Business and Society. Business Ethics. Application of ethical theory Essay

Business and Society. Business Ethics. Application of ethical theory to a case study - Essay Example Moreover, the analysis will consider the ways in which this particular author might have handled the situation better as well as a final judgment over whether or not Tom ultimately did the ethical good or bad in the given situation. With regards to the stakeholders within this specific case that has been listed, there are three. Firstly, there is Tom, the graphic artist working on a tight deadline at the heart of the ethical conflict. Tom represents that only individual within the case, who is faced with an ethical dilemma. The second shareholder is that of Nina, the Internet blogger whose content was unwittingly downloaded and copied by Tom in an attempt to meet the deadline he had with the supermarket chain. Lastly, the supermarket chain itself represents the third and final shareholder within this particular ethical case. Naturally, with regards to this particular case, the key ethical consideration at hand is whether or not Tom has acted ethically with relation to borrowing Ninaà ¢â‚¬â„¢s content without permission and passing it off as his own in an effort to appease his distributor. The case is somewhat compounded and complicated by the fact that initially Tom wished to do the right thing and contacted Nina with regards to her permission to use aspects of her artwork in finalizing his own project. However, as the deadline loomed closer and closer and Tom did not have the wherewithal to finish the project under his own power, he was seemingly ‘forced’ to proceed on with Nina’s design without ever hearing back regarding her confirmation on his ability to borrow key aspects of her own ideas. The issue, therefore, extends well beyond legalities and whether or not Nina’s artwork exhibited on her blog was available to Tom under the fair use clause of the law; rather, ethically speaking, the question centres upon whether or not Tom had the ethical right to borrow Nina’s artwork without her confirmation, whether it was ethical of Tom to pass this artwork along unattributed, and the degree and extent to which he had a moral and ethical obligation to his employer to produce genuine and original work to fulfil the order (Cuilla 2011, p. 340). With regards to evaluating this case using two ethical theories that have thus far been discussed within the confines of this course, it is the belief of this student that the two ethical theories that best apply to the given case in point are those of the ethics of rights and postmodern ethics. With regards to the ethics of rights, one can see quite plainly and fairly readily that the ultimate issue at the heart of the matter is whether or not Tom has the right to the material that he has borrowed/stolen without the consent of the original artists. In this sense, the theory of rights denotes that the following questions must be answered if an ethical decision is to result: whose rights are at stake, what are the corresponding obligations, and how should these rights be ra nked? With regards to the first one, the right of Nina as well as the rights of the supermarket are at stake. The rights of Nina relate, of course, to her right as the original artist to be secure in the fact that no one else is duplicating or passing off their own work as hers.

The Overview of the Finance Ethics Concept Research Paper

The Overview of the Finance Ethics Concept - Research Paper Example The research paper "The Overview of the Finance Ethics Concept" discusses the concept of ethics in terms of the practice of finance as a discipline, an issue that is very indispensable in entirely all disciplines that define humanity. Several studies have always confirmed that without a proper ethical framework in place, finance comes to shambles. It is imperative that people are versed with all the relevant aspects of this field so that harmony and professionalism are realized in the field. Several ethical dilemmas will normally confront the players in the field and incase one is not well versed on how to conduct themselves; it could prove very difficult to manage such situations. However, much knowledge does exist on some of the dilemmas and the most appropriate strategies on how to tackle them. In such a case, it becomes important to learn them and get acquainted with them. The research process will involve the basic primary aspects in which case data will be sought in the field. Though the most relevant practitioners in the field will be part of the process and the data will be collected and analyzed using conventional statistical aspects. Both primary and secondary sources will be considered as sources of information. Also, it is hoped that the findings will reveal that a challenge really exists with respect to ethical conduct in the field of finance. It is further expected that people will indeed confirm that they have faced challenges regarding the concept.

