Polycentric, Ethnocentric, and Geocentric Approach to...

1. (Chapter 2) What is the difference between a polycentric, ethnocentric, and geocentric approach to international management? What key factors should a firm consider before adopting one of these approaches? Polycentric approach to international management is the policy involved hiring and promoting employees who are citizens of the country that host and operates the company. The polycentric approach is best used in order to maintain low hiring costs. Communication is easier and companies run smoother due to the fact the employees are all related in their geographic location. Ethnocentric approach is a staffing policy that is used in companies that has primarily international strategic orientation. While polycentric maintains†¦show more content†¦6. (Chapter 4) What is meant by the idea of economic freedom? What factors are used in the Economic Freedom Index? For managers, what role does the Economic Freedom Index play in analyzing the potential of a country? Economic freedom is the key to greater opportunity and an improved quality of life. It’s the freedom to choose how to produce, sell and use your own resources without restriction. Economic freedom is what make’s this world function and is it’s backbone to maintain a sense of strength and diversity. The Economic Freedom Index is a series of 10 economic measurements created by â€Å"The Heritage Foundation.† Its goal is to measure the degree of economic freedom. Factors that are used in measuring economic freedom for the index are, property rights, government spending, business freedom, labor freedom, financial freedom, trade freedom; each freedom is scored from 0-100; 100 being the most free. For managers, analyzing and researching a countries economic freedom is imperative in choosing a geographic location for a company/business. 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The events that occurred in Derry on January 30th 1972 became known as Bloody Sunday Free Essays

The events that occurred in Derry on January 30th 1972 became known as Bloody Sunday. Why have these events produced such different historical interpretations? The straightforward answer is because at present historians do not know precisely what happened on Bloody Sunday. The basic facts are clear. We will write a custom essay sample on The events that occurred in Derry on January 30th 1972 became known as Bloody Sunday or any similar topic only for you Order Now These are that on 30 January NICRA (Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association) planned to hold a civil rights march in Londonderry to protest against Internment (the imprisonment of suspected terrorists without a trial.) British troops opened fire, killing thirteen people and wounding several more. However there are many different interpretations of who started the violence and who was to blame for the events of Bloody Sunday. The Northern Ireland government had banned all such marches, the year before, but the marchers were determined to go ahead anyway. Besides, few Catholics took much notice any longer of the Northern Ireland government. The marchers were unarmed, but when they reached barricades that had been put up by the army to stop them leaving the Bog side, they began to throw stones and shout insults at the soldiers. Snatch squads were sent in to arrest troublemakers, but shooting broke out. Afterwards the soldiers claimed that they had come under fire from flats alongside the road, but the marchers claimed that the soldiers had opened fire first. Thirteen marchers were killed and another thirteen were injured. Each side blamed the other for the disaster. The soldiers claimed that the IRA, which had used the march as a means of provoking a response, fired them on first. Catholics believed that the army had deliberately attacked the marchers. Source C supports that view because it tells of soldiers being heard before Bloody Sunday, talking about â€Å"clearing the bog†, which is referring to Derry’s bog side. However the source also shows that the information could be unreliable as it took place in a pub and could just be hearsay. The Republicans of Northern Ireland are seen by some to be determined to humiliate the British authorities by demanding an independent investigation, which is still on going today. Until recently, the British Government has always accepted the view of the British Army, shown in the ‘Widgery Report’, that its soldiers had simply fired in self-defence after being fired at by IRA gunmen. Nationalists claim that the British soldiers were unprovoked and opened fire either in response to some imaginary threat or, as a deliberate act of violence The two sides give a different view because of who they are and what they want. The only known truth is that the British government sent troops to Northern Ireland to control the violence between Protestants and Catholics. Whether they did that or not, once in Northern Ireland, the British army quickly became a target for IRA rebel attacks. It therefore was appropriate for the British authorities to support the accounts of the soldiers policing the march who claimed they acted in self-defence. They viewed themselves as ‘carrying out their duties as a peacekeeping force’, and blame the IRA terrorists, who had already carried out many attacks on the Ulster Constabulary and British Army in Northern Ireland. Nationalists, especially Sinn Fein and the IRA, regarded the British Army as an Army of ‘occupation’. In their view, the British Army’s presence in Ireland was itself an act of aggression so in their eyes the Nationalist community had every right to protest against it. Their interpretation of Bloody Sunday is that the soldiers’ response to the marchers was the act of an aggressive invasion force trying to put down legal protest against an illegal occupation of Ireland. It reflects their view that Republicans were not simply terrorists, but occupied in a justifiable armed struggle against British aggression. In the Widgery report the government claimed, † Each soldier was his own judge of whether he had identified a gunman.† A Catholic priest at the scene claimed that he saw no one shooting at troops. He claimed that he saw the British Army shoot without selecting targets, â€Å"it was a massacre.