Political Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Political Economy - Essay Example The post World War II world saw the mainstreaming of studies on cultural and creative industries as it was an absolute necessity to explore and grasp the changing nature of politics and economics in the developed countries. The end of the cold war marked the beginning of a 'cultural turn' in the globalized world. The worldwide dissemination of the values and attitudes of the West in general and the United States of America in particular has been the focus of attention for not only academicians but also for ordinary people from across the world. There have been intense debates over the impact of globalization and the consequent transformations in the realm of culture from a number of conflicting standpoints. The idea of cultural imperialism has been particularly influential in the understanding of the profound transformations that are taking place in the sphere of culture. Regardless of the difference among these contesting perspectives on the characterization of this cultural turn, there exists a consensus on the incredible role of global media as carrier of the unprecedented changes pertinent to culture at both global and local levels. However, culture should no longer be perceived as a locally bounde d 'whole way of life' as the components of culture themselves have profoundly changed. It has been suggested that culture should not be viewed as introverted, tied to place and inward looking as it used to be in history. Rather, culture is seen as an outward-looking 'translocal learning process'. The intangibility is one of the important factor in defining a cultural product or commodity. Certainly, the content of cultural commodities is immeasurable and 'cultural' in nature. Here, cultural means that the use value of a cultural commodity is satisfying some of the mental, psychological needs of a user in one way or another from a culturally determined standpoint. Speaking from the opposite, a cultural commodity has no 'physical' value apart from its ability to gratify given cultural tastes of a consumer. In broad terms, cultural industries are characterised by the production, creation, transmission, dissemination, registration, protection, participation and mass consumption of cultural and creative types of intangible and immeasurable contents, which are available in the market as exchangeable commodities or services. Globalisation represents not only the competitive distribution but also the co-operative sharing of cultural and creative goods. Cultural industries deal with the mechanisms of production, distribution and use of cultural goods. Laws and provisions concerning copyright and intellectual property rights are used to protect and ensure the value based exchangeability of such commodities and services in the marketplace. The term 'cultural industries' denotes that culture is part of the economic sector. The state considerably regulates the cultural industry as a sector of economy but not without political implications. Crafts, designs, printed and published materials, multimedia creations, pornographic

Research Methods In Education Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Research Methods In Education Studies - Essay Example 154). 3. The epistemological assumption could be how students beliefs could undergo changes with time and how they could be related to some of their notions in learning. From epistemological questionnaire, the research explained and interpreted the statistical correlations. The correlations are between the independent variables obtained the school level and learning conception while the dependent variable included the factors scores obtained. The implications in the assumption are that by tabulating learning conceptions as the final variable, it resulted to a considerably small estimate of academic performance. 4. The data about procedural and conceptual traits of what learning is like and how learning took place were studied by qualitative data analysis method. The problems realized concerning the concluding sets of learning conceptions were abstracted to an honestly interpretive procedure, says Marton et al. (1993). 5. The design of the particular methods used (participants, procedure and instruments) were reliable and appropriate. The participants, who are secondary students were informed earlier before the investigation. Their parents consent is sought since the students were minors. Administering of questionnaires was done confidentiality by the respondents. Order of administering the questionnaires was random Schommers EQ (1993) and Tynjà ¤las (1997). 6. Ethical consideration such as seeking permission from parents, requesting for student assistance for them to be examined and to test for instruments applicability, analysis such as exploratory and confirmatory were done. 7. Conclusions on the result are valid and relevant to the actual experiments that were conducted. For example, the first correspondence analysis was established on an interdependence technique that facilitated dimensional reduction of qualitative data (Hair, Anderson, Tatham, & Black, 1995,