Factors of foreign policy Essay Example for Free

Factors of foreign policy Essay In the first place the size of a states territory as well as it’s population greatly influences its foreign policy. Generally the leaders and people of countries with small territory and population do not expect their country to carry great weight in international affairs. On the other hand the leaders and people of large countries are ready to assume special responsibilities. However, sometimes even small states which have rich resources also leave a deep impact on world politics. For example, Britain, a small country, played leading role in world politics in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. In our own times the oil-rich countries of the Middle East, though small in size are playing a significant role in international politics. On the other hand large states like Canada and Australia have not been able to pursue effective foreign policy. Commonwealth of Independent states (CIS) which came into existence after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, though quite large in size, is not able to play an effective role in contemporary international relations. The geography of a country, including its fertility, climate, location in relation to their land  masses, and water-ways etc. also influence the countrys foreign policy. It is a major factor in determining self-sufficiency of a country. Generally land-locked countries, nations in the tropics and those bordering a superpower are less self-sufficient in comparison to the countries which have access to warm-water ports or are located in the temperate zones and far removed from superpowers. For example in the nineteenth century USA adopted isolationist policy chiefly on account of its geographical location. Though the importance of geographic factors is acknowledged almost at all hands, its importance has considerably declined due to technological and scientific developments. For example, due to improvement in the means of transport and communication the world has greatly shrunk and the perception of large bodies of water as natural barriers to military attack has greatly diminished. But still geographical location of a country has a deep impact on the determination of its foreign policy. India adopted policy of non-alignment because of geographical location. The presence of two major powers on its borders (USSR and China) deterred it from joining power blocs. 3. Culture and History. The cultural and historical traditions of a country also deeply influence the foreign policy. Generally people possessing a unified common culture and historical experience can pursue an effective foreign policy because of the support of all sections of society who share the same values and memories. On the other hand, a country which is culturally and historically fragmented cannot pursue an equally effective foreign policy. According to Prof. Roseau the influence of cultural factors is not limited to the impact of societal unity upon the formulation and implementation of foreign policy. Equally important are the processes through which the contents of Shared norms and practices of society, as distinguished from the degree of unity that supports them shape the plans that are made and the activities that are undertaken withrespect to the external world 4. Economic Development. The stage of economic development which a country has attained also has its impact on its foreign policy. Generally the industrially advanced countries feel more deeply involved in relations with other countries because they have to import different kinds of raw materials and commodities from other countries. They are also on the lookout of latest knowledge and technical know-how. Therefore they maintain intimate trade relations with their trading partners. All this leads to intimate links between the groups and people of one country with their counterparts in the other country. Again, an industrial country is expected to have a higher gross national product (GNP) and can devote greater funds for external purpose, economic aid programme, military ventures and extensive diplomatic commitments. On the other hand, industrially backward countries are not able to actively involve themselves in external affairs. The lack of scientists, engineers and other specialists in the country prevents them from taking advantage of the technological break-through abroad. In recent years United States has been able to pursue more vigorous foreign policy and secure its national objectives, mainly on account of its high degree of economic development. It has made liberal use of foreign aid as an instrument for the promotion of its foreign policy goals. It is a matter of common knowledge that in our times the industrially developed countries (popularly known as G-7) are playing an effective role in international politics as compared to other developed or under-developed countries. This is but natural in view of fact that economically developed countries possess greater military capability than the less developed countries, and can exert greater influence on international relations. In our own times the decline of Russias economic power has considerably undermined her political role in the international arena. 5. Technology. Advancement in technology, which affects the military and economic capabilities of a state, also exercises profound influence on the foreign policy. However, this factor influences the foreign policy only in an indirect manner, by influencing other sources of foreign policy. It has been observed that countries which possess advance technology are able to provide technical knowhow to less developed and developing nations and thus exert necessary influence on their foreign policies. Roseau has rightly observed Technological changes can alter the military and economic capabilities of a society and thus its status and role in the international system. The dominant role which countries like France, China, Germany and Japan have been able to play in recent years is largely due to excellent technological developments in these countries. 