Friday, November 29, 2019

Operation Anaconda Battle Analysis free essay sample

Operation Anaconda, to this day, stands as the largest reported ground action in the Afghan war. This 17-day battle led to eight U. S. casualties and over 50 wounded. Operation Anaconda is viewed as a success due to coalition forces being able to kill and root out several hundred Taliban and al Qaeda fighters, which left U. S. and coalition forces in control of the Shah-i-Khot Valley. Originally intended to be a three-day battle with light resistance, a seven-day battle ensued with intense fighting and was finally stopped on 18 March after 17 long days. The classic â€Å"Hammer and Anvil† battle approach which was utilized struggled through a number of unforeseen issues: initial intelligence reports, U. S. command structure, Afghan Forces, and ground-air coordination of air strikes/support. In the following pages, the cause and effect of these issues will be discussed as well as the impact they had on Operation Anaconda pertaining to certain principles of war. We will write a custom essay sample on Operation Anaconda Battle Analysis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The intelligence reports of the Shah-i-Khot Valley were faulty not due lack of effort. Several assets were used in trying to gather intelligence: human reconnaissance, aerial reconnaissance, and communication intercepts were all widely used. Several SOF ground reconnaissance teams were also getting as close to the valley’s floor as possible without being detected. Initial estimates of the enemy ranged from 100-1000 enemy fighters, but after arduous discussions and reports filed in, it was determined that a better estimate was 200-300 fighters with a larger civilian population numbering somewhere around 1000. This large civilian population complicated things by nullifying most attempts of heavy air strikes and support. The portrait for the upcoming battle portrayed that of a weak, demoralized fighting force armed with light weapons, however, in all actuality the enemy was heavily armed and motivated numbering close to 1000. Through the use of camouflage and knowledge of the terrain, Taliban and al Qaeda fighters were able to fool U. S. and coalition forces and lure them, in some sense, into the valley without having the element of surprise. In retrospect, we can now see that the majority of enemy fighters were already dug deep in to the mountainous terrain and ridgelines with heavy machine guns, RPGs, and artillery in some cases. The four villages on the valley floor were primarily deserted with few enemy fighters and an even fewer civilian populous; furthermore, once fighting ensued, a ‘jihad’ was declared which flooded the valley with even more enemy fighters instead of a predicted retreatment into bordering Pakistan. Because reconnaissance teams did not collect intelligence on the vast majority of these positions, this led to faulty intelligence reports channeling through the chain of command and thus leading to the initial problems confronting Operation Anaconda. The command structure during Operation Anaconda was detached and brought about a number of problems for U. S. and coalition forces. Unity of Command, a revered principle of war, was violated and ultimately affected the battle in a negative light. U. S. perations were being conducted by CENTCOM, led by General Franks, which had two main subordinate commands. Coalition Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC) and Coalition Forces Air Component Command (CFACC). Both of these commands were located in the Persian Gulf as well as the Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC), which coordinated with CFACC on whether and how to carry out air strikes when SOF units on the ground requested them. General Hagenbeck, Commanding General of 10th Mountain Division, was given command and control authority of Operation Anaconda; however, CFACC and CAOC remained in control of air component forces. This break in unity of command caused much friction in the early stages of Operation Anaconda. On the initial infil of TF HAMMER, which consisted of a large force of Afghan militia led by Zia Lodin and the Special Forces A-Teams Texas 14/ODA 594 and Cobra 72/ODA 372, pre-assault positions were reached at 0615 in the Shah-i-Khot Valley. Air support had planned to bombard enemy positions for 55 minutes; however, miscommunication between Texas 14 and higher led to a short bombardment and a total of six bombs being dropped. TF HAMMER was nsuccessful in entering the valley due to a heavy amount of small arms fire and mortar attacks. The lack of air support triggered by bad communication frustrated Afghan and Special Forces alike and led to Afghan trucks being hit heavily by pre-registered mortar fire on known choke points by Taliban and al Qaeda fighters. Unity of command is crucial in conducting a successful military operation: communication flows smoothly through a unified command, but unfortunately for a non-unified command, the reverse effect holds true. Another principle of war that was violated several times was the element of surprise. This had to do, however, with a direct correlation to communication and unity of command. In the late hours of 3 March 2002, the SEAL team, MAKO 30 was picked up by a MH-47 heading east of the peak of Takur Ghar, which is the tallest point in the Shah-i-Khot region. A problem was encountered with the MH-47 and the team had to change aircraft. This placed them off of their suspected timeline and did not allow MAKO 30 with enough time to reach the peak before daylight. The decision was made to infil MAKO 30 on the peak of Takur Ghar after aerial surveillances reported that it was secure with no human activity. Any hopes of surprising the enemy were lost and the outcome was U. S. casualties on the peak of Takur Ghar. In a sense, the principle of war maneuver comes to light when speaking of Takur Ghar as well. Even though it was not utilized in this battle, it would have been if MAKO 30 had been able to land east of the peak as originally planned. This is a great of example of how the principles of war have a domino effect on one another: each has a direct correlation to one another, and if one is violated it can, and most likely does, mean the difference in life or death. Mass is another critical principle of war that was undermined in Operation Anaconda. General Frank and CENTCOM’s goal was to keep the military presence from rising above 10,000 troops. This led to SOF units being deployed and only a handful of equivalent U. S. Army size brigades. Infantry battalions of the 101st and 10th Mountain were deployed with no tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, or artillery. It was determined that air support would make up for any lack of firepower. It became apparent after the initial push and when things took a turn for the worse that these deficiencies crippled the ground posture of U. S. forces. The only firepower the three U. S. Army battalions had, other than the lightly armed infantry personnel, were a small number of AH-64 Apaches and a few AC-130 gunships; however, one of the problems with that was, the gunships were under control of SOF forces and were only allowed to fly at night, so that further cut down on fire superiority. The Eastern Alliance Afghan forces that were fighting amongst the U. S. were not seasoned veterans. Led by Zia Lodin, this collection of Pushtun militias were eager enough to cooperate, but they were also a light infantry force that had little to no big battle experience. By not inserting a sufficient amount of combat power in a decisive manner at a certain time, CENTCOM and Washington violated the principal of war mass. Inaccurate intelligence reports led to the misinterpretation of the enemy. The lack of a clear, cohesive command structure caused breaks in communication which directly correlated to the absence or violation of several principles of war: surprise, maneuver, and mass. The ground to air coordination of air strikes and support, as well as the U. S. command structure are two key fallacies that came to light during Operation Anaconda. Ultimately these issues were resolved and the learning points of operations such as this better prepare our leaders for future operations. In the end, America wins. Go U. S. A.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Free Essays on A TRULY NEW ECONOMY IS COMING

