Globalization Key Concepts free essay sample

Thomas Eriksen, in his book, explains that interconnectedness is a result of globalization. Most of the world is becoming more interconnected in terms of economy, politics, culture, technology and environment. He concluded that ‘interconnectedness is a way of measuring success in a globalized society’ (Eriksen 2007:88). Firstly, in terms of economy, free trade and open markets today play the key roles in creating the network of our global economy. Transnational enterprises, multi-national companies, international banks, etc. re all actors in this network. Let’s take as an example the World Trade Orgnization (WTO); The WTO itself is evidence of economic interconnectedness. It was founded with the aim of dealing with regulation of trade; sometimes solving problems with the global market; and mostly, to negotiate and formalize trade agreements among nations. As a result, all the participating nations automatically interconnect through this process of interaction, and help each other achieve their mutual goals, including the development and unification of the world economy. We will write a custom essay sample on Globalization: Key Concepts or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The growing number of multi-national companies and their subsidies around the world is also a trait of our interconnected economy, where goods and services are consumed transnationally. Unilever, BP, McDonalds, Toyota, IKEA†¦are typical examples. In his book, Scholte writes that Unilever, one of the largest multinational companies, had more than 500 subsidiaries in 100 countries in 2004 (Scholte 2005:178); CNN Money ranked Toyota as the 8th largest multinational corporation in 2011, when the company marketed vehicles in 140 countries, and had revenues of $221,760 million (CNN Money, 2011). Likewise, consumer payments by credit card in the last decades also represent the interconnection of the world financial market. Instead of carrying a bundle of cash to go shopping, nowadays people can simply bring their small credit card (the two biggest multinational finacial services companies in the world today are Visa and MasterCard) which allows them to make purchases anywhere, anytime, as long as a credit card is accepted; not only in shops or supermarkets but also online. Futhermore, possessing a credit card makes it much safer and easier for its users to manage their spending, in addition to being more convenient. These are only a few of the myriad examples of transnational and multinational corporations in the world. We cannot deny that they are becoming more and more powerful today. Eriksen asserts that it suggests a tighter integration and closer networking in the global economy than before. (Eriksen 2007:75). As a result, it makes the world more interconnected and solidary, especially in economic development. Secondly, in term of politics, researchers indicate that the number of international organizations has grown immensely since the beginning of the 20th century. In 1909, there were 37 international non-governmental organizations (INGOs); by 2000, the number of INGOs had risen to 47,098 (Held, 2000:11-12). International co-operation in globalized society is an important instrument not only in social development, but also in diplomacy, or international relations. Disputes over political issues should be solved and discussed among nation-states in a peaceful manner. Sometimes, to gain mutual benefits, some coutries have to give up their interests temporarily and use their diplomatic and military power to resolve the conflicts (Eriksen 2007:77). This is very similar to ‘normative power’, a concept in international relations, which is the main strategy in the foreign policy of the European Union. It concerns the sacrifices of all actors to achieve mutual goals, which are relied on in the negotiations, persuasion, and argument, called ‘soft power’. Therefore, interconnectedness, in this case, also can be seen as a feature of world politics in the era of globalization. As far as culture is concerned, I think interconnectedness in culture is also an indisputable factor. Eriksen, in his book, gave an example of translation, which implies the diffusion of language. English, apparently, is the world’s dominant spoken language. According to his research, most books now translated are translated into English, and a smaller amount are translated from English into other languages (Eriksen, 2007:79). This is a clear example of language exchange, or culture exchange. And in my opinion, interconnected culture should be differentiated from mixed culture. According to my own experience, interconnected culture refers to culture links, which means that in a globalized society, we have a chance to approach and experience a variety of new cultures. For example, we had an international dinner a few days ago in the university cafeteria, where people from each country brought a dish they cooked from home, representing their own country’s traditional cuisine. It was a very nice opportunity and was the most interesting experience I’ve ever had; the kind that gives one a broader view of other cultures you haven’t had before. Therefore it is different from mixed culture which combines all the refinements of cultures around the world. Technology, in many ways, is a fundamental tool to interconnect the world. Mobile phones, internet access, media, etc are all the products of technology. As the world is more interconnected, â€Å"not only goods but information and ideas flow across borders constantly and (for the most part) freely as near universal access to Internet-enabled communications moves closer to reality† (Amelio, NYTimes). As a consequence, remittances and cheap calls, examples given by Thomas Eriksen, are becoming more and more popular. Remittances indicate the extent of interconnectedness between migrants and the people who have left in their home countries by transnational massive transfer (Eriksen 2007:80). Cheap calls, similarly, enable people to make international phone calls more easily. Thus, they connect people interpersonally, throughout the globe. Football is also mentioned in Eriksen’s book. Despite my indifference to this subject, I must admit to the popularity of football throughout the world, and that it partially contributes to the interconnectedness of a globalized society. Last but not least, the environment has been the hottest topic to raise concerns alongside issues of globalization. Although the environment does not directly influence the world’s interconnectedness, its effects have shown some people how close together we all are.. As a matter of fact, in recent years a lot of environmental issues have been mentioned in almost all means of media. People’s awareness of climate change and the threat of global warming has certainly been raised. In 1997, the first official international treaty on environment, The â€Å"Kyoto Protocol†, was created. It was linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change. The major objective of the Kyoto Protocol is to set binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which are the main cause of climate change (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change). The treaty entered into force in 2005, and took effect 5 years later. And 4 years later, in November 2011, there was a new treaty, considered an extension of the Kyoto Protocol, COP17/CMP7, adopted in Durban, South Africa. The governments of nearly 200 nation-states were involved in the conference, raised their voices about climate change, and passed the resolution for the next 5-year term of the treaty. To sum up, interconnectedness is only one of the key factors in globalization, but it is predominant among the others. Based on the analysis I did above, interconnectedness seems to include most other phenomena of globalization. To exemplify one more personal phenonmenon, I will take this essay as an example. Because it is written from my perspective, using my own opinions, it might be different from other students’ essays in terms of ideas and knowledge. Therefore, if we exchange our essays and discuss interconnectedness or globalization in our groups, there will be different opinions raised during the discussion. Thus, we can understand more about our friends’ perspectives and what they think about this matter. In this way, accidentally, our ideas and minds are interconnected, though, only on a small scale. REFERENCES 1. Amelio, Willian J. Interconnected we prosper, The New York Times, [online] Available at http://www. ytimes. com/2008/06/25/opinion/25ihtedamelio. 1. 