6. National Capacity. The national capacity of a state also exercises profound influence on the foreign policy of a state. National capacity of a state depends on its military preparedness, it’s technological advancement and economic development. It is well known that United States which continued to pursue policy of isolation till the beginning of the present century got deeply involved in the international arena in the present century mainly due to tremendous increase in her national capacity due to rapid economic development. Similarly, the foreign policy of Britain underwent great transformation in the post World War II period, mainly due to decline in her national capacity. 7. Social Structure. The social structure of a society also exercises profound influence on its foreign policy. A society which is sharply divided on the basis of wealth,  religion, regional imbalances, etc. cannot pursue effective foreign policy on account of division and lack of co-operation among various groups. On the other hand a homogeneous society possessing strong sense of national unity can pursue a more effective foreign policy. It is well known that Britain stood as one person under the leadership of Churchill during the Second World War and the people gladly suffered all kinds of hardships to preserve their unity because of social solidarity. 8. Public Mood, Public mood is another important determinant of a countrys foreign policy. Though public mood usually follows rather than guides the foreign policy making process, it can exercise lot of influence on the determination of a foreign policy if the basic realignment in the prevailing great power structure takes place and the state becomes more involved or more isolated from the world affairs. It may be noted that generally in an authoritarian system the public mood does not influence the foreign policy, but in a democratic system based on political accountability considerable weight has to be accorded to the changing public mood and sentiments. Political Organization. The political organization found in a country also greatly influences the foreign policy. Generally under authoritarian system quick foreign policy decisions are possible because the decision making power rests with an individual assisted by his clique. But as the leaders under this system are isolated from the operational environments and the subordinate policy makers provide the information which is perceived by the superiors, there is every possibility of a discrepancy between the psychological and operational aspects of the foreign policy. Further, under this system undesirable opposition can be suppressed through censorship and promulgation of regulations. On the other hand in a country possessing a democratic structure the citizens can freely express their opinion on the domestic as well as foreign policy which naturally leave its impact on the foreign policy of the country. Under democratic system there is very little discrepancy between what the officials want to believe about the state of world politics and the actual position because the subordinate policy makers make available critical and detached information. Within the democratic system itself the difference in a political structure has its impact on foreign policy. For example, under a parliamentary system of government based on co-operation between the Legislature and the Executive, the cordial relations between the two wings have an impact on countrys foreign policy. On the other hand under presidential system based on the principle of separation of powers, the relation between the two wings are likely to be more strained, which affect the ambiguity or continuity of foreign policy. Similarly, different foreign policy is likely to emerge under bi-party system and multi-party systems. Generally under bi-party system the government is likely to have a clear-cut majority and conduct itself in a more decisive manner regarding the conduct of foreign relations. In contrast of this, under multi-party system conflicting view points and interests may have to be reconciled. This may lead either to the avoidance or postponement of the decision. 10. Role of Press. The press also plays a vital role in the foreign policy formulation process. The press contributes to this process by supplying factual information on the basis of which the people take decision by publishing specialized articles on current international developments which enable the people to understand the significance of developments in their country in relation to the past developments and by analyzing the policy of the government in regard to foreign affairs. The press also plays an important role in publicizing the foreign policy of the country. The role of the press, however, depends on the political system prevailing in the country, the rate of literacy as well as the attitude of government. The nature of political accountability prevailing in a system also greatly influences the foreign policy of the country. Generally in an open political system, the demands of citizen and groups get articulated and transmitted to foreign policy formulators. The framers of foreign policy cannot ignore these demands. In fact quite often the policy formulators anticipate these demands while formulating the foreign policy. On the other hand under a closed system the public reactions are neither available nor given much importance. The leadership also plays a vital role in the shaping of a countrys foreign policy. According to Rosenau: A leaders beliefs about the nature of international arena and the goals that