A TRULY NEW ECONOMY IS COMING INTRODUCTION Since 1946, the first computer emerged in the USA; computer has experienced development progress that is from electronic tube to transistor to integrated circuit to super-integrated circuit. â€Å"The computer is essentially a simple device that distinguishes zeroes from ones in a reliable and rapid way.†(Matti Pohjola, 1999) This invention brings out the third industry revolution, which is called information technology revolution. Liking former two industrial revolutions, this third revolution is changing society and the world economy in many ways. Broader use of information technology (IT) has improved productivity and raise the quality of life, to lower prices, to create jobs and eliminate them, and give rise to new economics. The application of IT is leading human being into a total New Economy stage-digilization era. Definition of New Economy Alan, Greenspan, (Chairman Federal Reserve Bank, USA) defined: â€Å"Computers have created an enormous new capacity to capture, analyse and disseminate information†¦indeed it is the proliferation of information technology that throughout the economy that makes the current period so different from the preceding decades.† There are two statements implicit in this remark: â€Å"1. There has been for some years a sharp rise in the rate of productivity growth over historical levels: between 1995-99, US productivity grew at 2.6% per annum, compared to 1.4% per annum 1974-90. 2. Computers are responsible for this upsurge. Extrapolating these growth rates into the future, optimists would say that we stand on the brink of a New Economy in which living standards will double every generation.†(V.K.Borooah) Background It is clear that people have seen some great changes in the US economy since 1995.In accordance of the chart of â€Å"Contributions to US Output Growth†: the USA labour productivity has gone up from 1.4% to 2.6% per year: an extra $10... Free Essays on A TRULY NEW ECONOMY IS COMING Free Essays on A TRULY NEW ECONOMY IS COMING A TRULY NEW ECONOMY IS COMING INTRODUCTION Since 1946, the first computer emerged in the USA; computer has experienced development progress that is from electronic tube to transistor to integrated circuit to super-integrated circuit. â€Å"The computer is essentially a simple device that distinguishes zeroes from ones in a reliable and rapid way.†(Matti Pohjola, 1999) This invention brings out the third industry revolution, which is called information technology revolution. Liking former two industrial revolutions, this third revolution is changing society and the world economy in many ways. Broader use of information technology (IT) has improved productivity and raise the quality of life, to lower prices, to create jobs and eliminate them, and give rise to new economics. The application of IT is leading human being into a total New Economy stage-digilization era. Definition of New Economy Alan, Greenspan, (Chairman Federal Reserve Bank, USA) defined: â€Å"Computers have created an enormous new capacity to capture, analyse and disseminate information†¦indeed it is the proliferation of information technology that throughout the economy that makes the current period so different from the preceding decades.† There are two statements implicit in this remark: â€Å"1. There has been for some years a sharp rise in the rate of productivity growth over historical levels: between 1995-99, US productivity grew at 2.6% per annum, compared to 1.4% per annum 1974-90. 2. Computers are responsible for this upsurge. Extrapolating these growth rates into the future, optimists would say that we stand on the brink of a New Economy in which living standards will double every generation.†(V.K.Borooah) Background It is clear that people have seen some great changes in the US economy since 1995.In accordance of the chart of â€Å"Contributions to US Output Growth†: the USA labour productivity has gone up from 1.4% to 2.6% per year: an extra $10...

Friday, November 22, 2019

Overview of Risk and Quality Management in Health Care Assignment

Overview of Risk and Quality Management in Health Care - Assignment Example and improvements, as leaders are always at the core of the entire health service for long times with assistance from clinicians and other medical practitioners. Leaders in charge of quality and safety in the health care sector have broad knowledge of health care compared to managers and other leaders handling other aspects of management. Comprehending the health service describes the expansive knowledge as it entails the bigger picture of health care besides the international and local quality and safety context. Leaders shape the culture by participating in quality and safety seminars and other related activities. In the process, they encourage others to take part via efficient means of communication, acting as role models through demonstrations, and recognising developments and achievements where it happens among the team members. Specifically, leadership and governance plays a critical role in improving practices in the clinical section, every day care practices, decision making in the clinic, and the operations on the patient on the bedside. Leadership offers direction where decisions determine the quality and safety of health care. Leadership and governance guides the participation of other stakeholders in identifying quality and safety agenda as it takes the responsibility of leading the execution of set agenda. Quality management and risk management are different but relate very closely. Risk management constitutes identification, prioritising, addressing, and minimising the likely sources of failure to attain set targets. Analysis of stakeholders is a process applied during identification and evaluation of the influence and significance of vital groups of people, people, and institutions with important influence of success in provision of

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Screening Asia (comparing two movies from different countries) Essay

