Current Political Dimensions and Issues of Globalization Essay Example for Free

Current Political Dimensions and Issues of Globalization Essay Globalization refers to those processes whereby geographically distant events and decisions impact to a growing degree on â€Å"local† university life. Also it can be viewed as link towards the growth of social interconnectedness across existing geographical and political boundaries. Globalization is the process of increasing interconnectedness interdependent ness of people and places as a result of improved transport and communication and information technologies that ensures countries stay together as one community. In globalization, political, economic, social, religious and cultural issues usually interplay in producing a globalize world.    The world is becoming one. most contemporary social theorists endorse the view that globalization refers to fundamental changes in the spatial and temporal contours of social existence, according to which the significance of space or territory undergoes shifts in the face of a no less dramatic acceleration in the temporal structure of crucial forms of human activity. Geographical distance is typically measured in time. (Brawley, 2002) The world’s globalization can be traced back to many decades when different countries of the world saw the need to have globalization of the economy, politics, and societies, religious through the creation of links that will ensure that there is coordination in all the aforementioned aspects that form the basis of any country. There has been great integration in the economic sector among countries in, this is what is commonly referred as economic globalization. The fast economic growth among many countries in the world can be attributed to globalization. This implies that globalization has helped reduce poverty in many developing counties. Western political theory has traditionally presupposed the existence of territorially bound communities, whose borders can be more or less neatly delineated from those of other communities. The contemporary liberal politics has it that to speak of bounded communities whose fundamental structure consists of self-sufficient schemes of cooperation for all the essential purposes of human life. (David, 1995) The current political issues in any given country are based on how to achieve and utilize globalization.   Most of the countries have resolved to form partnerships with most of the countries in the world so as to integrate their resources geared towards high production. The whole process of globalization promotes proper and easy access to the world market among the partners.   This role is played by internationals organizations that have tried to promote liberal markets. For instance business people on different continents now engage in electronic commerce; television allows people situated anywhere to observe the impact of terrible wars being waged far from the comfort of their living rooms; academics make use of the latest video conferencing equipment to organize seminars in which participants are located at disparate geographical locations; the Internet allows people to communicate instantaneously with each other notwithstanding vast geographical distances separating them. (Burchill Linklater, 1996). The whole process of globalization has its own challenges where the poor countries are not able to compete effectively in the world markets and as such the poor countries are unable to have economic growth.   There is great disparity between the developed and the developing countries and this is also inherent to the people of these countries where we have a big imbalance between the poor and the rich. Due to the process of globalization countries have a challenge on how to have political shifts that will enhance their global growth.   The political shift usually twisted towards the stakeholders of globalization. Corruption fighting is the key issue towards globalization for any country. Covering a wide range of distinct political, economic, and cultural trends, the term globalization has quickly become one of the most fashionable buzzwords of contemporary political and academic debate. In popular discourse, globalization often functions as little more than a synonym for one or more of the following phenomena: the pursuit of classical liberal free market policies in the world economy economic liberalization, the growing dominance of different forms of political, economic, and cultural life. The proliferation of new information technologies such as the Internet as well as the notion that humanity are in the anticipation of   realizing one single unified community in which major sources of social conflict have vanished through global integration. (David 1995) Ultimately globalization has been achieved through technological advancements.   It is a main challenge in the process of globalization as many counties are lagging behind in terms of technological advancements that are meant to promote fast and effective communication as well as boost high production.   The process of achieving the international development goals pays more emphasizes on reducing poverty levels in countries of the world by promoting sustainable growth by empowering the poor people. Globalization is just an opportunity that is associated with risks at the national and international level. One of the issues that has emitted from globalization is that there is freedom of movement which has made developed countries hire labour from lower cost countries this making the citizens of the country to lose their jobs.   It end result of this is that the country is focusing on its development. But globalization can not be dismissed at all but what is important is to lay good enabling structures that can enhance both an individual development as well as the country development.   This can only be done by putting in place good governance. Generally, globalization poses risks and challenges, but so far it has become a stabilizing force in Philippine politics. (Robertson, 1992) This is the only way the government could make serious headway in the fight against joblessness and poverty. There are indications that most of those uprisings in the past were supported by the business elite. They are concentrated in the banking, real estate, export, and trading. Most of these sectors now are raking in money from overseas remittances, outsourcing, and recovering exports. It means they now have a stake in the stability of the system. People in the world are encouraged to think as citizens of nations and as well global citizens if the global agenda is to be achieved.   Globalization is a force that is attaching people of countries in the world and as such globalization is the way forward. Generally, globalization is characterized by free market, new technologies internet revolution.   Due to this increased technologies little time is required to connect different geographical locations.   This has helped in reducing the issues of national boundaries as people can communicate without necessarily crossing over the national boundaries.   Many social activities can take place in the world without necessary considering the geographical location of the participants. This is done through telecommunication, digital computers, audiovisual media and this occurs everywhere in the contemporary world.   (Schorte, 1996).  Ã‚   Business is done through electronics, televisions. This has promoted both social and economic interconnectedness across the political and geographical boundaries.   