ought to be pursued therein, his or her peculiar intellectual strength and weakness for analyzing information and making decisions, his or her past background and the extent of its relevance to the requirements of the role, his or her emotional needs and most of other personality traits—these are but a few of the idiosyncratic factors that can influence the planning and execution of foreign policy. No doubt, the qualities of leadership have a deep impact on the countrys foreign policy but their role is greatly constrained by the governmental and social structure. Further the role of leadership is not identical in all countries. In less developed countries their role is greater as compared to industrialized societies. In industrialized societies the individuals enjoy very limited discretion in high governmental and non-governmental positions. Posted 2nd July 2012 by Ken Ngeny

Issues in Hong Kongs TV Industry

Issues in Hong Kongs TV Industry In Hong Kong, the TV industry is developing faster and faster. TV industry also gives us more information, for example, finance news, talk shows, game shows, entertainment programs and so on. But with the development of modern science and technology, the TV industry must become more professional, innovative and creative. Nowadays, because of the rise of the TV industry, in some degree, it brings more economic benefits and also makes a big contribution to the society. It has two broadcast television networks in Hong Kong, ATV and TVB. But TVB was the territorys first free-to-air commercial station and is currently the most important TV station in this area. â€Å"The introduction of digital terrestrial TV has helped the existent free-to-air TV companies in the face of the competitive forces coming from a large number of cable and satellite channels. Such case shows that the traditional industry, although challenged, may be strengthened by new technologies, even if they imply in more dramatic changes in its market performance.† (Menezes 91). News and the Broadcast media are controlled by several companies, such as TVB belongs to television broadcasts, is Kongs first commercial wireless television station, as well as the worlds largest Chinese commercial television station. Companys business throughout the country, and involved in the program issue, pay TV, music, film, publishing and other industries, is one of the worlds largest Chinese com mercial media. And ATV belongs to Rediffusion Hong Kong Limited, It is the first television station in Hong Kong, also is the first Chinese TV station all over the world. One of which is government, they provide a lot of services to different people from different countries and television provides the major source of news and entertainment for the average family.TV industry in Hong Kong still has a large development space in the future. However, the main problem in the television industry is incoherent and inconsistent access to audiovisual content across Hong Kong (Leeuw 6). The existing of Hong Kong TV industry is also imperfect; there are still many disadvantages and problems to face. Such as only two Hong Kong television competitions, the other enterprises are difficult to enter. And it’s difficult to meet the demand of the market. Even though the TV industry has provided more services to us and changed the social pattern of the past, one of the problems we have to know, Hong Kong TV industry is still in a stage of development, due to the lack of unity and related factors. In the face of other markets outside of Hong Kong that tend to protect more and more of their respective TV industries, the Hong Kong TV industry appeared relatively helpless and disorganized. Hong Kong TV industry operation is very different; each TV station has its own running mode. It is true that the television industry broadcasters themselves have changed a lot because the contemporary of people are not suitable for TV from patterns of the past (O’Donnell 297). But they all have one thing in common; television is controlled by the private company. The TV industry in Hong Kong fit within the economic structure of the territory, favouring private enterprise and free trade. All of the television stations are commercial and most of their profits from the audience and advertising fee of the order. Hong Kong has two terrestrial television stations, Asia Television Limited (ATV) and Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) It is a different business between these two televisions. TVB currently occupy a dominant position in Hong Kong, they are made its own programs by himself and made his own show to the audiences. Such as TV series, dramas, talk shows, news and so on. TVB has their own private company and doesn’t need to check from the government. On the one hand, because each program is taken by himself, to some extent, it saves a lot of money and the steps of censorship. On the other hand, it will bring a positive effect and attracts more choice to the young graduates who want to work in the television. It can attract more overseas domestic to watch them and bring more economic benefits. But for ATV, it changed many times to different people, and even nearly 20 years, building up a very large for TVB, to the point of TV production level is declining. Aside from importing news, entertainment series and movies from the West, most programs are imported from Japan, and several popular fictional se ries are imported from Taiwan or Korea. They don’t have the original programs, they need import programs to attract audiences and improve the television ratings. Even though there are still a few people who choose to watch import movies, more and more people refer to choose the original programs from the TVB rather than ATV, so far, ATV is hard to survive in the television industry. â€Å"The TV business is no longer restricted to few actors, the market offerings are reaching new access terminals meeting and integrating with the Internet and with other online multimedia services, and changing by creating new television formats, such as the personal and the interactive television†.