† Due to his religious tendency one would expect him not to make up such a statement, however someone writing a report concluding the true actions of Bloody Sunday would have to question the priest’s reliability, because like many others present at Bloody Sunday there is the possibility of a one sided or biased view. The report went onto state â€Å"some soldiers showed high degrees of responsibility, [some] firing bordered at the reckless.† Part of Source A supports the military claim that soldiers simply responded when they came under fire. One former soldier stated how the so-called new evidence was being brought up, but the nail bombs and acid bombs he claimed were used against them were not mentioned. He made a valid point that thousands of people had been on the streets of Derry that day, and that if they had been firing so indiscriminately as people have said, then why were there no women and children killed? Several prominent Nationalists were at the scene and claim to be eyewitnesses to the British army’s aggression, but it is questionable as to whether their version of events can be trusted without independent evidence. Source K for example reflects the idea of the soldiers shooting everywhere around them without any provocation. The paratrooper responsible for shooting Damien Donaghy, stated he had â€Å"intended to shoot dead† a man he was â€Å"convinced was a nail bomber.† However he admitted he â€Å"could have shot the wrong man† or that one of the shots he had fired hit Mr. Donaghy â€Å"by accident†. Damien Donaghy, 15 at the time of Bloody Sunday’s events, denies that he was carrying any nail bombs or other weapons, but was without doubt shot in the thigh in Derry’s bog side during the civil rights march on the day soldiers shot dead 13 Catholic men and boys who were said to be unarmed. Source B supports his view as it weakens claims about supposed nail and acid bombs being used, due to new forensic evidence suggesting that the Widgery reports findings could have been caused by contamination such as emissions from car exhausts. When two groups oppose each other, interpretations are bound to differ, however another cause for the difference in interpretation is that because Bloody Sunday happened 31 years ago, all the buildings are different now and the place itself cannot be used as evidence to support either side’s statements. Source I is therefore an example of a valid piece of evidence as it shows a reconstruction of Derry’s bog side and can portray the bog side as it was, which is needed to support peoples accounts. Interpretations may differ because people hear, see and experience things differently and so for example a gun being fired by a soldier could have triggered other soldiers to open fire if they had cause to believe it was a civilian or member of the IRA. Currently, the only people who know the truth are those who carried and used weapons on that terrible day and their commanders, both British Army officers, possibly acting on the orders of the British government, or the IRA leadership. This is why the â€Å"Saville Inquiry† has been set up by the British government as part of the current peace process to try to find out the truth behind Bloody Sunday. How to cite The events that occurred in Derry on January 30th 1972 became known as Bloody Sunday, Papers

Transgenic Rice Plants Essay Example For Students

Transgenic Rice Plants Essay The following form contents were entered on 15th Apr 97 Date = 15 Apr 97 23:58:50 subject name = Sarah Lenhardt email = emailprotected publish = yes subject = Biology title = Transgenic Rice Plants Essay Transgenic Rice Plants that Express Insect Resistance For centuries, rice has been one of the most important staple crops for the world and it now currently feeds more than two billion people, mostly living in developing countries. Rice is the major food source of Japan and China and it enjoys a long history of use in both cultures. In 1994, worldwide rice production peaked at 530 million metric tons. Yet, more than 200 million tons of rice are lost each year to biotic stresses such as disease and insect infestation. This extreme loss of crop is estimated to cost at least several billion dollars per year and heavy losses often leave third world countries desperate for their staple food. Therefore, measures must be taken to decrease the amount of crop loss and increase yields that could be used to feed the populations of the world. One method to increase rice crop yields is the institution of Transgenic Rice Plants Essay that express insect resistance genes. The two major ways to accomplish insect resistance in rice are the introduction of the potato proteinas e inhibitor II gene or the introduction of the Bacillus thuringiensis toxin gene into the plants genome. Other experimental methods of instituting insect resistance include the use of the arcelin gene, the snowdrop lectin/GNA (galanthus nivallis agglutinin) protein, and phloem specific promoters and finally the SBTI gene. The introduction of the potato proteinase inhibitor II gene, or PINII, marks the first time that useful genes were successfully transferred from a dicotyledonus plant to a monocotyledonous plant. Whenever the plant is wounded by insects, the PINII gene produces a protein that interferes with the insects digestive processes. These protein inhibitors can be detrimental to the growth and development of a wide range of insects that attack rice plants and result in insects eating less of the plant material. Proteinase inhibitors are of particular interest because they are part of the rice plants natural defense system against insects. They are also beneficial because they are inactivated by cooking and therefore pose no environmental or health hazards to the human consumption of PINII treated rice. In order to produce fertile transgenic rice plants, plasmid pTW was used, coupled with the pin 2 promoter and the inserted rice actin intron, act 1. The combination of the pin 2 promoter and act 1 intron has been shown to produce a high level, wound inducible expression of foreign genes in transgenic plants. This was useful for delivering the protein inhibitor to insects which eat plant material. The selectable marker in this trial was the bacterial phosphinothricin acetyl transferase gene (bar) which was linked to the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter. Next the plasmid pTW was injected into cell cultures of Japonica rice using the BiolisticTM particle delivery system. The BiolisticTM system proceeds as follows: Immature embryos and embryonic calli of six rice materials were bombarded with