13979245. html? pagewanted=all (Accessed 5th February 2012) 2. CNN Money, Global 500 : Our annual ranking of the worlds largest corporations 2011 [online] Available at http://money. cnn. com/magazines/fortune/global500/2011/full_list/index. html (Accessed 5th February 3. Eriksen, Thomas H. (2007) Globalization : The Key Concepts, Burg Publishers 4. Held, David and Anthony McGrew (2000) ‘The Great Globalization Debate: An Introduction’, in D. Held and A, McGrew (eds), The Global Transfornations Reader, Cambridge: Polity 5. International Institute for Environment and Development , United Nations climate change negotiations: COP17 [online] Available at: http://www. iied. org/climate-change/key-issues/climate-negotiations-capacity-building/united-nations-climate-change-negot (Accessed 5th February 2012) 6. Scholte, Jan Aart (2005), Globalization: A Critical Introduction, 2nd edn. London: Palgrave 7. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change [UNFCCC], Kyoto Protocol [online] Available at http://unfccc. int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830. php (Accessed 5th February 2012) Question 2: As a global phenomena, the issue of globalization is becoming more and more controversial nowadays. There have been so many arguments about this subject, no one can assert whether globalization is a myth or a fact. Therefore, other questions raised about globalization also have myriads of answers, and are likely disputable in every discussion. In the last few years, there have been some people wondering whether or not spatial reconfiguration is the core of globalization, and whether globalization makes distance less relevant or not. In fact, this is a very frequently asked question when we talk about globalization. In 2007, Thomas Eriksen, in his book, also mentioned distance and time-space compression. He said that globalization includes all the contemporary processes that make distance irrelevant (Eriksen 2007:16); and he used the coined term ‘disembedding’, which is defined as ‘the â€Å"lifting out† of social relations from local contexts of interaction and their restructuring across indefinite spans of time-space’ (Giddens 1990:21). To clarify this definition, first, concerning the â€Å"lifting out† of social relations period. It is obvious that our relationships in society today are not like they used to be in the past. Many years ago, or more precisely, in pre-modern societies, social relationships were very much limited to the individuals immediate surroundings, and social relations at that time, might be entirely determined by a small community, in which people in that society lived together. Usually, they communicated to each other, innitially face to face, and then, through writing. However, today, in modern society, social relations are no longer confined to the local context† (that is why he said they are ‘lifting out’ from it). The location of individuals and the time frame in which they interact has become indefinite and relative. To explain this phenomena, Symes, in his review of Global Village by Marshall McLuhan, pointed out that the ‘rapidity of communication through electric media echoes the speed of the senses’, meaning that people in the globe now are more interconnected, and contacting people on the other side of the world can be done in the wink of an eye, as quick ‘as to converse with those who inhabit the same physical space’ (Symes, 1995). That is why we have feeling that time and space are shrinking, and even feel indifferent sometimes about their existence. For example, in 1970s, my parents lived apart from each other. My father worked and studied in Czechoslovkia, while my mother lived in Vietnam. The sole way they could stay in touch with each other was writing letters, but it took several weeks for a letter to be delivered back and forth. My parents said that they could feel the length of time and they missed each other. However, today, when I come to Sweden, no one at home tells me that they miss me, because I keep in touch with them everyday, not only via email but also via many other social networks such as Facebook, Skype, etc which allow me to respond in a flash. As long as the internet connection is not lagging, I can speak to them as if I am actually beside them, despite the fact that I’m living in another continent which is very far away from home. There are also many other opnions about globalization, and one of them is that the changing role of nation states as a new type of regionalism, the separation of culture and place, and terrorism may lead to a deterritorialized conflict and many other spatial issues. This idea, indeed, should be linked partly to the first one. Since distance has become irrelevant as a result of globalization, national boundaries no longer impede the flow of migration, or transnational trading. Eriksen, in his book, said that nations are effectively being deterritorialized in a number of ways through migration, economic investments and a number of other processes (Eriksen 2007:15). Therefore, the world organization and the role of nation states are changing and becoming vulnerable, and that makes it ecessary for nation states to cope with global challenges. Holton says that ‘flows of investment, technology, communications, and profir across national boundaries are [†¦] the most striking symptom of global challenge to the nation states† (Holton, 1998:80). That means the ability of nation stats to regulate, or control their economic flow, migration and communication is gradually lessening; and it is likely that nation-state sovereignty might be threatened. Eriksen gave an example of the 11 September attack in the United States which led to the ‘war on terror’. He said that the terrorists could be everywhere around the world, although most of them are Saudi origins (Eriksen 2007:15). It implies that the U. S government could not control the number of immigrants and migrants, so now they have to tighten the security not only inside but also outside the border of their territory. This way, the country has become deterritorialized by the effect of globalization. In terms of the separation of culture and place, Canclini said that â€Å"Deterritorialization speaks of the loss of the ‘natural’ relation between culture and the social geographic territories† (Canclini, 1990) due to the cultural mixing, which is inevitable in the era of globalization. For example, in Vietnam, tradition is especially respected in our culture. In the past, men and women never sat next to each other, and men were more respected in society. But now, the role of men and women is entirely equal. Vietnamese people do not wear traditional costume like most Indians do nowadays. We wear western-style clothes, listen to western music and speak foreign languages. Thus sometimes the relation between Vietnamese culture and the country is ambiguous. We can find many other people from other countries who also wear western-style clothes, listen to western music and can speak foreign languages like us. That is why globalization makes us deterritorialized. However, it is only one side of the matter, â€Å"deterritorialization does not mean the end of the locality at all, but its transformation into a more complex cultural space, characterized by varied manifestations, tendencies r cultural effects† (Hernandez, 2006). According to her explanation, local cultures were never pure or isolated (this is also similar to what Eriksen said in his book: â€Å"there is no such thing as ‘pure’ culture† [Eriksen 2007:107]), therefore deterritorialization is just relative, not absolute. Besides, the social contexts are not the same, so I think it depends on what kind of society, and to what degree that society is affected by globalization. In conclusion, the process of globalization is just making our world more abstract. At the same time, it can help us remove the barrier of time and space and make our life become more convenient, but on the other hand, it makes our society more complex. Our culture and national identities seem to be blurred in some cases, but likely they will never vanish. That is why recently, we have heard about a new concept called ‘glocalization’. Which is believed to be a combination of ‘globalization’ and ‘localization’. The concept, for some people, refers to this slogan: â€Å"think globally, act locally†. So hopefully, ‘glocalization’ can be a solution to the issues of globalization, which is still very disputable nowadays. REFERENCES 1. Eriksen, Thomas H. (2007) Globalization : The Key Concepts, Burg Publishers 2. Garcia Canclini, N. (1990) Culturas hibridas: estrategias para entrar y salir de la modernidad, Mexico. Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes/Grijalbo. 3. Giddens. Anthony (1990) TheConsequences of Modernity, Cambridge. Polity Press. 4. Hernandez, Gil-Manuel M. (2006) The deterritorializationof cultural heritage in a globalized modernity [pdf] [online] Available at http://www. llull. cat/_cat/_publi/transfer1. cfm#. TzGNteRn2Ag Accessed on 7th February 2012