(Toletti and Turba 8). However, the Government of Hong Kong doesn’t have its own television station; despite without the support of the government, the TV industry in Hong Kong still can be sustained and stable development. The government should support content producers in Hong Kongâ⠂¬â„¢s creative TV industry, setting policy for public broadcasting the television license fee, and licensing the public service broadcasters; creating a local TV framework so that local TV services can be set up across in Hong Kong. The content of the TV industry is in a state of change, in this modern society, the TV industry content contains many entertainment choices and commercial mode. In the face of the change of landscape, The content of the TV industry must be enhanced value structure, instead of the old content industry and to further optimize the content of change. TV industry and information content in the media setting is taught to be righteous, objective and diaphanous. (Televisao et al 6). With the Hong Kong TV industry users demand continues to grow, the old industry content is not suitable for this modern society. In the past, Hong Kong TV industry content production only the pursuit of low cost, efficient fast, cant bring more change and only pursue the maximization of interests, the content also structure of production with the seal of obvious and the television content lack of originality. But now, the simple manufacturing content is difficult to satisfy the needs of the people, more and more people pursuit of television production content and processes. Each television station has entered a competition in other parts of the range, increase the investment in the TV content, obvious effect is the quality of TV content production and to increase the price. The increase in the number of Hong Kong TV channels, prompting investment increase the arrival rate of TV content, the largest share in the advertising market, television advertising value from its content. New media becomes a part of the content, and the Internet as a new broadcast television content channel, TV content can be controlled by the cable, the value of the content will be further. As we know, the content is good or bad reflects the value of the television industry, good television production content, not only improve the quality of local TV industry, but also can bring new hope to the television industry, instead bad television production content will only hinder the development of the TV industry, and even affect the surrounding areas for Hong Kongs TV industry is not satisfied. The development of the whole TV content industry, mainly through elements and explore new market and stable development of advertising investment, in addition, the technology of change will continue to promote the quality of the TV content industry, television production company merger, as well as increase the cost and remain competitive. In other words, television content production is very important. For example, many television companies are starting to focus on the content of television production requirements, to attract more audiences for television content, but also can pull mo re companies invest in their TV industry. The production of TV content is one of the most important steps is to have clear goals and objectives, if produce content of goals and objectives without apparent consistency, it would be difficult to determine its success, and then make a production plan, point out that the production of TV content related to domestic TV industry a series of economic factors. As one of the most developed areas in China and even the whole Asia TV industry of Hong Kong, it is experiencing the development of digital TV industry, it is scope very broad, it even has affected around the region. Especially for Malaysia, China, Taiwan and so on. Because due to the impact of Hong Kong television industry and free-to-air commercial station, more and more people choose purchase Hong Kong TV programs to watch so that the local TV programs cannot get peoples attention, lead to a downturn in the television industry development in the region, and also it seriously affect the surrounding areas of peoples demand and economic growth. In Asia, the impact of the TV industry is bound to bring significant change to the economy of a region, because television industry is different from another social industry, it needs to provide more information to everyone. In addition, the introduction of TV programs in different countries can promote the development of the local TV industry advantage. Despite the advantage of the television industry can improve the development of a region, but for Hong Kong around the country, especially for China, Malaysia, the introduction of Hong Kong TV programs will impact their own TV industrys future needs. For example, in China (Guang Dong province), because of TV system is imperfect, lack of unified in the main body, affecting the development of the industry and enterprise scale is still small, scattered market main body, cannot form effective cooperation. So, they have to purchase the other country’s TV programs to satisfy the needs of the audience; otherwise will lose more market returns. On the other hand, even though can temporarily satisfy the audience demand for the TV programs, from a long-term point of view, buying programs in other countries will only hinder the development trend of domestic TV industry. The second example is, in Malaysia, Malaysias TV industry has been hard to success was largely due to the high cost of making content, technical requirements and the