Global markets and local cultures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Global markets and local cultures - Essay Example He further states that these processes are inevitable and irreversible. He states that for those countries opposing it, it will be extremely hard for them to operate in an increasingly global world as they are to be alienated and investment drawn and taken elsewhere by the electronic herd (Friedman 106-58). He states that it just but a matter of time before this alienation chokes them forcing them to accept the rules. On the other hand Friedman states that the meaning of golden in the phrase attaches the merits that come with accepting the rules. He states that for those countries that will abide by them, huge investments will go their way thereby becoming rich economically. In regards to protests in Seattle, Friedman stated that protesters were targeting the wrong body and doing so using wrong tools. He called protesters â€Å"†¦protectionist trade unions and yuppies looking for their 1960’s fix†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Besteman and Gusterson 282). He states that W.H.O is just bu t a product of globalization and that it acts according to global rules. The current world is one without walls in form of borders, politics and other types of barriers to international relations. As such there is need to replace walls with rules that govern global relationship which brings about the roles of W.H.O.

The big brother Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The big brother - Essay Example We had realized this basic fact even centuries ago. An authority to rule and regularize is a must for the very survival of a society. All the systems which do not own such a surveillance arrangement will get only history of failure. Either other forces win over them or they perish by themselves. Realizing the unavoidable role of an administrative authority, we are pursuing the search for finding good models. Many options are developed, but still difficult to point out a perfect one. Developing new models, facing problems when they are attempted practically, trying for other forms- this set of activities is a continuing process. It is not sure whether we can reach a completely foolproof system. Anyway the necessity of administrative systems makes it relevant to continue with the discussions and studies on this topic. Different administrative systems are having different features. On common points different systems may have contradictory approaches also. There will be people to support both the approaches. So it is difficult to rate administrative systems and differentiate as good or bad. The only thing one can do is to compare and explain merits and demerits of each and all systems. We can name enough administrative forms like democracy, imperialism and autocracy. But when we start discussing about one particular system it is quite sure to think about other systems also. Of course, in such thoughts and discussions some terms also will be so common. Big Brother is one among the very important and popular term in these sorts of studies. For so long the term is in use among students of administrative systems. The term Big Brother was used first by George Orwell in his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. (books.google.co.in/bookshl=en&id=yxv1LK5gyV4C&dq=big+brother&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=ol68A61VMb&sig=yu_lbdDeMTS6kHyAZDugrC6KE6M&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result#PPA1,M1). Big Brother is being presented as the all powerful dictator of Oceania state. Oceania is a totalitarian state where the ruling party is all important and superior to all other power centers and individuals of the state. It is observed that everybody is under the surveillance of Big Brother all the time. Even a phrase "Big Brother is watching you" developed as an after effect. It is not clear from the novel whether Big Brother was a real man or not. But the Party presents Big Brother as a real leader and one important one among the founder leaders of it. He is considered to be the leader of revolution also. O'Brien, a character in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four explains the cause which led to the development of Big Brother concept. According to O'Brien the aim of the Party is to gain power. It is not planning to create a heaven on earth. But need power only. The Party after capturing power is bothered only of remaining power, says O'Brien. To capture power they are thinking of bringing changes in the mindset of people. Make them stay off from enjoyments in life and Party believes that through this society also will undergo a change which will be favorable to the Party. If it is possible to bring this change in the society, the Party leaders hope that they capture power. Such a society will not have any good qualities like mercy or love. It will be a society with no space for art, literature or even science. Absence of such areas will give birth to such a situation in which people won't be having much topics other than party to think of.