This means that technical disregard to geographical boundaries is a major issue towards globalization. High speed technology plays a very crucial role in the process of globalization.   This is another issue that is hindering the achievement of globalization.   This is because most of the world’s countries and are not moving as per the dynamisms of technology thus creating slow inter border speed movements. (Scheuerman,2004) The high speed technologies minimize the significance of distance and as a result improving the interconnectedness. But in those areas where deterritorialization and social interconnectedness across national borders are especially striking, new transnational institutions (for example, cross-border referenda), along with a dramatic strengthening and further democratization of existing forms of supranational authority (in particular, the United Nations), are necessary if we are to assure that popular sovereignty remains an effective principle. Globalization guarantees sustainable competitiveness through leadership of technological improvements.   The attraction of many countries in need of investment has promoted the growth of economies in most countries that embrace globalization.   Good examples are the recent joint ventures of China with Japanese companies where the Chinese get skills directly by working the Japanese. High-speed technologies and organizational approaches are employed by transnational operating firms, the so-called â€Å"global players,† with great effectiveness. The emergence of â€Å"around-the-world, around-the-clock† financial markets, where major cross-border financial transactions are made in cyberspace at the blink of an eye, represents a familiar example of the economic face of globalization. (Mark Interline 2001) How Philippines is integrated in international economy at the global community. Philippines as far as the globalization is concerned is rated in the semi-globalize world.   The country has not achieved completely what it takes for a country to be globalized.   It is lacking integrated markets and economies with other countries.   This because it has not taken advantage of across borders integration.   Low cross borders coordination reduces the economic share activities which have an effect of reducing fast economic growth.   Philippines have now a new political shift aimed at promoting its economic growth.   One of the main issues of promoting globalization is through democratization.   This is an aspect that has been missing in Philippines, there is a tendency the country believing that poor countries should not depend on the foreign capital and for this reason the country believes in regional issues of development. Philippine is the latest country to be accepted in the global alliance nations sharing global information and economies.   The country’s software sector has greatly grown giving it advantage in global information technology.   In the year 2006, Philippines had established software innovation which aimed at creating a global centre of information.   The process of software innovation is based on good relations with other countries that have advanced technology.   This procedure has promoted individuals business within the integrated countries.   A good example is stag Philippines Company that developed an innovative online registration system for one of the domestic airlines, this is a positive movement towards globalizations. The country has moved from the traditional of doing things to the scientific and technological revolutions.   Philippines has achieved great integration in East Asia with countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.   This form of regional integration has promoted free market within the area hence improved economies. Globalization refers to increased possibilities for action between and among people in situations where latitudinal and longitudinal location seems immaterial to the social activity at hand. Even though geographical location remains crucial for many undertakings (for example, farming to satisfy the needs of a local market), deterritorialization manifests itself in many social spheres.. Territory in the sense of a traditional sense of a geographically identifiable location no longer constitutes the whole of â€Å"social space† in which human activity takes places. In this initial sense of the term, globalization refers to the spread of new forms of non-territorial social activity (Fred, 1998) There are great challenges for the government in trying to harmonize governance especially when there is integration of business bodies with other countries.   The process of liberalization and democratization enables the more advanced countries to take advantage of the free market.   The more developed countries use this opportunity in getting more profits which they take to their rich countries.   There is power mixing for the government as it not possible to control all the power diffusion. Each manifestation of globalization also generates distinct conflicts and dislocations. For example, there is substantial empirical evidence that cross-border flows and exchanges, as well as the emergence of directly transnational forms of production by means of which a single commodity is manufactured simultaneously in distant corners of the globe, are gaining in prominence (Castells, 1996). The whole process of Philippines involvement in international and global community is that the developed countries in term s of service provision on the onset there is un equal competition for the integrated market which the developed countries stand a better chance to exploit.   Despite the lower levels of poverty in most states, there is a general inequality in the overall income among the citizens. The inequality in Philippines occurs especially between rural and urban areas.   This has led to economic stagnation and civil instability which threatens the goal of reducing poverty by globalization.   Other places are overpopulated causing strain on the meager natural resources.   The fact that Philippines has moved global has not solved the internal disparities which threaten to increase poverty levels. The government has a great challenge of implementing certain agreements with the international community.   Such international conventions are so demanding in terms of implementation within the country.   When these legal conventions are integrated to the country they have the capacity to weaken the internal structures of the country. As an empirical matter, the decay of the domestic-foreign frontier seems highly ambivalent, since it might easily pave the way for the decay of the more attractive attributes of domestic political life: as â€Å"foreign† affairs collapse inward onto â€Å"domestic† political life, the relative lawlessness of the former potentially makes disturbing inroads onto the latter (Scheuerman, 2004) The government is also challenged by the rapidly expanding flow of goods services information and people which makes the country to be more interdependent.   This requires that the country sets global consensus to meet these challenges. Globalization-from-above is controlled by wealthy elites and driven by a hunger for more wealth and power. But there is another form of globalization in the Philippines that is made up of grassroots alliances of human rights activists, trade unions, womens organizations, and environmental coalitions and farmers’ organizations. This form of globalization however does not get as much publicity as the elite form of globalization but it is growing just as rapidly. The institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and transnational corporations have assisted in development and the integration of the world’s countries into the global system. The cross-boarder issues that require joint efforts have been very difficult for the Philippine government to manage.   