Screening Asia (comparing two movies from different countries) - Essay Example Departure, on the other hand, is a Japanese drama written and directed in 2008 by Yojiro Takita. The film offers a look into the historic ceremony of â€Å"encoffining† in Japan, whereby professional morticians prepare and ritually clothe dead bodies prior to placing them in the coffin (Asai et al 31). While the two films follow contemporary themes popular with other Asian movies, they are unique in that they are grounded in aspects of culture that are peculiar to their countries of origin. All Japanese films need a hero and Daigo, the hero in Departures, is a likeable and impulsive young man who is easy to talk to and understand. Mika, his wife, adores and believes in him, quickly agreeing to return to the town where Daigo was born after they are struck by disaster (Miller et al 45). They move back to his old house that was left to him following his mother’s death, for which they have to pawn his cello in order to pay for the trip. This incident has negative impacts fo r him since he has no employment or instrument to make a living by, going back to where he started. He looks through the job ads and comes across one that sounds like a job in a travel company. However, after the owner Mr. Sasaki appears at the office where he goes to apply for the job, he finds out that it is an undertaking business, and he is offered the job and advance salary. He is then taken for a job orientation tour of the funeral home where the practice seems more humane than is usually shown in western movies. The ceremony is one of grace and precise ritual with sheets arranged to preserve the corpse’s privacy as it is dressed after washing. While most of the families are silent through it all, some of them show emotional outbursts and here begins Daigo’s life lessons. From his reluctance to tell his wife what job he is in, one can gather that undertaking is important as an occupation but not respectable (Miller et al 46). However, she finds out and tells him she must leave. Cape No. 7 is set in a little town South of Taiwan referred to as Hengchun, which is literally translated to â€Å"forever spring†. This town is sleepy, similar to the one that Daigo and his wife have to go back to; although, the town is on the seaside, and it has a pleasant beach. The residents of this town are also conservative, preferring to keep their old and traditional values, despite the fact that there are liberal tourists in the town going around the streets dressed in bikinis when holiday season comes (Wang 137). The town is also host to a yearly concert for rock artists held on the beach in order to attract the visitors. It is for this annual concert that some residents in the town come up with an idea to make a band, which they begin to do some three weeks before the start of the concert. Aga, who is a postman, acts as a new band’s lead vocalist. He also discovers several love letters from Japanese soldiers, which were written during the col onial period and not delivered. The address to which the letters are sent in Taiwan existed during the 40s and is no longer in existence, referred to as â€Å"Cape No. 7† Aga proceeds to deliver these letters prior to taking the stage in order to perform with his band. Although the original writer of the letters, who was a Japanese, was forced to leave the country and his lover following the end of colonization in 1945 (Wang 137), Aga persuades his girlfriend, who is also

Monday, November 18, 2019

Megacities in Asia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Megacities in Asia - Essay Example From the per capita income of mere $76 in 1970, the country has catapulted into a huge over $19,000 per capita income in almost 40 years with the total GDP nearing to a trillion dollars. Seoul being its largest city and commercial hub, the population in the city has exploded by over 500 percent since 1960. There has been a huge migration of people from rural parts to the urban area especially to Seoul. Since early 1960s, Seoul has become the major hub of the Korean economy and has transformed into a major megalopolis now. While Seoul constitutes only 0.61% of the country's area, it â€Å"houses about 84% of government bodies and institutions, 88% of Korea’s 30 largest companies, and 75% of the 20-most popular universities in the nation. More than 65% of all bank transactions, both savings and lending, take place in Seoul" (Jeon, 2005 p5).     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   No other city in the world perhaps takes so much economic burden as Seoul has taken for its nation . Population density in Seoul is so high that the current per person residential space availability is only 20 sq. m. The space availability is quite low when compared with large western cities in the developed world such as London, New York or Paris. Even Tokyo which is considered densely populated provides per person space to the tune of 55 sq. m. On per sq. km basis, population in Seoul stands at 23,908 that shows much higher density than Tokyo at 7,099 people per sq. km. Gini index measures income inequality among the citizens on the scale of 0.0 to 1.0 with 0.