Saddams rule in Iraq Essay Example for Free

Saddams rule in Iraq Essay In text A, the war is represented as having to have exploited Iraq by the Americans; also the reader accuses Britain of having the same mentality as America and Britain are both allies. This is particularly evident in the same oil companies that used to exploit Iraq when it was a British colony are now returning the Iraq war was all about oil. The modal auxiliary verb was in the past tense makes the writer sound knowledgeable and certain that this was the case and also implies that it was not unexpected from the two super powers, commenting on how they are now returning. The verb exploited and the adverbial of manner used to creates sympathy towards Iraq showing how it has already suffered and been taken advantage of by the allies before. The writer then quotes that a US Federal Chairman, recently admitted. The verbal process verb admitted shows that even parties who are amongst the USA government acknowledge their greedy reasons behind the war on Iraq. The writer used this point to further more persuade that the war was a pointless decision. All three texts refer to Saddams rule in Iraq in correlation to the cause of war in Iraq. Text A expresses how Saddams rule in Iraq was for the benefit of his people and the writer does not blame Saddams dictatorship for Americas invasion of Iraq. Text B, shows a strong opinion against Saddams sadistic regime. Whereas, Text C refers to Saddams regime to be the main cause of war against Iraq. Eric Margolis in Text A, refers to Saddams rule as the benefit of Iraqs national development. The abstract noun benefit ties in with the larger theme of the article Iraq was in a well and stationary position before it was invaded, representing the war on Iraq in a negative way as it almost proves how there was no humane reason for war. However this shows the narrow-mindedness of the writer as Text A offers no criticism of how Saddam tortured his people under his dictatorship, or even explain in what way it increased Iraqs national development. Text B uses the evaluative adjectives tyrannical and sadistic to describe Saddams regime in Iraq. By representing it in this way, the article makes the American forces almost heroic because of their efforts to eliminate him. In Text C, it states how the main goal of the invasion of Iraq was to undermine Saddam Husseins ability to wage war, again using Saddams dictatorship of Iraq as a main reason to war, emphasising the importance and positives of the war. In this simple sentence the word war is first used, as the subject of the sentence is Saddam Hussein, showing how war is only associated with him and not the Americans. To make Saddams actions sound more aggressive the dynamic verb is used to create the alliteration wage war. The three texts use similar methods to represent the war on Iraq in the way that they want to. All three articles are heavily biased, which means one could argue that there could be lack of reasoning behind some of their points. They are also all trying to challenge the representations of the war, both positive and negative. Text A, portrays the war as having no backbone other than greed for oil by the Americans, persuading the reader that this is the ugly truth. Text B, tries to gain some sympathy towards American troops instead of the real victims of the American war against Iraq; however emphasising the good aspects the war on Iraq will bring such as liberating people from Saddams sadistic regime. Text B, uses rhetorical persuasive linguistic features to change the minds of people who are against the war on Iraq by convincing the audience that war on Iraq only has advantages.

Concept of collective identity

Concept of collective identity Introduction: Although the concept of collective identity is a post-colonial phenomenon, a few nations would describe themselves under a collective identity before the modern times. In fact, Europe is historically unique in terms that it has been the people living in the continent of Europe who have persistently described themselves as Europeans since the 17th Century (Pagden, 2002). Indeed, European Union emerged as the most important attempt for creating a supranational entity in the Continent and the best example of a Pan-European common identity as even the words Europe and the European Union are being used as synonyms by millions of people every day. Nevertheless, an uncertainty of a common identity has always been the case for Europeans throughout history and the physical as well as social borders of Europe has never been distinctly known for centuries which are full of wars, confrontation competition and blood. Today, the same problem continues to exist and many believe that it is the major factor blocking the efforts for achieving a fully integrated Europe, as the definition and frontiers of a common European identity is still unknown. Indeed, one of the most important issues of the European integration from a socio-political perspective is the vague concept of a common European identity including prospects of European Union Citizenship. Although a common European identity has been long around for centuries, these are fairly new issues in relevance to the half a century long history of todays European Union. However, I believe how the common European identity is defined is very important for the future steps of the European integration project, as nowadays the EU is undergoing transformation towards a political union with an aim to become a global actor in the international political arena. What shall be the elements of a common European identity, how shall it be formulized if it is to bec ome a successful construct which would define Europe correctly to end the efforts that lasted for such a long time? I believe a triumphant common European identity must include the concrete and symbolic realities and it must be rooted to the diversity of cultures which had been created by the long history of Europe (DAppollonia, 2002). Otherwise, if it remains as a form of thin identity suggested by Habermas (2006), the problems and uncertainties of European identity as well as the poorly functioning European Union citizenship is most likely to exist in the Unions foreseeable future. In fact, a common European identity can only be successfully constructed by taking into account all the ambiguities, contradictions and developments in form of a unity in diversity principle which can be applied to the reality of Europe rather than building a shallow and artificial construct as it seems to be today. Theoretically, a united Europe in political terms is made possible if a united Europe in cultural terms is