tungsten particles coated with DNA of two plasmids containing the appropriate genes. The plant materials showed high frequency of expression of genes when stained with X-Gluc. The number of blue or transgenic units was approximately 1,000. After one week, the transgenic cells were transferred onto selection medium containing hygromycin B. After two weeks, fresh cell cultures could be seen on bombarded tissue. Some cultures were white and some cultures were blue. Isolated cell cultures were further selected on hygromycin resistance. However, no control plant survived. Then twenty plates of cells were bombarded with the PINII gene, from which over two hundred plants were regenerated and grown in a greenhouse. After their growth, they were tested for PINII gene using DNA blot hybridization and 73% of the plants were found to be transgenic. Essay about Fracking Of Fracking And Fracking Essay DNA blot hybridization is the process by which DNA from each sample was digested by a suitable restriction endonuclease, separated on an aragose gel, transferred to a nylon membrane, and then finally hybridized with the 1.5 kb DNA fragment with pin 2 coding and 3 regions as the probe. The results also indicate that the PINII gene was inherited by offspring of the original transgenic line, that the PINII levels were higher among many of the offspring and that when PINII levels rose in wounded leaves, the PINII levels in unwounded leaves also rose. However, the PINII gene is not 100% effective in eliminating insects because it does not produce an insect toxin, just a proteinase inhibitor. Yet, greater insect resistance can be achiev ed by adding genes to produce the Bacillus thuringiensis or BT toxin. Bacillus thuringiensis is an entomocidal spore-forming soil bacterium that offers a way of controlling stem boring insects. .

Objectivity is impossible in journalism, especially in the face of atrocity and on a subject one is passionate about

Introduction Reputable journalists around the world desire to disseminate news in an unprejudiced manner. They focus on furnishing the public with information about local or international occurrences through minimal personal interference.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Objectivity is impossible in journalism, especially in the face of atrocity and on a subject one is passionate about specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More While the virtue, of reaching this goal is reasonable, the feasibility of attaining it is another matter altogether. Challenges of striving for objectivity It is possible for people to experience the same reality, but their understanding of the same depends on their perception (Brooks 2006). A microwave may seem like an indispensable device to a restaurant owner, but the same item may be perceived as a box or an awkward piece of furniture by a bushman in the Kalahari Desert. Alternatively, a personâ €™s definition of intelligence may depend on that person’s cultural inclinations. Education, norms, and biases filter what people perceive in their worlds. It is these filters that cause people to have different religious standpoints, gender identities, personalities or economic opinions. For instance, a group of people may witness a mob lynching in a part of town. A lawyer may talk about the possibility of a lawsuit by the concerned assailant; a politician may consider strengthening the city’s security laws; a clergyman may talk about God’s role in sparing the victim from death. All these perceptions stem from old information that the viewers used to understand the new information. Since people subjectively construct the world, then even journalists perceive events against this backdrop. Methods or platforms used to convey information are quite unsteady in the field. Journalists need to use words in order to convey information, yet words can mean different things to different people.Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For instance, the statement â€Å"Mergina is an exotic location bursting with native energy† could mean different things to different people. Does the word exotic refer to something bizarre or is or just another way of demonstrating that the location is exciting and different? If it is different, then the author should specify his reference point. Native energy may be translated negatively by the people of Mergina who may assume that the term connotes primitivism. Therefore, journalists may intend on conveying factual information, but their choice of words and interpretations could betray them. Even the sheer notion of doing conflict war zone reporting brings the matter of objectivity into question. An employer cannot force a journalist to enter a war zone unless the correspondent consciously chooses to do so. This means that he or she must feel strongly enough about a certain story to put himself or herself in danger. At that point, the journalist will compromise on objectivity because he or she is passionate about the matter. Reportage requires detachment, but this is close to impossible to achieve when journalists already feel so strongly about something. When engaging in journalistic work, stakeholders must make numerous decisions on news reporting. They must decide on occurrences that qualify as news. Not every event (religious meeting, violent interaction, political episode, and economic matter) that happens will make the news because editors often determine which ones journalists will report.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Objectivity is impossible in journalism, especially in the face of atrocity and on a subject one is passionate about specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Although most editors have a lot of experience in the industry, this only proves that journalism pegs on experience as a filter of the newsmaker’s world. Reporters and journalists may dedicate a lot of time and effort towards to the collection of valuable information on conflict. However, their efforts may be thwarted by media houses if they are not politically correct. For instance in the UK, some natives attacked and beat up Iranian girls for wearing Hijabs. No local media outlets reported the incident, yet the matter received extensive coverage in Iranian media houses. It was the decisions of higher powers in those stations that determined what they transmitted. Numerous media houses tend to reflect the ideological preferences of their editors. Although