite of the ban, slave-traders continued to smuggle in slaves for several decades and tried to pass them off as legal. Slaves were constantly kidnapped from their homeland and taken most on route to Cuba, where slave labor was in most frequent demand. In 1839, the two men, Jose Ruiz and Pedro Montes chartered the Amistad to transpor... ... and that selfishness was a card. Another negative association about slavery, viewed by evangelicals, was its association with great wealth. In the following November, the Africans, a translator, and some missionaries (both black and white) left for Africa aboard the ship the Gentleman. The arrival of those Amistad Africans who had successfully rebelled against slavery two years earlier, had ignited a sectional debate of significance within the United States. The immediate support of the blacks by leading abolitionists, when contrasted to the immediate denial by the federal government of the Africans right to be free, indicated how firmly different forces in the nation were committed to the slavery issue. General public response to the case revealed the importance of party allegiance, the divisiveness of slavery, the limited place of the black man, and the extreme aversion to the abolitionists and Great Britain shared by Americans at the close of the Van Buren administration. These prevalent and resistant differences would remain firmly settled in the United States, and would gradually tear the nation apart until there co mes a call of war to finally settle sectional differences.

Frida Kahlo Essay -- Papers

Frida Kahlo Frida Kahlo's life was one marked by extreme suffering, extreme heroism, and extreme genius. Stricken with polio as a child then nearly crippled in a bus accident at the age of eighteen, Kahlo defied the odds not only by learnng to walk again (twice) but by taking the world by storm with her unique artistic vision. Frida Kahlo was born July 6, 1907 near Mexico City. However, she always claimed to be born in the year of the Mexican Revolution, 1910, in order to link her own birth to that of modern Mexico. It was just one of the many half-truths Kahlo told about her life, some say, in order to create a myth through which she would always be remembered. The desire to be remembered was always a central theme of Kahlo's art, as reflected in the many self-portraits she painted (the images for which she is best known). Once she embroidered a pillow for her husband, the muralist Diego Rivera, which read, "Remember me, my love." Kahlo's obsession with mortality is no mystery as illness, severe pain and the threat of death repeatedly imposed themselves on her young life. At age six, Kahlo contracted polio and had to spend 9 months confined to her room. During that time, she created an imaginary friend who would later be reflected in a painting called "The Two Fridas." Explaining the painting in her diary she wrote, "I experienced intensely an imaginary friendship with a little girl more or less the same age as me ... I followed her in all her movements and while she danced, I told her my secret problems." Once over the polio, Kahlo seemed determined to live life to the fullest. She became a tomboy at school and the le... ...e couple did divorce, in 1939, they reunited in less than a year. For all their troubles, they remained one another's greatest loves and greatest fans. That same year Kahlo suffered another blow. Her right leg had to be amputated below the knee due to a gangrene infection. On July 13, 1954, at the age of 47, Frida Kahlo died. The cause was never officially determined. The last entry in Kahlo's diary read, "I hope the leaving is joyful and I hope never to return." Little known outside of the art world until the 1990's, Frida Kahlo has recently become a cultural icon. Numerous books and articles have been written about her. She has been the subject of three documentaries, and a feature film about her life was released October 25, 2002. For a woman who wished to be remembered, it seems, her wish has come true.