established through formulating a collective common identity which may only be conceived as a coll ection of multiple and complex values created by complicated dynamics of Europes long history. Nevertheless, a united Europe in cultural terms shall not mean to enforce a homogenous and strictly ordered European society; rather the European identity shall celebrate Europes long tradition of diversity. Another important question is how should European Union citizenship be defined and what should be the frontiers of cultural implications of such a political formulation. Considering the wide cultural diversity and long history that the individual members of the European Union had share in the European continent, a collective identity may prove to be far too complex to construct, so one may argue that a common European identity is still an illusion. Although Europeans have a successfully formed a common economic and increasingly political union, they are still far away from the desired level of cultural unity and a common identity which seems to be an alarming factor for the next stages of the European integration. Nonetheless, European Union citizenship is an area open to developments and it might be used as a critically important tool by the European Union leaders to accumulate a common European identity, only if it is formulized correctly. The critical point on the debate of Europe an Union citizenship is that the dominant Classical Model of Citizenship is based on the structures of nation-state and that is why this model cannot be applied to the European Union, as it is a whole different level of organization which cannot be compared to a nation-state. On the other hand, Post-National citizenship is a modern approach to the issue of European identity and my evaluation shows that it is a feasible solution suitable for todays Europe in order to reach its goals of unification and deepening through building a stronger common identity in the 21st Century. This paper is organized in several sections. European identity from a historical perspective is analyzed in the first part; nationalist responses to the current status of European identity and the issue of national identities in contrast to the common European identity is discussed in the following part; a new European identity and suggestions for a new understanding of common European identity is suggested in the third part; a brief history of European Union efforts and progress on building a common identity is examined in the fourth part; the current status of European Union Citizenship is discussed in the fifth part and finally, Post-National citizenship as a model for European Union citizenship is proposed in the last part of this paper. After all, this paper argues that a common identity in form of a collective European identity is clearly necessary for the Union at this stage of integration, and it is a crucial element for the future of the European integration project especially as our world is getting smaller as well as more fragmented simultaneously due to the complex dynamics of international relations every day at the age of globalization. European citizenship is very much connected to the issue of European identity and it is the key to achieving such a strong common and collective identity when it is formulized as a Post-National phenomenon. The Europeans must derive their power from the diversity of their cultures by building a thick identity for Europe rather than a thin identity which consists of merely political rights; yet the Europeans shall not overlook the uniqueness of the Continent and the similarities they share in comparison to the rest of the world emphasized by the Unity in Diversity principle. Today, it is time for the Europeans to unite under one roof in socio-political terms, complete the long standing task of defining the boundaries of the European civilization by establishing a common and collective European identity in order to carry on the progress of the European integration project in a globalized world. Nonetheless, the question of possibilities of the Europeans to achieve such a high level of cultural as well as political unity remains a question and it is subject to a whole different level of research. However, often seen as a regional product of globalization itself, I believe the European integration project cannot progress any further without achieving a common European identity which is more critical than ever today in order to overcome the challenges of globalization in the 21st Century. What is Identity? Identity has always been a problematic concept because it is uncertain, fluid and highly flexible. Identity is the way to define ones self and to differentiate from the others. If taken literally, identity means equal; identical. Identity is not static but dynamic, and it can be defined in different ways in different circumstances. Identity is construct, which cannot be constructed immediately but only in time. It is not a fixed, constant and pre-given entity; while identity formation is heavily dependent on how one is perceived by the others. Identification implies belonging or membership, in turn which implies the exclusion of non-members (Bretherton Vogler, 1999: 236). In other words, the sole purpose of identity is to separate self from the other in a sense. Moreover, identities are multiple in nature, or even kaleidoscopic. A person may have a single identity, but it will be made up of many levels of loyalty and identification (Von Benda-Beckmann Verkuyten, 1995: 18). Meanwhil e, identities change, because they are based on perceptions, which themselves change over time and environment; as it is possible to identify ones self with more than one thing at a time such as class and gender, or religion and age. Therefore there are various elements of ones identity and which operate at different levels and these various elements in an identity may well be contradictory (Von Benda-Beckmann Verkuyten, 1995: 12). On the other hand, a collective identity means the attitudes, which all members of that group have in common in their thoughts and behavior; which differentiates them from the other (Munch, 2001: 137). Collective identities can provide existential meaning for people, thus they are primary means of unity in a society which give additional stability especially during periods of upheaval. Collective identities can generate a degree of continuity between individuals and their social environment, and can provide social recognition and approval (Von Benda-Beckmann Verkuyten, 1995: 24). Therefore, collective identities are defined mainly by culture from a historical point of view rather than biological