Thursday, November 28, 2019

National Integration Essay Example

National Integration Paper National Integration: A myth or reality The integrity of any nation invariably depends on the integrity of its citizens. After all, it is the individuals who constitute society or a nation. Society or nation minus individuals is nothing. The individual is a reality; whereas the society is a myth. The society exists because of individuals. Therefore, the integration of a nation is only a mere manifestation of the integrity of the individual. The more one is integrated and undivided, the more the society is integrated and undivided. So the individual is the pillar on whom the whole edifice of a nation stands. It is in this sense the national integration is more a myth than a reality, more a dream than a fact, more a conceived concept by demagogues than an existing reality. India is under severe strain. She is passing through many a crisis. The crisis of India is the crisis of her citizens. It is the crisis of the inner and not the outer. India is a land of unity in diversity says Dr. Rajendra Prasad. Since the ancient times people belonging to different communities, religions and cultural groups have been living in this abode of sages and gods in perfect harmony. India was one country, strong and united during the reigns of Ashoka and Akbar. We will write a custom essay sample on National Integration specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on National Integration specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on National Integration specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Though there was not much of political unity, there was cultural and emotional unity in the country. Outwardly, India was politically united during the British regime, but the clever British rulers practiced the theory of divide and rule. They created disunity among the people belonging to different communities and provinces. They promoted fissiparous and separatist tendencies among people and sowed the seeds of communal dissensions and animosity between Hindus and Muslims, which flourished in the form of the partition of India and the blood-bath on the heels of partition in 1947. Thus, it is also a lesson of our history that fissiparous forces have time and again raised their bead to disrupt our unity and to weaken our strength. When India attained independence, the leaders were immediately faced with the stupendous task of modernizing the economy and of welding the people into one integrated nation, First of all, Sardar Patel wisely integrated almost 560 princely States into the Indian Union, Being fully aware of the diverse elements m the country, the Government took adequate measures to promote national integration. The Constitution made India a secular state, guaranteeing equal status and respect to all religions, and the freedom to practice and propagate them. Unaccountability was abolished acid special provision were made to uplift the scheduled castes and tribes. Safeguards were allowed for linguistic and communal minorities. But while considerable progress was made in forty one year of independence, fissiparous forces, though held in check, repeatedly raised their ugly head in one form or the other. There are certain any-national elements inside the country and some hostile neighbors who are jealously at work to see that India is disintegrated into small states. Certain foreign powers are also jealous of Indias achievements and are out to weaken it. The main obstacles in the way of national integration are : communalism, racialism, provincialism, linguism and casteism etc. Passions have lime and again been inflamed in the name of language leading to riots between different language groups in a state. Regionalism and separatism threatens fragmentation of the country as in Assam, Arunachal, Punjab and now Gorkhaland in West Bengal. Untouchability and caste prejudices are still the bane of the Indian social life and atrocities on Harijans still continue to be reported. Communalism, the legacy of the British rule, still persists in India. Communal riots are still taking place in different parts of the country. The fanatics in each community simply refuse to see reason. This has led to the growth of various sena which further vitiate the communal atmosphere and create communal tension. The advent of terrorism, a comparatively recent phenomenon, has posed a potent danger to the concept of national integration and to the security and stability of human life. These terrorists are the greatest enemies of the nation. They indulge in the most inhuman and gruesome activities like mass massacre that puts humanity itself to shame. Among the other factors leading to disintegration are defective educational system, lop-sided role of political parties and the great economic factor. One disastrous effect of foreign rule was the cultural denudation of the educated youth by means of westernized education which presented colored and distorted versions of our history and culture. Political parties in this country give first priority to their political ambitions at the cost of love for the country. They do not hesitate to exploit communal, regional and other parochial passions; the temptations of power are too strong for some politicians and parties. But one of the greatest cause of disintegration is the great economic factor—the ever widening gulf between the rich and the poor. So long as this gap lasts, all talks of national integration will sound hollow. How is national integration to be accomplished. The first and the foremost step is to eradicate terrorism from the soil of India. The Central Government must check obscurantism, regionalism and separatism with an iron hand. The Government should never yield to regional pressures, particularly when they are in the form of violence and intimidation. Linguistic fanaticism should be suppressed, but there is need of a common national language to inculcate a sense of unity. A nation which has no language of its own is no nation it can never achieve integration in any real sense. Fissiparous tendencies cannot be checked by force and the compulsions of law. They have to be eradicated by persuasion and education. The battle of national integration is to be waged in the minds of men. All media of mass communications, such as newspapers, radio and television must be utilized for a drive for promoting national unity. Then, our educational system must be so reconstructed as to emphasize the composite nature of our culture and to instill in the minds of the youth legitimate pride in our social heritage. Promotion of national integration should be made an integral part of our educational programme. There should be a positive change in the attitude of the majority community towards the minorities so that the latter join the main stream of the nation. Indian nationalism must fight the pernicious caste system tooth and nail. Students of minority communities should be offered equal opportunities for all jobs and services. Political parties have a significant role to play in shaping the national outlook. They need greater discipline and restraint in India than those in other countries. They must learn to subordinate other political ambitions, to the imperative need, of bringing various people together and they must train people to think in national terms. Finally, there can never be sense or unity of fellow feeling in a country where there are huge inequalities in the distribution of national income and wealth. The best way to achieve national integration, to mobilize all our resources for rapid development and to archive stability is to make Nehrujis concept of Democratic Socialism a reality. For the national integration, it is essential that people should give up communal and sectarian outlook. They should reconsider themselves as Indians first and Indians last. Emotional and psychological integration is vital to national integration. National integration depends on the Indianization of the educated masses, eliminating parochial loyalties, establishing social justice and reconstructing the educational system to give it a truly national bias.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Comparing Odysseus and Norman essays

Comparing Odysseus and Norman essays By hero, we tend to mean a heightened man who, more than other men, possesses qualities of courage, loyalty, resourcefulness, charisma, above all, selflessness,(Zweig) is what Paul Zweig said in 1974. Mr. Zweig defined a hero as someone who has courage, loyalty, resourcefulness, charisma, and selflessness more than the average person. In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus displays characteristics of a hero, especially his charisma. In Sphere by Michael Crichton, Norman has heroic attributes, especially with his resourcefulness by using objects on the ship in times of need. Both Odysseus and Norman are characters who strive for a set goal, and thus display definite heroic attitudes, while both handling themselves in different ways. First, Odysseus and Norman show distinct differences in the way they approach people. Norman is a shy person when he handles himself in front of his crewmates. While speaking with Beth, he expresses his view on the creature that is terrorizing them. Beth, realizing Normans passiveness, attacks his ideas. The other members of the crew notice Beths harshness, and some sided with the soft-spoken Norman. The attribute of being shy when he talks to people was not, in fact, a weakness, but a distinct strength. This strengthens his support because it makes people more comfortable with him as a regular person without major motives, although this is not always true. On the other hand, Odysseus is a person who people feel comfortable with because of the confidence in his voice. When he is in Phaecia, he speaks of all his adventures up to that point in his attempt to relate to the people that he is speaking to. In his charismatic story telling, he becomes very popular with most of the citizens. Due to the bonds people feel with him, he parts with many fine gifts, finally heading home. Odysseus and Norman use different persuasive techniques to be persuade people t ...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Competitive GSM companies in Kazakhstan Case Study

