Modern America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Modern America - Essay Example A widespread process of imperial expansion into Africa and Asia resulted, often with brutal consequences for the indigenous population due to Christian missionaries who wre dispatched to convert the native peoples. Americans became increasingly aware of world markets as developments in transportation and communication quickened the pace of commerce and diplomacy. The automobile and airplane helped shrink distance, and communications innovations such as radio and film contributed to a national consciousness. Throughout most of the nineteenth century, policy makers had sought to isolate America from the intrigues and conflicts of the great European powers but now America was coming out of it's isolationist shell by expanding commercial interests around the world along with the horizons of their concerns. The abundance of industries and cities invited a host of immigrants from all corners of the globe. urban-industrial development also brought along a list of hazards like corporate mono polies, child labor, political corruption, hazardous work ing conditions, urban ghettos that were finally addressed in a comprehensive way by the local, state, and federal governments who sought to rein in the excesses of industrial capitalism and develop a more rational and efficient public policy. A conservative Republican resurgence challenged the notion of the regulatory state during the 1920s when free enterprise and corporate capitalism witnessed a dramatic revival. But the stock market crash of 1929 helped propel the United States and many other nations into the worst economic downturn in history. The unprecedented severity of the Great Depression renewed public demands for federal government programs to protect the general welfare but employment restoration on a whole took place only after World War II. Captain Mahan argued that national greatness and prosperity flowed from maritime power and that modern economic development called for a powerful navy, a strong merchant marine, a leading advocate of sea power and Western imperialism, foreign commerce, colonies, and naval bases. Mahan, a self-described "imperialist," championed America's "destiny" to control the Caribbean, build an isthmian canal to connect the Pacific and Caribbean, and spread Western civilization in the Pacific. Eager for American manufacturers to exploit Asian markets, William H. Seward Seward believed the United States first had to remove all foreign interests from the northern Pacific coast and gain access to that region's valuable ports. To that end, he cast covetous eyes on the British crown colony of British Columbia, sandwiched between Russian America (Alaska) and Washington Territory. In 1891, Queen Liliuokalani, ascended the throne, she tried to reclaim a measure of power and to eliminate white control of the Hawaiian government. Hawaii's white population then revolted against the Queen and seized power. The American minister brought in marines to support the coup and within a month, a committee of the new government turned up in Washington with a treaty of annexation. The Hawaiians opposed the annexation but when the Japanese sent warships to take over the islands, McKinley responded by sending American warships and asked the Senate to approve a treaty to annex Hawaii. When the Senate could not muster the two-thirds majority needed

Prosopographical examination relating to at least THREE groups in Essay

Prosopographical examination relating to at least THREE groups in Syria - Essay Example They are the most powerful sect in Syria, and also the most vulnerable to change in regime since the President Bashar al-Assad is a member of the Alawi community, and they can easily associate. They occupy majority of the highest government and top security ranks, giving them a tremendous amount of power. The Assad family has been in power since 1970, possessing 80% of the GNP. Under the French rule, the Alawites enjoyed significant positions given to them so as to counterbalance the powerful Sannites. Besides that, many of them were recruited to the Syrian army and gained lots of influence in the society The Kurds group is among the largest ethnic minority in Syria, constituting between 10% and 15% of the total population. Most of the Kurdish populations are concentrated in the northern parts of the country. Just like the Alawites, the Kurds enjoyed considerable rights as the French authority encouraged minority part of the divide and rule strategy and thereby recruited heavily from the group (Altug 38). Few of the Kurds in the civil service have attained higher ranks. Most of the small wealthy groups among the group derive their income from real estate businesses (Roussos 36). However, under the Assad regime, a vast population Syrian Kurds consider themselves as victims of discrimination by the authorities, accusing them of neglecting their demand for political, social and cultural rights. Most of them have been stateless since changes to Syrias nationality laws in the 1960s. Christians make up approximately 10% of the total population, the largest denomination being the Greek Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches (ODDY 16). Christians occupy most parts of the country, with a vast population in the towns of Damascus, Homs and Latakia. In addition, there also exist Christian villages, such as Saydanaya and Maalula, found on the outskirts of Damascus and also the coastal towns of