Saturday, November 16, 2019

The global stage

The global stage Global Media: Foreign Media Organizations in China In the globalization age, information flow, just like commodity flow and capital flow, increasingly takes place at the global stage. Global media and communication, although certainly has its flaws, has become a prominent phenomenon today. This constitutes the international environment in which the current development of media in China takes place. Globalization and Global Media When communications satellites and computer networks took off in the early 1990s, the world found itself faced with a new generation of media technology which not only undermined geographical distances but also national borders. Fueled by a wave of communications policy deregulation, changes in the media industries soon led to the belief that the whole world was now linked by global media which transmit messages in split seconds to audiences everywhere, including those living in the most remote corners of the world. The era of global media thus pronounced itself arrived. In recent years people have come to witness interesting, albeit somewhat puzzling, developments in the world of media, specifically the transnationalization of national, or even local, media in many parts of the world. These developments have painted a media landscape that quite different from what people used to be familiar with. In the discourse of globalization, there does not seem to be a generally accepted definition of the term. On many different occasions the term has been defined as the free worldwide flow of the production elements and resources, as borderless or stateless economy. It is also widely viewed as the cultural, political, and economic, integration of the whole world. Even before the term â€Å"globalization† became a catchword in the academic and popular vocabulary in the 1990s, global operations and transnational corporations in many industries had long aroused academic attention. In addition, many scholars have long been noticing the connection between the media and globalization. For instance, McLuhan, a media theorist, was claimed to have suggested their connection â€Å"by combining ‘the medium is the message with his ‘global village† (Rantanen, 2004:1.) Globalization suggests simultaneously two views of culture. The first, taking a monoculturalist point of view, treats globalization as the â€Å"extension outward of a particular culture to its limits, the globe,† through a process of conquest, homogenization and unification brought about by the consumption of the same cultural and material products (Featherstone, 1995:6). The second one, adopting a multiculturalist stand, perceive globalization as the â€Å"compression of cultures† (Featherstone, 1995:6). While the meaning of globalization remains ambiguous, â€Å"global media† or â€Å"media globalization† have quickly become clichà ©s in media studies. Two questions can be raised about the use of such terms, however. First, what is meant by a globalized media industry, and secondly, can we assume that a genuine globalization of the industry has already taken place? More precisely, what is the direction of changes that we can observe now-globalization, localization, or something else? Too often when the term â€Å"global† is used in conjunction with the media, it refers primarily to the extent of coverage, with the popularity of satellite television and computer networks serving as evidence of the globalization of communications. However, the linkages brought about by the globalization process are largely confined to OECD and G7 member countries, which constitute one-third of the world population. And even when a medium, e.g. CNN, can put over 150 countries on its map, the rate of penetration and actual consumption can present rather a different picture. As Street (1997:77) has said, the fact that a product is available everywhere is no guarantee that it achieves the same level of popularity, let alone acquires the same significance, meaning or response (Featherstone, 1990:10). It is no secret that CNNs audiences normally account for only a small fragment of a nations population. But even with its conceptual flaws corrected, coverage is merely one of the important dimensions of the media industry. The meaning of a globalized industry would be seriously distorted if other dimensions were left out of the discussion. These dimensions, including the dynamics of the market, modes of production, the contents and messages transmitted, are closely related to the perception of the role and function of media in the globalization process, the direction of change in the industry, and ultimately, the cultural images presented by the theories of globalization. What roles and changes, then, should be expected to see in the media industries according to the monoculturalist point of view? Media Development in China Since the 1990s, with broadcasting and newspapers outlets already reaching large numbers, China has moved onwards into a new stage of media development, prioritizing quality improvement, intensive management/operation instead of increase in numbers, and optimization of the industry structure. In the globalization context with a goal of making its media more competitive and more effective in the mass media market, as well as to strengthen the media industry, China has been adopting the strategy of optimization of the media industry structure (Zhang, 2007:78). The country has closed down, combined, or transformed several media organizations that failed to satisfy the needs of the market competition. In recent years, Chinas media development is also mirrored in the adoption of the latest information technologies, most especially the Internet, by media organizations. In the late 1990s, media organizations in the country used computer technologies extensively. The fever in adopting Internet technologies was spurred on primarily by factors like the eagerness to embrace the trend throughout the world, towards building an information superhighway, the need to stay competitive with other media institutions, and the desire to grasp the opportunities for the stations or papers new development (Zhang, 2007:78). The Chinese experience suggests a strong link between globalization and the enthusiasm of the media organizations to adopt Internet technologies. Starting from the year 2000, media in the country have maintained such desire to adopt state-of-the-art information and communications technologies. Along with the ever-increasing media websites, a new type of websites has emerged sites jointly established and operated by several media institutions in a region (Zhang, 2007:78). Presently, new media technologies are in the spotlight in the technological stage in Chinas media industry. For example, CTP technology is widely used in the countrys newspaper industry. Digital TV and digital audio broadcasting have also emerged in China. Internet protocol TV (IPTV) is also one of the highlights in the current development of the Chinese TV industry. In the area of online outlets, news websites have become a recent type of media outlets in the country. News websites are composed of three levels: websites of large national media organizations, major provincial/municipal ones, and city-level ones (Zhang, 2007:79). Moreover, cross-media operations in mass communications constitute another important aspect of the development of media in China (Zhang, 2007:80). Foreign Media Since China entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, the government has eventually opened its domestic media market. Because of the the increasing degree of the media openness, foreign media organizations have begun to enter the Chinese media market. In 2001, from October to December, the government permitted three overseas TVchannels to go into Guangdong province. These are Star TV, Phoenix Satellite Television, and CETV, which is owned by AOL Time Warner. It is the very first time for China to allow foreign channels to be played on local cable and satellite system. Despite these limited entries, the event has caused major ripples throughout the entire Chinese media industry. In addition, in October 2004, the State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SART|FT) enacted two regulation policies allowing foreign media in the country through more diverse formats (Chan and Ellis, 2005:1). It suggested a constantly-open media market toward foreign capitals in China, a fiery trial for the entire country. Due to the easing of regulation, foreign media organizations have started to swarm into China. In 2008, SARFT approved 33 foreign channels. Many broadcasting organizations had branches in Beijing, Guangdong,Shanghai, and Chongqing. These include Time-Warner, Sony, Disney, News Corp, and Viacom (China Business New, 2008:1). Shanghai, for example, houses competitive foreign media organizations like CNBC (US Cable Network), BBC (British Broadcasting Company), FBC (Italy FactBased Communications), NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.), and SUNSET (France), with investment flowing from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea, among others. Localization According to neo-Marxists, who advocate a homogeneous world view, one of the major characteristics of globalization is that everyone has the feeling of being a member of one single society. The feeling, as described by Albrow (1990:8-10), is the sense of â€Å"the whole earth as the physical environment, where all are citizens, consumers and producers, possessed of a â€Å"common sense interest in collective action to solve global problems.