Competitive GSM companies in Kazakhstan - Case Study Example The path of technological development cannot be bended and today's human interactions predominantly rely on advanced networking options applied greatly in every corner of the globe. This culture and society research project analyzes the competition between GSM companies in Kazakhstan, particularly 'K'cell' and 'K-mobile'. The emphasis is placed on social problems, including poor quality of service, prices, and customer attitudes. The research question is whether there is true competition between GSM companies in Kazakhstan, especially between 'K'cell' and 'K-mobile'. The spotlight of the research is how competition affects people living in Kazakhstan. One of the most significant innovations in mobile communications and cell telephony is associated with the approval of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) standard in 1984 by the European Commission. As of 2006, GSM was actively applied by more than two billion people in over 212 countries.1 In actual fact, GSM standard assumes cellular network that connects mobile phones by searching nearby cells. In turn, mobile phones operators apply GSM to provide international roaming worldwide. Customers apparently benefit from GSM application since it enables them to receive high digital voice quality at relatively low cost for calls and text messages. Another attribute of GSM popularity is the SIM card. Subscriber Identity Module, which is a detachable smart card that stores user data. Mobile operators are changed at users' discretion by simple replacement of SIM cards (GSM Association, 2007). Kazakhstan's Telecom Market Kazakhstan's telecom market is booming. According to the new legislation adopted in 2004, the telecom sector was liberalized and that stop 'Kazakh telecom' monopoly. Rapid development of the mobile market led to the increase of mobile subscribers (from 260,000 in 2000 to more than 5 million in early 2006) (Totel, 2006). At present, two leading GSM providers operating in the Kazakh domestic market are "K'cell" (60%) and "K-mobile" (30%) with the remaining 5% covered by other mobile operators. 'K'cell' was founded on 30 September, 1998 and since then it is symbolized by 'K'cell' and "Active" trade mark. The company involves such shareholders as 'GSM Kazakhstan', "Kazakh telecom" JSC and the joint company representing three countries, Finland, Turkey and Sweden, "Fin Tur Holdings B.V." Furthermore, 'K'cell' is a national leader, consider the scope of provided services, to number of subscribers (approx. 3.3 m.), and actual amount of investments. To prove this, during 2002-2005 the company was awarded the status of a lead cellular operator in Kazakhstan (K'Cell, 2006). In addition, the company was warded the prize called "Choice of the Year in Kazakhstan" and therefore became lead cellular

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Grafting Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Grafting - Term Paper Example Grafting of appropriate plants result in improved hardiness in plants, hardiness refers to the ability of a plant to endure harsh climatic conditions. Through successful grafting for example, the showy Western Australian plants currently can resist the heavy soils common in urban centers (Core, 2005). Grafting has succeeded developing appropriate plants that fit different ecological conditions prevalent in different parts of the world. As discussed earlier, grafting conjoins two unique plants together thus resulting in the development of a unique new species. The resultant species benefits from the productive features of both the stock and the scion. In most cases, the stock always provide effective adaptive features of the root to enable the new plant survive in particular conditions while the scion provides effective foliage and flowing features that improves the productivity of the resultant plants. Precocity is a unique ability introduced only through grafting. It refers to the process of inducing productivity in plants without necessarily undergoing the juvenile stage. Introducing a scion in a stock disrupts the growth patterns of the resulting plant. Among the major advantages of the disruptions is that most of the plants bypass juvenility a period of growth and maturity in the plants. By passing the stage, the plants immediately begin producing fruits. This increases the profitability of agribusiness by shortening the time that fruit plants take before becoming fruitful. Bypassing the stage of juvenility is fundamental in agribusiness owing go the length of the duration, juvenility may last up to nine years in different plants. Bypassing the stage safeguards the quality and productivity of the plants since the new plat is likely to perform better than the two parent plants while doing so within the shortest time possible.

Monday, November 18, 2019

Criminal Investigation - Cover Identity and Story Assignment

Criminal Investigation - Cover Identity and Story - Assignment Example There were people who sold drugs there and were involved in other criminal activities like stealing, terrorizing people, and so on. We formed a gang of our own and started enjoying activities such as troubling and terrorizing people, stealing things and snatching money from people. My mother was worried about my sisters and me. She enrolled me in a nearby school, but I always ran away from there to join my friends. I got arrested thrice till now. Once because of a street fight when I was sent to children’s jail, then because of stealing and hitting a woman in the juvenile jail and then once more to juvenile jail because of breaking in a house. Otherwise, I am the good player at doing certain activities for which, I get away without being arrested. Every time when I was arrested, I met with new friends who supported me in my life. I started living away from my mother and sisters when I turned fifteen. I do not know anything about them now, as I lead a self-reliant life now. I do not like to live with family or friends, as I like a lonely and independent life. However, I enjoy drinking and playing games with friends. Previously, I was in California and I ran from there because I had a clash with some people who tried to kill me. I need a place to live and want some work so that I can earn something for my survival. I can also live with someone who is ready to accommodate me and I can do the work that he assigns me to whatever nature it is. I can do all the works that a person can do. I can sell products legal or illegal as I have already sold drugs before in California. Nevertheless, you know that I have left the place now, so everything here is new for me and I want someone to help me. Part II: In two to three pages, explain how you chose this identity and how you will make it work. How does it fit your knowledge and experience? How will you remember your story and keep your statements/facts consistent? I chose the identity of a criminal with the help of Kozol’s book, â€Å"Fire in the Ashes: Twenty-five years among the poorest children in America."  Ã‚  