Farewell my concubine Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Farewell my concubine - Movie Review Example We see how the Communists push down actors and homosexuals to the bottom of the Chinese social ladder. Before the rise of Communism, actors enjoyed prestige in China and there were no rules against homosexuality as well. However, Communism placed an emphasis on conformity which threatened both the acting profession and homosexuality. It is this blunt and horrifying treatment to which actors and homosexuals are subjected by the Communists which served to put a ban on the film upon its release. Political changes brought on by the rise of Communism in China during the mid-20th century adversely affected sexual identities. â€Å"Farewell my concubine† fearlessly explores the homophobic anxiety brought in the Chinese society by the Communists which earlier had never been recognized as a solid sexual problem. A gay or queer identity in some form has existed throughout the history of China, but the dawn of Communism served to eliminate homosexuals from the Chinese society. Before the introduction of these political changes, the Chinese society was quite tolerant of homosexuality and same-sex desire did not meet with cruel treatment. Sexual diversions with other men or women outside of marriage were generally accepted or ignored as long as one married and reproduced. As homophobia picked momentum everywhere in the world in the early 20th century, China in contrast became more attractive for homosexual men. But, all of that changed when China went through political changes later. This is because the Chinese environment which was one characterized by freedom began to be known for its oppressiveness. This is considered by many to be the greatest Chinese film of all time because of its brave exploration of the most disturbing fields in the Chinese history which is related to the Communism. China is ruled by a Communist party which is why the film was banned because it

Neuropsychology paper on Split Brain Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Neuropsychology on Split Brain - Research Paper Example The brain is also very segmented in that specific parts of the brain are responsible for different tasks in ability and processing. Even though all of these different parts of the brain operate differently in processing and storage of a particular stimulus, they still communicate with one another in effort to process and integrate sensations more efficiently and more fully. One of the biggest divisions in the brain’s structure is the right and left hemisphere. Each is responsible for its own processing of data and they have to communicate with each other in order to understand the whole picture. As a result of this, a great deal of research has been devoted into split-brain studies in trying to figure out how the two hemispheres work in tandem as well as how they work separately. Like the Earth, the brain is divided into two hemispheres: the right and left hemispheres. They are as much independent as they are intertwined. Researchers and psychologist hypothesize that the divis ion of the two hemispheres makes them more like two minds rather than one. Research has shown that the left hemisphere is more dominant and responsible for processes involving language whereas the right hemisphere is designed to process spatial relationships. This has been proven through experimentation as well as natural medical phenomenon. When a person has a stroke and it impacts an area of the brain, it is observed that functioning that is associated with that area decreases. The way in which we process the environment and information is when these two hemispheres are in sync and are communicating with one another. For example, the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and the ride side of the brain controls the left side of the body. This is achieved by a connection known as the corpus callosum. The corpus callosum is a thick band of neural fibers, which essentially anchor both hemispheres together in order to facilitate communication. If this connection we re to be severed, then the way in which the hemispheres could communicate would be separated, thus creating two different minds within one. This is never done for research, although it has been used in epileptic patients in order to cure seizures. Research was conducted (not through severing the corpus callosum) on the dual processing of the two hemispheres and designing tests in which the effects of separating the corpus callosum could be simulated and the behavior observed. This involved a combination of visual recognition tasks as well as tactile response tasks. In the visual tasks, their vision was altered in some way in which the disruption of communication occurred to where only one side of the brain was processing, while the other was missing the sensory input. In tactile response experiments, participants were asked to identify objects. Depending on which hand it was placed in had an effect on whether they could verbalize the recognition of the object. The research was able to conclude that there were remarkable differences in the way the two minds operate independently of each other. In fact, it is shown from some research that by having a set of brains versus one unified one leads to increased ability to dual process and complete tasks (Gazzaniga, 1967). Since the first studies and research that were conducted into split brain research