† The increasing interdependencies of nation-states has been cited as a major cause for nurturing such a feeling. Today the comforts and assurances of local communal experience are now undermined by distant social forces. Communications media, TV in particular, is an important factor in the compression of time and space. It constantly brings distant events and concerns to the homes and minds of people around the world as they happen. This constitutes an intrusion of distant events into everyday consciousness. However, this compression of time and space is not without its limits. As pointed out by Mittelman (1996:229), capital and technology flows must eventually â€Å"touch down† in distinct places. These places, in contrast to the global phenomenal world, are where everyone lives his or her local life. To human beings, wanting a place where one feels a sense of belonging is natural. However, such a sense of place is cultural, as has been pointed out by Hall (1995:178). Despite the intrusion of distant social forces, feelings and perception of people about their environment remain closely associated with the memories and personal ties they have, together with the social, cultural, and even geographical and climatic setting of their environments. The emphasis on what is called a â€Å"local culture† is â€Å"the taken-for-granted, habitual and repetitive nature of the everyday culture of which individuals have a practical mastery† (Featherstone, 1995:92). This and the cultural forms, the common language, shared knowledge and experiences associated with a place, are the essence of the concept of local culture. Global political and economic factors and media technologies serve to compress, but not eliminate, time and space. In addition, the sense of place, something associated with the essence of a local culture, has become a major determinant in the restructuring of the world communications industry. To suggest that media globalization is no more than a part of a process of domination by Western media and ultimately of the Westernization of world cultures conflicts with the advocacy of Asian values in Asia and is reductionist. To modify the monoculturalist image of culture, Featherstone (1995:6) suggested that globalization may be better considered as a form, a space or field, made possible through improved means of communication in which different cultures meet and clash, or simply a stage for global differences. According to him, this conception points directly to the fragmented and de-centered aspects of the globalization of culture, and in the mean time suggests greater cultural exchanges and complexity. One may argue that a multiculturalist view of globalization does not advocate the localization of transnational media as the only venue for communication as a platform for cultures to meet and clash. But powerful as the idea may be, this view does not offer a clear picture, nor an indication of, how the structure of the world cultural industries has, and will, change; how different it is from what we used to have, and how the ideals of meeting/clashing points may be achieved and professed. According to cultural and media imperialism theories, the demise of local cultures and cultural industries was something predictable, as a consequence of the importation of television programs. By the 1990s, however, it has become evident that the theories have suffered from a lack of evidence. Destructive or Constructive? Since many foreign media organizations have penetrated China, it can be argued that Western media products transmitted in the process will challenge or damage the local culture. However, the impacts of these organizations in the local media market in China appear to be constructive, not damaging, to local cultural heritage. Foreign programs offer great opportunities for reflexive awareness. Audiences do not just receive meanings passively. They are critical and active during the reception process. Watching Hollywood movies and foreign TV shows does not mean the local audience are being American. Instead, in theory, Chinese viewers form a reflexive awareness (who am I? or, who am not I?). Also, many studies in China and the rest of East Asia have suggested that the opposition to foreign culture has been engendered by watching overseas TV shows and thus evokes a protective attitude toward their local culture. While the purity of cultural identity remains a much debated issue, there is no denying that the Chinese audience are also reflexively considering their own identities while being faced with increased importation of foreign cultural products. Regional or national consciousness more than a homogenous global identity enlarges as exposure to alien cultures speeds up. In spite of some visible evidence of cultural homogenization as part of the everyday life, like westernization, it seems that people have a stronger sense of membership in their groups (Morris, 2002:278). In addition, according to Harvey (1989:306), â€Å"localism and nationalism have become stronger precisely because of the quest for the security that place always offers†. On the contrary, there is little evidence of â€Å"cultural abrasion†, instead there is an increasing protective attitude and reflexive awareness within the receiving nations (Varan, 1998:58). The entry of foreign media organizations in China appears to be constructive, not destructive, when one views localization as a form of cultural adaptation. Cultural adaptation, in the mass media context, refer to a comprise strategy, like adding Chinese subtitles for overseas programs. It also refers to an active devotion into the local culture made by the transnational media. Foreign media organizations not only provide Chinese subtitles to achieve high ratings, but they also do research and make compelling contents for the local audience in China. In order to produce a program that will fit with the Chinese culture and one that will not offend sensibilities, many foreign media organizations actively delve themselves into local cultures. They also try to penetrate the market by employing local production groups, such as producers, directors, and performers, as well as as original scripts.. The contents are produced to satisfy the local taste, full of cultural factors and traditional background. Thus what transnational media organizations have brought to the country seems not to be the threat of foreign or western cultural products, but the significant amount of foreign investment used to produce local cultural programs. From the cultural point of view, these programs owned by foreign media organizations would not damage Chinese native norms or values. This is because many shows are produced considering the local audience and embedding with them strong traditional cultural background. From the economic point of view, the significant amount of foreign capital brought by the large media organizations can help the local media market prosper. Basically, local media companies benefit from the competition by cooperating with foreign companies. The localization process of the media in China not only induces the indigenized strategies of global companies; it also induces the globalized reactions of local media industries. The strategy of localization cannot be understood simply as a unidirectional flow of global power on the local media industry. Mutual influences suggest a complex and complicated reciprocal interaction between the global and the local, taking into consideration the reverse effects that the local brings to the global. For example, AOL/Time Warner promised to air CCTV 9th channel through its cable network in Houston, Los Angeles, and New York. CCTV 9th channel contains music, news report, travel and leisure, nature, as well as mandarin education specifically designed to expand the Chinese traditional culture. The aim of such move appears to be the reeducation of the Americans and Chinese Americans and changing of their attitude toward China (Rowe, 2001:1). This shows that Chinese TV officials have already realized the significance of exportation of Chinese programs. By borrowing resources from foreign media organizations, China is able to to send out locally produced products, shaping western attitude toward China and its culture ideologically. It is also noteworthy that many other broadcasters throughout Asia have already begun to target people in overseas market. For example, TVB has been serving Chinese speaking subscribers in North America and Canada. Likewise, MBC, a Korean broadcaster, has established a channel aimed at Koreans in the US. Zee TV, a South Asian broadcaster, has also penetrated The US and the UK (Chadha and Kavoori, 2000:415). As media globalization goes intensive, further reaction taken by the receiving societies is not limited to the cultural resistance of the local audience any more. It now has changed to the active competition among media organizations as well as the exportation of cultural products outside China. Such active activities from China, and also the developing countries in Asia, are seen to increase in the next few decades. With a stronger than ever economic development, the exportation of media contents will became more and more. It can be argued that there is actually no absolute weak and strong culture in the media globalization trend. Every culture changes over time no culture is exempt from this fact. In economic arena, the :Third World† or â€Å"developed countries† category has constantly been facing challenges and has been forced to change. The same is true in the media and cultural arena. No one culture in the world will be the stronger or weaker culture forever. Conclusion The influx of foreign media organizations in China has not yet threatened the local culture as seriously as many observers have proclaimed. There is a conscious effort among transnational media organizations to adapt culturally in order to produce programs that cater to the local taste and ones that embed traditional culture in them. Local Chines audience have a strong reflexive awareness, making them active viewers not passive. This safeguards local culture. Similarly, the local media industry is not passively waiting for challenge; rather, local media organizations actively pose serious competition with media conglomerates, borrowing their resources to promote Chinese culture outside China and to educate people around the world about their culture. Cultural hybridization is expected to be promoted by the strong influences of local responses. Recent exporting activities in China and other Asian nations suggest a novel reciprocal interaction between the global and the local. What the globalization of media brings to China, and the less developed countries in Asia, is not only the difficult challenges, but also the many benefit. While the eastern and western cultures become increasingly because of the media globalization trend, local cultures are also given the opportunity to keep its own characteristics and its independence. Overall, the consequences of media globalization to China seem to be constructive rather than destructive both from local cultural and economic points of view.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