Friday, November 15, 2019

Theory Of Civilization And The Caribbean History Essay

Theory Of Civilization And The Caribbean History Essay Oswald Spengler was a German historian and philosopher. He was born in 1880 in Blankenburg. His parents were Protestants. His father came from a family of mine engineers while his mothers family had a bias towards the arts. Spengler inherited both traits as was evident in his interest in both arts and sciences. He grew up in an emotionally reserved home, leading him to turn to books for solace (Spengler, Oswald). Spengler studied a wide range of subjects in school including Greek, Latin, mathematics, natural sciences, poetry, drama and music. He also studied a wide range of courses at the universities of Munich, Berlin, and Halle including history, philosophy, mathematics, natural science, literature, music, and fine art. His doctoral dissertation was on Heraclitus, the Greek Philosopher.(Spengler, Oswald) Spengler worked as a teacher in several schools around German. Scholars who have attempted to study this Germany Philosopher note that his life was relatively uneventful and punctuated by long spells of loneliness. He died in 1936(Spengler, Oswald) Oswald Spengler is best known for his controversial book The Decline of the West, published in 1918, coinciding with the collapse of German. This was the first of his two-volume work. It was subtitled Form and Actuality, while the second volume was subtitled Perspectives of World History. (Stimely, n. pag) The emergence of first volume of The Decline of the West was received with mixed reactions around Europe. The main critics of this book were professional scholars and historians who claimed that Spengler was an amateur, not a trained historian. In spite of this, the book was a great success. Spenglers approach to history was inspired by Goethe, a German writer and Nietzsche, a philosopher (Spengler, Oswald). His approach entailed taking a direct look at things as opposed to strictly scientifically. Spengler was of the view that science often masked the real meaning of things and that the so-called professional historians were victims of this kind of blindness. As a result, Spengler believed in his ability to not only unravel the mystery that is history but also to predetermine it. According to Spengler, history is not the study of a consistent progression of events, but a comparative study of cultures (Spengler, Oswald). He rejected the linear view of history in support of the cyclical, implying that history comprised of events and developments that generally repeated themselves in cycles. Spengler was strongly opposed to the traditional way of categorizing history in terms of ancient, medieval, and modern. Instead he majored on eight cultures, sometimes referred to as Spenglers cultures. These cultures are Egyptian, Indian, Babylonian, Chinese, Classical (Greek and Roman), Mexican, Arabian and Western. (Spengler, Oswald) Each one of these cultures has its own unique features. For example the Egyptian culture was symbolized by their preoccupation with religion, architecture, such as the pyramids and art. Each culture too, evolves through a cycle of stages more or less like a plant through the stages of youth, maturity and then death (decline). Each culture, according to Spengler goes through its stage of civilization which could be referred to as its declining phase. In other words, civilization, according to Spengler is what remains of a culture after its development phase fades. In his book, Spengler mainly centers on comparisons between the Classical and Western cul tures and civilizations. He noted that the civilization of the West since the late nineteenth century exhibited similar characteristics to ancient (Greek and Roman) civilization in its decline. He claims that in each of these cultures 1000 years of active life there existed a cycle of development and decline (Stimely, n. pag). In his book, Spengler described the then Western culture as doomed and headed for extinction just like all the other high cultures that had existed earlier. He faulted it as being based on the illusion that everything would always get better and better eternally, instead of understanding it as having a distinct and fixed life-span moving from birth to maturity and then onto death just like in a living organism. The West, according to him was in the heart of its civilization phase and its end was probably just decades away. During the civilization phase, in a high culture there exists severe social disorder, mass movements of people, persistent wars and unending crises. At the same time, emergence of great megalopolis is witnessed, causing the surrounding rural areas to be drained of their strength, brains and spirituality. The residents of these new urban centers soon grow into immoral and materialistic people. Soon the push for democracy and a free press set in following the desire to amass more wealth and money. This leads to conflicts and supremacy battles between the new culture and the original culture, marked by bloodshed and strangulation of democracy. Only blood is seen as strong enough to overturn the rule of money. Eventually, the cities start to depopulate, with the people going back to the countryside and re-inventing their old religious and artistic symbolisms. This results in the end of the culture and the civilization that came with it. According to Spengler these phases recur within a p eriod of time and at some point in future, these great cultures will experience phases similar to those that they went through years back. He predicted that there would be recurrence of such events as the world wars followed later by a nearly united Western civilization. Spenglers theories opened up inspiring and divergent social views in the western civilization. A number of scholars and analysts continue to ponder over whether or not Spenglers analyses are correct, in spite of some of his predictions having come true. Many critics viewed his work as outright pessimism, although he remained one of the most read authors in the early 20th century years. Even his critics acknowledge that his greatest strong point was the parallel comparisons he made between the classical and western cultures. His strength in the arts played to his advantage during his study and analysis of different cultures. He is considered by some to have paved the way for National Socialism (Spengler, Oswald). The history of the Caribbean dates back to around 4500 B.C. Before the voyage of Christopher Columbus to the Americas and the subsequent colonization, civilization in the Caribbean was clearly organized and operational. It is believed that the coming of the Europeans into the Caribbean introduced ethnocentric beliefs that ensured the collapse or disintegration of their civilization. With more and more European countries claiming territorial shares in the Caribbean, rivalries emerged among these European nations, making the Caribbean battleground for European wars for many years. In addition to the instability caused by these wars, diversification was introduced in the Caribbean region bringing in new religions, cultures, architectural designs among others. Caribbean civilization has evolved from an ethnically and racially plural society to a relatively inclusive society comprising almost entirely of migrants from Africa, Europe and Asia. These peoples share a common history of colonialism and slavery in a blend of great diversity, thus making it a one-of-a-kind civilization. In addition, the Caribbean has a unique physical environment that has further played to attract in more foreigners, thus further diversifying their culture. Despite their widely varied backgrounds, the people of the Caribbean managed to forge a unity that resulted in one culture characterized by shared political ideologies, a common language and corporation aimed at improving each others lives. Looking back at Spenglers theory of civilization, it can be argued that it fell short in addressing racial differences among different cultures as is the case in the Caribbean. Spengler preferred to look at race as a minor difference in the members of the same race. He viewed race as not being of significant implications on the unity or disunity among people of the same culture. In so doing, Spengler contradicts the science of biology and heredity. In the Caribbean case, the unique mixture of people from different racial backgrounds was a significant factor in the development of their civilization. Further, Spengler considers each culture and civilization as a closed and isolated unit, bound together only by a common strong idea or belief. Critics argue that such ideas cannot undergo organic evolution as purported by Spengler since they are a mere creation of the human mind, lacking any substance. If that were the case, the Caribbean civilization would have been long gone the way of the classical culture. By only studying a few cultures, Spengler was, according to critics, not better placed to generalize on the fate of all civilizations since he did not have accurate information. Finally, Spenglers theory claims that each of civilization came into being independently without borrowing from other cultures. The Classical cultures existed and became extinct in totality. On the other hand, the West viewed their modern civilization as a rebirth or continuation of the Classical civilization. The similarities in some of these cultures therefore clearly points to the fact that there exists an inter-relation between them that continues to survive the test of time. The Caribbean civilization borrows from a number of other cultures and civilizations from Europe, African and Asia shaping them into a single strong culture.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Are Prisons Effective? Essay -- Papers Criminal System Jail Prison Cri

Are Prisons Effective? Imprisonment; is it beneficial or non-beneficial? This argument is presented from the viewpoint of both sides of this issue. One group, "The Council on Crime in America", is pro-incarceration; while on the other side of this issue, " The National Criminal Justice Commission", is con-incarceration. Both sides have presented their viewpoints clearly and factually. Those who are for incarceration present their opinions in such a way as to sway the reader toward accepting what they say as the only answer to fight back against the growing crime rate. If the prisoners are locked up in prisons, then they cannot commit crimes. Moreover, they feel that the criminals can be rehabilitated behind bars. Also, they view imprisonment as a deterrent against future crimes. For example, if a law-breaker sees his friend imprisoned for a crime he committed, then the other party will be less willing to break the law and end up in prison as well. Furthermore, punishment itself would satisfy most of society when the criminal is imprisoned. Prison offers law-breakers a chance to receive drug treatment, educational benefits, and as stated before, a chance at rehabilitation. Also, incarceration costs less than leaving criminals out of prisons because the cost of housing inmates is less than the cost of their crimes incur. Plus, those in favor of imprisonment state that most inmates are repeat offenders that have probably committed many crimes that they have not even been caught committing. For example, some people feel that "low level drug dealers" should not be imprisoned, but these so called "low level drug dealers" usually can be credited with other crimes. Pro-incarceration feels that putting these crimi... ...obbers must be incarcerated, but the balance of non-violent criminals does not treat every criminal the same. More minorities and poor whites end up behind bars than those who can afford a high priced lawyer. Moreover, only the strong survive in prison while the weak or new prisoners are subject to rape, robbery and beatings. Thus, inmates must resort to survival tactics just to get by from day to day. This makes a non-violent offender worse than before he or she arrived at prison. Prisoners who have committed the same exact crimes do not always get the same time serve. Prisoners get humiliated besides being punished. When these prisoners are released, they must rebuild their self-esteem and families. Plus, if imprisonment was meant to be a deterrent against crime, why are there so many other criminals ready to take over for the criminal who is incarcerated.