Evaluate This Case Using the Three Elements

MGMT 325 â€Å"Will Technology Save the Publishing Industry† pg 104. September 16, 2012 Case Study Questions 1. Evaluate the impact of the Internet on newspaper and book publishers using the value chain and competitive forces models. The publishing industry has been hit hard by new market entrants and substitute products and services. Newspapers are the most troubled segment of the publishing industry because of the availability of alternatives and publishers’ inability to protect their content. Traditional print newspapers can’t match the ease of use and immediacy of online papers.It’s also much more expensive to print and distribute traditional newspapers adding to publishers’ overhead costs. Many of the traditional newspapers’ primary activities are expensive while those activities don’t necessarily exist for online newspapers; obtaining paper, maintaining printing press equipment, distributing print papers, gathering old papers, co llecting fees, etc. Online news sites don’t have any of those expenses or processes to deal with. Traditional book publishers are facing similar situations from substitute products and services and new market entrants.Many brick-and-mortar bookstores have closed for two main reasons: online sales and new electronic downloads to e-readers and smartphones. As with newspapers, online book sellers and e-books don’t have all the overhead costs of traditional book stores and publishers nor all the processes to get products to customers. 2. How are newspapers and book publishers changing their business models to deal with the Internet and e-book technology? Online newspapers are pursuing more online advertising dollars and partnering with Google and Yahoo to share revenue from advertising.Some news sites charge fees for newspaper content delivered to new reading devices. Another option is for news sites to charge fees for â€Å"premium† news and opinion. Because advert ising remains a major source of revenue, the newspapers must grow their online revenue fast enough to offset their losses from print advertising. Internet advertising ranks second only to television for ad spending. E-books have become a new channel for book content distribution. Sales are skyrocketing thanks to the popularity of Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader and the iPad.Publishing companies have begun investing more resources in the Kindle and iPad as delivery platforms for their books and less money in traditional delivery platforms like print news and bound books. Textbook publishers are working on iPad versions of their offerings; newspapers have apps out for the iPad and offer Kindle subscriptions to readers; and major publishers are contracting with software companies to convert existing files to e-reader compatible products. 3. How can newspaper and book publishers take better advantage of the Internet? What will it take for them to benefit from e-books?Explain your a nswer. Book publishers are on the right track by investing more resources in the Kindle and iPad as delivery platforms for their books and less money in traditional delivery platforms like print news and bound books. Apple announced in February 2011 that it would receive a 30 percent fee for each sale of digital content sold through its App Store. Apple also prohibited app developers from placing links to external Web sites within their apps, effectively preventing these developers from guiding their app users to product offerings that would not be subject to Apple’s fees.Apple also plans to prevent publishers and other content providers from receiving data about their iPad customers unless customers give permission beforehand. Publishing companies have strenuously objected, arguing that they need this information to successfully market and advertise their products. Apple says the rule protects the privacy of iPad owners. While Apple’s policies may protect iPad owner p rivacy, they also work against publishers who need data and information about products to effectively continue developing products customers want.Apple’s policies also put too much power in one company’s hands and prohibit the free flow of products, data, and information. Google, on the other hand, hopes to offer a more â€Å"open† model that allows readers to access books using any Web browser. Its advantage is that it is not tied down to any individual device. That gives an advantage to readers and to publishers who can access data and information and understand the marketplace better. The model also gives Google a much larger reach in the marketplace.And, instead of just e-reader users, Google’s target audience will be the 190 million monthly Internet users in the United States. 