The Relationship Between Sexual Taxonomies and Ideas of the Self Essay

The relationship between sexual taxonomies and ideas of the self (e.g. Foucault, Jagose or Halperin) Sexual Taxonomies are not trans-historical; they are socially and historically situated and created. Sexual taxonomies are the different ideas about what sexuality is and they circulate around contexts, consequently forming identities. When we categorise sexuality it is categorised into heterosexual people and homosexual people but it is widely known that heterosexual is the ‘normal’ and accepted sexuality as â€Å"Homosexuality is a deviation from a privileged and naturalised heterosexuality,† (page 72, Annamarie Jagose, 1996). Terms gay, homo and queer do not mean the same things, â€Å"The blanket term "homosexual" has a number of different, related but distinct meanings: there are several groups of people who are covered by this term, and there are significant variations between them,† (Melinda Selmys, 2012) this has created sexual taxonomies regarding homosexual people. The simplest definition of a homosexual is person of the same sex being attracted t o the same sex. This can become very confusing when identify the self. Historically homosexuality has been masked, ridiculed and not accepted in society even if they share the same qualities as heterosexual people for example â€Å"The vast majority of same sex attracted people have some degree of opposite sex attraction as well [and are defined as] a person who [have] an LGBTQ identity,† (Melinda Selmys, 2012). By observing Michael Foucault in the â€Å"The History of Sexuality† (1976) as well as Annamarie Jagose & Judith Butler in â€Å"Queer in Queer Theory† (1996), we become aware of different ideas/identities of the self. It also shows the debate and hardships homosexuals experience with self-id... ...er Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Idendity. Foucault, M. (1976). â€Å"Scientia Sexualis†. In The History of Sexuality: Vol 1 (1990). (pp. 53-65). London: Penguin Books. Hayek, F. A. (1944). The road to serfdom. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Hennessy , R. (2000). Profit and Pleasure: Sexual Identities in Late Capitalism (2nd ed.). Great Britain: Routledge. Retrieved March 30, 2014, from http://davidmcnally.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/henessey-profit_and_pleasure_sexual.pdf Websites: Selmys, M. (2012, March 12). Sexual Authenticity: Intimate Reflections on Homosexuality and Catholicism, Queer Theory. Retrieved March 20, 2014, from http://sexualauthenticity.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/queer-taxonomy.html Warner, M. (n.d.). Queer Theory. Retrieved March 25, 2014, from http://www.australianhumanitiesreview.org/archive/Issue-Dec-1996/jagose.html

Monday, November 11, 2019

Describe an Experience That Influenced Your Career Choice

Having grown up in a country where the prevalence of the shadow economy is on par with the continual political problems due to the mismanagement by autocrats. Public administration has surrounded me for as long as I can remember. On graduating ,i went to possess insight into many issues such as the way people and businesses react to the development and management of government programs by public administrators. I had some practical experience working at a hospital in Nigeria with sometime spent in the accounting department, this enabled me gain a practical experience of how the laws/duties/decisions made by public administrators affects people/individuals in real life situations such as explaining why people in less developed countries are prepared to pay for healthcare with private hospitals rather than using the national institutions which usually have worse service and deplorable equipments mainly due to mismanagement, wrong fiscal policies and corruption. The issues of customer satisfaction and equity were studied first hand and when comparing with the UK system, one would only praise the NHS(National Health Service) for its equitable approach unlike many other countries were only those than can afford treatment get it. During my university years, I was a part of the committee through whom student members voiced their opinion in reviving the Osun State Student Association at Bowen university ,which had lost his finesse. I was appointed the Financial Secretary and was indeed a challenge, as we had to work hard as a team creating and implementing programs and reforms, managing and allocating our own time and finances to ensure success, I was also part of the team that assisted the students to get there bursary from the State Government, and trust me it wasn’t easy in the sense that we had to keep writing letters and going out of our way to ensure the students get paid because its part of their civil right. During my National Youth Service Corps(NYSC) as a member of the Sports Community Development Group. Having acquired the silver award after the torment of hiking over double figure mileage distances to raise funds for the homeless children in Enugu State of Nigeria, it has enabled me to be more organized and helped me develop my ability to make quick, accurate and appropriate decisions in peril. Currently I am an accountant and a Guardian counselor in a primary and nursery school in Nigeria which goes by the name Macro Nursery and Primary school, I assist the younger generations in making right,responsibe,reputable and reasonable decisions in life. Leadership is also an important quality at succeeding in most areas, hence my appointment as one of the prefects in my secondary school has definitely helped me develop as a young adult. These duties are very rewarding and will be vital skills in preparing for life after public administration, studying this course in your university will enable me further my interest in economic issues as well as fulfilling my life time ambition.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Culture Challenges Faced My Multinational Organization Commerce Essay