Monday, November 11, 2019

All About Dream

How does the power of the human imagination influence artists and designers in producing fantastic, dreamlike creation? Have you ever imagined you slept in an ‘over-sized’ shirt, as a bed you usually sleep on? Have you ever dreamt about dressing into a hot air balloon or have you ever thought that you saw a strange thing in the world which was a fish but had a human body? People always think these kinds of thoughts are over the top, but this is all about fantasy, our dreams and human imagination. Designers are able to create fascinating work; artists are able to construct gorgeous creations, because of the human imagination. In 1940 Dali summed up his aspiration to create objects, ‘I try to create fantastic things, magical things and things like a dream. The world needs more fantasy. Our civilization is too mechanical. ’ I will never forget his words, especially when he said, ‘We can make the fantastic real and then it is more real than that which actually exists. ’ I agree with him. I think the world needs more fantasy. People seem to forget how to dream and what dreams are. They are too sensible now. In my personal study, I would like to look at how the power of the human imagination influences artists and designers in their creations. I will first of all look at the surrealism movement which first appeared in Paris in 1924. In Oxford Intermediate Learner’s Dictionary, ‘surreal’ is an adjective which means images mixed together in a strange way like in a dream. In art, it is an expression of eccentric thoughts of the subconscious mind. Surrealist artists always create something which people think are nonsense, because their creation is influenced by their imagination and it is something that comes from dreams. There were lots of famous artists who came from the surrealism movement; Rene Magritte is one of the popular artists within this movement. Unlike other surrealist artists’ work, of rich and complex layers, Magritte’s works are straight forward and accessible. In â€Å"Magritte† written by Richard Calvocoressi, he described the way Magritte’s style was concentrated on the relation between the image of an object and object itself. I am totally in agreement with him. In addition, I have chosen to look at The Listening Room by Magritte. This is an example of the relation between the object and another object, by reducing the size of the room and enlarging the size of the apple. Magritte had tried to provoke a reaction from the audience. I found this picture especially interesting, because it clearly demonstrates how the artist uses his imagination and sub conscious to express his ideas. In 1956, Magritte wrote, ‘For me the conception of a picture is an idea of one thing or several things that can become visible through my painting. ’ I think Magritte means that his paintings are a means of expressing his ideas and his imagination. In The Listening Room which has a gigantic apple in its tiny room is one of the examples of Magritte’s variation of the objects scale. The apple is depicted realistically but the fact that it is so large within the room is very disconcerting. We cannot tell whether the apple is too big or the room is undersized. In his book Richard Calvocoressi has interpreted the painting as â€Å"a feeling of claustrophobia, of near panic,† this is generated by the sight of the objects, â€Å"behaving irrationally or adopting human characteristics. † I strongly agree with his idea that the painting makes you feel breathless in the room which makes the audience have a deep impression. In ‘VOGUE’ April 2006, there was an article with a surreal photograph which linked in the topic of ‘Small space, Big Idea’. The idea of the picture is basically same as ‘The listening room’. A model suffered in an unfitted room which is as big as she is. It seems that the model is a giant, otherwise is a model come to a draft house. When I first look at this picture, a feel of claustrophobia and uncomfortable were came into my mind. The picture had just gave a very deep impression to the audience. Magritte has written that, ‘The only thing that engages me is the mystery world. I think this means that he likes to challenge his audience with a sense of unusual and the strange. Calvocoressi went on to say ‘these ideas were in the nature of speculation on the world. ’ I think that by this he means that surrealist artists were challenging their audience to look at the world in a different ways, and try to introduce the world of fan tasy. Magritte is also successfully bringing surreal fantasy into our daily life. Just like Magritte, Salvador Dali is another famous surrealist. He had and enormous impact on twentieth-century painting. He based all his work on the human imagination and sub conscious. I found ‘Three Young Surrealistic Women Holding in Their Arms the Skins of An Orchestra' which is painted in 1936 is particularly interested me, because the image in the objects in the painting are strange and behaving in a strange way. In his seminal essay ‘The conquest of the Irrational'(1935), Dali has described his quest, ‘My whole ambition in painting manifest the images of concrete irrationality in terms of authoritative precision†¦images which for the moment can neither be explained nor reduced by logical systems or rational approaches. I think Dali means he is trying to show irrational images using a visual language. Therefore his fantasy world could actually come ‘alive'. This is another great example of Dali's variation of objects melting. It shows three shapely but mysteries women who are standing on a sandy place, holding fluid instruments which seem to be slide away from them. The colour of the piano is sandy colour which is confusing as to whether the piano is made of sand or not. The women are portrayed with heads of flowers, which adds a calming and serene effect to the painting. In Dalinian symbolism the heads of flowers represent the sexuality of the woman. In the background, we have a landscape of Catalonia, the rocky crags that line the Mediterranean Sea near Port Lligat and Cape Creus. Behind the woman who is holding the piano skin, there seem to be a reflection of the rocky crag, but because of the colour of the ground, we cannot tell whether there is the sea or not. It seem to me they are inside a very quiet place, which I believe is the colour effect, because the major colour of the picture is white, which represent innocence, purity and virginity. In 1938, Elsa Schiaparelli interprets images from three Dali’s painting of 1936, which are Necrophiliac Springtime, The Dream Place Its Hand On Man’s Shoulder and Three Young Surrealist Women Holding in Their Arms The Skins of An Orchestra. She create a real dress taking the idea out of those three painting. ‘The real dress (like the dream dress in the paintings) dissolves the boundary between clothing and body. ’ In Surreal Things by Glislaine Wood. The dress is like the garment wear in the painting Three Young Surrealist Women Holding in Their Arms The Skins of An Orchestra, Schiaparelli may use a flimsy fabric with a next to the skin cutting to bring the woman in the painting into the live. The pattern on the fabric designed by Salvador Dali, which is ‘printed with the illusion of torn animal skin’, suit in the painting, where the women are wearing a torn white dress. Another accompanying with the garment is the veil which ‘appliqued with fabric that adds a third dimension to the illusionary tears. The collection finale has featured a traditional wedding dress but twisted in the surreal way, which again synthesized human imagination as well as surrealist’s dream and bring it into the daily life. ‘Schiaparelli’s designs often lost their Surrealist references when the original model copied by department-store couture salons or by manufacturer who adapted them for the mass market. ’ B y Glislaine Wood. When surrealism’s designs faced the population, they often lose some of their colours. We are still in a realistic world; instead of a dreamland create by ourselves. We still need to be more realistic about the fashion we wear in our daily life. Although that is the fact, human imagination is affecting our daily life. In the way, I have chosen to look at Viktor & Rolf ‘s collection in Fall Winter 2005, because they had put their imagination into the real life, every garment in this collection are fantasy creation. They had been inspired everything by bed, and able to convert this idea to a wearable collection. Viktor & Rolf dreamed up a surreal idea, ‘Why not go to work in your bed? ‘(written by Sarah Mower in style. com). It had make me queries about this idea. Firstly, we will never go to work in our bed, also how can this dreamlike idea come to realistic; secondly, how can it link to their collection. As soon as I looked at the collection, my queries had all been answered. The first model had come down on runway with her hair spread over on a lace-edged cotton pillow as a ‘collar', with neatly folded over sheet as her coat. On my personal view, she looked like a sleeping beauty and dressed into a sleeping bed. In fact, ‘Viktor & Rolf don't allow surrealist antics to block the view of their increasingly accomplished way with smartly normal cloth'(written by Sarah Mower in style. om). After the sleeping beauties, they had a second part of the collection. The most eye catching garment was a white lacing edges with a great contribution of folded fronts. The garment has show the exaggeration a normal white shirt created by human imagination. The garment was a very simple design but after twisted by imagination of the design, it bec ame a dreamlike fantasy. The Viktor & Rolf Fall Winter 2005/06 collection had show a series of surrealistic ideas, the power of human imagination had influenced Viktor & Rolf's creation. By having simple daily object, bedspread needlework, the idea had been turned into a array of skirts, jackets and pant. The result is they had made up a dreamy night. ‘In many ways, Surrealism carried the seeds of its own commercialization. ’ By Glislaine Wood. Surrealism has influenced lots of craft work and design, especially fashion design. ‘Fashion design has long had a huge admiration for this movement and many of our leading designers will admit to be influenced by it. ’ By Alexandra Shulman. Surrealism had inspired lots of fashion designers’ works, especially for the haute couture. A sense of exaggeration needed to provoke the audience in haute couture fashion show. The Haute Couture in Christian Dior by John Galliano will be a great representation. John Galliano has a little reformation on 22nd of January, 2007 with glamorous, recreated the traditional Japanese art in his extraordinary style, transferred these ideas on to fabric and created a speechless fashion show for Christian Dior haute couture spring 2007. Everything about this collection is inspired, John Galliano said,† by Pinkerton's affair with Cio-Cio San, Madame Butterfly† With regard to this nspiration, every models in this collection has given a ‘fully painted, red lips and full Kabuki style make up' ( Camilla Morton, elle. com) The make up are obviously overstate, but the clothes do not make the audience be disappointed as well. The first exited model shown a bright pink formal jacket with an enlarged origami collar and pockets, decorated with beading and embroidery; the other m odel came to the stage with a big lily origami laid over on her shoulder, the fabric used for the lily look like a traditional Japanese origami paper. On my personal view, she looked like a flower fairy dance on the stage. The surprise will never ended in Galliano's creation. A bright green kimono-like jacket, with a exaggerated large gathered sleeve and very traditional Japanese pattern, underneath this gorgeous jacket, we have a sleeveless, long shaped yellow dress with the same pattern on the jacket. This garment was really stand out because of the colour. This collection ‘reconfirmed his unique talent to evoke beauty, sensitivity, narrative, and emotion in fashion show' (written by Sarah Mower in style. om) These garments to the population are over-the-top, but they are coming from human imagination, they are dreamlike creature, the most important point is they are not just a art pieces but wearable. Although the collection has a theme of Japanese costume, but it is different from the original. They are full of imagination and dreamlike creature, this make Sarah Mower in style. com think, ‘What psychological process did it take to lift John Galliano to the extraordinary place of brilliance he reached–or rediscovered–in his spring couture? From the stage set decorated with cherry blossoms, to the garments themselves, everything is surreal and has been exaggerated. The Japanese art of paper folding has been used in fabric and give the garment an extra decoration. Everything is like a dream in this fashion, something different and something new has explored by John Galliano. Using a culture as a theme does not mean changing something on the traditional clothing, but by research the art of culture and putting them into the design are always important. ‘The world needs more fantasy. Our civilization is too mechanical. ’ By Salvador Dali in 1940. I believed in what he had said, I thought our world is too reasonable and sensible. Those realist think the people have dream are having a airy-fairy mind. For those dreams which can not become true, the realist using their realistic mind thinks we are just a dreamer, no contribution, nonsense and desk studying. However they have never recognized how important dream and human imagination is, without those unrestrained and vigorous idea, we cannot progress and penetrate more. Nowadays the society is too realistic, we have so many rule to constraint ourselves, therefore we need dreams and imagination to break through those inappropriate rules. We can make the fantastic real and then it is more real than that which actually exists’ By Salvador Dali. This world should be a unconstraint world, people are realistic, because we live in a commercial world, everything is particulars in their own values. No one would like to pay more; this is how our society becomes self-concerned world . If we can imagine more, create more and pay more attention to the surrounding, and try to be less realistic than before, we can produce the real fantasy and it will be ‘more real than that which actually exists. ’