Areas that require regional cooperation include drug supply reduction, prevention of HIV/AIDS, fight against illegal drugs.   Lack of such support has been a great set back to the government. Critics insist that local, regional, and national forms of self-government are being rapidly supplanted by insufficiently democratic forms of global governance remote from the needs of ordinary citizens, whereas their defenders describe new forms of supranational legal and political decision as indispensable forerunners to more inclusive and advanced forms of self-government. Global financial markets also challenge traditional attempts by liberal democratic nation-states to rein in the activities of bankers, spawning understandable anxieties about the growing power and influence of financial markets over democratically elected representative institutions Globalization has an effect on Philippines culture and traditions as the society’s norms and values as subject to change.   There are many ways in which the globalization may finally erode the cultural values of the people due to the volatile socialization a contribution of market liberalization and democratization. Market liberalization and the democratization has continued to adversely contributed to the deceleration in growth rate of the country because of the worsening terms of trade between the integrated countries and Philippines. There is a weak growth of exports to the developed countries but rather there are a big number of imports to the country. This means that the country spends more money to the outside countries than what it receives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is a need for the developed countries to have a positive shift towards assisting the developing countries. This can be done by the removal of trade barrier to the developing countries. Philippine’s economy has been growing at 4-6% GDP due to the growth of the robust sector. Electrons and semiconductors contribute greatly to the country’s exports. There is variety of market for the Philippines products due to the globalization. A global citizen in this country is encouraged to participate actively by taking advantage of the available opportunities: outsourcing is an outcome of technological advancements. For instance, many people in the Philippines start their work at 9pm till five in the morning. Such jobs include call centers. This industry of out sources is growing at 57%per year. The Philippines has low or more open economy, a contribution of the economic reforms done as well as moving global. The linking together and expanding of social activities across borders is predicated on the possibility of relatively fast flows and movements of people, information, capital, and goods. Without these fast flows, it is difficult to see how distant events could possibly posses the influence they now enjoy. High-speed technology plays a pivotal role in the velocity of human affairs. But many other factors contribute to the overall pace and speed of social activity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Globalization has completely changed the political and social situation of the country. The current crop of politicians believes that the future of the country depends on global connectivity and it is for this reason they support global dynamics and global competitiveness. The democratic model has been used in Philippines in the process of creating alliances with other countries. According to one influential strand within international relations theory, relations between states are fundamentally lawless. Since the achievement of justice or democracy, for example, presupposes an effective political sovereign, the lacuna of sovereignty at the global level means that justice and democracy are necessarily incomplete and probably unattainable there. In this â€Å"Realist† view of international politics, core features of the modern system of sovereign states relegate the pursuit of western political thoughts most noble normative goals primarily to the domestic arena. Other critics has that the dangers of global economy is that investors come into a particular country, present certain conditions and government often accept them without asking the people who will be affected, which is a violation of workers rights. It often happens under such deals when state companies are bought over by foreign companies, thousands of workers are laid off under so called structural adjustment program to cut the cost, while workers are pushed for longer hours and prohibited from labor unions. The whole purpose behind this way of working is exploitation of the foreign market to gain greater profit. Globalization is part of the changing world, but the way it is coming in developing countries lacks humanity. Contemporary analysts associate globalization with deterritorialization, according to which a growing variety of social activities takes place irrespective of the geographical location of participants. As Jan Aart Scholte observes, â€Å"global events can via telecommunication, digital computers, audiovisual media, rocketry and the like occur almost simultaneously anywhere and everywhere in the world. (Scholte Aart, 1996) In conclusion globalization is the way forward for Philippine’s economic and political growth. Technology is the key to the achievement of the globalization process and it is therefore very important for any country to embrace technological changes in order to be complacent with the fast changes in the world. A country that will not embrace technological changes is like lag behind in matters of development. Increased communication is panacea of any expanding economy as this promotes sharing of the international nature. Expanding free market promotes greater exchange of skills which has a net effect of improving the economy in terms of the factors maximizing the factors of production such as capital, land, entrepreneurship. Outsourcing is the contemporary form of globalization that is practiced in the contemporary Philippine and this has led to the improved social relation among the regional countries. Integration of different companies which produce similar products has enhanced the exchange of technologies by the virtue of direct contact. Finally globalization has reduced the social boundaries as well the geographical barriers and now people are staying as one big community. References Mark Randal Brawley (2002) the Politics of Globalization: Gaining Perspective, Assessing Consequences. Broadview Press. Crescenzi, Mark, and Andrew J. Interline. 2001. Time Remembered: A Dynamic Model of Interstate Interaction. International Studies Quarterly 45:409-431. Scott Burchill and Andrew Linklater, (1996). Theories of International Relations. New York: St. Martins Castells, Manuel (1996), The Rise of Network Society (Oxford: Blackwell). Dallmayr, Fred (1998), Alternative Visions: Paths in the Global Village (Lanham, Md.: Rowman Littlefield). Held, David (1995), Democracy and the Global Order: From the Modern State to Cosmopolitan Governance (Stanford: Stanford University Press). Robertson, R. (1992), Globalization: Social Theory and Global Culture, (London: Sage). Scheuerman, William E. (2004), Liberal Democracy and the Social Acceleration of Time (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 2004). Scholte, Jan Aart (2000), Globalization: A Critical Introduction (New York: St. Martins).