Business to business system in supply Chain extension Essay Example for Free

Business to business system in supply Chain extension Essay In the aerospace sector, manufacturers are making strategic efforts to consolidate their supply base and forge stronger relationships with remaining suppliers (Stundza, 1999). For example, Boeing consolidated and standardized its supply contracts and plans to reduce its number of suppliers from 3,100 to 2,700 (Stundza, 2000b). Bowman (1998) notes that within the last year in the logistics industry shippers are increasingly bidding at the corporate level. More of them are making decisions by committee, whittling down their international provider base to a bare minimum. For example, he notes that about 40 percent of the global accounts of APL Ltd. , a worldwide logistics provider, had some type of logistics council or centralized body for purchasing, strategizing, and decision making. 8 To set the stage for PSM change, innovative customers are conducting comprehensive, corporate-wide spend analyses 9 to better understand their primary sources of expenditures and to then target their PSM improvement initiatives (e.g. , quality, speed, or cost effectiveness) on those goods and services that represent their largest and most strategic expenditures (see Owens et al. , 1998, and Laseter, 1998). 10 Customers are also stratifying their supply base by effect on results and level of strategic risk and then matching the specific management approach and type of relationship formed with particular suppliers to (Moore, Baldwin, Camm, and Cook 2002, 6 7). The truth of the matter is that the chains grew because they introduced a method of retail distribution for which there was a definite need and which the old wholesaler-retailer system failed to supply. To what extent the old system was inherently deficient and to what extent its shortcomings could be and have been corrected must be discussed now, not for the sake of stressing the imperfections of a competitive system but in order to contrast certain features of the chain-store system. The ideal distribution system would bridge the gap between production and consumption with maximum efficiency at minimum cost. Without any question, the outstanding inherent defect of the old wholesaler-retailer system lay in the fact that, under it, the wholesale function and the retail function are performed by separate, independent factors, whereas, under the chain-store system, the two functions are, to a major extent, combined. In no sense does the chain-store system eliminate the wholesale function: it still has to be performed, but, whereas under the old system the wholesaler exercised no control over his retail outlets nor did the retailer have any control over his sources of supply, under the chain-store system both functions are performed by the same organization and the control is unified. That this basic difference between the two systems has been partly nullified by the development of voluntary chains of various kinds is true. But the fact remains that such organizations did not come prominently into the picture until the chains had established themselves on a firm basis. When the chains were making their greatest strides, the old wholesaler-retailer set-up provided their principal competition. Reduced to its simplest terms, the main result of the essential difference between the two systems lies in the fact that under the old plan it is necessary for the wholesaler to sell to the retailer before the merchandise can find its way into consumption. Under the chain-store system, this intervening selling process, with all its disadvantages, is obviated. (Lebhar 1963, 87- 88) In 1981, standards for shipping containers were adopted; these facilitated the extension of the UPC into the emerging supply chain processes then appearing in both manufacturing and retailing industries. One of the reasons that the UPC had to spread grew out of the fact that not all goods sold in grocery stores were food; they included health and beauty aids, household cleaners, and so forth, which came from other industries. To take full advantage of the technology, the Grocery Industry wanted others to adopt the symbol as well. During the 1980s and 1990s, that was what happened. (Cortada 2004, 299) a. Keywords ? GDP = the growth development project is one of the most important factors in determining the standing of the country in terms of their economic inflation. ? e-buisness = is one of the most popular business internet market the products here are quite fast in the presentation to the client or so called the customer. ? Probability of UK GDP = this is something to do with the computation of the GDP of UK. This will reveal the trends of the UK if the economic inflation will fall or ascent. ? Linear regression= is the model that will suit in some computation for economic studies. This will also lead the person to identify the trends of the business to the market place. b. Basic Definitions and Terms The following terms were formulated for more understanding: ? Business to business (B2B) = It refers to the business situation and ? Inflation = This means that †¦.. ? Information technology = This refers to †¦.. c. Primary Sources d. Map out Important Areas e. Originality f. Review Conclusion.