4. Will technology be able to save the newspaper and book publishing industries? Explain your answer. Technology does hold the possibility of saving newspaper and book publishi ng industries, but only if those industries continue to change and modify their business models. Newspapers must continue to move away from print and more toward online content, changing the way they provide customers with information. They cannot continue to rely on old methods hoping online content will go away.The same can be said in regards to book publishers. They must continue to evolve their products, taking advantage of the cost-savings that comes with digital versions of their books. They must continue to pressure those companies who want to control the â€Å"channel† like Apple and insist on being a central part of how content is delivered and at what price. Publishers can and should offer promotional items and events in e-books and news sites that are not possible in print versions, including interactive items like coupons, contests, and access to additional content.References Burrell, I. (n. d. ). Can Apple save the newspaper industry? – Technology & Gadget s, Life & Style – Belfasttelegraph. co. uk. Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK, World, News, Business, Entertainment , BelfastTelegraph. co. uk. Retrieved September 16, 2012, from http://www. belfasttelegraph. co. uk/lifestyle/technology-gadgets/can-apple-save-the-newspaper-industry-14648806. html Kibee, J. (n. d. ). THE WORLD WIDE WEB AS AN INFORMATION RESOURCE:. welcome. html. Retrieved September 16, 2012, from http://web. simmons. edu/~chen/nit/NIT'96/96-151-Kibbee. tml Larson, C. (n. d. ). Online Book Publisher: Advantages of Online Publishing . internet . Retrieved September 16, 2012, from http://internet. ezinemark. com/online-book-publisher-advantages-of-online-publishing-7d35fbe9e846. html Laudon, K. C. (2013). Essentials of management information systems (Global ed of 10th rev. ed. ). Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd.. Turning the Page The Future of eBooks. (n. d. ). http://www. pwc. com. Retrieved September 16, 2012, from www. pwc. com/en_GX/gx/entertainment-media/pdf/eBook s-Trends-Developments. pdf

The Haqqani Network: Terrorists or Insurgents

The definition of terrorism is broad and open to interpretation. Hoffman, in his book Inside Terrorism, suggests that terrorism is â€Å"the deliberate creation and exploitation of fear through violence or the threat of violence in the pursuit of political change. † Schwartz, Dunkel, et al, define terrorism in their Studies in Conflict & Terrorism article entitled Terrorism: An Identity Theory Perspective, as â€Å"the deliberate targeting of civilian sites for attacks designed to result in destruction of those sites and/or the injury and death of noncombatant civilians. Together, these two perspectives coupled with identity theory and will serve as the basis for an evaluation of the Haqqani network and their interrelationships and interactions with known terrorist groups such as the Taliban and al-Qa’ida as well as with Pakistan’s military and government intelligence agencies.The Haqqani Network: Who Are They and Why do We Care? The Haqqani network is an Af ghan and Pakistani group of fighters that operates primarily in southeastern Afghanistan as a semi-autonomous component of the Taliban with close ties to Pakistan’s Army and intelligence agencies (Rassler et al. July 14, 2011, p. -2). The Haqqani network’s leadership structure is hierarchical in nature with members of the patriarch’s family filling top leadership roles (Rassler et al. July 14, 2011, p. 7). This familial structure is an important cultural identity marker â€Å"that can serve to promote terrorist activities. † Furthermore, Schwartz, Dunkel, et al address the family as it relates to upholding honor and â€Å"avenging wrongs done to the family. † This is interesting because even those who sympathize and support terrorism, but don’t actually participate in it, often share the same level of social identity based upon their group affiliations.This tends to show how the Haqqani network is able to exert its influence over their colle ague groups without actually having to be in control of them. It appears to be a symbiotic relationship where the Haqqani network clearly benefits from bi-directional credibility of association with the Taliban and al-Qa’ida. Rassler et al support this claim when they discuss the relationship between senior Haqqani network leaders and their close operational relationships with the Taliban and al-Qa’ida, revealing that there is often no distinction.This shared identity-based connection legitimizes the Haqqani network with the segment of the Afghan society that believes in radical Islam and jihad. This was evidenced when the Haqqani network helped â€Å"sustain al-Qa’ida’s relevance and branding as the leader of the global jihadist movement. † All in all, it appears the Haqqani network just wants their proverbial place at the table so to speak. Clearly, it must be working, as current assessments put the strength of the group close to 15,000 fighters. The Haqqani Network: Duplicity at WorkAmerican intelligence and military officials claim the Haqqani network is a â€Å"proxy force used by the Pakistani intelligence service [Pakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence {ISI} agency] to carry out grisly, high-profile