Philippine Education from Past to Present Essays

Philippine Education from Past to Present Essays Philippine Education from Past to Present Essay Philippine Education from Past to Present Essay Education From Past to Present Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people are translated from one generation to another. Filipinos have been through different changes in economic and social aspect. We are taught on our Philippine History the colonization of Philippines from powerful countries such as Spain, Japan, and America. We credit some Filipino lifestyle to them, most especially to Americans who taught us to be wise and introduce some basic learning ideas. During the Pre-Colonial Era, the educators were the Babaylan and Katalonan who both looked upon the society possessing wisdom and knowledge on spiritual practice. The type of education that was taught to the people was based on beliefs and spiritual practice. When Spaniards came, it was the most tragic century ever recorded in Philippine History. Although during their time, they implemented a systematic and institutionalized kind of education. We suffered great grievances from them. After three hundred and thirty-three years, here comes the Americans and saved us from the hand of Spaniards by treaty of Paris. The establishment of the system of education in the United States of America in the Philippines was under the context of a wide collective struggle to topple down the marks of colonialism left by colonizers. Meanwhile, the Americans established and administered how schools and colleges like Siliman University. Nothing has much changed during the Japanese colonization. Since the American system of education still prevailed. If I compare the educational system before and today, there is a lot of difference. It is more productive and technology makes it easy, but we should not forget the Educational system before, because it win always be part of our life and it made a big help until now.

Evaluate the current TM strategy at your workplace Essay

Evaluate the current TM strategy at your workplace - Essay Example In order to get the best yield from the workforce, it is important for an organization to have a clear talent management strategy. However, a significant number of companies do not have any strategy in talent management. However, most of them are in one way or another involved in the activities of talent management but under different titles like talent retention. One of the main distinguishing characteristic of the talent management is its continuity. While the transactional human resource activities are administrative overhead, talent management is a continuous process that delivers the optimal workforce for an organization. In other words, talent management ensures that employees’ productivity is maintained to the maximum levels (Taleo Research 2011). In this process, the human resource becomes the strategic facilitating factors which enable managers as well as the employees in their efforts in creating business value. In many organizations, several methods have been applied to improve employee’s performance. However, most of them have made no attempt to have a talent management strategy. This discussion evaluates the talent management at Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) which is located in Saudi Arabia. The company has been ranked as one of the most reliably profitable public companies in the Middle East. SABIC has forty five production sites across the world. The company employs more than 31, 000 people world wide. Such number of human resources could be of great importance to an organization if their talent is effectively managed. The company has applied various measures in an attempt to manage its employees’ talents. The company also has good investor relations, a factor which has contributed to its financial stability. It has severally been ranked as one of the five best petrochemicals in the world. The success of the company has been triggered by three

Reflection of knowledge Acquired in Cross-cultural Management Assignment

Reflection of knowledge Acquired in Cross-cultural Management - Assignment Example From this discussion it is clear that managers that operate in their countries too often find themselves in conditions where they have to interact with clients, suppliers or employees originating from different countries with varying cultural practices and beliefs. Above these challenges, the modern organizations are increasingly consisting of people from diverse cultural backgrounds, making them multicultural organizations. It is therefore not enough to only seek and acquire traditional knowledge or training, but it is essential to be equipped with knowledge of surviving through cross-cultural organization systems. Managers therefore need the complex skills of operating through the multicultural settings of organizations to succeed internationally.This study discusses that every life aspect gets influenced by culture and this is dictated by the perspective someone adopts to view the   world and give direction to what is ethically tolerable in terms of behaviour. The definition of culture can be broadly said to be mutual interpretations, shared values or motives, identities and beliefs and, these factors are the outcomes of shared by members of a society and are passed over across generations. Society is a distinguishing factor that denotes a communal mind training of people mind from other people of a diverse class.  Today, managers are confronted with an array of cultural challenges with the increased international businesses across borders and diversified workforce emanating from different backgrounds.