shortage of the funds, and young graduates even didn’t want to work in the television so that Malaysias TV industry didnt have enough manpower to support the development of the television industry. Therefore, Malaysias Government in order to maintain the local television industry can continue to develop steadily, so they need to the introduction of Hong Kong TV programs. On the one hand, with the countrys TV industry can learn from each other and improve the content of the local TV. On the other hand, it can bring more advertising revenue; attract more audiences to do something fo r the local TV industry. In conclusion, the technological evolution has changed the boundaries of the TV industry. Media technologies have provided a new way for the TV industry, with companies seeking new methods of advertising and business. In recent years, the development of a market economy in Hong Kong, especially for the Hong Kong TV industry system itself, use networks-both to enhance their reputations and win more audiences to enjoy all sorts of fun brought by the local TV industry. In the process, Hong Kong TV industry has gained much more freedom and independence, in the pursuit of interests and goals of service with the audience at the same time. Therefore, Hong Kong TV industry has affected the development of the society. The generation of the TV industry, not only changes people’s views of the TV industry but also makes people understand more about how the TV industry impact different area. TV industry provides more service for people to choose, let more people know Hong Kong production and development of TV industry. References Menezes, E., and Carvalho, R., Impacts of New Technologies on Free-to-Air TV industry, Journal of Technology Management Innovation, 2009, print Toletti, G., and Turba, L., Sofa-TV: The New Digital Landscape, International Journal of Digital Multimedia Broadcasting, 2009, print Televisao., Publicitaria, R., and Discurso., Is this the end of the conventional advertising in TV broadcasting? Canadian Center of Science and Education, 2009, print Leeuw, S., European Television History Online, Journal of European History and Culture, 2012, print O’Donnell, V., New Bottles for New Wine Sociology and Technology of Today’s Television Industry, Cultural Studies Review, 2012, print

My First Visit to Nigeria Essay -- Personal Narrative Traveling Essays

My First Visit to Nigeria In this essay I will reconstruct my first visit to Nigeria. The journey took place when I was seventeen in early 1993, during which time Nigeria was under the military rule of General Sanni Abacha. For the most part of my trip I stayed in Lagos, former capital state and still highly recognised as the commercial capital of Nigeria, although I did visit other parts of the country including Ondo State and Jos. Between this time and the time I left, in early 1994, I experienced and learnt a lot about the Nigerian culture. My main focus will be on the particular aspects of Nigerian culture that I saw as relevant to me as a teenager at the time, and also on my views before and after the journey. Up until the point of this journey I had lived most my life in the city of London and my cultural views were very much British. I was not very familiar with Nigerian culture, and the parts I was familiar with, which came mostly through my parents and other family members, were not very appealing t o me. Thinking back now I imagine that one of the reason things like that did not appeal to me was because it went so much against the British culture which I had already related to; fully accepted as my own; and deemed as ‘normal’. For example eating certain food, not including chips, with your right hand instead of with a knife and fork. Leading up to the time I left for Nigeria, I had never really identified myself with the Nigerian culture even though both of my parents where originally from Nigeria. I was the first born of my mother followed by my two younger brothers, Steven and William. We were all also given Nigerian names along with are English ones; mine was Femi and my brother’s were Ayo and Bayo. My father was still studying along with working when I was born and my mother was working also, when I was about three years old I was sent to live with a white middle class nanny in a town called Warminster in Wiltshire. It was a common phenomena in Britain in that period to see West African being bought up by Foster parents while their parents worked or studied (Groody and Groothuues, 1977). I did my first two or so years of primary school in Warminster before my parents decided it was time for me to return to live with them in London. I was one of very few blacks in Wiltshire at the time, so apart from the occasional rare visit made by my par... ... you is to experience it first hand. I found it much easier to accept traditional aspects of Nigerian culture when there where others, who like me were also infected with western popular culture, around me who appreciated also. I do not feel that this acceptance came from any sort forced group conciseness, but more from having the ability to choose aspects of the culture which I liked in an environment where my choices were more sociably accepted. While in Nigeria I also met a reasonable amount of other Nigerians who had had similar experiences while growing up as I did. Meeting with such people was one of the significant aspects of my journey as it enabled me to talk and laugh about some of the things I went through as a child which originally made me feel socially excluded. It also helped me to discover my cultural identity as a British born Nigerian. Bibliography Bammer, A, (1994), Displacements, Volume 15, Bloomington and Indianapolis, Indiana University Press Kureishi, H, London and Karachi, in, Patriotism: The Waking and unmaking of British National Identity, Volume 2, Minorities and Outsiders Watson, J.L,(1977), Between Two Cultures, Oxford, Basil Blackwell