attacks. † The question here is whether this is a relationship of convenience or an alliance due to shared identity. The secret relationship with ISI coupled with links to al-Qa’ida and the Taliban clearly shows the need to solicit support (e. g. , material, financial, spiritual, etc. ) and ultimately rally the masses behind them.Furthermore, â€Å"for decades, [the Haqqani network has been] a mentor to Arab, Uzbek, Chechen, Turkish, and Pakistani jihadists. † These associations speak to the core of shared identity and the interactions among the groups, as according to Schwartz, Dunkel, et al social and cultural identity is formed when members come together based upon common beliefs shared across the group, and individual identity represents personally chosen goals, values, and beliefs coupled with their perspectives of the world around them.The study of terrorism necessitates (according to Schwartz, Dunkel, et al) that we not only understand the effects of identity, but also the interactions among these levels. In addition, we need to look at the importance of the wider community as Schwartz, Dunkel, et al put it, â€Å"Without local, and sometimes international support, those engaged in terrorist attacks would find it substantially more difficult, if not impossible, to conduct their activities. † Working with the Taliban, al-Qa’ida, and Pakistan’s ISI is a duplicitous role that provides â€Å"credibility within, and across, multiple dimensions of jihad† (Rassler et al.July 14, 2011, p. 5) establishing the shared identity necessary to imbue respect and connectivity as part of an influential group dynamic. Why is all this important? The Haqqani ne twork’s credibility in the region, especially with the tribal groups of Afghanistan, helps extend the Taliban’s reach and because the Haqqani network is effective militarily, they act as a force multiplier for the Taliban. This puts the Haqqani network in a regional leadership position, and Schwartz, Dunkel, et al suggest that this leadership role would be considered admirable providing further social capital.The Haqqani Network: Terrorist Threat or Insurgency? So with such a significant fighting force that is radicalized, is the Haqqani network a terrorist organization pitted against Western ideology, or is it simply an insurgency focused on eradicating outsiders who have forced their way into the Afghani homeland? According to the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism of the Department of State as of September 15, 2011, the Haqqani network is not listed as a foreign terrorist organization. Despite this, according to the Jamestown Foundation Terrorism Monitor , â€Å"The U.S. military has long been frustrated by deadly operations carried out against its troops in Afghanistan by Haqqani Network forces. † They quote U. S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta as saying, â€Å"We cannot have the Haqqanis coming across the border attacking our forces and [Afghans] and disappearing back into a safe haven [in Pakistan]. † In between the rhetoric, the real reason they aren’t on the terrorist list is because there is a belief that, â€Å"such a move would scuttle any chances that the group might make peace with Afghanistan’s government. To make our decision, it is essential that we not lose sight of the need to fairly evaluate this group from the point of view of that group and not from the â€Å"Westernized† framework we can easily apply to it. Brannan, Esler, and Strindberg, point out that, â€Å"Scholars’ insistence that ‘terrorists’ are somehow ‘not like us’ but, instead, abnorma l—insane, power hungry, or a combination of both—is a classic exercise in out-group stereotyping†¦which undermines the analytical utility of the interpretations in use. Applying this to the Haqqani network and to prevent us from being constrained by our (Western) cultural boundaries, it is incumbent upon us to look at the Haqqani network from their vantage point. The clearest and most-recent message came in September of 2011 when Sirajuddin Haqqani (the son of the group’s patriarch, Jalaluddin Haqqani) told The Telegraph in the United Kingdom via a telephone interview, â€Å"There are sincere people in the Afghan government who are loyal to the Taliban as they know our goal is the liberation of our homeland from the clutches of occupying forces. With this, their actions, and their relationships, it is apparent that the Haqqani network is interested more in the local issues and having local influence than it is in trying to wage a global jihad against the W est. A such, their lack of inclusion from the list of terrorist organizations is still valid. Bibliography Brannan, David W. , Esler, Philip F. , and Strindberg, N. T. Anders. 2001. â€Å"Talking to â€Å"Terrorists†: Towards an Independent Analytical Framework for the Study of Violent Substate Activism. † Studies In Conflict & Terrorism 24, no. 1: 3-24. Goodspeed, Peter. National Post, â€Å"About the Haqqani network. Last modified September 30, 2011. Accessed November 24, 2011. http://news. nationalpost. com/2011/09/30/about-the-haqqani-network Griffin, Emory. A First Look at Communication Theory. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, 1997. Hoffman, Bruce. Inside Terrorism. New York: Columbia University Press, 2006. Mazzetti, Mark, Scott Shane, and Alissa Rubin. New York Times, â€Å"Brutal Haqqani Crime Clan Bedevils U. S. in Afghanistan. † Last modified September 24, 2011. Accessed November 23, 2011. http://www. nytimes. com/2011/09/25/world/asia/brutal- haqqani-clan-bedevils-united-states-in-afghanistan. html? pagewanted=all.Rassler, Don, and Vahid Brown. The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, â€Å"The Haqqani Nexus and the Evolution of al-Qa'ida. † Last modified July 14, 2011. Accessed November 11, 2011. www. ctc. usma. edu. Shahzad, Faizul. â€Å"Taliban Reject American Perceptions of the Haqqani-ISI Relationship. † Terrorism Monitor. 9. no. 37 (2011): 1-2. http://www. jamestown. org/uploads/media/TM_009_Issue37. pdf (accessed November 10, 2011). Schwartz, S. J. , Dunkel, C. S. , & Waterman, A. S. (2009). Terrorism: An Identity Theory Perspective. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 32(6), 540. Websites Referenced http://www. cfr. org http://www. tc. usma. edu http://www. dawn. com http://www. foreignaffairs. com http://www. jamestown. org http://news. nationalpost. com http://www. nytimes. com/ http://www. state. gov http://www. telegraph. co. uk http://www. thedailybeast. com http://tribune. com. pk h ttp://www. understandingwar. org/themenode/haqqani-network ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Hoffman, B. (2006). Inside Terrorism (2nd ed. ). New York, NY: Columbia University Press. p. 40. [ 2 ]. Schwartz, S. J. , Dunkel, C. S. , & Waterman, A. S. (2009). Terrorism: An Identity Theory Perspective. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 32(6), 537-559. 3 ]. Ibid (p. 540)—Identity theory for our purposes will cover cultural identity, social identity, and personal identity. [ 4 ]. Rassler, Don, and Vahid Brown. The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, â€Å"The Haqqani Nexus and the Evolution of al-Qa'ida. † Last modified July 14, 2011. Accessed November 12, 2011, www. ctc. usma. edu. [ 5 ]. The Haqqani network’s patriarch and leader is Jalaluddin Haqqani, although it is reported that he may be in ill health, and his son, Sirajuddin Haqqani, is running the day-to-day opera tions. http://www. cfr. org/afghanistan/institute-study-war-haqqani-network/p26126 [ 6 ].Schwartz, S. J. , Dunkel, C. S. , & Waterman, A. S. (2009). Terrorism: An Identity Theory Perspective. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 32(6), 542. [ 7 ]. Ibid. [ 8 ]. Ibid (p. 548) [ 9 ]. Much like the traditional phrase, â€Å"guilt by association,† I suggest there could be credibility by association. It is concept that is often discussed in marketing whereby a person, product, or company gains credibility by associating itself with a larger more recognized person, product, or company (e. g. , a computer with the â€Å"Intel Inside† sticker on it). [ 10 ]. Rassler, Don, and Vahid Brown.The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, â€Å"The Haqqani Nexus and the Evolution of al-Qa'ida. † Last modified July 14, 2011. Accessed November 12, 2011, www. ctc. usma. edu. (p. 40) [ 11 ]. Ibid (p. 43). [ 12 ]. http://tribune. com. pk/story/259314/sirajuddin-haqqani-dares-us-to-atta ck-n-waziristan/ [ 13 ]. Mazzetti, Mark, Scott Shane, and Alissa Rubin. New York Times, â€Å"Brutal Haqqani Crime Clan Bedevils U. S. in Afghanistan. † Last modified September 24, 2011. Accessed November 23, 2011. http://www. nytimes. com/2011/09/25/world/asia/brutal-haqqani-clan-bedevils-united-states-in-afghanistan. html? pagewanted=all. [ 14 ].Hoffman, B. (2006). Inside Terrorism (2nd ed. ). New York, NY: Columbia University Press. p. 199. [ 15 ]. Goodspeed, Peter. National Post, â€Å"About the Haqqani network. † Last modified September 30, 2011. Accessed November 24, 2011. http://news. nationalpost. com/2011/09/30/about-the-haqqani-network [ 16 ]. Schwartz, S. J. , Dunkel, C. S. , & Waterman, A. S. (2009). Terrorism: An Identity Theory Perspective. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 32(6), 540. [ 17 ]. Ibid. [ 18 ]. Ibid (p. 548) [ 19 ]. Rassler, Don, and Vahid Brown. The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, â€Å"The Haqqani Nexus and the Evolution of al-Qa' ida. Last modified July 14, 2011. Accessed November 12, 2011, www. ctc. usma. edu. (p. 13) [ 20 ]. Schwartz, S. J. , Dunkel, C. S. , & Waterman, A. S. (2009). Terrorism: An Identity Theory Perspective. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 32(6), 550. [ 21 ]. The current list of Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations contains 49 entries, but the Haqqani Network is not one of them. http://www. state. gov/s/ct/rls/other/des/123085. htm [ 22 ]. Faizul Shahzad, â€Å"Taliban Reject American Perceptions of the Haqqani-ISI Relationship,† Terrorism Monitor, 9, no. 37 (2011): 1-2, http://www. jamestown. org/uploads/media/TM_009_Issue37. pdf (accessed November