Auditing2 case analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Auditing2 analysis - Case Study Example Therefore for a business to address this issue, it has to put in place control measures that will reduce the number of risks the business is exposed to. This is not a fool proof measure but rather ways of mitigating the extent of loss in case the business suffers. This paper therefore seeks to identify the inherent risks in the case presented, point out internal control weaknesses, the best sampling techniques to use in testing the reasonableness of the various departments. 1. In the case given, the CFO and CEO worked together in the previous company. There is an inherent risk that they are incompetent in discharging their duties and had to leave the company. This is a risk that HFC needs to be aware of and put in place measures to identify and mitigate any loss that may arise due to their incompetence. The order and shipping department has the potential to incur inherent risk whereby the quality of the goods may not meet the required standards to satisfy customers. Another risk is in credit approval. Currently, once a customer is approved, they remain credit worthy until the cease doing business. The inherent risk here is that the customer may leave a bad and irrecoverable debt to the company. This clearly is a risk that can be mitigated by introducing an internal control policy to do a background check on customers before approval. The company can also set limits to the amount that a customer can be advanced by the business. 2. An internal weakness simply means the possibility of the internal checks to detect or deter any fraudulent activities either willingly or not willingly. There are several weaknesses in the company such as placing orders over the internet and via phone calls. It poses a threat to loss of stock since this is an asset with high liquidity. With the advancement of technology, there is a risk of receiving fake orders coupled with the weak controls in credit approval, and consequently loosing cash in form of stocks.

Possession Of Knowledge: Ethical Responsibility

Possession Of Knowledge: Ethical Responsibility What is ethical responsibility? Ethical responsibility means fulfilling obligations in all ethical areas, or as many areas as possible. When an ethical dilemma occurs, involved individuals must choose between wide varieties of ethical principles and weigh which ones should be emphasized. Possession of knowledge does carry an ethical responsibility because there are certain kinds of knowledge that inflict a compulsion or a challenge on the person who carries that knowledge. For example if someone discovers a murder scene or even a robbery the person will choose whether he should reveal the information as he knows that if he reveals the information hell potentially harm the person. Or keep it inside by not revealing the incident to anyone. We can say that basically when you are helping a person without harming any other person, which is when you possess knowledge that carries an ethical responsibility and if you disclose that knowledge it should help someone. If you see that in some si tuations it doesnt carry an ethical situation when it doesnt affect any person or the piece of information is worthless but in todays world no piece of information can have an ethical responsibility as it can be used in different ways. You can see that there is a conflict of interest in any of these situations. The ethical responsibility consists in the decision the person must make, being each persons moral values and sense of what is right and what is wrong, what finally changes this decision. We can see that the decision of the person depends on how many person are getting affected its also the affection or the bond which you share with the person affects the decision of the person. We know that possession of knowledge carries ethical responsibility but why? And When? If you see, when you are helping people in an ethical way or an unethical way possession of knowledge carries responsibility and we know that at some places it doesnt carry ethical responsibility that is when it cau ses harm to anyone for example destruction as I have mentioned an example of Albert Einstein . You must have heard the famous quote said by Peter Parker that With great powers comes great responsibility. Im using this claim as you can see that with possession of great knowledge comes great responsibility. For example if the doctor knows about the genetic disposition of a child should he tell the parent or the guardian about it. In some cases you are obligated to act upon it in case of a crime you are forced to say your views and tell the person or people what you saw, sometimes it is ethical to disclose it but still you cant thinking about the consequences, emotions etc. For example you have a friend whom you know since many years and youll are very close to each other and he commits some crime youll have to say false as he is friend and youll support him which is unethical. Same thing like telling the parent whether they have a male child or female child is ethically wrong so you can see that possession of knowledge does carry ethical responsibility. During the World War 2 Al bert Einstein gave Franklin D. Roosevelt the president of United States of America the idea of creating an atomic bomb. They also came to know that Germany was planning to make atomic bombs. When Roosevelt got to know about this he started the Manhattan Project- In this project the government of United States of America were planning to make atomic bombs before Germany could. At the time he thought what he was doing was right but after seeing the negative effects he had, he ended up regretting it. Knowing what he knew carried an ethical responsibility and his morals were questioned. Knowledge can be stopped to generate in fear of unethical use, when there is a piece of knowledge which can potentially harm people care should be taken when releasing this information. If there is an obvious application which will potentially harm people, they will be apprehensive towards it. For example if you have an information about some murder you would rather think twice before disclosing the piec e of news or knowledge you possess as it will generate fear in you and you may start thinking about your own safety. Sometime Holding Back of knowledge by groups such as government can be ethical. Some groups like a government hold back a particular piece of knowledge for mainly 2 causes. If the piece of knowledge when disclosed could cause chaos or panic in the country or surroundings. Government generally do this to maintain the chaos in the country, the forcefully hold back the piece of knowledge. The source of knowledge holds a strong ethical stance The other day in my school when all the students and teachers were discussing about the rape case which recently happened in delhi, place in india a top came and the our juniors showed us the video of a man who was presidents son he made a statement saying that boys and girls who go to discos shouldnt take part in any movement. The person who invented the nuclear bomb was later regretting of his invention as it caused so much destruction in the world. He was so pressurized that he made a comment saying that he was rather ashamed of the invention and wasnt a successful invention for him. His invention was later used as a tool of mass destruction by the countries in the world war, as you can see that how Hiroshima and Nagasaki were in ashes. The 2 bombs used were little boy and fat man. The bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima was code-named Little Boy. The amount of energy Little Boy generated when it exploded was the equivalent of a 15 kiloton TNT explosion. Half of that energy was consumed when the explosion generated an ultra-high air pressure which resulted in a very strong bomb blast. Sometimes holding back of knowledge or news can be unethical if you take an example of an individual holding back a piece of news can be unethical, for example hiding the truth of 9/11 was unethical as the people didnt know and they were misled by the media so here you can see that holding back of knowledge was unethical and let to various problems. Some people or group of people have the power to decide whether the piece of knowledge is ethical or unethical? When you receive a particular piece of knowledge who judges whether the knowledge is ethical or unethical. There are many people, group of people that judge whether the knowledge is ethical or unethical or example your parents used to tell you some piece of knowledge when you were young and used to decide whether it is ethical or unethical. Even religious leaders make decisions and say whether a particular piece of knowledge is ethical or unethical. Some organizations like a government also have the power to decide whether a piece of knowledge is ethical or unethical. People or Groups of people dont have the power to judge whether the piece of knowledge is ethical or unethical. If you think logically a person who judges whether a piece of knowledge is ethical or unethical is a bit biased while making their decision for example when a piece of knowledge is judged by the government they are a bit biased in their side. According to me possession of knowledge does carry an ethical responsibility as I have mentioned some claims and example proving my point but there were some limitations which I have written as my counter claims. But at certain situations we can see that the possession of knowledge carries no ethical responsibility