This sort of averment could be proven believing about Hofstede ‘s cultural dimensions theory. Multinational companies are normally organisations running in extra compared to one part. Businesses get into world-wide market sections so that they can increase their merchandise gross accordingly hiking their ain net incomes, get less expensive manner to obtain natural stuffs every bit good as heighten their portion of the market. ( Ajami and Godard, 2006 ) .Nonetheless, these companies face disputing of making a logical and besides comprehensive organisation civilization. Firm tradition describes forms, values and besides ways of pull offing experiences which produce through the history of the corporation and therefore are followed by all of the associates of the organisation ( Johnston 2008 ) . This peculiar composing displays how Hofstede ‘s cultural dimensions theory describes the civilization differentiation between the two employees through diverse states around the univ erse. It subsequently is decidedly the argument how multi-national organisations encounter the procedure sing edifice cohesive and besides inclusive organisation tradition. Finally, this provides existent life instances on this issue. Hofstede ‘s cultural dimensions theory shows the competitions Multinational organisations confront with inside pull offing forces through different civilization. He carried out a great IBM study research survey in an attempt to demo an extended sort reasoning people from assorted other civilizations around the universe are likely to differ in sixs dimensions of value. These dimension include Bolshevism, power, uncertainness turning away, temporal orientation, maleness and indulgences ( Johann 2006 ) i »? . This sort of theory demonstrates that the power distance indexes measures the grade of which much less powerful participants in a transnational company recognition and surely anticipate power to be distributed to the people every bit. If the civilizations in a peculiar state is merely backing low power distance, likely the civilization of power dealingss in an organisation will be likely be advisory and democratic ( Onsurd 2007 ) . Therefore, staff would link with one anoth er since equates to irrespective of their peculiar formal places. If the civilization of a part has a higher power distance, so the employees inside a transnational concern might admit power dealingss that are dictatorially and paternalistic. This sort of shows that when multi-national organisations use staff from assortment of national civilisations, they will confront disputing sing developing the cohesive and inclusive tradition due to power distance index. This sort of rule furthermore places the civilization of a provided state on the index associated with Individual versus Collectivism. When the company will be from the state that ideals personal image, it ‘s traveling to tension single accomplishments and personal legal protection under the jurisprudence of their employees. Employees associated with this sort of concern are expected to choose its associations ( Johnston 2008 ) . If the part is from the collectivized civilization, workers would surely move as associates of a natural squad. Furthermore, this peculiar rule puts the peculiar civilization of different states around the universe in a dimension of cohesive group. Furthermore all of this thought places the civilizations of assorted states in a dimension of uncertainness turning away index. All of this index ‘s steps the grade of which member of the society effort to pull off anxiousness by take downing any hurt that they will confront.If the staff is from a state with a high uncertainness turning away, they are able to colored emotional in all their determination ( Turner every bit good as Western 2010 ) . They will ever avoid every bit good as minimize scenarios along together utilizing unfamiliar and uncommon state of affairss. In add-on to this, they carry out their responsibilities really carefully, methodically, sufficient ground for sufficient preparing, subsequent Torahs and ordinances of the modern community. If the staff had been coming via states with low uncertainness tur ning away indexs, employees will be comfy throughout unstructured fortunes or possibly altering environments since they merely stick to regulations which they find appropriate. Additionally, these persons tend to be matter-of-fact and will easy digest alterations. The concluding dimension of the theory will be long run orientation compared to Short-run orientation. If the staff had been from a part that ‘s long-run oriented, they would wholly concentrate read more about the long tally wagess, continuing singular ability to accommodate to the environment. If the forces is really from the short-term orientation state, they are traveling to pay attending to the peculiar beliefs related to old and besides current such as professional solidness and besides value sing house ‘s patterns ( Peipenburg 2011 ) . In the complete drawings of this construct, evidently international companies confront much a batch for extra jobs in constructing an organisation civilization because asso rted states possess different civilizations. There are several statements which could back up the incontestable irrefutable world because multi-national concerns utilize employees from a assortment of national civilizations, they will confront more jobs in developing an organisation tradition compared to home-based states carry out. Within side transnational companies, staff communicates with people from different competitions and besides civilizations. It might be hard to develop a sort of connexion that is accepted every bit good as recognized by all the civilizations ( Burek 2010 ) . This is because a signifier of conversation that ‘s approved in one civilization could be considered unpleasant with inside another civilization. Furthermore, the existent linguistic communication associated with communicating between the staff may be assorted since they come from diverse states. International companies may work out this challenge sing communicating civilization merely by direction about each of their workers on one nomenc lature they would do usage of for organisation communicating. ( Wiseman and Shuter 1994 ) . Another concern which multi-national organisations encounter because of staff via assorted states is international direction. The director should bring forth choices with different state ‘s imposts and besides values ( Mead 2005 ) . The labour Torahs of this state may set up a specific minimum rewards and therefore the existent director ca n't pay the existent incomes for the organisation ‘s employees that are under bound set by the labor brotherhood. It might be besides hard to organize typical guidelines that are suited through staff coming via assorted civilizations. The transnational concern could work out this sort of challenge associated with world-wide disposal by direction employees coming via different civilizations on the supervising policies and procedures how the company is traveling to be taking on. Furthermore, it ought to educate employees in different direction man ners in different states in order that they grow to be perceptively assorted and hence have the ability to work in diverse states. ( Gooderham and Nordhaug 2003 ) . It ‘s besides a challenge so that it can carry on international selling in international companies because the employees tend to be coming via different states therefore they ‘ve assorted civilizations. This is because assorted states have assorted types of analyzing consumer wonts and besides making market research ( Okazaki 2012 ) . Additionally, different states target assorted classs of purchasers and possess assorted advertisement methods. Due to this world, it might be hard to carry on world-wide selling and advertisement. Multinational companies can easy rectify this issue merely by developing employees about marketing scheme they are to see taking into consideration the market of the state that they ‘re carry oning their ain operations in ( Czinkota and Ronkainen 2007 ) . There are several existent life instances showing the competitions the multi-national companies face after they employ staff through assorted civilizations. Harmonizing to the research, in the twelvemonth 1994, Peugeot Engine Party invested in Guangzhou and lost around $ 362.5 million dollars money in merely a sum of three old ages merely because they did non accomplish intercultural supervising affecting employees through China and France. It was caused by the fact the existent exile directors are non lament on understanding the tradition sing China ( Wang 2009 ) . The value of understanding the civilizations of legion states may be proved by the proven undeniable thought that Walt Disney ‘s Donald duck provides dedicated to Japan where it truly is known as Tokyo, Japan Disney Land. The account for the success of the company is the fact that it was interested in understanding the existent civilization of the people with inside Japan and went in front so that it can use the exi stent cultural values with the Japanese ‘s people with inside their operations ( Miroshnik 2000 ) Dell Company experienced issues throughout enrolling workers in India since they had diverse calling ends and cultural values with inside the organisation ( Hitt and Hoskisson 2009 ) . Furthermore, the research showed that people in Japan would hold no job puting in a shampoo or conditioner ware utilizing a image of Nipponese misss yet fpeople with inside Russia would hold a job purchasing this peculiar same hair wash with all the misss image. It would therefore coerce the existent selling directors with inside Russia to alter their peculiar advertisement schemes.DecisionTo reason, it is apparent that merely due to the fact multi-national companies use staff from assortment of civilizations they will face more challenges throughout developing cohesive every bit good as comprehensive civilizations than domestic companies carry out. These jobs may be discussed utilizing Hofstede â⠂¬Ëœs cultural dimensions theory. With this theory, Hofstede contended that people coming via different civilizations around the Earth fluctuate in six dimensions worthwhile which include power, Bolshevism, uncertainness turning away, temporal orientation, maleness and indulgence. There are legion grounds exposing the competitions which multi-national concerns confront because of using employees from diverse states. These types of jobs contain transverse cultural communicating, pull offing the international organisations and besides carry oning international selling. These ailments could be solved by instruction the employees on different civilizations of the states that the organisation will be carry oning the operations in.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Scopes monkey trial essays