many of them try to show the other side of the story, the vast majority will endorse their superior’s ideologies. Journalists do not exist in a vacuum; they are part of their society and will often implement the perspectives embraced by established pow ers, political or government leaders (Jones 2009). Aside from the decision process, even the process of reporting the news is quite difficult to perform for those individuals who have the responsibility to do so. Besides the choice of words that journalists select, the images they convey can also alter perceptions. On television, cameras may zoom in on ten demonstrators and make them look like a large crowd. Alternatively, cameras may take aerial shots of a large crowd and make it appear as though it was a minor dispute. Even the order in which news reports occur can determine viewers’ or readers’ interpretations. The amount of time dedicated to a story will determine how people will think of it. The reader’s tone of voice or facial expression may also change the way the public perceives the matter.Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Journalists are quite human; they can get fully engaged in the conflicts or issues that they are covering if the issues affect them. When a reporter visits a missionary – operated orphanage, where children can only get food when they become Christians, then the journalist will most likely deplore that behaviour. Alternatively, if terrorists kidnap a correspondent in a conflict zone, then this can dramatically alter the individual’s opinion of the terrorists. Even the general experience of war causes many reporters to become empathetic about torture victims. They may be prompted to condemn the atrocities that they witness, and this may undermine their ability to objective. A correspondent who faithfully records violent behaviour without criticizing it will be an upstanding journalist but not a decent person. Dispassionate reports often yield dispassionate reactions from the public. Readers, listeners and viewers often respond to passionate and genuine stories. If journa lists stick to news items, without showing their human side, then they may elicit negative responses from the public. Emotions are what make people human, so audiences do not expect journalists to eliminate this aspect from their work. Furthermore, sometimes certain atrocities are so blatant that it comes naturally to take a stance against them. If a journalist tries to use words such as alleged when the violent acts are so obvious, then the individual may fall into the trap of false objectivity. Sometimes a middle-ground approach may not be tenable. Virtues of objectivity Numerous external parties may interfere in journalistic activities. Perhaps the most notorious ones are politicians. If journalists did not care about objectivity, then they would be reduced to political puppets. In the government, loyalty to one’s group is more valuable than allegiance to the truth. A member of parliament would need to consult and support members of his party in order to get any piece of l egislation passed. However, undesirable results would occur if journalists did the same thing. Some governments have reduced media houses into propaganda platforms. If journalists in those countries committed to objectivity, then they would perpetuate the truth, even when this meant betraying their governments. A case in point was the Nanking Massacre of China. This was an atrocity that occurred at the city of Nanking in 1938. The conflict involved the killing, rape, arson and torture of Chinese people by Japanese soldiers. About 300,000 casualties arose from the war with most of the victims being civilians or unarmed Chinese soldiers. The Japanese combatants raped women and forced them to commit acts of incest. They looted their property and left them with nothing. When stakeholders revisited the matter in the 2000s, some Japanese politicians, such as Mayor Kawamura of Nagoya, Governor Ishihara of Tokyo and Japanese LDP party members, claimed that the Massacre never occurred. Other s who acknowledge its existence have tried to play down the magnitude of the atrocities. Journalists who report these events have also fallen victim to the above sentiments owing to the need to obey authority. If they stayed committed to objectivity, then they would have focused on both sides of the conflict. They would have discussed the varied interpretations of the matter and the need for apology from the Japanese government. As such, their biased journalists have fanned Chinese-Japan mistrust and general relations (Gallichio 2007). Members of the media industry also have the unique challenge of handling stereotypes. Human beings tend to focus on facts that confirm stereotypes and ignore the ones that contradict them. Objectivity in journalism is essential in order to reduce this preference for stereotypes. Therefore, the possibility of staying objective can be considered in this industry. Journalists reporting about violence, conflict, or atrocities have several reasons to striv e for objectivity; therefore, this illustrates that there is a possibility for existence of objectivity. First, atrocities rarely occur in isolation; this means that every conflict has a context that led to the culmination of violent behaviour. A warring society may have undergone decades of polarisation and unresolved issues; it may possess structural issues that perpetuated the violence. Issues such as government neglect, military oppression, and poverty should receive just as much attention as the personal atrocities committed by individuals. Journalists who strive for objectivity would not just focus on irrational aspects of atrocities; they would also explain the factors behind the violent behaviour. It is necessary to suspend judgements when making these calls, no matter how divergent the issue is from one’s worldview. A journalist who endeavours to become objective will not just concern himself with issues that support his perspective; he will try as much as possible t o look at all the facts. De-contextualisation of violence necessitates working towards objectivity. Conflicts or wars are usually quite complex. It is easy for journalists to fall into the trap of dualism. Here, they may reduce the stakeholders in the conflict to just two individuals, yet other external parties such as multinationals may also play a role. For instance, international journalists reported the 1994 