Meritocracy: Definition, concepts and ideology

Meritocracy: Definition, concepts and ideology Meritocracy as an ideology Meritocracy can refer to an idealised society where discrimination on the basis of race, nationality, gender, age, and other irrelevant characteristics is completely absent. Merit is the encompassing value, the basic and morally correct criterion for any and all social classifications, particularly in respect to socioeconomic standing and in public space. A notion, emphasising societal consensus on the means and processes of selection for particular roles through a system of sifting, sorting, and rewarding talent and ability, motivated by competition for qualifications that in turn structure access to wealth, prestige, and personal satisfaction. It is conceived as a repudiation of systems like aristocracy where individuals inherit their social status. A meritocracy resembles aristocracy in the classical sense of the term meaning â€Å"rule by the best.† What has happened over the centuries, however, is that aristocracy has become associated with hereditary privilege and a rigi d class system. Instead of this, a meritocracy promotes worthy individuals regardless of which social strata they happen to be born in and each individual has good fortune in proportion to the individuals deservingness (Rawls, 1999, Nozick 1974, Miller 1999). IQ tests primarily tap analytical, logic-based reasoning; and surely that kind of cognitive ability is related to performance in many job settings. But other kinds of cognitive ability are also related to performance and thus also represent merit. For instance: imagination, practical sense, and the ability to interpret others perspectives. By the same token, the effort component of Youngs formulation suggests that a number of personality factors may figure into a reasonable conception of merit. For example, being conscientious may enhance job performance. Of course, some individual traits and social skills may be rewarded because they reflect conformity to arbitrary group norms. â€Å"It is not clear why the term merit should be identified so closely with mental ability as distinct from many other conditions and traits that improve the chances of social and economic success† (Hauser et als, 2000, p. 203). David Miller (1996, 300) eluding on Walzer (1983) has indicated that a meritocracy is not only more stable but also more socially just if there are a number of socially recognised forms of merit: ‘economic contribution would be one kind of merit, education and scholarship another, artistic achievement a third, public service yet another, and so forth. However these other conditions and traits do not contribute to a â€Å"fair opportunity†. In Rawls view, the correlation between ones social origins and ones outcome in life is zero in a meritocracy and as long as some form of the family exists in society fair opportunity cannot be achieved as (Rawls 1971, 64). The social context within which individuals grow up influences the achievements of equally competent persons. Success in the labour market is transmitted from parents to children, and the advantages of the children of successful parents go considerably beyond the benefits of the best education, wealth and genetic cognitive ability. Many of the criteria associated with individual talent and effort do not measure the individual in isolation but rather parallel the phenomena associated with aristocracy; what is called individual talent is actually a function of that individuals social position or opportunities gained by virtue of family and ancestry. Among these, for examp le, one might list ambition or drive, perseverance, responsibility, personal attractiveness, and physical or artistic skills or talents, along with access to social support and to favourable social and economic networks and resources. Access to education is partly defined by inheritance as much research has demonstrated (Bowles and Gintis, 2002; Bourdieu and Passeron 1990; Aschaffenburg and Maas 1997; Sacks, 2003; Ballantine 2001). Compiling evidence from other studies Herrnstein concludes that 80% of the differences in IQ among individuals is explained by inherited factors and 15% is explained by environmental factors (Herrnstein 1971, 171). Children from the upper class get upper class education, middle class children get middle class education, working class people get working class education, and poor people get poor education. Privileged young people can perceive reachable goals and develop lofty aspirations because they tend to benefit from high expectations and support networ ks from the family and social milieu, as well as extensive economic and educational resources. Those who have the resources, via their parental background, will move through higher education, get well paid jobs, and postpone family plans until they are well into their thirties, building their financial and cultural capital significantly prior to family formation. Inheritance may provide access to powerful forms of social capital (who you know) and cultural capital (what you know). Bourdieu Passeron (1990) indicate that students who lack the required knowledge and skills with which to successfully navigate the parameters of middle class culture inevitably fail at school. It therefore seems that unequal educational opportunity is the driver of individual achievement. Research shows that as class rises so does the level of education. As a consequence, the expansion of higher education will broaden the gulf between rich and poor (Blanden et al. 2005). So achievement capacities are ascr ibed to social class. Thus, IQ tests measure