Visiting Forces Agreement Essay Example for Free

Visiting Forces Agreement Essay Thesis Statement: The Philippines should consider terminating its Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States before it’s too late for the government to overcome its unexpected dilemma. I.What is the RP–US Visiting Forces Agreement? a.A bilateral agreement between the between the Philippines and the United States consisting of two separate agreement documents. a.Balikatan as VFA-1 b.Balikatan as VFA-2 or the Counterpart Agreement II.There are several negative effects of â€Å"Balikatan† in the country. 1.Balikatan exercises threatened our environment and ecological resources. a.In the past Balikatan exercises, war and combat simulations which involved maneuverings and live fire exercises have caused coral reef destruction and ecological pollution. b.Dumping of toxic wastes and nuclear-powered submarines are very dangerous to the health. 2.Balikatan exercises can affect the peace and order situation in the country. a.Danger to life, honor, safety, and peace of the citizens, like what happened to Nicole (Subic Bay rape victim) and to the other Filipinos threatened since the VFA was signed. 3.Balikatan exercises can affect the industrial and agricultural sector. a.During the dangerous exercises, farmers, fisher folk and indigenous people are banned from attending crops or fishing at the seas, thus, does it affect their livelihood. III.What are other alternatives aside from recent visiting forces agreement? a.Improved the facilities and human forces by setting the international standard in military tactics. b.A new refined and version of visiting forces agreement with the US or other countries that protects the Philippine and international laws on the protection and preservation of the environment.