Rwandan atrocities as a conflict between the Hutus and Tutsis. While the latter groups were the majority stakeholders, the UN, US, Belgian and French forces also contributed to the conflict. Furthermore, journalists downplayed their role in ending the conflict. If reporters at the time strove for objectivity, then they would not have ignored the role of these external players in the genocide. Alternatively, when reporting about conflicts it is easy to present the most outstanding or dramatic aspects. Reporters may make violence seem like the only option, yet this is not alwa ys true. Journalists ought to strive for objectivity by refraining for Manichaeism; a term that refers to the process of demonising one group and regarding the other one as chaste. No conflict is ever black and white; that is why journalists need to note all the negotiations that may occur in a conflict. Furthermore, ceasefires may not always signify peace. If escalation occurs in a war, then journalists must explain the causes of the occurrence. Alternatively, if journalists ignore the views of the bereaved in news reports, then the public may not understand why an escalation or act of revenge occurred. When reconciliation takes place, journalists have the power to perpetuate healing by showing images of resolution. In order for all these positive outcomes to occur, then journalists working in such environments need to strive for objectivity. Reporters who strive for this objective should exercise self control. They need to suppress their own emotions in order to get to the truth. This means that they ought to embrace the possibility of being a little dull. Outright attacks against certain prominent figures may attract readers’ attention, but they do not necessarily indicate that the matter is true. Most attacks tend to exaggerate the vices of an individual while ignoring the person’s strengths. Journalists should process all the information they have collected and put it in one coherent pattern (Holber Zubric 2000). The act of connecting all the parts takes strong judgment, which may not always be prevalent amongst all reporters. They need to report issues as they are without demonising one group or ignoring certain aspects of the conflict. Such issues provide proof for the possibility of objectivity in journalism. Sometimes attachment in journalism can lead to severe consequences, which points to the possibility and usefulness of objectivity. This is especially so when the concerned reporter is passionate about a certain topic. British corres pondent Marie Colvin died in Syria when one of the warring parties fired a missile at her and her group. Colvin belonged to a group of journalists who ascribed to a school of thought known as journalism of attachment. In this group, members believe that correspondents have a moral duty to the public by taking sides (O’Neill 2012). They affirm that one must identify the evil and pure sides in a conflict and then show a preference for the positive side. Here, journalists cease being reporters only; they transform themselves into moral crusaders. Many newspapers have praised the courage of these individuals; however, they do not realise the danger of such an approach to those crusaders. When journalists abandon objectivity, as Colvin did, then they become players in the war. In one instance, Colvin rescued 1500 people in East Timor when Indonesian forces arrested the victims. The latter event occurred in 1999, and peers commended Colvin for her heroic efforts. The individual als o urged western governments to intervene in the Kosovo conflict during the 1990s because she identified the Serbs as evil and the area’s Liberation army as virtuous, yet these factors changed dramatically. In other similar scenarios, journalists have used their positions as activists to force western governments to intervene in foreign conflicts through military action. A case in point was the intervention of the UK, US and the French in the Libyan conflict of 2011 through bombing campaigns. Activist journalists have the ability to change the direction of a war by garnering support from their governments against sides they perceive as evil. One can thus deduce that such journalists are no longer neutral and objective. They choose to replace their quest for the truth with their moral objectives. Many of them even criticise unbiased journalists as bystanders who have no place in modern journalism. The challenge with taking such a stance is that it causes reporters to become too engrossed with emotion. A large number of these activists will reduce news findings to morality tales and disregard the complexities involved in the conflict. In other words, they will perceive things as black and white. Therefore, one can see the importance of objectivity in such circumstances. Objectivity, or at least its quest, is possible in the face of atrocities in order to present the true picture of a conflict. When journalists get carried away by their emotions, they will detach themselves from reality and loose balance in their work. A case in point was the issue of global warming. Initially, most reporters focused on the impending danger that the world would be subjected to if it did not change its consumption patterns. However, with time, the media realised that there was another side to the issue and started to report it too. Objectivity is desirable and possible especially when covering controversial topics. Journalists who abandon objectivity may also fall into the t rap of becoming targets in the conflict. When reporters take sides, usually against the local regimes in which they are reporting, they often cause those local leaders to turn against them too. Some of them may bomb their media houses or target them for military purposes. Correspondents who urge western governments to participate in a war may ignite anti-western sentiments in conflicts. Therefore, everything that represents western influence, including western reporters will become enemies of the local regime. Not only is the quest for objectivity the best way to ensure that the public gets to see a conflict’s real picture, but it also protects journalists from fatal consequences of emotionalism. Conclusion Objectivity is dependent on human interaction, which renders journalistic work subjective. It is, therefore, true that objectivity in journalism is impossible. Reporters cannot leave their moral inclinations behind and then dwell on their jobs