Presentation of Black Characters in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee :: Free Essay Writer

Presentation of Black Characters in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee ‘To kill a Mockingbird’ is a story by Harper Lee. It is about Racial Segregation and the supernatural, it is based in a time and in a place that was very racist, where people put White trash above good black people. It is based in Maycomb, (It is a small town created by Harper lee the author of the book. In the book it describes the town as small and old, and it says the day seems more than 24 hours because everything moves slower there. This town is actually based on the author’s hometown, Monroeville, Alabama.) Alabama, in the 1930’s. This essay will discuss to you about all the main black characters in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and how they are presented in this story, it will be focusing mainly on the following black characters: Tom Robinson (the man who is on trial in this story.), Calpurnia and Reverend Sykes. I will also talk about how the book was based in the depression, and how in that time, the blacks were good law-abiding people, but yet they were still treated as second class citizens. In the story Calpurnia or ‘Cal’ is presented as a very intelligent black person, she is educated (she can read) for one, and she is a good person at heart as well, and also she has Atticus’s respect. And also as we see in the book she leads an almost ‘double life’ when she is among the Finch family and other white people she speaks proper English, but when she is among her own people she speaks using a lot of slang and cuts words short. for example: sure enough, she says sho’ nuf’. She is also the mother of Zeebo; a full grown man who is married and reads out the sermons at church. She also acts as a motherly figure in (as she is always there; she cooks for the Finch family.) Scout’s life and they have a love-hate relationship, until scout starts school, and then it eases a little. In an argument with Aunt Alexandra, Atticus also insists that Calpurnia is part of the family. Also in the story is Tom Robinson he is presented as a good person with a pure heart, he is a sharecropper on a cotton farm, and each day on his way home he passes the Ewell household, I believe he is also brave because he accepted his fate; all human beings must die sooner or later, not many people I know would accept that. He also has his