Time and Travel in The Dispossessed and Kindred Term Paper

Time and Travel in The Dispossessed and Kindred - Term Paper Example Butler would agree with Asimov; when asked to label her novel, she has called it â€Å"a grim fantasy.† How time travel occurs in Kindred is never explained; the novel’s protagonist Dana simply feels dizzy from time to time and travels back in time, to pre-Civil War America. It is a mystery to her and to her husband, but they try to deal with the situation they have found themselves in, anyway. The only way she is able to return back to her own time is to feel threatened and in danger of dying. She even tries slitting her wrists in order to return to her own time. Each time she travels back in time, her stay on the plantation becomes longer—at first only a few minutes, and then several days and months. She disappears from the present as she travels, but at first for a few seconds and then for several hours. It seems as if Dana time travels to the past every time Rufus is in some kind of mortal danger. The first time she travels, he is drowning; the second time, s he saves him from dying in a fire. She discovers that the reason he â€Å"calls† her to the plantation is that he is her ancestor and it is her duty to save him so that she is preserved in the future. At the end of the book, however, she ends up killing him and experiences horrible consequences as a result—the mangling of her arm when she returns to the present. Perhaps the real reason she has to time travel is because it is Rufus’ destiny to die, and there is nothing she can do to prevent it. Although Butler was already established as a successful science fiction writer, one of the few African Americans in a white male-dominated field, the time travel in Kindred, is incidental. It is simply something she uses to illustrate her thesis about the horrors of slavery. When the novel is shelved in libraries or bookstores, even though Butler is well known as a writer of science fiction, it tends to be placed with African American literature because that creates the sa me feelings as the works of other female African American writers. Like all science fiction, though, Kindred is speculative: What would happen if a modern person got the opportunity to experience slavery first-hand? Time travel is used as a literary device to pursue her thesis, and to investigate how a sympathetic modern character would react in the setting of slavery. An example is Dana’s reaction to seeing a slave being whipped: I shut my eyes and tensed my muscles against an urge to vomit. I had seen people beaten on television and in the movies. I had seen the too-red blood substitute streaked across their backs and heard their well-rehearsed screams. But I hadn’t laid nearby and smelled their sweat or heard them pleading and praying, shamed before their families and themselves (Butler 36). Even though it definitely science fiction/fantasy, Kindred has the feel and structure of a slave narrative. Dana, and Butler’s audience along with her, travels to the pas t so that they can experience it and understand the impact of history, and more specifically, of slavery. Dana travels from freedom to enslavement, like her ancestors did when they were taken from Africa and enslaved in America, never to return. She goes through the same horror as her slave ancestors, and the time travel she experiences is just as confusing as the voyage they experienced. Dana attempts to explain this to her white husband, after reacting to him with fear after she returns: â€Å"

Countering Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Countering Terrorism - Essay Example Different quotas have used different methods trying to stop terrorism all over the world. In essence, the counter terrorism procedure incorporates both the exposure of potential acts and the reaction to related events (Maras, 2012). Counter terrorism is known to include standard police and domestic intelligence. It has both traditional and modern technology. In terms of traditional methods, there is interception of communication and tracing of persons. On the other hand, the new technology entails the range of military and law enforcement operations (Crenshaw, 2010). It is a common occurrence that terrorism has continued to cause pain and suffering on the lives of people all over the world. In fact, every single day does not go down without the act of terrorism being detected in a particular part of the world, as having affected innocent people who happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, this is one of the many unfortunate cases that has raised interest in one of the most renowned international defenders of Human Rights organizations, the United Nations, an agenda that is been discussed currently. According to Hughes, et al 2011, the impact of terrorism on human beings has devastating consequences especially on the right to life, liberty and physical integrity of the victims. Additionally, terrorism destabilizes most governments, undermine the freedom of civil society, tampers with peace and security in the conflict zones, as well as, those surrounding them, and further threatens the social and economic development of nations a factor that is tagged on the impact of enjoying human rights. Governments obligation such as security and protection of individuals, which is a basic human right is not respected as expected (Crenshaw, 2010). In the past years, numerous methods have been used by governments and states towards the curbing of terrorism. However, a high percentage of these measures and methods have continually posed challenges to human rights and the rule of law. In fact, some of these states have engaged in human torture and other ill treatments to counter terrorism disregarding the legal and watchdogs that have been put in place to prevent torture. Maras, 2012 argues that, other states and governments have deported suspected persons of engaging in terrorism to their mother countries where they are subjected to excessive torture, over and above, human rights abuse that is directly associated to violation of international legal obligations. Needless to mention, independence of the judiciary had been ignored and undermined by a substantial number of states and governments while the use of special courts to handle suspected persons of terrorism have seriously impacted the normal running of the general court processing. Some of the developing states and government have used resources that are allocated for social programmes and economic development for the security purposes, a situation that has affected the economic, social a nd cultural rights to many. Principally, combating terrorism has been hugely associated with the use of military, human torture, and the abuse of human rights. Apparently, it is essential that states and government should begin using other methods other than military engagement to stop terrorism all over the world. Crenshaw 2010 asserts that some of these methods include; counter terrorism strategy for