dispassionately; this is simp ly contrary to human nature. Nonetheless, the virtues of objectivity cannot be ignored. Journalists who comprehend the influence of subjective views would double check their work for glaring biases and prejudices. Such enlightened individuals would also be aware of other people’s worldviews and will encompass them in their reports. Objectivity should be a goal to be sought even though journalists can never attain it fully. Focus ought to be on the process and not the journalist. Journalists have their own opinions, but the process that they use to present information should encapsulate notions of objectivity. Journalists should also refrain from excesses of emotion; otherwise they may lose sight of reality or may also become targets in conflict zones. References Brooks, D 2006, Objectivity in journalism, Imprimis, Michigan. Holber, L Zubric, S 2000, ‘A comparative analysis: objective and public journalism techniques’, Newspaper Research Journal, vol. 21 no. 4, p p 50-67. Gallichio, M 2007, The unpredictability of the past, Preiger Publishers, London. Jones, A 2009, Losing the News: The future of the news that feeds democracy, Oxford University Press, Oxford. O’Neill, B 2012, ‘Dangers of the journalism of attachment’, Spiked, 4 February, p. 14. This essay on Objectivity is impossible in journalism, especially in the face of atrocity and on a subject one is passionate about was written and submitted by user Brenton Hogan to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Foot Binding in China

Foot Binding in China For centuries, young girls in China were subjected to an extremely painful and debilitating procedure called foot binding.  Their feet were bound tightly with cloth strips, with the toes bent down under the sole of the foot, and the foot tied front-to-back so that the grew into an exaggerated high curve. The ideal adult female foot would be only three to four inches in length. These tiny, deformed feet were known as lotus feet. The fashion for bound feet began in the upper classes of Han Chinese society, but it spread to all but the poorest families.  Having a daughter with bound feet signified that the family was wealthy enough to forgo having her work in the fields- women with their feet bound could not walk well enough to do any sort of labor that involved standing for any length of time.  Because bound feet were considered beautiful and sensual, and because they signified relative wealth, girls with lotus feet were more likely to marry well. As a result, even some farming families that could not really afford to lose a childs labor would bind their eldest daughters feet in hopes of attracting rich husbands for the girls. Origins of Foot Binding Various myths and folktales relate to the origin of foot-binding in China. In one version, the practice goes back to the earliest documented dynasty, the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600 BCE–1046 BCE). Supposedly, the corrupt last emperor of the Shang, King Zhou, had a favorite concubine named Daji who was born with clubfoot. According to the legend, the sadistic Daji ordered court ladies to bind their daughters feet so that they would be tiny and beautiful like her own. Since Daji was later discredited and executed, and the Shang Dynasty soon fell, it seems unlikely that her practices would have survived her by 3,000 years. A somewhat more plausible story states that the emperor Li Yu (reign 961–976 CE) of the Southern Tang Dynasty had a concubine named Yao Niang who performed a lotus dance, similar to en pointe ballet.  She bound her feet into a crescent shape with strips of white silk before dancing, and her grace inspired other courtesans and upper-class women to follow suit. Soon, girls of six to eight years had their feet bound into permanent crescents. How Foot Binding  Spread During the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279), foot-binding became an established custom and spread throughout eastern China.  Soon, every ethnic Han Chinese woman of any social standing was expected to have lotus feet.  Beautifully embroidered and jeweled shoes for bound feet became popular, and men sometimes drank wine from the dainty little footwear of their lovers. When the Mongols overthrew the Song and established the Yuan Dynasty in 1279, they adopted many Chinese traditions- but not foot-binding. The far more politically influential and independent Mongol women were completely uninterested in permanently disabling their daughters to conform with Chinese standards of beauty. Thus, womens feet became an instant marker of ethnic identity, differentiating Han Chinese from Mongol women. The same would be true when the ethnic Manchus conquered Ming China in 1644 and established the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912).  Manchu women were legally barred from binding their feet. Yet the tradition continued strong among their Han subjects.   Banning the Practice In the latter half of the nineteenth century, western missionaries and Chinese feminists began to call for an end to foot-binding.  Chinese thinkers influenced by Social Darwinism fretted that disabled women would produce feeble sons, endangering the Chinese as a people. To appease the foreigners, the Manchu Empress Dowager Cixi outlawed the practice in a 1902 edict, following the failure of the anti-foreigner Boxer Rebellion. This ban was soon repealed. When the Qing Dynasty fell in 1911 and 1912, the new Nationalist government banned foot-binding again.  The ban was reasonably effective in the coastal cities, but foot-binding continued unabated in much of the countryside. The practice wasnt more or less completely stamped out until the Communists finally won the Chinese Civil War in 1949.  Mao Zedong and his government treated women as much more equal partners in the revolution and immediately outlawed foot-binding throughout the country because it significantly diminished womens value as workers.  This was despite the fact that several women with bound feet had made the Long March with the Communist troops, walking 4,000 miles through rugged terrain and fording rivers on their deformed, 3-inch long feet. Of course, when Mao issued the ban there were already hundreds of millions of women with bound feet in China.  As the decades have passed, there are fewer and fewer. Today, there are only a handful of women living out in the countryside in their 90s or older who still have bound feet.