Illusions of Reality Essay -- essays research papers

The Illusions of Reality The only thing in my life that I can be positive about is change. Everything changes, from the moment we’re born to the moment we die. Reality has many twist and turns, and our perception of reality is what shapes us to become who we are. Our life is spent on deciphering the difference between reality and not reality. This is hard to define because reality is unique to each individual. Our environment and the people we are around shape our perception of what is real. Reality is our grip of what is true and false, right and wrong, what is real and what is not. So reality can be distorted by our belief in it. We can sincerely believe something is right, but be sincerely wrong.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The foundations of thought and imagination are laid at a very young age. Reality for the deaf and blind is that nothing exists outside of their perception. They do not yet understand object permanence, that even though an object goes out of sight, it still exists. Many children develop this knowledge around the ages of four to eight months old. I was a late bloomer; I did not acquire this until later.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When I was five years old, I was terrified of being left alone. I was afraid to ever be by myself. I had to be around other people or I would have panic attacks. Our dogs somehow had gotten out of our backyard. My mom, my sister and I got in the car and drove around the neighborhood looking for the dogs. My mother drove by our house to check if they had got back yet. My mom told me to see if the front door was unlocked. As I was walking across the front lawn, she drove away. When I was walking towards the house I didn’t hear my mom tell me that she was going around the block and that she’d be right back. To say the least, I panicked. I remember running down the dusty dirt road after her brown jeep thinking that my mom left me and would never see her again. Feelings of fear and abandonment filled my body, and I ran down to the highway screaming with tears streaming down my face. When I finally got to the highway I sat down and started to sob. A lady i n a blue car pulled over and asked me what was wrong. She was concerned so she had me get in the car and drove me to my house. We sat there in the car together until my mom came back home. My mom thanked the lady for being so kind, grabbed my arm and pulled m... ...were destitute, living in barely livable shacks. It showed me how rich I was. They were starving. Not only physically, but spiritually as well. These people had never been showed the truth that the Bible held, or the hope it could bring to their lives. I had never been exposed to this type of living in my life. It made me think about everything differently. I became much more thankful and giving. I was a spoiled brat when I went, but returned changed and unselfish. I changed for myself. At that stage in my life I realized how much I have, and how much I took for granted. I did not like who I was or where I was going, so I changed. I was changed as much as Mexicalli was changed. There are many points in my life that, when I look back on them, I will have noticed a change that was made. Whether it is when I accepted the Jesus into my life, or experienced a drug for the first time. We shall all be that way. What I’m experiencing right now is real and tangible to me, but maybe I will look back on this time of my life someday and realize that this reality was just a step to another, and that reality another step, then another. What we are experiencing now will eventually be a memory.

Post Cold War

Explain why the ending of the Cold War was not followed by a period of world peace and stability. ____________________________________________________________ ___________ The ending of the cold war did not leave any sign of hope for the world to live in peace and prosperity. Until this second, there are hundreds of men, women and children being killed, injured, raped and executed for various reasons, some which may be legit while others are war related objectives. The world, not sure if this is the right word for it now, has gone and still is through some very tremendous events in the last 17 years or so, starting off with the gulf war which shocked the world in one night, Kosovo war, Al-Aqsa Intifada, war in Afghanistan, war on terror and Iraq, the list can go on and on, some which remain in the books of history and some which are still written about in history books today as that they are ongoing conflicts and example would be the war on terror. To make this whole concept I just talked about more clearly, I will try to explain the reasons to why the ending of the Cold War was not followed by a period of world peace and stability, by talking about the gulf war and how one night changed the lives and situations of many nations, mainly Israel and Palestine and how the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) played a major role in this war, leading to the Palestinian Intifada and the current events that are happening right now. The Gulf war was simply a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force from 35 nations authorized by the United Nations (UN) and led primarily by the United States in order to liberate Kuwait. [1] The Gulf War had two major impacts. First, the war was a catalyst for regional changes that started several years before the eruption of the crisis itself. The polarization of the Arab world was intensified by the invasion of an Arab state by another. Second, the war demonstrated which political terms existed in the Middle East at the time of the Iraqi invasion. On a rhetorical level, Saddam Hussein