Affected Business Ethics For Nike

Affected Business Ethics For Nike Globalisation is the process of transformation of regional phenomena into globalthorough communications (8). Due to globalisation organisations trade and communicate on an international level through integration. Causing the Flattering of the Globe (9) as said by T. L Friedman mentioning how the world is becoming a smaller place, people argue globalisation has affected people worldwide for the best and for the worst. Multi-national Corporations (MNCs) have been affected positively because they can operate in Less Economically Developed Country (LEDC) allowing them to cut costs resulting in a more prosperous profits. A MNC is an organisation that operates internationally in more than one country. The advantage of operating globally is firstly that the country accommodating the MNC benefits through job opportunities which will assist the economy and this can show a reduction of the gap between the MEDCs (More Economically Developed Country) and LEDCs. However MNCs can exploit the international workforce in LEDCs, because regulations in LEDCs differ from MEDCs so MNCs such as Nike use this to their advantage. Nike is a MNC that has been seen as operating in an unethical manner worldwide. So the ethical argument begins here towards the ethical considerations that MNCs face when operating in LEDCs around the world and how globalisation has actually affected Nikes business ethics. This essay will look at different aspects of ethics towards Nike and the reaction to globalisation. And whether Nike have helped or hindered LEDCs economies. The meaning of ethics is based around the difference of right and wrong as described by Aristotle in his doctrine of mean. There is no universal definition of ethics as Peter Singer proves by asking a simple question of why should I act morally? (5). It is impossible to have a fixed answer to the question because it is dependant on what an individuals perception of ethics is. Aristotelian ethics is termed by self realization (10) and explains how a person acts in accordance to their nature and realizes his full potential and also how nature does nothing in vain. So a person will be bad because of the un-natural upbringing. Naturally everyone is good, so for someone to be unethical it is the un-natural means that cause this. So relating to Nike and the individuals making the decisions, have they had an un-natural upbringing that has made them act unethically globally? Morally have they not developed or matured enough? As explained by Kohlberg and his analysis of the levels of moral development (1) (appendix A) Nike in LEDCs is in a situation where they are not forced to be ethical on how they should treat their workforce. With the workforce unaware of their rights and how they should be treated puts Nike in a predicament and questions Nikes business ethics due to globalisation. Globalisation can be seen as affecting Nikes ethics in a positive way for both company and employees in the LEDCs. Nike moving into a LEDC leads to employment opportunities, e.g. The Nike plant in China employees 4000 people meaning an extra 4000 employed in that country. Deontological ethics which is the Science of duty (7) meaning that some actions are obligatory regardless of the consequences would see this as ethical behaviour displayed by Nike globally. Nike are accomplishing their duty by contributing to their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by providing jobs. Kantianism also follows deontological ethics and believes that consequences are irrelevant to how ethical someone is (1).Kantianism(1)argues the outcomes are irrelevant because someone can have bad intentions but can result in good consequences, this does not make the situation ethical due to unethical intentions. Regardless it has to be considered the argument can work both ways, intentions could be good but the ou tcomes could be bad which would be acceptable to Deontology/Kantianism. Nike is following their ethical duty according to Deontological ethics by providing employment in those LEDCs where employment is scarce and the economy is deprived. Another view to show that Nike is behaving ethically is if we look at it from a Hedonistic view point. Hedonism means the minimising of pain and maximizing of pleasure (11) and believes that the majority people pleased is the most ethical. Relating it to Nike, exploiting and making 4000 employees unhappy in the China plant is this better than making millions of customers unhappy because they cant deliver or deliver the product at a low price. So according to Hedonism ethics Nike is operating ethically because it is opting to please the majority and doing what it sees as the greater good (1). So in the point made above globalisation has affected Nikes business ethics in a positive way . To add to Hedonism there is Cyrenaic Hedonism(7)view point which looks at instant gratification rather than deferred gratification. (12) (Appendix B) This viewpoint looks at the short term affects or pleasing people only with the thinking of here and know and that tomorrow is another day and we should worry about that when it comes. A man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry You could say that Nike looks at its company way of life using this view point because of the way it is acting. It doesnt necessarily means that they are behaving unethically; it just means that they are only living for today which a lot of people do in general so you cannot hold it against a company for its way of life. However Nike is currently till this day polluting the environment, it may not of had a great impact yet but more than likely it will have a detrimental effect on them same employees and environment causing further problems with global warming in the long-term (13). There isnt a problem with Nike according to Cyrenaic Hedonism, but it is unethical behaviour because of the selfishness because they are not considering the future when it comes to it affecting other people