Biography of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand

Biography of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej (December 5, 1927–October 13,  2016) was the king of  Thailand  for 70 years. At the time of his death, Adulyadej was worlds longest-serving head of state and the  longest-reigning  monarch in  Thai history. Adulyadej  was known for being a calming presence at the center of Thailands recent stormy political history. Fast Facts: Known For:  King of Thailand (1950–2016), the longest-reigning monarch in the worldAlso Known As:  the Great (Thai:  Ã  ¸ ¡Ã  ¸ «Ã  ¸ ²Ã  ¸ £Ã  ¸ ²Ã  ¸Å ,  Maharaja), Rama IX, Phumiphon AdunlayadetBorn: December 5, 1927  in Cambridge, MassachusettsParents: Prince Mahidol (1892–1929) and Srinagarindra (nà ©e Sangwan Talapat)Died:  October 16, 2016 in Bangkok, ThailandEducation: University of LausanneAwards and Honors:  Human Development Lifetime Achievement AwardSpouse: Mom Rajawongse Sirikit Kiriyakara (m. 1950)Children: Maha Vajiralongkorn (king of Thailand 2016–present), Sirindhorn, Chulabhorn, Ubol Ratana Early Life Bhumibol Adulyadej (known as Phumiphon Adunlayadet or King Rama IX) was born on December 5, 1927, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, into the royal family of Thailand. As the second son born to his parents, and because his birth took place outside of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej was never expected to rule Thailand. His reign came about only after his older brothers violent death. Bhumibol, whose full name means strength of the land, incomparable power, was in the United States because his father, Prince Mahidol  Adulyadej, was studying for a public health certificate at Harvard University. His mother, Princess Srinagarindra (nà ©e Sangwan Talapat), was studying nursing at  Simmons College  in Boston. When Bhumibol was 1, his family returned to Thailand, where his father took up an internship in a hospital in Chiang Mai. Prince Mahidol was in poor health, though, and died of kidney and liver failure in September 1929. Revolution and an Education In 1932, a coalition of military officers and civil servants staged a coup against King Rama VII. The Revolution of 1932 ended the Chakri dynastys absolute rule and created a constitutional monarchy. Concerned for their safety, Princess Srinagarindra took her two young sons and young daughter to Switzerland the following year. The children were placed in Swiss schools. In March 1935, King Rama VII abdicated in favor of his 9-year-old nephew, Bhumibol Adulyadejs older brother Ananda Mahidol. The child-king and his siblings remained in Switzerland, however, and two regents ruled the kingdom in his name. Ananda Mahidol returned to Thailand in 1938, but Bhumibol  Adulyadej remained in Europe. The younger brother continued his studies in Switzerland until 1945,  when he left the University of Lausanne at the end of World War II. Succession On June 9, 1946, young King Mahidol died in his palace bedroom from a single gunshot wound to the head. It was never conclusively proved whether his death was murder, accident, or suicide. Nevertheless, two royal pages and the kings personal secretary were convicted and executed for the crime of assassination. Adulyadejs uncle was appointed his prince regent, and Adulyadej returned to the University of Lausanne to finish his degree. In deference to his new role, he changed his major from science to political science and law. An Accident and a Marriage Just as his father had done in Massachusetts, Adulyadej met his wife-to-be while studying overseas. He often went to Paris, where he met the daughter of Thailands ambassador to France, a student named Mom Rajawongse Sirikit Kiriyakara. Adulyadej and Sirikit began a courtship, visiting Paris romantic tourist sights. In October 1948, Adulyadej rear-ended a truck and was seriously injured. He lost his right eye and suffered a painful back injury. Sirikit spent a lot of time nursing and entertaining the injured king; the kings mother urged the young woman to transfer to a school in Lausanne so that she could continue her studies while getting to know Adulyadej better. On April 28, 1950, Adulyadej and Sirikit were married in Bangkok. She was 17 years old; he was 22. The king was officially crowned one week later, becoming Thailands monarch and officially known thereafter as King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Military Coups and Dictatorships The newly crowned king had very little actual power. Thailand was ruled by military dictator Plaek Pibulsonggram until 1957  when the first of a long series of coups removed him from office. Adulyadej  declared martial law during the crisis, which ended with a new dictatorship forming under the kings close ally, Sarit Dhanarajata. Over the next six years, Adulyadej would revive many abandoned Chakri traditions. He also made many public appearances around Thailand, significantly reviving the prestige of the throne. Dhanarajata died in 1963 and was succeeded by Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn. Ten years later, Thanom sent out the troops against huge public protests, killing hundreds of protestors. Adulyadej