Friday, November 8, 2019

Girl Scouts Honor essays

Girl Scouts Honor essays Girl Scouts of the United States was founded in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low, its membership started in Savannah, Georgia. Members of Girl Scouts rose from 18 to nearly four million today. Its known as the world's largest organization dedicated to helping all girls everywhere build character and gain skills for success in the real world. Girl scouts members develop strong values, leadership skills, social conscience, and confidence about their own potential and self-esteem that will serve them all their lives. The Purpose of Girl Scouting is to inspire girls with the highest principles of character, conduct, patriotism, and service that they may become happy and resourceful citizens. All girls from ages 5-17 can participate in the fun, friendship, and power of girls together through the Girl Scout experience, including community service projects, cultural exchanges, building sport skills, and environmental preservations. The Girl Scouts launched a program last year titled "For Every Girl, Everywhere," and performed major outreach among its membership, particularly in terms of trying to reach more Hispanic girls(Taylor. 2002, Advertising Age). The Hispanic market isn't the only minority audience on which the Girl Scouts see a need to make an effort. The Girl Scouts first worked to identify the common ground between the Girl scouts and Hispanics, and then create the "Cultural Awareness Training Program," which would lead to more successful recruiting(Taylor. 2002, Advertising Age). The volunteers are given various ideas on what kind of events they can hold, such as "Pedicure Night" which a local volunteer sponsored to create a comfortable atmosphere for the girls. In the United States there are approximately thirty Girl Scouts Beyond Bars programs, most of them limited to providing only one service: once-a-month visits to the prisons(Freedman. 2003, Texas Monthly).That's because every girl in this troop has or has ...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