The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Nineteen

Nobody was going to lie to Elena Gilbert and get away with it. Elena marched along the path to the library, indignation keeping her head high and her steps sharp. So James thought he could pretend he didn't remember anything about those V-shaped pins? The way his eyes had skipped away from hers, the faint flush of pink in his plump cheeks, everything about him had shouted that there was something there, some secret about him and her parents that he didn't want to tel her. If he wasn't going to tel her, she would find out for herself. The library seemed like a logical place to start. â€Å"Elena,† a voice cal ed, and she stopped. She had been so focused on her mission that she had almost walked right by Damon, leaning against a tree outside the library. He smiled up at her with an innocently inquiring expression, his long legs stretched in front of him. â€Å"What are you doing here?† she said abruptly. It was so weird, just seeing him here in the daylight on campus, like he was part of one picture superimposed upon another. He didn't belong in this part of her life, not unless she brought him in herself. â€Å"Enjoying the sunshine,† Damon said dryly. â€Å"And the scenery.† The wave of his hand encompassed the trees and buildings of the campus as Wellas a flock of pretty girls giggling on the other side of the path. â€Å"What are you doing here?† â€Å"I go to this school,† Elena said. â€Å"So it's not weird for me to be hanging around the library. See my point?† Damon laughed. â€Å"You've discovered my secret, Elena,† he said, getting to his feet. â€Å"I was here hoping to see you. Or one of your little friends. I get so lonely, you know, even your Mutt would be a welcome distraction.† â€Å"Real y?† she asked. He shot her a look, his dark eyes amused. â€Å"Of course I always want to see you, princess. But I'm here for another reason. I'm supposed to be looking into the disappearances, remember? So I have to spend some time on the campus.† â€Å"Oh. Okay.† Elena considered her options. Official y, she shouldn't be hanging around Damon at al . The terms of her breakup – or just break, she corrected herself – with Stefan were that she wasn't going to see either of the Salvatore brothers, not until they worked out their own issues and this thing between the three of them had time to cool off. But she'd already violated that by letting Damon sleep on the floor of her room, a much bigger deal than going to the library together. â€Å"And what are you up to?† Damon asked her. â€Å"Anything I can assist with?† Real y, a trip to the library ought to be innocent enough. Elena made up her mind. She and Damon were supposed to be friends, after al . â€Å"I'm trying to find out some information about my parents,† she said. â€Å"Want to help?† â€Å"Certainly, my lovely,† Damon said, and took her hand. Elena felt a slight frisson of unease. But his fingers were reassuringly firm in hers, and she pushed her hesitation away. The ancient tennis-shoed librarian in charge of the archive room explained how to search the database of school records and got Elena and Damon set up in the corner on a computer. â€Å"Ugh,† Damon said, poking disdainful y at a key. â€Å"I don't mind computers, but books and pictures ought to be real, not on a machine.† â€Å"But this way everyone can see them,† Elena said patiently. She'd had this kind of conversation with Stefan before. The Salvatore brothers might look col ege-aged, but there were some things about the modern world they just couldn't seem to get their heads around. Elena clicked on the photo section of the database and typed in her mother's name, Elizabeth Morrow. â€Å"Look, there are a bunch of pictures.† She scanned through them, looking for the one that she had seen hanging in the hal . She saw a lot of cast and crew pictures from various theatrical productions. James had told her that her mother was a star on the design side, but it looked like she was in some productions, too. In one, Elena's mother was dancing, her head flung back, her hair going everywhere. â€Å"She looks like you.† Damon was contemplating the picture, his head tilted to one side, dark eyes intent. â€Å"Softer here, though, around the mouth† – one long finger gestured – â€Å"and her face is more innocent than yours.† His mouth twisted teasingly, and he shot a sidelong glance at Elena. â€Å"A nicer girl than you, I'd guess.† â€Å"I'm nice,† Elena said, hurt, and quickly clicked on to find the picture she was looking for. â€Å"You're too clever to be nice, Elena,† Damon said, but Elena was barely listening. â€Å"Here we are,† she said. The photograph was just as she remembered it: James and her parents under a tree, eager and impossibly young. Elena zoomed in on the image, focusing on the pin on her father's shirt. Definitely a V. It was blue, a deep dark blue, she could see that now, the same shade as the lapis lazuli rings Damon and Stefan wore to protect themselves from sunlight. â€Å"I've seen one of those pins before,† Damon said abruptly. He frowned. â€Å"I don't remember where, though. Sorry.† â€Å"You've seen it recently?† Elena asked, but Damon just shrugged. â€Å"James said my mother made the pins for al of them,† she said, zooming closer so that al she could see on the screen was the grainy image of the V. â€Å"I don't believe him, though. She didn't make jewelry, that wasn't her kind of thing. And it doesn't look handmade, not unless it was made by someone with an actual jewelry studio. That's some kind of enameling on the V, I think.† She typed V in the search engine, but it came back with nothing. â€Å"I wish I knew what it stood for.† With another graceful one-shouldered shrug, Damon reached for the mouse and zoomed in and out on different parts of the picture. Behind them, the librarian thunked a book down, and Elena glanced back at her to find the woman's eyes fixed on them with disconcerting intensity. Her mouth tightened as her eyes met Elena's, and she looked away, walking a little farther along the aisle. But Elena was left with the creepy feeling that the librarian was stil watching and listening to them. She turned to whisper something to Damon about it but was caught again by the sheer unexpectedness of him, of him here. He just didn't fit in the drab and ordinary library computer station – it was like finding a wild animal curled up on your desk. Like a dark angel fixing oatmeal in your kitchen. Had she ever seen him under fluorescent lights before? Something about the lighting brought out the clean paleness of his skin, cast long shadows along his cheekbones, and fel without reflection into the black velvet of his hair and eyes. A couple of buttons on the col ar of his shirt were undone, and Elena found herself almost mesmerized by the subtle shifts of the long muscles in his neck and shoulders. â€Å"What would a Vital Society be?† he asked suddenly, breaking her out of her reverie. â€Å"What?† she asked, confused. â€Å"What are you talking about?† Damon clicked the mouse and shifted the zoom, focusing this time on the notebook in her mother's lap. Her mother's hands – pretty hands, Elena noticed, prettier than her own, which had slightly crooked pinkies – were splayed over the open book, but between the fingers, Elena could read: Vit l Soci y â€Å"I assume that's what it says,† Damon said, shrugging. â€Å"Since you're looking for something that starts with V. It could say something else of course. Vital Social y, maybe? Was your mother a social queen bee like you?† Elena ignored the question. â€Å"The Vitale Society,† she said slowly. â€Å"I always thought it was a myth.† â€Å"Leave the Vitale Society alone.† The hiss came from behind them, and Elena whipped around. The librarian seemed curiously impressive framed against the bookshelves despite her tennis shoes and pastel sweater set. Her hawklike face was tense and focused on Elena, her body tal and, Elena felt instinctively, threatening. â€Å"What do you mean?† Elena asked. â€Å"Do you know something about them?† Confronted by a direct question, the woman seemed to shrink from the almost menacing figure she had been a second before to an ordinary, slightly dithering old lady. â€Å"I don't know anything,† she muttered, frowning. â€Å"Al I can say is that it's not safe to mess with the Vitales. Things happen around them. Even if you're careful.† She started to wheel her book cart away. â€Å"Wait!† Elena said, half rising. â€Å"What kind of things?† What had her parents been involved in? They wouldn't have done anything wrong, would they? Not Elena's parents. But the librarian only walked faster, the wheels of her cart squeaking as she rounded the corner into another aisle. Damon gave a low laugh. â€Å"She won't tel you anything,† he said, and Elena glared at him. â€Å"She doesn't know anything, or she's too scared to say what she does know.† â€Å"That's not helpful, Damon,† Elena said tightly. She pressed her fingers against her temples. â€Å"What do we do now?