Knowing Your Audience and Communication Release Essay Example for Free

Knowing Your Audience and Communication Release Essay On August 5, 2010, The Chilean Copper mine collapse with 33 workers confined in a 2,257 feet hole, which was the size of a mini studio apartment (msnbc.com news services, 2010). Their families, friends, and co-workers were worried frantically about their safety, and not being able to reach the miners left everyone at unease. The Rescuers and the Chilean Copper president’s came together to find a resolution as to the cause of this situation and how to rescue their employees. Families and co-workers of these miners have questions that wanted immediate answers, and it is the companies responsibly to provide answers. The company should have a plan of emergency action for these types of incident and be implemented in training programs when hired or promoted. There should be reputable spokesperson on hand to communicate with families, co-workers, and the media. The first action to take place is to immediately control the situation, and prevent any rumors from uprising through the workplace or the media. Have somebody Reputable from the company to hold a face to face verbal meeting explaining what emergency incident just occurred and what the companies’ plan of action is going to be. It is important to present only facts to this meeting so that there are no assumptions as to what is really taking place. Be honest, open, clear and concise in these meeting so the audience can listen and decode the message the spokesperson is conveying. The spokesperson should be able to answer all questions presented to the room, as long as the spokesperson has evidence to back it up. Otherwise, being honest and saying, â€Å"we are looking into that,† is the best option for this type of situation. If the company has a morning and evening shift, then having the meeting write when both shifts are about to cross would be an effective way to control any rumors, explain the situation, and answer any questions. This will save time so the company can delegate the situation currently on hand. The second action is to have another reputable spokesperson to notify the minors’ families of the incident. The first step to communicating to the miners loved ones is by phone and then a face-to-face verbal communication should take place. It is important to be sympathetic and compassionate when relaying this type of information to the families. Calling each miners emergency contact would be the start but should not provide too much information over the phone, but just ask the family or friend to come down to the job site immediately. Providing information over the phone can create media attention rapidly and cause panic to the person. Hold a meeting as soon as the miner’s family and friends have arrived and provide information that the company has facts on. Do not delude the people in thinking, the situation is worse or better than what the facts actually say, but be honest and clear about the situation. It is a good idea to have a mediator around if the company decides to have a verbally conversation that is one on one with a family member, and this will prevent any rumors as well. Inform the employees and families that it is in the best interest for the company and the families of the miners to avoid answering questions to the media. When speaking to the media without knowing all the facts or going based on what you heard without fully researching the situation can lead to panic and discomfort for the families and loved ones. For instance, in the situation the media publicly announced on August 26, 2010 that it would take the rescuer’s four months to rescue the miners. However, According to msnbc.com news services (2010), Health Minister Jaime Manalich said, they would not be rescued before the Fiestas Patrai’s,† and Fiestas Patrai’s is Chiles Independence Day celebration, held on September 18. That is only forty-four days, and a big difference from 120 d ays. Preventing the media from misleading reports can be achieved by avoiding the media. The company should offer counseling to the families and co-workers to help deal with this situation, and provide any assistance to make this incident go smoother for them. After the company has all the facts and knows what they are facing then have a reputable spokesperson address the media, family, friends, and co-workers with all the facts at hand. This will help all parties understand what they are in for and to start dealing with the situation at hand. Keeping the all parties informed throughout the rescue process though meetings or the media is important. Having somebody from the company to go to the miners loved ones face to face or calling them to ensure that they are well, is a great way to provide answer to the individual parties. This situation affects everyone, families, friends, co-workers, and global. It is never easy to try to control and sustain a crisis like this but avoiding rumors, which are usually just opinions from others around, can help everybody. The miners loved ones just have one care in the world, that is getting them out safe and healthy, and that is all that should matter, but sometimes the media likes to turn embellish the truth. The important thing in this type of situation is too continual to provide information to all parties so they are properly informed. It is better to hear from the people who are actually in the rescue process rather than an outside source. This will provide all parties some ease to their pain even if it is not good information; at least they understand the situation. Reference msnbc.com news services. (2010). Drill breaks through to trapped Chilean miners. Retrieved from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39558833/ns/world_news-americas/t/drill-breaks-through-trapped-chilean-miners/