What Is NATO A Short Introduction

What Is NATO A Short Introduction SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you’re thinking about taking the AP U.S. History or AP World History exams, it’s important that you have a good understanding of the major events and organizations that have shaped the nation- and the world. One critical topic that you should know about is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO. If you’ve watched the news (or listened in history class!), you’ve probably heard the term NATO mentioned quite a bit. But what is NATO, exactly? And why is NATO important? In this short but sweet guide, we’ll give you all the need-to-know information about NATO, like NATO’s definition, an overview of NATO history, and a look into how NATO works today. We’ll also give you a short list of additional resources that you can check out for evenmoreinformation. So let’s get started! What Is NATO: Definition and Overview So what is NATO, exactly? The general purpose of NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, starts with NATO’s definition: NATO a multi-national political and military alliance dedicated to the collective security and defense of its member nations. NATO operates on the belief that a strong international alliance is critical to maintaining peace. Beyond helping member nations with issues of security and stability, NATO also provides support to the United Nations help with international peacekeeping operations, including missions that combat terrorism, protect civilians, and promote world peace. Originally founded on April 4th, 1949 when its 12 founding members signed the North Atlantic Treaty, NATO is now comprised of 29 members from around the world and has political partnerships with 21 other nations. Together, all of the NATO countries work together to â€Å"guarantee the freedom and security† of its member nations through a combination of international diplomacy, conflict prevention, and- if necessary- military intervention. This picture was taken outside of NATO's second headquarters in Paris, France in the 1950s A Glimpse Into NATO History: NATO’s Formation To fully answer the question â€Å"What is NATO?†, it’s important to understand the historical and political context behind NATO’s formation. The End of World War II and the Rise of the American Superpower World War II was perhaps the most defining moment of the 20th century. The Second World War pitted the world’s greatest powers against one another through two opposing military alliances: the Axis and the Allies. The United States- along with France, Poland, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and 21 other nations- banded together to fight against the Axis powers and Hitler’s plan to create a new world order. The war, which started on September 1, 1939, would rage for six long and bloody years before its conclusion on September 2, 1945. Historians estimate that the war resulted in 85 million casualties, including the 6 million Jews who were killed during the Holocaust. The end of World War II caused the global political winds to shift overnight. Most of Europe, which was already struggling after World War I, ended World War II economically devastated. Not only was the population decimated, 70 percent of Europe’s industrial infrastructure had been destroyed during the conflict. This caused Europe’s economy- including the economies of the world’s biggest political empires- to collapse. As a result, the United States suddenly found itself positioned as one of the world’s leading economic and political superpowers for three major reasons. First, the country’s late entry into the theater limited World War II’s economic toll. In fact, quite the opposite happened. Because the United States supplied the Allied forces with food, weapons, and military equipment, World War II created a booming wartime economy for the States. The Second World War was such a boon to the American economy that it actually ended the Great Depression! Second, the United States saw almost no action on its own soil (with the exception of the Attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941). That meant that America didn’t have to undertake the massive, and expensive, rebuilding effort of its Western European allies. Third, and perhaps most importantly, the United States bankrolled the reconstruction of Europe...for a profit, of course. American Corporations involved in the war effort saw ballooning profits because of the reconstruction efforts, which were bolstered by The 1946 Marshall Plan, which pledged an additional $13 billion dollars to Europe in aid. So while the United States was committed to helping their fellow Allied powers rebuild, it wasn’t afraid to build its own economy at the same time. The Soviet Union, the Cold War, and Communism But the United States wasn’t the only emerging world power after the Second World War. Despite fighting alongside one another during World War II, the alliance between the Soviet Union (or USSR) and the United States started to deteriorate during the post-war reconstruction period. As World War II began winding down, the communist Soviet Union- led by Joseph Stalin- began its own imperialist expansion. The Soviet Union had managed the eastern front of the World War II battle theater, and as the Red Army beat back Germany, set up its own occupation of formerly German-occupied states like Poland and Czechoslovakia. And rather than relinquish these nations at the close of the war, the Soviet Union maintained control and installed pro-communist regimes. The Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe, along with the USSR’s blockade of West Berlin in an attempt to gain political control of post-war Germany, convinced the United States that the Soviet Union had become a threat to democracy on par with the now-defeated Nazi Germany. Thus, the U.S. government adopted a policy of containment in order to halt the spread of communism into Western Europe. Additionally, the U.S. revealed the Truman Doctrine in 1947, which was a foreign policy that promised American aid to any democratic country that was threatened by outside totalitarian regimes. While the United States and its allies started to view the Soviet Union as an emerging communist threat, the Soviets had also soured on their alliance with the West. The USSR had suffered catastrophic casualties during World War II. The country had lost 11 million soldiers and suffered between 7 million and 20 million civilian casualties. The Soviet economy was also struggling. Beyond spending $125 billion on wartime efforts, the USSR’s economy had simultaneously shrunk by 20 percent between 1941 and 1945. The USSR had sacrificed both manpower and resources to defeat Nazi Germany, and it was sorely in need of financial assistance during post-war reconstruction. The United States was willing to offer the Soviets financial aid under The Marshall Plan, but the USSR wasn’t happy with the stipulations. First, the plan offered aid to Germany, which Russia disagreed with. The USSR, which now occupied Eastern Germany, wanted total control over whatever funds Germany received as part of The Marshall Plan. Second, The Marshall Plan required countries that accepted aid to adopt elements of democratic governance, including instituting principles of a free market economy. Stalin suspected- and rightly so- that The Marshall Plan was designed to weaken the USSR’s hold on the newly-acquired Eastern Bloc countries and, in turn, stymie communist expansion. As a consequence, Stalin required the Eastern Bloc nations, which were devastated by the war, to reject The Marshall Plan and instead instituted The Molotov Plan, which pledged to rebuild Eastern Europe. This tension led to both sides drawing a line in the sand. The Soviets and the United States positioned themselves on opposite sides of an ideological battle between communism and democracy, which marked the beginning of The Cold War. This is the NATO Authentication certificate that allsignatoriesreceivedafter signing the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949.Archive/U.S. Diplomacy Center Signing the North Atlantic Treaty The writing was on the wall: the Allied powers had defeated one totalitarian enemy only to suspect that another in the form of Soviet Russia was waiting on their doorstep. The United States feared the outbreak of another major war as tensions with the USSR escalated, and President Harry S. Truman believed that a strong political alliance was critical in containing the Soviet threat. As a result, Truman called for the formation of a defensive alliance of countries bordering the North Atlantic. The foundational idea behind this alliance was to serve as a deterrent against the USSR’s expansion into Western Europe. To do this, the signing nations agreed to a system of mutual defense. If one country was attacked by an outside power (like the USSR), it would be perceived as an attack against all of the alliance’s member nations. That would allow the United States to step in and help its democratic allies beat back a Soviet incursion, which in turn would prevent the encroachment of communism into Western Europe. This alliance was formalized with the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington D.C. on April 4, 1949. These 12 originating countries, all of which were part of the Allied forces during World War II, created the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO. Master Sgt. Scott Wagers/Defense Department NATO’s Requirements for Membership In 1949, NATO limited its membership to 12 allied nations that shared a border with the Atlantic Ocean. But as the world became more connected politically and economically, NATO recognized the need to expand its membership. As of today, NATO membership is now open â€Å"any other European state in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area.† As a result, NATO membership as more than doubled since the alliance’s inception and now includes 29 member nations. (You can find a complete list of member countries a little later in this article!) NATO has expanded over the past 70 years, but membership criteria remains strict. Admission into NATO is outlined in Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty. Here’s what it says: The Parties may, by unanimous agreement, invite any other European State in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area to accede to this Treaty. Any State so invited may become a Party to the Treaty by depositing its instrument of accession with the Government of the United States of America. The Government of the United States of America will inform each of the Parties of the deposit of each such instrument of accession. Article 10 puts three stipulations on aspiring member states. First, new members must agree to all the elements of the North Atlantic Treaty, including its commitment to democracy and collective defense. Second, only European states can become members. And third, in order to join an aspiring nation must meet all the criteria set forth by current member states, which is summarized in a Membership Action Plan (MAP). NATO’s Membership Action Plan The MAP is the backbone of NATO’s admissions process and while it’s customized to fit each potential country, the MAP also requires each applying nation to report on its progress in each of five areas each year (until admission is granted or denied). These five areas are: Democracy: Willingness to settle international, ethnic or external territorial disputes by peaceful means, commitment to the rule of law and human rights, and democratic control of armed forces Finances: Ability to contribute to the organization's defense and missions Cooperation: Devotion of sufficient resources to armed forces to be able to meet the commitments of membership Security: Security of sensitive information, and safeguards ensuring it Compatibility: Compatibility of domestic legislation with NATO cooperation In addition to these general areas, each member nation is allowed to present additional criteria member nations must meet to gain admission. That means that each MAP is tailor-fit to each applying country; no two membership plans are alike! When a country receives a MAP, NATO provides feedback and advice to petitioning countries and evaluates their progress after their annual presentation. Once a country has met all the admissions criteria outlined in its MAP, NATO gives it an invitation to begin accession talks. NATO is selective about countries it gives a MAP to; in fact, countries must be nominated for admission into NATO by a current member nation before a MAP is ever considered! As of 2019, two countries- Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia- have a Membership Action Plan in place. Beyond being selective, NATO’s admissions process is a long one. How long, exactly? The three countries most recently admitted into NATO (Albania, Croatia, and Montenegro) took seven to eight years to complete their Membership Action Plans! Colin Watts/Unsplash Funding NATO Since NATO is a collective, each member nation is expected to contribute to the alliance financially. There are two ways member nations do this: through indirect and direct contributions. Indirect Contributions These are the largest pool of contributions and come when member countries volunteer resources to help NATO enact a policy or support a mission. For example, an indirect contribution would be a country contributing troops, equipment, or supplies to support one of NATO’s crisis management missions. Additionally, the country- not NATO- bears the cost for this donation. (In other words, countries donate these things at their own expense!) Direct Contributions Unlike indirect contributions, direct contributions are made financially. In other words, these are liquid funds that are used to support projects that benefit all member nations collectively. Each member nation is required to meet some form of its funding requirements through direct contributions. This is because there are some missions, like diplomatic or aid endeavors, that are best handled through immediate spending. How Much Do Countries Donate? So, how much is each country expected to pay into the collective NATO pool? Well, that depends. NATO uses a cost-sharing formula that accounts for each nation’s Gross Domestic Product, or GDP. This is calculated by percentage. In 2014, in an effort to increase NATO’s defense efforts, the NAC agreed to require each country to donate two percent of their GDP to NATO’s operating budget through indirect and direct contributions. This helps keep things fair. If NATO set a specific dollar amount that each country had to meet, smaller countries might struggle to meet their financial obligations. This way, each country can contribute based on how their economy is performing, which helps keep the financial burden of NATO membership equal. European NATO member nations are in navy blue Current NATO Member Nations NATO was originally founded by twelve nations that shared borders with the Atlantic Ocean, NATO membership has grown to include 29 nations from all around the world. Here’s a list of every nation currently in NATO along with their entrance date. (We’ve bolded the names of the founding 12 nations for easy reference, too.) Albania (2009) Greece (1952) Poland (1999) Belgium (1949) Hungary (1999) Portugal (1949) Bulgaria (2004) Iceland (1949) Romania (2004) Canada (1949) Italy (1949) Slovakia (2004) Croatia (1949) Latvia (2004) Slovenia (2004) Czech Republic (1999) Lithuania (2004) Spain (1982) Denmark (1949) Luxembourg (1949) Turkey (1952) Estonia (2004) Montenegro (2017) The United Kingdom (1949) France (1949) Netherlands (1949) The United States (1949) Germany (1955) Norway (1949) NATO's official flag NATO’s Purpose Today Although NATO was formed as a deterrent for the USSR’s expansion and the spread of communism, NATO didn’t disband when the USSR collapsed in 1991. Instead, NATO continues to fulfill the NATO definition of defending its members and supporting democracy to this day. In a 2010 Strategic Concept agreement, NATO states its three core tasks as collective defense, crisis management, and cooperative security. These three goals form the backbone of NATO and steer its decisions. In the next section, we’ll take a look at each of these three pillars more closely. Collective Defense First and foremost, NATO serves as a defensive alliance founded on upholding democratic values and principles. Its primary purpose is creating a network of collective defense, which means that member nations work together to ensure that all countries in the alliance are secure from outside threats. NATO does this by sharing knowledge, financial, and personnel resources with member nations. This includes sharing intelligence, but it also involves more practical tactics like bringing countries’ military technology up to date. While NATO’s first goal is to resolve international conflicts diplomatically, the alliance is also set up to use military force to defend allied nations when necessary. This aspect of collective defense (also known as NATO’s Article 5) and was the major reason NATO was founded in 1949. This principle states that if one nation is attacked by an outside force, the alliance will view it as an attack on every member nation. In other words, attacking one member of NATO means that all the countries in the alliance will respond. This allows bigger, more powerful countries in the alliance to protect its smaller NATO allies. In turn, smaller nations give NATO better tactical positioning in relationship to potentially adversarial global powers (like Russia and China). By essentially surrounding potential adversaries with allied nations, NATO disincentivises territorial expansion. Crisis Management Because NATO is committed to maintaining global peace by promoting security, the organization is also committed to responding to global crises before, during, and after they arise. This includes a mix of military and non-military tactics which are tailored to each crisis, which in turn dictates the scope and scale of NATO’s response. NATO is also positioned to help other political allies, like the United Nations, in their responses to global crises. Most recently, NATO implemented the UN’s resolution to protect civilians in Libya during its civil war. Finally, because crisis management supports NATO’s commitment to security, NATO helps its member nations and political allies train in crisis management techniques. This ensures that NATO can respond quickly with an international effort whenever an international crisis arises. Cooperative Security NATO’s last, and newest, core task is cooperative security. Introduced in 2010, this task focuses on creating an extended network of cooperation between member and non-member countries to tackle global problems quickly and efficiently. To do this, NATO focuses on strengthening its relationships with partner nations. These are countries who aren’t part of NATO but work with NATO to tackle security problems in their region and across the world. As of 2019, NATO works with 40 other nations in some capacity. The goal of these partnerships is to share information, knowledge, and other resources in order to create more stability and security across the globe. Additionally, NATO makes sure that all of its member nations have fairly equal military and technological capabilities. This also includes training: all member nations have access to NATO trainers to make sure countries have the knowledge and skills they need to respond to security threats. By making sure all member nations are capable partners, NATO as a whole becomes stronger. A meeting of the North Atlantic Council in 2010Wikimedia NATO’s Command Structure NATO nations are committed to working together as part of the alliance and work together on a daily basis. In terms of the alliance’s operational structure, NATO is split into two major categories: the NATO diplomatic delegations and the military representatives. Let’s take a closer look at both to see how NATO nations work together to make decisions and work together toward their common goals. NATO Diplomatic Delegations and the North Atlantic Council The diplomatic delegations represent the political arm of NATO. Each NATO member nation sends a delegation to represent their country to NATO’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. These representatives attend around 6,000 meetings a year! The most important element of NATO’s political arm is the North Atlantic Council, or the NAC. This council oversees the political and military processes that affect the alliance. To this end, the NAC serves as the political decision-making body of NATO. In other words, any NATO decision- whether that’s an initiative, resolution, or military action- is voted on by the NAC. To keep representation equal, each member nation has one seat on the NAC, which meets once a week. And just like collective defense, the NAC operates through collective decision making. Unlike the U.S. legislature, where decisions are approved by majority vote, the NAC only implements policies that are â€Å"agreed upon on the basis of unanimity and common accord.† In other words, the NAC makes decisions through consensus, and those decisions represent the will of every member country on the council. The diplomatic branch of NATO has one other notable subcommittee called the Nuclear Planning Group (NPG). Like the NAC, every NATO member nation (with the exception of France, which decided not to participate) has representation within the committee whether they have nuclear capabilities or not. The group’s goal is to monitor nuclear forces around the globe while shaping NATO’s own nuclear policies in regards to arms control and nuclear proliferation. Thus, the NPG deals specifically with nuclear issues and reports to the NAC, who makes the final decision on anything the Nuclear Planning Group puts forward. The NATO Military Committee delivers remarks to the press Dominique A. Piniero/U.S. Department of Defense Military Representatives and the Military Committee Because NATO is a defense alliance, NATO has a military branch of operation, too. This branch is comprised of three operational groups: the Military Committee (MC), Allied Command Operations (ACO), and Allied Command Transformation (ACT). Let’s take a look at all three groups and their unique responsibilities. The Military Committee This committee advises the NAC on military policy and strategy and is charged with enacting all of NAC’s military-based decisions. Its main job is to oversee NATO’s military operations and translate the NAC’s decisions into military direction. Similar to the NAC, each nation has one representative that sits on the Military Committee. These seats are held by each member state’s Chief of Defense (or their proxy) and meet at least once a week to discuss ongoing operations and ongoing security concerns. Additionally, the Military Committee oversees the other two groups of the military branch: Allied Command Operations and Allied Command Transformation. Allied Command Operations NATO’s ACO is headquartered in Mons, Belgium at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), and it’s run by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). The ACO is responsible for the planning and execution of all Alliance operations and reports to the Military Committee. So once the NAC decides to use military force for crisis management, the control of the operation is turned over to the ACO, which runs the operation from beginning to end. To do this, ACO has three overlapping operational levels: strategic, operational, and tactical. This allows ACO to run complete military operations, including the command of both NATO and joint military forces (which are military forces â€Å"donated† to NATO by member nations for use in NATO-sanctioned operations). But as the world changes, so has the ACO’s role in NATO. The newest responsibility of ACO was assigned by the North Atlantic Council in 2018. After their meeting in Brussels, the NAC decided to establish a Cyberspace Operations Centre dedicated to defending member nations against cyber attacks from outside forces, too. Allied Command Transformation NATO’s ACT is the second branch of military command in NATO and was formed in 2003 to help NATO address future threats. It is located in Norfolk, Virginia and is run by the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, or SACT. Like the ACO, the SACT reports to the Military Committee and is responsible for making sure that ACT and NATO are preparing for modern and future threats to the security of its member nations. Put another way, the goal of ACT is to plan for the future. Its job is to lay the groundwork for NATO’s military forces to adapt quickly to changing threats and prepare for security issues looming on the horizon. This includes reporting to the Military Committee and advising them on current tactics and future problems. Additionally,ACT is charged with bringing all member nations up to speed in terms of their military capabilities. Not only do they provide training to member nations’ military forces, they serve as a sort of lobby group to persuade member nations’ governments to invest in security and military preparedness, too. A Spanish F-18 takes off on aNATO bombing run during the Bosnian War Dixie Trawick/U.S. National Archives Key Moments in NATO History Ever since its founding in 1949, NATO has been a key actor in global political, military, and peacekeeping efforts. Here are some of the most pivotal moments in NATO’s seventy-year history. 1991: Collapse of the USSR In 1991, the USSR officially disbanded, granting each of its formerly-sovereign nations back their independence. This brought NATO’s original operating mission (and The Cold War) to an end; after all, NATO was originally created to stop the USSR and the spread of communism. Instead of disbanding, NATO nations decided to continue NATO’s mission of promoting peace, freedom, and collective security. 1995: The Bosnian War The Bosnian War began in 1992 with the breakup of Yugoslavia. As the situation deteriorated, the United Nations called for a no-fly zone to be set up over Bosnia and Herzegovina. NATO stepped in to manage the operation on behalf of the UN and took its first military action when NATO shot down four Bosnian Serb aircraft that were violating the no-fly zone. 1999: Kosovo Intervention The Kosovo War began in 1998, and soon after the fighting began, reports began to trickle in about the displacement of more than 250,000 Albanians. The United Nations responded with a resolution calling for a ceasefire. When the resolution failed to stop the conflict, NATO issued an â€Å"activation warning,† which meant NATO was prepared to use military force to mitigate the conflict. When peace talks deteriorated, NATO launched an air campaign that included bombing of key targets. NATO also played a key role in negotiating the end of the war and helping restore stability by stationing 30,000 troops in Kosovo. 2001: September 11th, 2001 The terrorist attacks that brought down the Twin Towers in New York were the first foreign attack on U.S. soil since the bombing of Pearl Harbor during World War II. The attacks led NATO to invoke Article 5- which states that an attack on one ally is an attack on all- within 24 hours. In doing so, â€Å"NATO members showed their solidarity toward the United States and condemned, in the strongest possible way, the terrorist attacks against the United States.† 2003: War in Afghanistan As a result of Article 5, NATO nations rallied to support the United States’ conflict in Afghanistan. NATO agreed to eight official actions/missions, which included the deployment of troops, military support, and supplies to the region. In 2003, NATO also agrees to take command of the ISAF, or International Security Assistance Force, in Afghanistan, which marks the first NATO crisis management mission outside of the North Atlantic region. 2011: Libya Intervention The Libyan Civil War begins when Libyan protests against their totalitarian government bubble over into a full-blown revolution. The United Nations called for a ceasefire and authorized military measures to protect Libyan civilians. NATO began enforcing the UN’s resolution in March 2011, which included creating a no-fly zone over the country and 9,500 air strikes. After the rebel’s victory, NATO agreed to provide training for the new Libyan government and consult on security issues. Mahendra Kumar/Unsplash Resources for Further Reading Want to learn even more about the Cold War and NATO history? We’ve found four super helpful resources just for you! NATO’s Official Website NATO’s official website offers a thorough overview of NATO’s history along with its current policies, operations, and strategic missions. This is a great place to start if you want up-to-the-minute news about NATO’s current actions and international positions. (Don’t forget to check out NATO’s official Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter accounts, too.) It also has a fantastic chart that explains NATO’s operating structure! The U.S. State Department’s NATO Overview The U.S State Department’s overview of America’s involvement with NATO offers a more U.S. centered view on NATO’s formation, including the signing of the North American Treaty. For a short NATO history overview with a more American focus, this is a good place to start! Defense of the West by Stanley Sloan If you’re wanting a more comprehensive, in-depth look at the history of NATO from its formation to modern day, Stanley Sloan’s book should be your first stop. Sloan, a Senior Fellow in the Scowcroft Center at the Atlantic Council of the United States, dives into NATO’s definition, founding principles, and continued role on the world stage. He also discusses NATO’s future, especially as its member nations face new and complicated challenges to their security. Understanding NATO in the 21st Century edited by Graeme P. Herd and John Kriendler If you really want to dig deeper into NATO’s role in the 21st century, look no further than Graeme P. Herd and John Kriendler’s book. This book compilesessays from many different academics and historians to give readers a better, more thorough sense of NATO’s current role in global politics and the current challenges facing the organization. This is definitely an academic book, but the essays offer interesting new insights into NATO’s evolving role on the global stage. What’s Next? NATO is just one pivotal part of modern history...and it’s just one topic you might find on an AP History exam. To get a better understanding of U.S. history, check out some of these books on our AP History Exam reading list. Of course, one of the best ways to learn more about U.S. history is to make sure you’re taking history classes. Most high schools offer a variety of history classes, so make sure you’re taking the right ones for you. AP exams aren’t the only specialized tests available for college-bound high school students hoping to earn some college credit. Did you know that the SAT offers subject exams, too? This article will teach you more about the SAT subject tests and help you decide whether you should take them.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Discuss the limited circumstances in which a duty of care might be Essay