intelligence as a reflection of inherent intellectual capacity combined with environmental influences. Thus parents can predispose their children to succeed or fail in life as they are a part of the environment that affect the abilities that children attain. Thus the first and foremost among non-merit factors is the effect of social class at birth on future life. Therefore truly equalizing childrens environments in an effort to create a system with equal opportunities for all would mean having to eliminate the family. Meritocracy thus could lead to a hereditary caste system that, far from promoting social mobility, actually makes social advancement nearly impossible for the lower orders. This could be the case if wealth and social position are or primarily distributed by unchangeable genetic characteristics of individuals. This argument can be reworked into the form of a Hernsteins syllogism: If differences in mental abilities are inherited, and If success requires those abilities, and If earnings and prestige depend on success, Then social standing (which reflects earnings and prestige) will be based to some extent on inherited differences among people. (Herrnstein 1971, 197-8) This implies that absolute equality of opportunity is an ideal that cannot be achieved. (Loury 1977, p. 176). For John Rawls, the question of distributive justice is rather different. He is not content to say that any person begins at some point in the process of acquisition and then is merely constrained by a set of rules and procedures to ensure fairness. Rather, the socioeconomic position of the agent is also considered. Rawls bases his query on how the agent is presented with the distribution of talents and social position. His conclusion is that these distributions are accidental and arbitrary. It is an accident that someone is born with whatever natural traits he may possess. The question is raised whether a meritocracy based on natural abilities is thus unfair. Some might contend, for example, that even if we do not deserve our natural abilities it is not unfair if we reap the rewards of those abilities because the system of reward is independent of the system of deserts. However, Rawls makes the case that social position is also random and arbitrary. The fact that natural abilities may or may not be rewarded in that society is an accident. To be rewarded based merely on an accident is not deserved. Thus, a meritocracy that is based on reward from undeserved social position is similarly unfair. Therefore, both natural abilities and social position may not be the basis of distributive justice because they are unfair. The naturally advantaged are not to gain merely because they are more gifted. The individual cannot help how she begins life. Why make her â€Å"pay† for her positive talents and advantages? The rectification of these disparities in Rawls is his difference principle that makes all inequalities subject to the stipulation that the least advantaged will benefit from them.

Essay --

In the 21st century, there have been many visionaries in society who aim to bring about social change. Understanding different societies and the way they evolve are a part of social change. In the films, Pleasantville, Crash, American History X, the Pianist and Cry Freedom a move towards social change is seen. The structure of family, discrimination and the breaking of social barriers are prominent factors in all these films. These arguments be seen through an anthropological, sociological and psychological perspective. The anthropological discipline views family structure as a part of culture. The term of family structure in anthropology is known as kinship. Every film highlights the family structure. According to an anthropological school of thought a functionalist explains that how family structure is important and if this structure is not proper it can affect the whole society. In the film, Pleasantville, one of the prominent themes is the family structure. According to an anthropological view family structure is strong in Pleasantville because of the way the people are raised. They are raised in a culture where they are taught to have a strong bonding. Bud was interested in watching that show because his own family life was disturbed. In the beginning of the film, when his mom plans to go out for a while, the first thing that comes into Bud’s mind is that he will get time to watch his favourite T.V show. The family shown in the film Pleasantville was a typical nuclear family following a patriarchy. In Pleasantville, George is seen romanticizing with his wife Betty which is an example of family structure, â€Å"Oh pumpkin, you sure know the way to this man’s heart†. Family structure is very in every step of life. In the film, The ... ... changes the way people thought about things. In other films, such as, The Pianist and Cry Freedom there were examples of breaking of social barriers which affected the psychology of the population who brought change in their behaviour after discontinuing the traditional practices. Conclusion Through the analysis of the films, The Pianist, Pleasantville, Crash, American History X and Cry Freedom, the dynamics within societies are shown. These dynamics can be viewed according to anthropology, sociology and psychology. Each film emphasizes the effect social change. The themes displayed in every film including discrimination, family structure and breaking social barriers are all a part of social change. Furthermore, social change displayed in American History X, the Pianist, Cry Freedom, Pleasantville and Crash all deals with revolution and movement towards change.