† â€Å"We look into the Vitale Society, of course,† Damon said. Elena opened her mouth to object, and Damon shushed her, drawing one cool finger over her mouth. His touch was soft on her lips, and she half raised a hand toward them. â€Å"Don't worry about what a foolish old woman has to say,† he told her. â€Å"But if we real y want to find out the secrets of this society of yours, we probably need to look somewhere other than the library.† He got to his feet and held out his hand. â€Å"Shal we?† he asked. Elena nodded and took his hand in hers. When it came to finding out secrets, to digging up what people wanted to keep concealed, she knew she could put her faith in Damon. â€Å"Pick up, Zander,† Bonnie muttered into the phone. The ringing stopped, and a precise mechanical voice informed her that she was welcome to leave a message in the voice mailbox. Bonnie hung up. She had already left a couple of voicemails, and she didn't want Zander thinking she was any crazier or more clueless than he inevitably would when he saw his missed-cal list. Bonnie was pretty sure she was going through the Five Stages of Being Ditched. She was almost done with Denial, where she was convinced something had happened to him, and was moving quickly into Anger. Later, she knew, she would slide into Bargaining, Depression, and eventual y (she hoped) Acceptance. Apparently her psych class was already coming in handy. It had been days since he had abruptly run off, leaving her al alone in front of the music building. When she found out that a girl disappeared that same night, at first Bonnie was angry and scared for herself. Zander had left her alone. What if Bonnie had been the one to vanish? Then she began to worry about Zander, to be afraid that he was in trouble. He seemed so sweet, and so into her, that it was almost impossible for her to believe Zander would just be avoiding her al of a sudden. Wouldn't his friends have sounded the alarm if Zander was missing, though? And when she thought that, Bonnie realized that she didn't know how to contact any of those guys; she hadn't seen any of them around campus since that night. Bonnie stared at her phone as fresh tendrils of worry grew and twisted inside her. Real y, she was having a very tough time moving on to Anger when she was stil not quite sure that Zander was safe. The phone rang. Zander. It was Zander. Bonnie snatched up her phone. â€Å"Where have you been?† she demanded, her voice shaking. There was a long pause on the other end of the line. Bonnie was almost ready to hang up when Zander final y spoke. â€Å"I'm so sorry,† he said. â€Å"I didn't mean to freak you out. Some family stuff came up, and I've had to be out of touch. I'm back now.† Bonnie knew that Elena or Meredith would have said something pithy and cutting here, something to let Zander know exactly how little they appreciated being forgotten about, but she couldn't bring herself to. Zander sounded rough and tired, and there was a break in his voice when he said he was sorry that made her want to forgive him. â€Å"You left me outside alone,† she said softly. â€Å"A girl disappeared that night.† Zander sighed, a long sad sound. â€Å"I'm sorry,† he said again. â€Å"It was an awful thing to do. But I knew you would be okay. You have to believe that. I wouldn't have left you in danger.† â€Å"How?† Bonnie asked. â€Å"How could you know?† â€Å"Just trust me, Bonnie,† Zander said. â€Å"I can't explain it now, but you weren't in danger that night. I'l tel you about it when I can, okay?† Bonnie shut her eyes and bit her lip. Elena and Meredith would never have settled for this kind of half explanation, she knew. Not even half an explanation, just an apology and an evasion. But she wasn't like them, and Zander sounded sincere, so desperate for her to believe him. It was her choice, she knew: trust him, or let him go. â€Å"Okay,† she said. â€Å"Okay, I believe you.† Zander let out another sigh, but it sounded like one of relief this time. â€Å"Let me make it up to you,† he said. â€Å"Please? How about I take you out this weekend, anywhere you want to go?† Bonnie hesitated, but she was starting to smile despite herself. â€Å"There's a party at Samantha's dorm on Saturday,† she said. â€Å"Want to meet there at nine?† â€Å"There's something peculiar going on at the library,† Damon said, and Stefan twitched in surprise at his sudden appearance. â€Å"I didn't see you there,† he said mildly, looking out onto his dark balcony, where Damon leaned against the railing. â€Å"I just landed,† Damon said, and smiled. â€Å"Literal y. I've been flying around campus, checking things out. It's a wonderful feeling, riding the breezes as the sun sets. You should try it.† Stefan nodded, keeping his face neutral. They both knew that one of the few things Stefan envied about Damon was his ability to change into a bird. It wasn't worth it, though – he would have to drink human blood regularly to have Power as strong as Damon's. Elena's face rose up in his mind's eye, and he pushed her image away. She was his salvation, the one who connected him to the world of humans, who kept him from sinking into the darkness. Believing that their separation was only temporary was what was keeping him going. â€Å"Don't you miss Elena?† Stefan asked, and Damon's face immediately closed off, becoming hard and blank. Stefan sighed inwardly. Of course Damon didn't miss Elena, because he was undoubtedly seeing her al the time. He'd known Damon wouldn't abide by the rules. â€Å"What's the matter?† Damon asked him. His voice was almost concerned, and Stefan wondered what his own face looked like to get that kind of reaction from Damon. Damon who had probably just seen Elena. â€Å"Sometimes I'm a fool,† Stefan told him dryly. â€Å"What do you want, Damon?† Damon smiled. â€Å"I want you to come do some detective work with me, little brother. Real y, anything's better than seeing this sulking, forehead-wrinkling brooding expression on your face.† Stefan shrugged. â€Å"Why not?† Stefan leaped down from the balcony with perfect grace, and Damon fol owed swiftly behind. As Damon led the way to their destination, he fil ed Stefan in on the details. Or rather, the vague scenario Stefan could gather from Damon's explanation. Damon never was one for ful disclosure. Al Stefan knew was that some research at the library had prompted a sketchy warning from an old librarian. Stefan inwardly chuckled at the thought of a frail old woman squaring against Damon over library fines. â€Å"What were you looking at?† Stefan asked, trying to get any more substantial information. â€Å"What did she want you to stay away from?† He shifted on the rough branch of the oak tree they were both sitting on, trying to get comfortable. Damon had a habit of sitting in trees, Stefan realized. It must be a side effect of spending so much time as a bird. They were on a stakeout outside the librarian's home, but what exactly they were looking for, Stefan wasn't sure. â€Å"Just some old photographs from the school's history,† Damon said. â€Å"It doesn't matter. I just want to make sure she's human.† He peered through the window nearest their tree, where an elderly woman was sipping tea and watching television. Stefan noted with irritation that Damon seemed a lot more at ease in the tree than Stefan did. He was leaning forward, resting graceful y on one knee, and Stefan could sense his sending questing strands of Power at the woman, trying to find out whether there was anything unusual about her. His balance seemed awful y precarious, and he was completely focused on the old woman. Stefan inched toward Damon on the branch, stretched out a hand, and suddenly shoved him. It was extremely satisfying. Damon, his composure shaken for once, let out a muffled yelp and fel out of the tree. In midair, he turned into a crow and flew back up, perching on a branch above Stefan and eyeing him with a baleful glare. Damon cawed his annoyance at Stefan loudly. Stefan glanced through the window again. The woman didn't seem to have heard Damon's shout or the crow's caw – she was just flipping channels. When he looked back at Damon, his brother had regained his usual form. â€Å"I would think playing a trick like that would go against your precious moral code,† Damon said, fastidiously smoothing his hair. â€Å"Not real y,† Stefan said, grinning. â€Å"I couldn't help myself.† Damon shrugged, seeming to accept Stefan's playfulness as good-natured, and looked through the librarian's window again. She had gotten up to make herself another cup of tea. â€Å"Did you sense anything from her?† Stefan asked. Damon shook his head. â€Å"Either she's bril iantly hiding her true nature from us or she's just a peculiar librarian.† He pushed himself off the branch and leaped, landing lightly on the grass far below. Either way, I've had enough, he added silently. Stefan fol owed him, landing beside Damon at the bottom of the tree. â€Å"You didn't need me for any of that, Damon,† he said. â€Å"Why did you ask me to come with you?† Damon's smile was bril iant in the darkness. â€Å"I just thought you could use some cheering up,† he said simply. Clearly, it wasn't the librarian Stefan should be worried about acting peculiarly.