because of their current actions. This leads to the Consequentialist view point of how Nike is behaving unethically because it is not thinking of the consequences of their actions. There is the point of how they are providing jobs for LEDCs but this does not mean they are helping LEDC. Nike is simply increasing the gap between the LEDCs and the MEDC in the long-term. So all the LEDCs are consumed in an evil cycle of global capitalism where the rich stay rich and the poor remain poor(3). Bringing us back to the argument of good and bad and we can link this to Consequentialist way of thought, where the most ethical path is not following intentions but what the consequences of their actions are. So if we were to see Nikes ethics from a Consequentialist point of view it would seem that they are not following business ethics due to globalisation because of the consequences of their actions being negative in the sense that the people in the LEDCs are working slave labour with no option but to take Nikes employment offer up(2). With the wages Nike provides to the workforce it is something that maintains them but not remove them from the poverty cycle. If they really w anted to follow business ethics globally they would pay wages that will actually benefit employees and that will make a difference to their economy. This could be associated with Utilitarianism point of view which is a type of Consequentialist theory. And it mainly focuses on once again the utility of the action and motives (1). As Bentham quoted as utilitarianism is the greatest good for the greatest number, this relates to the perception of Hedonistic views. So Utilitarianism and Hedonism do complement each other well hence creating Hedonistic Utilitarianism(14). The two individuals surrounding Hedonistic Utilitarianism are Bentham and Mills. Benthams view around Nikes business ethics is the greatest happiness for the greatest number, as previously mentioned, it is better to please millions of Nike customers at the cost of a few thousand employees be given pain. Mill however would argue it is the quality of the pleasure and pain that is crucial for Nike to be following business ethics globally. Mill would rather see millions of Nike customers unsatisfied with the Nike products than to see thousands of Nike employees going through slave labour. So Nike needs to not only consider the quantity of their business ethics but additionally the quality of their ethics. As Mill would say globalisation in Nikes scena rio has caused Nikes business ethics to be unethical because of the pain and frustration the Nike workforce is going through due to Nike not considering the consequences. However the argument could once again be perceived from a different angle, as i have stated previously about Hedonist views and how placing 4000 employees in suffering may be justifiable to some because of the pleasure the millions of customers may get when they have the ability to purchase the Nike product or purchase at a low price. In this moment in time Nike is attempting to display their business ethics globally due to a plummet in sales and profit. This was due to the bad media coverage Nike received about their poor wages, poor working conditions, Sweatshops, child labourthe list goes on. Conveniently their interest in CSR only increased when profits decreased(15+16). This according to Virtue Ethics school of thought is seen as unethical behaviour. Virtue ethics does not look at motives or consequences like Deontology and Consequentialist but rather it looks at the moral character of a person or in this situation the moral character of Nike. Virtue Ethics would label Nike for its attempt of having a new approach to CSR as ultimately unethical. Even if Nike is benefiting their employees worldwide, because of the sudden pull towards CSR to someone who thinks from a Virtue Ethics perspective, it doesnt matter, because they have still got a bad moral character and their approach towards CSR and ethics are for t he wrong reasons and are only there for their overall personal gains which is profits. However Consequentialist and Deontological views would not agree with the Virtue Ethics approach to ethical behaviour, Consequentialist main thought is the outcomes and deontology is the science of duty. In this essay i have mentioned different view points and how they would perceive MNCs such as Nike and judge it according to their beliefs as being ethical or unethical globally. The main schools of thoughts being Deontology, Consequentialist and Virtue Ethics. Nikes situation could be looked at with a non-cognitive attitude, meaning that the statements made cannot be determined whether they are right or wrong universally, and the answer is dependent on personal beliefs(Appendix) there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so'(17) Once again thought needs to surround the fact that one mans terrorist, is another mans savoir. The world is discouraging with Nikes operations but at the same time those same people may be supporting Nike by purchasing their products. This shows the world is a hypocrite so you cannot judge ethical behaviour especially globally because of the level of diversity. Even though there is an understanding of natural Law, which is like unwritten rules that have been passed from generation to generation and that go without saying. Overall I think that Nike is not helping the people of LEDCs regardless of the employment provided and the only reasons for them to operate abroad is to maximise their own benefits even if it means to ruin someones life and to keep them LEDCs poorly developed. The points made about Nikes unethical behaviour above can be argued depending on the ethical view point but in my opinion some of the acts carried out by Nike such as slave labour are seen as universally wrong and I am unable to understand how they have managed to justify it till this day. If Nike really wants promote CSR they should attempt to eliminate poverty by intervening in the poverty cycle for these LEDCs.