established a link between the Persian Gulf crisis and the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, thus demonstrating the destabilizing effect of the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Iraqi leader compared the Iraqi invasion with the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and demanded Israeli withdrawal before even considering a pullback from Kuwait. [2] During the Gulf War, the Israeli public took a step to the right, legitimizing the sanctions the Likud-government posed on the Palestinians. The sanctions were a result of two circumstances: the failing of the Palestinians – especially the PLO and the moderate political leaders in the West Bank – to condemn the Iraqi invasion; and the images of Palestinians cheering the Iraqi Scuds raining down on Tel Aviv. [3] Israel closed the borders between ‘Israel-proper' and the occupied territories, preventing Palestinian workers from attending their jobs in Israel. Despite an increase of nearly half a million in the Israeli population due to immigration from Russia between 1989 and 1991, the Israeli policy resulted in a reduction in the GDP and a deterioration of the economic situation activity (ibid. )[4]. For the Palestinians, an already difficult economic situation got worse. This resulted in a boomerang-effect for Israel, intensifying the level of conflict with the Palestinians With the outbreak of the intifada, the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict moved inside the occupied territories, and the Green-line was re-drawn. The broad mobilization of nearly all layers of the Palestinian society in the earliest stages of the uprising strengthened the national unity. This kind of communal uprising turned out to be more difficult for Israel to fight than the PLO-launched guerilla-attacks from Arab territory during the 1970's (Hunter 1991). Despite the optimism[5], the standard of living continued to deteriorate because of the mass-arrests, arbitrary detention and curfews carried out by the Israeli security forces (IDF and the border police). While many would agree that the mentioned above can be directly linked to the events that are going right now in Palestine and that have went on for the last couple of years, many would disagree, but if you want to look at it from a historical angle, it has a lot to do with the Gulf War. The end of the Cold War is a main point of reference in this analysis. However, important changes affecting the political situation in the Middle East started years before the Berlin-Wall was torn down, and the Soviet Empire crumbled. Therefore one might ask if the ‘window of opportunity' would have ‘opened' if the Cold War had continued. Would the locally initiated structural changes by themselves created a momentum for peace? My answer is that the combined effects of changes at the extra-regional level (the end of the Cold War), the regional level (the Gulf War), and the local level (the intfada) in sum ‘opened' the window and let groups in the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships willing and ready to negotiate peace inside. Ultimately, Israel was successful in containing the uprising. The Palestinians' force was inferior in relation to the well equipped and trained Israeli Defense Forces. However, the Intifada pinpointed numerous problems with the IDF's conduct in the operative and tactical fields, as well as the general problem of Israel's prolonged control of the West Bank and Gaza strip. These problems were noticed and widely criticized, both in international forums (in particular, when humanitarian questions were at stake), but also in Israeli public opinion, in which the Intifada had caused a split. 6] Bibliography 1. Abadi, Jacob (1994): â€Å"The Gulf War and Its Implications for Israel†. Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Vol 17, No. 3 (55-78). 2. Freedman, Robert. The middle East after Iraq’s Invasion of Kuwait, University Press of Florida, 1993 (213-215) 3. Walsh, Ben. Modern world history, John Murray, London, 2001 4. Choueiri, Youssef M. (1997): Islamic fundamentalism -rev. ed. London : Pinter 5. Kuper, Adam and Jessica Ku per (eds. ) (1996): The Social Science Encyclopedia (Second edition). London and New York: Routledge. 6. Keddie, Nikki R. (1992): â€Å"The end of the Cold War and the Middle East†. In Hogan (ed. ) The End of the Cold War. Its meaning and implications (151-161). 7. Clarke, Richard. Against all enemies: Inside America’s war on terror, Free Press, 2004 (62-64) 8. Benny Morris, Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-1999, Knopf, 1999. p. 612 ———————– [1] The reported number of countries participating in the Coalition varies according to source. These variations may be in part be due to uncertainty over what level of participation constitutes being a Coalition member, and vagueness over the organization timeline of the Coalition. Examples of count variations include: an Arab anti-Gulf War essay – 31; CNN – 34; an Arab media site – 36; the Heritage Foundation (a US conservative think tank citing a 1991 Department of Defense report) – 38; US Institute of Medicine report on Gulf War Veterans' Health – 39. The number of Coalition members has been reported to be as low as 19 at the beginning of the air campaign. 2] Freedman, Robert. The middle East after Iraq’s Invasion of Kuwait, University Press of Florida, 1993 [3] Even the Peace Now-organization and well known peace-activists like Amoz Oz and Yael Dayan supported the sanctions the Likud-government posed on the Palestinians [4] Kuper, Adam and Jessica Kuper (eds. ) (1996): The Social Science Encyclopedia (Second edition). London and Ne w York: Routledge. [5] Choueiri, Youssef M. (1997): Islamic fundamentalism -rev. ed. London : Pinter [6] Benny Morris, Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-1999, Knopf, 1999. p. 612