Elian Gonzalez :: Free Essay Writer

Elian Gonzalez Is it possible for a six-year-old boy to successfully seek asylum in the United Sates against his father’s wishes? This is the main point of exploration in the April 21, 2000 article (off the wire) that appeared in The Plain Dealer. The article relates, â€Å"to be granted asylum, people must show that they were persecuted or had a legitimate fear of persecution in their home country because of race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group or political opinions.† According to the article, the case has not reached a decision because of the debate over whether Elian Gonzalez has the right to seek asylum. For the time being, he is allowed to remain with his Miami relatives until the matter is resolved. There may be several levels of appeals and years of debate if the case is sent to an asylum hearing. Janet Reno, Attorney General, Joe Lockhart, White House Spokesperson and Richard D. Freer, a professor at the Emory University School of Law in Atlanta was interviewed and quoted as sources regarding the possible outcome of the case. Lockhart and Freer had seemingly opposing views. Lockhart believe that the proper legal view is the view if Elian’s father. Freer thinks the debate should result in a longer stay in Miami for Elian. Reno asserts despite all of the predicted outcomes that there is no way to confidently determine what is to happen. They key fact in the article is that federal law allows any alien resident in the United States to seek asylum and that the courts must make a decision after hearing arguments even if it is the arguments of a child Elian’s age. An example of a 1985 case where a 12-year-old Soviet child sought asylum against his parents’ wishes is presented. But the child was considered on the â€Å"lower end† of maturity in deciding his rights separate from his parents. An AP photograph accompanied the article as it appeared in the Plain dealer but the content is unknown. Another article on the same topic appeared in the Weekly Standard magazine on April 24,2000. Author, Tucker Carlson relates a two-sided protest regarding the fate of Elian Gonzalez. Among the public and private protesters lies entertainers Gloria Estefan and Andy Garcia who are both of Cuban origin. Both feel that Elian should be allowed to stay in the United States All of the deep seated emotion is over the fact that Janet Reno decided on April 13, 200 that the Miami relatives had until 2:00 p.

Oedipus Rex †The Characterization Essay -- Oedipus the King Oedipus R

Oedipus Rex – The Characterization  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚   Sophocles’ tragic drama, Oedipus Rex, presents to the reader a full range of characters: static and dynamic, flat and round; they are protrayed mostly through the showing technique.    Thomas Van Nortwick in Oedipus: The Meaning of a Masculine Life describes Oedipus as he is seen at the opening of the drama, as a father to his Theban citizens:    In his opening words to the pathetic crowd of suppliants, Oedipus invokes images meant to reassure. As ruler, he is a father to Thebes and its citizens, and like a father he will take care of his â€Å"children.† We see already the supreme self-confidence and ease of command in Oedipus, who can address not only other people’s children as his own, but also be a father to men older than he is (21-22).    As protagonist, Oedipus is at the center of the story. The dialogue, action and motivation revolve about the characters in the story (Abrams 32-33). Werner Jaeger in â€Å"Sophocles’ Mastery of Character Development† pays the dramatist Sophocles the very highest compliment with regard to character development:    The ineffaceable impression which Sophocles makes on us today and his imperishable position in the literature of the world are both due to his character-drawing. If we ask which of the men and women ofGreek tragedy have an independent life in the imagination apart from the stage and from the actual plot in which they appear, we must answer, ‘those created by Sophocles, above all others’ (36).    Surely   it can be said of Sophocles’ main characters that they grow beyond the two dimensional aspect into really rounded physical presences. This is done through mostly the showing technique, though the chorus... ...ublishers, 1999.    Benardete, Seth. â€Å"Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus.† In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.    Ehrenberg, Victor. â€Å"Sophoclean Rulers: Oedipus.† In Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex, edited by Michael J. O’Brien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.    Jaeger, Werner. â€Å"Sophocles’ Mastery of Character Development.† In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997.    Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Transl. by F. Storr. no pag. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/browse-mixed new?tag=public&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&part=0&id=SopOedi    Van Nortwick, Thomas.   Oedipus: The Meaning of a Masculine Life. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998.    Oedipus Rex – The Characterization Essay -- Oedipus the King Oedipus R Oedipus Rex – The Characterization  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚   Sophocles’ tragic drama, Oedipus Rex, presents to the reader a full range of characters: static and dynamic, flat and round; they are protrayed mostly through the showing technique.    Thomas Van Nortwick in Oedipus: The Meaning of a Masculine Life describes Oedipus as he is seen at the opening of the drama, as a father to his Theban citizens:    In his opening words to the pathetic crowd of suppliants, Oedipus invokes images meant to reassure. As ruler, he is a father to Thebes and its citizens, and like a father he will take care of his â€Å"children.† We see already the supreme self-confidence and ease of command in Oedipus, who can address not only other people’s children as his own, but also be a father to men older than he is (21-22).    As protagonist, Oedipus is at the center of the story. The dialogue, action and motivation revolve about the characters in the story (Abrams 32-33). Werner Jaeger in â€Å"Sophocles’ Mastery of Character Development† pays the dramatist Sophocles the very highest compliment with regard to character development:    The ineffaceable impression which Sophocles makes on us today and his imperishable position in the literature of the world are both due to his character-drawing. If we ask which of the men and women ofGreek tragedy have an independent life in the imagination apart from the stage and from the actual plot in which they appear, we must answer, ‘those created by Sophocles, above all others’ (36).    Surely   it can be said of Sophocles’ main characters that they grow beyond the two dimensional aspect into really rounded physical presences. This is done through mostly the showing technique, though the chorus... ...ublishers, 1999.    Benardete, Seth. â€Å"Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus.† In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.    Ehrenberg, Victor. â€Å"Sophoclean Rulers: Oedipus.† In Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex, edited by Michael J. O’Brien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.    Jaeger, Werner. â€Å"Sophocles’ Mastery of Character Development.† In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997.    Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Transl. by F. Storr. no pag. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/browse-mixed new?tag=public&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&part=0&id=SopOedi    Van Nortwick, Thomas.   Oedipus: The Meaning of a Masculine Life. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998.   