Sleepy Hollow Film Review Essay -- essays research papers

‘Sleepy Hollow’ film Review Blood and murder usually go down a treat for the people who love gore but this is not the case in the movie ‘Sleepy Hollow’. Repetition is the key to an ultimately predictable film. Just as in any other film we see a substance with a resemblance to blood fall onto a piece of paper. This tells our minds the movie will have elements of horror. Then two hands, male and female, clasp. A headless horseman then appears decapitating an innocent man on the run in the woods. This all sets the rest of the film as a romantic horror. There is still one element that is left to be seen but not to worry. While the ghoulish headless horseman is out decapitation people Ichabod Crane, a detective from New York, is having a hard time keeping a straight face. The expression of utter disgust as he finds a body in the river is comical enough as it stands. Now as he is sent to Sleepy Hollow (a near by village where the headless horseman lies) to try and get his head around the gruesome decapit ations of the people. His fear of bugs makes him an easy target and often means this film becomes comedy Johnny Depp is the actor who plays Ichabod Crane, the New York detective. When he arrives in the little village Sleepy Hollow he meets the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel. Played by Christina Ricci, Katrina is a local teenager who is starting to really like Ichabod. She wants to protect him; I guess every film needs a beauty. But where’s the beast? Most films nowadays consist of a beast that whenever they show their face on screen frightens the socks off the audience. This is not the case in the film ‘Sleepy Hollow’ seeing as Christopher Walker’s (the actor who plays the headless horseman) head is never shown on screen. Although this film consists mainly of tacky fog and bad graphics, the acting is not to blame. Maybe the fact that the main characters were played by American actors but yet tried to speak with English accents made the film seem very cheap. If you are going to hire American actors to play the main parts don’t try and pass them off as Engl ish actors. Some people might think that by making the entire movie dull, dark, and devoid of colour makes the blood stand out much more. This is true but are you really motivated to watch a movie which starts of in black and white? This movie was aimed at younger people but younger people change the channel when... ...appeared we saw the same murky fog swirl around the screen. Tim Burton turned the short story by Washington Irving from a descriptive bed time story into a fake. To me this movie was pure comedy. Although it was meant to be horror it was comical to count how many times the horseman appeared. Every time he appeared it was the same fog and sounds as the headless horseman took out his sword to kill another victim. The movie seemed to rely on the fact that Johnny Depp is gorgeous. Tim Burton has directed most of my favorite movies. Most of them did not have gorgeous actors in them but they all had a good plot. This movie did not have a good plot. It had things in it that were completely irrelevant to the rest of the film. I did not feel for the characters, the main reason being they were in black and white. This made them seem cold and emotionless. The main character in the film, Ichabod Crane was very squeamish. If this movie was aimed to be semi-serious why have a main character in it who faints at the sight of blood. In my opinion this movie had poor graphics and was very predictable. I did not enjoy it at all and if you know what is good for you you won’t bother to see it either.

Leonardo Fibbonacis Famous Formulas :: essays research papers

Some people hate math and some love it. Other people devote their time to finding math patterns because they do not have a life. Leonardo Pisano Fibonacci, or Leonardo of Pisa, was one of those people. He was the "greatest European mathematician of the middle ages". Fibonacci was born 1175 AD in Pisa, Italy. His father was named Guilielmo, a member of the Bonacci Family and his mother Alessandra died when he was only nine years old. Fibonacci grew up with a North African Education because his father worked a trading post in that location. While there helping his father, he learned the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. Fibonacci traveled the Mediterranean world to study about Arab mathematicians of the time. Leonardo returned from his travels around 1200. In 1202, at age 32, he published what he had learned and introduced Hindu-Arabic numerals to Europe. His book was called Liber abaci. The book explained numeration with the digits 0?9 and place value. It also showed the importance of th e new numeral system. The book educated Europe and had an impact on European thought. However, the use of decimal numerals did not become widespread until much later. Liber Abaci also solved a problem involving the growth of a supposed population of rabbits. The solution was a series of numbers known as Fibonacci numbers. The number sequence was known to Indian mathematicians as early as the 6th century, but Fibonacci's Liber Abaci introduced it to the West. The Fibonacci numbers are a sequence of numbers that begin with 0, 1 ... and then calculated each number from the sum of the previous two. The equation for this method is . Another theory he studied was a sequence that has a flower like pattern. Fibonacci's second work was the Practica geometriae and was composed in 1220-1221. The Practica geometriae draws heavily on the works of the ancient Greek masters i.e. Plato. Fibonacci made a dent in mathematics history.