Scopes monkey trial essays During the summer of 1925 in a small town in Daytona Tennessee an event occurred that captured the attention of the American people. A man named John Scopes was being prosecuted by the state of Tennessee. He was a schoolteacher who was on trial for teaching evolution to children and therefore violating the anti-evolutionist law of Tennessee. The play Inherit the Wind portrays this event but seems to twist the truth and in some places grossly distorts the events that actually occurred to make the reader more interested. One difference between the play and real life is that in the play Cates was a full time biology teacher who fully believed in the importance and significance for evolution. He was even willing to be placed in Jail and tried for this crime. However, this is not the truth and it was just added to make the reader feel sympathetic for Cates. Whereas in reality Scopes was not a biology teacher, rather he was the football coach. He only substituted for two weeks for the regular biology teacher, who was ill at the time. During this time, the schedule called for a class on evolution but Scopes told officials that on no account did he teach evolution to the children. In fact, in the play they refer to the book that was being used in class as being written by Darwin, while during the scopes trial it wasnt Darwins book that was used in the classroom instead the class textbook that was used was entitled Civic Biology by Hunter. Then there was the change in personality of characters in which the book created The prosecuting lawyer, Matthew Brady (representing William Jennings Bryan) as being an arrogant, ignorant extremist. A characteristic that makes it easy for the reader to loath and dislike as a way to leads up to the scene in which Brady becomes humiliated on the stand and practically loses the case. While in reality, Bryan was the likeable and highly respected leader of the Democra ...

Monday, November 4, 2019

Fix my draft Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Fix my draft - Essay Example In Cartesian dualism, the body and the mind are considered two different and distinct substances that are separable. This translates that an individual that exists independently without the effect of other beings, Jaegwon Kim. However states lack spatial location in Cartesian dualism fails to explain how any soul is causally related to its being. It has been known that the body and the soul are always connected so Cartesian Dualism needs to explain how the two are not connected in any way. Descartes tries to explain it in Descartes Dualism; he argues that the souls also referred to as an indidual’s self are purely mental substances that possess no physical characteristics therefore they create no spatial location. David Jehle interestingly disregards Jaegwon Kim’s argument in relation to substance dualism. In his way it is not possible to classify the being as a distinct entity from the soul or self. This work tries to bring out the views of three philosophers;- Kim Jeh les’ and Lowe’s, on their arguments on casual relation between the brain and the mind. In conclusion I will explain why Lowe’s NCSD is the best argument to follow in the explanation. Jaegwon Kim explains in his work, ‘the problem of interaction’, the radical disparity postulated between the brain and the mind and makes casual interaction between the two to show how each works. This concept has led to the denial of substance dualism by many philosophers. The problem of interaction however, is not well stated as an obvious argument against dualism, ( Jehle, pp. 565). Jaegwon Kim explains the reason why the problem of interaction is hard to be mentioned because, ‘it is hard to pin down exactly what is wrong with posting casual relations between substances with diverse natures and further explain in concrete terms what it is about the natures of mental and material substance that make them not fit to enter into the casual relations with each other’, Jehle,

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Forensics Report #1 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Forensics Report #1 - Coursework Example This computer was Dean’s workstation. It had been taken to the IT service center within the same week. It was missing, but only because it have been taken to IT service center. It would be brought back to the station on the following Friday. Mr. Dean used the USB Drive to store his work related files as the Assistant Chief Security Officer. After its analysis, it was found that nothing that could incriminate Mr. Dean since the files in the USB drive reflected his urge to work in parallel with the company’s interest. After carrying out substantial research and reviewing all the evidence present, it is imperative to note that there was some inconsistency regarding the manner in which the particular employee resigned. The fact that the laptop case was found below the table adds to the suspicions because if the person resigned honorably, he would have at least left the laptop case on top of the table. The factors stated are some of those that led to the forensic examiners becoming involved with the case. The USB disc found ought to receive special examination to determine the information stored in it. The fact that the Chief Executive asked that the workstation computer be transferred back to the work office is an imperative step to take for it saw to it that information was not deleted from the computer at which the particular employee was working. The manner in which the employee terminated his employee is somehow suspicious and this is because for an organization such as the one given in the study, it is a requirement to tender a formal resignation by writing a letter and submitting to the relevant authorities in the organization. Going through the evidence may bring out information tying the particular worker to some illegal activities (Kiely, 2011). Either that or the employee was blackmailed out of his work. The room should also be wiped for fingerprints and this might assist in identifying the