Coca-Cola India Case Study Analysis

Coca – India Case study Lakeesha Customer Inserts His/her Name Customer Inserts Grade Course Customer Inserts Tutor’s Name April 11, 2013. Introduction Coca-Cola is the leading brand of the world in soft drink category. It was founded by a pharmacist in Georgia known by the name of John Pemberton. He used to sell a potion for physical as well as mental disorders. However, the potion soon turned into world’s largest selling brand after carbonated water in addition to fountain water with other constituents were added to the brand.Furthermore, soon after the addition of carbonated water, Coca-Cola brand was given the honor of 1887 and in just year of two years, the brand began to spread its sales all over the world. However, the brand got under the wave of ten billion cases in the past decades, which made its growth come to sudden plunge and with lesser improvement in the sales. During the era of 2000, the brand had per annual sale growth of 0. 2 %, which is a deep loss for the company as back in 1980s, its sales growth, had been 5-7%.Furthermore, as it began its sales in India, the Coca-Cola began to see its rise again since the brand became a favorite of the one billion population of the country, which comprised of every rural or urban part of the community. Ethical Issues Many of the most important cases were filed against the Coca-Cola Company in the last few years. They have been the result of an allegation imposed on the company by its four employees in spring 1999. According to the lawsuit, the company has used discriminatory acts on its African-American employees just simply on the basis of their being black. Such diverse types of warning were being issued on the company for its discriminatory practices on the employees. Moreover, many of the employees there have been reported to experience an unethical discriminatory culture in accordance with their race and case. Additionally, another major case was filed against the company on 8 Jun e 1999 (Kochan, 1997). This case comprised of thirty-three children enrolled in Belgium school, which fell ill and were hospitalized.Then again, after few more Belgians went into the trap of this illness. The bottles had been tinned up in a Coco- Cola plant of Dunkirk, France. Moreover, the crisis intensified later after the quantity of people who were stricken with intestinal problems increased from eight to 250, all over the country. However, on June 29, a report was issued which claimed according to research by a toxicologist that the blame was on the carbon dioxide impurities found in Antwerp while on the other hand, there was fungicide in Dunkirk.In order to fix the crisis, many resolutions were passed by the company, which started free selling campaigns in the countries sending free vouchers. There beach parties, dancers were hired for concerts and advertisements were issued on televisions thanking the public for being loyal to the company. Hence, around 5. 5 million people we re influenced by the company to get its fame back. After this, a major crisis had to be dealt with by the company.On February 4, 2003, the Centre for Science and Environment filed a case against Coca- Cola (Analysis of Pesticide Residues in Soft Drinks, 2003). The CSE was led by a group of activists that claimed about the Kinley Bottled water to contain traces of pesticides. It comprised of ingredients like DDT and Malathion, which are highly toxic and can result in the destruction of human bodies. Let humans apart, these substances can even damage aquatic animal and plant life when disposed of in water bodies.These tests were taken from a sample of seventeen bottles that had been sold lately. So after the test was being conducted by Pollution Monitoring Laboratory, the results showed that these Coca-Cola products contained more than 30- 36 times of such toxic substance which was surpassing the global standards approved all over the world. These pesticides, according to research cou ld result in cancer, birth defects, and even damage to nervous as well as immune system of the body. Hence, it was proved that it was unethical to sell products, which could result in loss of human lives.The EEC standard was 0. 005 mg/l of pesticides while in case of Coca-Cola it was 0,018 mg/l, which was thirty six times more (Pendergrast, 1993). In order to resolve issue, the company could show results of its own samples so that employment of many of its workers could be saved. Most important ethical issue that could be assumed from the above mention is Gupta’s dilemma which showed with evidence that Coca- Cola had surpassed the limits of its pesticides concentration to more than forty five times. Alternative ResolutionsSome of the resolutions that the company could make was firstly to marketplace. This was meant that to use such type of substances in its products that were approved by the standards of market. This will build up a strong foothold of the company in the world of market. Moreover, the billions of stakeholders that work in the company could lose their employment if the company continued with unethical acts. This will eventually attract more investors to contribute to the business as a result of which more Coca- Cola brands could be opened.Moreover, an ethical and proper cultural environment should be given to the employees so that more talented people could come and give their services to the company. Hence, it can benefit themselves as well as the company. In addition, Coca-Cola Company can use its resources in the development of community by contributing in environmentally sustainable practices. Hence, this will result in a better profit making and market value of the company. Best Ethical ResolutionIn my opinion, by following the given standards approved by the market, Coca-Cola can get its market value back. This will eventually result in higher employment and lives of many people would be saved if the substances used were not injurio us to health. References: † Analysis of Pesticide Residues in Soft Drinks. † Centre for Science and Environment (CSE (2003). Kochan, Nicholas,. The World’s Greatest Brands: an International Review by Interbrand. New York University Press,, 1997. Pendergrast, Mark. For God, Country and Coca-Cola. Charles Scribners, 1993.