Discuss the limited circumstances in which a duty of care might be imposed on a defendant for an omission - Essay Example The main reason why courts are reluctant to impose duties to act may be seen in the arguments made in the case of Stovin v. Wise. The court in Stovin found that requiring somebody to act is an invasion of individual freedom. Moreover, the court also found that the duty prevent harm or render assistance to others is one which is ascribed to a wide range of people, so to single out a person for failing to act is unjust, because one person should not be singled out to be held liable if there are a number of people who have the same duty. Moreover, imposing a duty on third parties for omissions is not generally done because of market distortions which might result. This is assuming that an activity should bear its own costs, and if some of these costs are imposed on others, then the activity might appear to be cheaper than it really is. Requiring compensation for negligent conduct reduces this effect. However, there is not this justification to impose liability on a person who is not vol unteering to spend resources on somebody else, therefore that person may not be rewarded. Just as the person is not rewarded, that person also cannot be punished, unless there is a special reason to do so (Stovin v. Wise). That said, there are exceptions to this general rule, which is the subject of this paper, which will examine these exceptions. Moreover, the cases where omissions were not held to be actionable may further illustrate why courts are hesitant to impose liability for omissions. Discussion There are exceptions to the general rule that omissions are not enough to give rise to negligence actions. For instance, if someone undertakes a duty to assume responsibility for somebody else, then the duty of care does arise, and an omission may give rise to a negligence claim. This was established by the case of Barrett v. MOD [1995] 1 WLR 1217. In the Barrett case, the claimant’s husband died after a night of heavy drinking. At some point, a Petty Officer Wells was instru cted to take the claimant’s husband back to the base and look after him. Although the Petty Officer did look after the claimant’s husband, the claimant’s husband was found dead at 2:30 AM. The Barrett court found that the claimant’s husband was responsible only for himself, but when the senior officer assumed responsibility for him, then the duty of care arose, and the senior officer was then responsible to go ahead and give appropriate supervision over the claimant’s husband. Therefore, once he took responsibility, if he did not act, in that he did not go and check on the man, then this omission would give rise to liability. Another example is the well-known case of Stansbie v. Troman [1948] 2 K.B. 48. In this case, a decorator was working on a house and went to buy wallpaper, leaving the door unlocked. Thieves came in and entered while he was away. The decorator was found to be negligent because he had a duty to take reasonable care to guard agai nst thieves entering the dwelling. Therefore, in the Stansbie case, although the ultimate cause of the theft was the positive act of the thief, it was the omission – the failure to lock the door – which made the decorator liable, because he was under the duty of care to make sure that the house was secure before he left. In this case, it was because there was a special relationship between the decorator and the claimant, because there was