genes, ethnicity, nationalism or simple political rights. Finally, they are used to construct community and feelings of cohesion and holism, a concept to give the impression that all individuals are equal in the imagined community (Strath, 2002: 387). From the perspective of political scienc e; there are two types of political identities: a civic identity and a cultural identity. The cultural definition of political identity entails a sense of belonging of an individual towards a particular group which can mostly defined by its uniform cultural or ethnic values. On the other hand, the civic definition of political identity involves with the identification of an individual mostly in form of citizenry with a political structure, which includes political institutions, rights, duties and rules (Bruter, 2004: 26). Therefore, a cultural European identity implies a reference to Europe as a continent, a civilization and a cultural entity whereas a civic European identity implies a reference to the political and institutional aspects of European Union identity largely in the form of EU citizenship. European Identity throughout History: Europe has always been more of a mental construct than a geographical or social entity (Lowenthal, 2000: 314). Europe has no natural frontiers both in geographic and sociological terms. Therefore it had never been easy to acquire a singular definition of European identity because the borders of Europe had always been dynamic, and no one knew where Europe started and Europe ended (Pagden, 2002). A European identity is an abstraction and a fiction without essential proportions (Strath, 2002: 387). The concept of a European identity is an idea expressing artificial notions of unity rather than an identity of equality. In this sense, the concept of European identity is inscribed in a long history of political reflection on the concept of Europe. From the perspective of history, Europe has been united as a singular entity in various settings for a number of times in its past such as the Roman Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, the Napoleonic Empire, and arguably the Nazi Third Reich. However, identity was only conceptualized as a macro-level collective phenomenon by the intellectual elites of Europe; on the other hand, for the rural masses of Europe, identity was a local term associated with the micro-level, rarely the nation and never an incident as large as the continent of Europe (Pagden, 2002). In different period of history, a common European identity had been defined on different basis. In the Middle Ages, Christianity was the main defining characteristic of European identity, whereas in modern times, the emergence of the nation state, periods of nationalism and afterwards democracy and secularism has been the common characteristic of the Europeans. Meanwhile, Christianity lost its dominance yet it arguably remained as one of the important components of European identity. Today, the European Union similar to the continent of Europe can be characterized by overlapping and unclear boundaries. From a geographical perspective, the EU has fuzzy boundaries due to the ongoing enlargement processes since the 1970s (Risse, 2003: 490). Although the geographical borders of Europe are not objectively defined particularly in the East, a state without a geographical relevance to the European continent cannot become a part of the European Union, even if it shares the EUs collective values and norms. Moreover what adds to the uncertainty of Europes borders is that boundaries of the EU may change according to different policy fields such as the Schengen includes the non EU member Norway but at the same time it does not include the EU member state the United Kingdom. Therefore, before anything else the lack of solid geographical boundaries weaken efforts of the EU to be seen as a singular entity by its own people (Castano, 2004). Meanwhile, the geographic boundaries of Europe have suffered dramatic changes within time and even the recent years provide an image of changing boundaries in Europe considering the reunification of Germany, the break-up of Yugoslavia and collapse of the Soviet Union. Therefore, Europe cannot be defined solely as a geographical space. On the contrary, Europe cannot be defined in cultural space either, unless European culture is associated with the Continents long history of diversity itself. Indeed, diversity shall be the main characteristic of European identity from a cultural point of view. Religious and cultural heritages including Roman law, political democracy, parliamentary institutions, Renaissance humanism, rationalism, romanticism characterize the common identity of the Europeans (Smith, 1992). On the other hand, there are undeniable socioeconomic, cultural, national and ethnic differences among the member states of the European Union. Nevertheless, the motto of the EU, unity in diversity, reflects this fact from a positive point of view and proposes a common identity for Europeans based on their peaceful diversity as a fundamental character of the European society at large. A collective political culture is an important feature of the common European identity. The Greeks gave Europe the science and philosophy and the Romans gave it the idea of single continent and unity which created Europes strong cultural and political origins. The diverse and multiple cultures of the ancient Europe shared a single identity as they were brought together under a common system of Roman law. The people of Europe also shared a common language, Latin, and after Europe slowly converted to Christianity they acquired a common religion as well. Christianity has been a crucial part of the European identity and it played a key role to create its internal cohesion and to designate its relationship with the rest of the world. Further references are made to Europes identity besides its heritage of Greco-Roman civilization and Christianity; such as the ideas of the Enlightenment, Science, Reason, Progress, Industrialization, Democracy and Individualization as the core elements of th is claimed European legacy (Wintle, 1996: 13-16). Hellenism, Romanticism, welfare society and cross-fertilization of diversity can be added to this list (Garcia, 1993: 7-9), while one may argue that Europes core values include its commitments to an undivided continent, to individual freedom, and to the universalism of humanity (Havel, 1996). However, this unity never reached to the point of sharing a common European culture up to this point in history of the Continent. In fact, a single body of citizenry or a common cultural identity could not be reached even in the peak of Europes history of unity and