Glaser Health Products Essay

Glaser Health Products of Ranier Falls, Georgia needs assistance in evaluating and classifying costs in order to implement an activity-based costing system. As stated in the case, these costs will be used for planning and control decisions rather than inventory valuation. The activity-based costing system will provide better allocation of Glaser’s overhead costs rather than a system to look at the cost drivers or the activities that their overhead costs comprise. Glaser’s general structure of an activity-based costing model should consist of cost objects, activities, consumption of resources, and cost. Activity-based costing changes â€Å"the rules of the game† since it changes some of the key measures that manager’s use for their decision making and for evaluating individuals’ performance (Accounting4management.com). In order for Glaser to implement a successful activity-based costing system management must take a look at their overhead costs and j ustify whether or not they have enough overhead to be worrying about. While we do not know Glaser’s monetary value of their overhead costs, it seems that they have several divisions with a large amount of cost categories management must consider. The three main divisions of Glaser Health Products are Operations, Sales, and Administrative. Under each division are costs categories that have been divided up to help management determine where they belong. (Appendix A identifies each of the costs with the appropriate division). Next, management must identify the big overhead cost in order to determine whether or not they want to allocate some or a bunch of overhead using the activity-based costing system. I suggest that Glaser creates an activity-based costing system that allocates, with a minimal amount of effort, a large portion of their overhead. For instance, management is correct in identifying each of the costs using four different activities. These include unit-level activities, batch-level activities, product-level activities, and facility-level activities. This is a great system because the fewer activities Glaser can use to do this, the easier the accounting will be for management. These four activities will allow  Glaser to fairly and accurately allocate overhead to product lines. (Appendix B illustrates each of the costs under one of the four activities and also classifies the four activities under one of the three divisions). After Glaser management has identified the handful of the activities that connect overhead expenses to products, they must use the appropriate measure (the cost driver) to tie the overhead expenses to the product lines or service lines. To achieve this management must specify an appropriate cost driver for tracing costs associated with the various levels of activities to the next cost objective or products. The cost drivers can include a number of things such as direct labor hours, number of batches, or number of employees. (Appendix C shows the appropriate cost driver with the various levels of activities). Under the Activity-based costing system, Glaser will use preliminary stage cost drivers to link costs of resources consumed in one activity center to other activity centers. Some costs, such as batch-level activity center costs are initially assigned to a primary stage activity center and only need a single assignment process, and are traceable to specific products but often use a cost driver. Product-level activity center costs may be related to a specific product or grouped by activities before being assigned to products at the primary stage. Facility-level activity center costs may go through multiple preliminary stages before being assigned to products (Schneider, 2012). It is necessary to use a preliminary stage cost driver because this system assigns costs from activities to other activities. On the other hand, primary stage cost drivers is used to assign costs from activities to the cost objectives. This process eliminates distortions in cost allocations to products that result from production complexity (Schneider, 2012). Actually sitting down and laying out an activity-based costing system for a real company is much more difficult than a typical textbook ABC problem. Determining what causes a cost to occur is much more difficult than it originally might seem (Krupnicki & Tyson, 1997). Overall, I think that management’s decision to implement an activity-based costing system is going to work in their favor. The decision to implement ABC is often driven by the need to improve customer profitability analysis, to gain more accurate cost information for pricing or to prepare relevant budgets (Cohen, Venieris, & Kaimenaki, 2005). In this case, Glaser wants to identify costs used for planning and control  decisions rather than for inventory valuation. Glaser is likely to see many benefits from implementing an activity-based costing system such as better profitability measures, better decision-making, process improvement, cost estimation, and cost of unused capacity. The activity-based costing system will provide better allocation of Glaser’s overhead costs rather than a system to look at the cost drivers or the activities that their overhead costs comprise. References http://www.accounting4management.com/implementing_activity_based_costing.htm Schneider, A. (Ed.). (2012). Managerial Accounting: Decision Making for the Service And Manufacturing Sectors. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education. Krupnicki, M., & Tyson, T. (1997). Using ABC to Determine the Cost of Servicing Customers. Management Accounting, 79(6), 40-46. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/229739140?accountid=32521 Cohen, S., Venieris, G., & Kaimenaki, E. (2005). ABC: Adopters, Supporters, and Deniers And Unawares. Managerial Auditing Journal, 20(8), 981-1000. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/27453714?accountid=32521