education on the internet essays

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Management research methods - Assignment Example However, from the point of view of the consumers, it is of vital concern that the personal motivations that prompt them to make better use of the internet as shopping venue be ascertained. While many, if not all, the products sold online are also available from brick and mortar stores and other conventional venues such as through the televised home shopping network, the motivations for customers to purchase online appears to be influenced by a special set of factors which pertains exclusively to the online technology. The individual must have a strong sense of confidence in trusting the system, because (1) he/she has not physically examined the product he/she is actually buying, only being able to view a product replica on his/her monitor or screen; (2) he/she is transacting with a business entity he/she only sees onscreen, and which may be located elsewhere on the globe. Without a physical store to go to, he or she may not know how to reach the vendor if his/her claim is unsatisfied ; (3) the customer has to have his/her payment transmitted before delivery of the purchased item, thus sending the cash through electronic means is a leap of faith; and (4) release of the customer’s bank account or credit card number is a risky act which may be the source of identity fraud and electronic theft. These are significant issues to which high risks are attached, and savvy consumers will be usually cautious about engaging in these acts. It is therefore the result of strong motivational forces that consumers would agree to undertaking these risks in order to shop online. The survey conducted here therefore has the specific purpose of determining what the important factors are that influence an individual’s desire to purchase items online, despite the attendant risks. Design of the survey The survey is designed to be answered by respondents who have personally transacted a purchase over the internet. The respondents may be of any age, of either gender, and of a ny walk of life. The only disqualifying attribute is if the individual has not experienced purchasing something over the internet. In this sense, internet or online shopping includes all e-commerce facilities for retail customers online, from ordering merchandise from particular retailers, to buying something from other customers in online auctions such as the e-Bay site. The population thus includes everybody who has shopped online at least once. The size of the sample is ideally one that is representative; however, since internet shopping involves an indeterminate number of people, most likely running into the hundreds of thousands or millions with multiple transactions, then it is difficult to ascertain a representative number. The survey should therefore aim for a large number, and from observing the sample sizes shown in the different academic studies, a good number would be 250 to 350 respondents. It is also important to make sure that the locations surveyed represent as equal ly as possible all the area intended to be covered by the study. The sample selection method must ensure the highest chances of getting a representative sample, while ensuring that the intended respondents are reached and their existence and qualifications verified. Inasmuch as those who are qualified to respond to this survey are those who are exposed to and confident