opened Chitralada Palaces gates to offer refuge to the demonstrators as they fled the soldiers. The king then removed Thanom from power and appointed the first of a series of civilian leaders. In 1976, however, Kittikachorn returned from overseas exile, sparking another round of demonstrations that ended in what came to be known as The October 6 Massacre, in which 46 students were killed and 167 injured at Thammasat University. In the aftermath of the massacre, Admiral Sangad Chaloryu staged yet another coup and took power. Further coups took place in 1977, 1980, 1981, 1985, and 1991. Although Adulyadej  tried to stay above the fray, he refused to support the 1981 and 1985 coups. His prestige, however, was damaged by the constant unrest. Transition to Democracy When a military coup leader was selected as prime minister in May 1992, huge protests broke out in Thailands cities. The demonstrations known as Black May turned into riots, and the police and military were rumored to be dividing into factions. Fearing a civil war, Adulyadej called the coup and opposition leaders to an audience at the palace. Adulyadej was able to pressure the coup leader into resigning. New elections were called and a civilian government was elected. The kings intervention was the beginning of an era of civilian-led democracy that has continued with just one interruption to this day. Bhumibols image as an advocate for the people, reluctantly intervening in the political fray to protect his subjects, was cemented by this success. Death In 2006, Bhumibol suffered from lumbar spinal stenosis. His health began to decline and he was hospitalized frequently. He died at the Siriraj hospital in Bangkok on October 16, 2016. Crown prince Vajiralongkorn  ascended to the throne, and his official coronation was held on May 4, 2019. Legacy In June of 2006, King Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit celebrated the 60th Anniversary of their rule, also known as the Diamond Jubilee. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan presented the king with the UN’s first Human Development Lifetime Achievement Award to Bhumibol at a ceremony in Bangkok as part of the festivities. Although he was never intended for the throne, Adulyadej  is remembered as a successful and beloved king of Thailand, who helped calm turbulent political waters over the decades of his long reign. Sources Beech, Hanna. King of Thailand to Be Formally Crowned in an Ornate Spectacle. The New York Times, May 3, 2019.Editorial Board. The King Who Personified Thailand. The New York Times, October 14, 2016.  Grossman, Nicholas,  Dominic Faulder, Chris Baker et al. King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A Lifes Work: Thailands Monarchy in Perspective. Editions Didier Millet, 2012Handley, Paul M. The King Never Smiles: A Biography of Thailands Bhumibol Adulyadej. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2006.  Bhumibol, a King of the People, Leaves Them to the Generals. The New York Times, October 13, 2016.

Evidence, argumants and evaluation on whether mergres and acquisitions Essay

Evidence, argumants and evaluation on whether mergres and acquisitions incraese shareholders wealth - Essay Example The following sections of the paper discuss the effects of Mergers and acquisitions on the shareholders’ wealth. Mergers and acquisition have led to the increase of shareholders market presence in certain industries according to Brigham and Houston (2009). This has also led to effective sales and marketing associations by the merging companies. As a result, this leads to increased wealth of the shareholders. Mergers and acquisitions often lead to greater market presence of the companies involved (Fleuriet 2008). Higher market shares that result from mergers and acquisitions often lead to increased purchasing ability and control over suppliers as suggested by Bruner (2004). When an organization buys a product in higher volumes than previously, the purchase cost becomes lower making the company become more price competitive. This has the potential of attracting greater sales and, therefore, higher value to shareholders. Mergers ad acquisitions may lead to improvements in company operations especially in the case of manufacturing companies as suggested by DePamphilis (2011). Therefore by increasing facilities through mergers and acquisitions, the company raises its capacity to manufacture more products or higher quality products. The company as well has its credibility increased which positively increases the shareholders wealth (Maddiganand and Zaima 1985). Mergers and acquisition often lead to symbiotic relationships between the two companies. As a result, the two companies tend to support one another, which in return helps the shareholders realize greater value from their investments. Mergers and acquisitions combine the operations of the two companies leading to higher sales capable of supporting their concurrent higher budgets hence raising the wealth of the shareholders (Cartwright and Schoenberg 2006). In some cases, mergers and acquisitions may not add value to shareholders’ wealth. This happens for example when management of one