Friday, November 1, 2019

Information systems technology change What Bert Painter does and does Essay

Information systems technology change What Bert Painter does and does not tell us - Essay Example The purpose of this paper is to distill the primary lessons regarding IT systems change that Painter is trying to convey in his paper, determine how one would evaluate those lessons in terms of their correctness and usability, and to discuss any other lessons not part of his conclusions that have been learned by the writer and which he holds the hope of putting into practice in his or her future IT career. In other words, the purpose is to discuss what Bert Painter does and does not tell us regarding information systems technology change. Painter discusses his experience aiding an insurance company's paper-based system into one that was electronic and was known as E-File. The new process allowed the company to integrate their data and automate their workflow, as well as significantly redesign jobs to be more efficient in the overall process. Painter directly states what he hoped to achieve through sharing the results of this case study (Painter, 2008). According to Painter in the case study, "A socio-technical approach to organization design can mitigate potentially negative effects of information technology, while maximizing positive potentials to up-skill jobs, and yield an outcome, such as with E-File, where over 90% of the highly skilled employees surveyed in this white-collar organization regard the new system as a substantially positive change" (Painter, 2008, pg. 1). Throughout his consultation process, Painter relied on surveys that had been developed in key areas. These included effects on work processes, effects on job aspects, the user-friendliness of software and hardware, and competence and knowledge. He likely shared details of these sections as he felt they were very important aspects of socio-technical design. In fact, he probably thought that the information gathered through this information carried the primary lessons that he wished to convey to his audience (Painter, 2008). Evaluating the Lessons and Looking at Other Lessons As far as evaluating the lessons that were presented in this case study in terms of correctness and usability, they all seem to be quite useful when perhaps broken down and applied to general management concepts that anybody could use. The reason they seemed rather limited in scope in this particular case was likely because this was, after all, a case study and, therefore, it focused on one company's specific application of the lessons at hand (Painter, 2008). The general definitions of socio-technical design that are given in the introduction and the conclusion of this paper contain more generalized concepts, which is what one misses when reading Painter's case study. For example, the direct participation that was given in the case study was in the form of interviews and surveys. It could be given in other ways as well, such as through meetings where everyone in the company is made to feel important. The system of socio-technical design was definitely present in the case study and is likely to be very similar for various different firms that are looking to undergo this process. One serious fault that could occur when designing or implementing this process is to not take into account just how serious the opinions and feedback of the end users are. If a