solidarity. When the differences within Europe are emphasized, they are often in the form of unity in diversity; religious differences such as Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox Christianity, and linguistic differences including Romance, Germanic and Slavic languages are obvious; yet they are seen as correlated, Catholic-Romance, Protestant-Germanic, Orthodox-Slavic, and essentially are underlying the major ethnic cleavages and conflicts in the history of Europe (Wintle, 1996). Anthony Smith is among the scholars who are skeptical of the possibility of a common European identity because they could not find a common culture across the European continent, and even more critically they claim that Europe lacks of a shared set o f myths, experience and symbols; these elements which they find crucial to create post-national identity (Smith, 1992: 72-73). Furthermore, Europe lacks of a shared historical and cultural content as which is the largest source of division among Europeans. Other obstacles to a common European identity include linguistic diversity and its tripartite religious division. In fact, a major difference among EU countries is the persistence of linguistic diversity, even though in practical level English has become the dominant language in Europe. Language does not only have an instrumental but also an emotional dimension and peoples sense of nationality is often tied up with their mother tongue (Guibernau, 2001: 192). Finally, confrontation, wars and the effort to establish clear differences between peoples of the continent dominate the history of Europe, which is the exact opposite of what the European Union seeks to achieve today. On the other side of the debate, scholars such as Michael Wintle are more optimistic on the possibility of creating a European identity. Indeed, the existence of the EU identity in the form of converging education standards, educational exchanges, and the organization of a European civil society is already established in most parts of Europe. Wintle argues that a European identity was previously already created during the high Middle Age (Wintle, 1996: 19-22), and it can be easily established today considering the forces of globalization. For now, the major success of the EU in fostering its identity has been limited with the increasing free movement of people across European borders, which has accelerated since the 1985 and formalized in 1990 Schengen accords parallelly correlated with the rising impact of globalization. Increased interaction among peoples of Europe would also encourage cultural exchanges and this could foster a stronger sense of a shared community. Education and hi gh culture shall play a key role in European Unions cultural policy which has critical importance for building a thick European identity, because these two factors have an important effect on the creation as well as promotion of the EU identity. Education is obviously one of the crucial dimensions in any attempt to develop the future identity of the EU or at least more understanding and convergence among Europeans; high culture unites Europeans against the low culture which separates them. After all, the development of the EU identity will be the outcome of a long process in which bottom-up as well as top-down initiatives are likely to be employed (Guibernau, 2001: 183-184). The idea of Europe as well as the identity of Europeans are constructed over time with processes of contention and bargaining. Gerard Delanty argues that a European Culture is not an entity with cohesion and fixed boundaries, but a floppy concept, with no clear borders and with internal opposition and contradictions, discursively shaped in contentious social bargaining processes (Delanty, 1995; 1999). In other words, the images of Europe do not exist as a natural phenomenon but are discursively shaped by internal as well as external forces (Strath, 2002). A basic step in the process of creating a collective identity is to defining itself in relation to the other. Central to ones identifications are images of others. Likewise any identity, European identity necessarily contains an element of separation from the non-European. The boundaries of Europe can only be drawn and the identity of Europe can only be realized in the mirror of others. Indeed, Europe does not exist without non-Euro pe and that non-Europe does not exist without Europe (Wintle, 1996). Many centuries ago, the Europeans defined people living in the north as uncivilized and people living in the south as oriental (Pagden, 2002). Furthermore, the Greeks labeled the non-Greek speaking people as barbarians, even if that word would surely have a different meaning by that time. In nearer times, although the Russians shared many features with a European society including the same religion, it could not reach the formal limits of a Romanized civilization thus perceived as a barbaric empire or the orient, depending on the time. Moreover, European belief of its superiority relied on the common features of European societies such as science and liberal arts. Thus the rest of the world could only be portrayed as actors in relation to Europe, in other words always remained as the other. According to Delanty, Europe has been always invented and reinvented on the basis of division and strategy for the construction of difference from the other starting from Christian identity against Islam in the Middle-Ages, after that in the colonial politics to the New World, and to the ethnic minorities in the contemporary European Union (Delanty, 1995). Therefore, historical experience suggests that the new European identity may be constructed on the other which may be the United States, the East, Islam or the European past itself. Samuel Huntington has argued that religion provides the best common means of historically distinguishing between Europeans and the other, especially in terms of the confrontation between the Judeo-Christian tradition and Islam (Huntington, 1996). However, at the same time, the separation between Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Western variations of Christianity has, for a long time, been crucial in establishing a division between Western and Eastern E urope; partially reinforced in the Cold War, divisions between Catholicism and Protestantism and separation between North and South (Guibernau, 2001). Therefore, history shows that peoples of Europe has been united against peoples of other civilizations at times such as global upheaval and wars while at other times Europeans get divided and separated due to the face that they may perceive the other internally. Today, the European Union is frequently argued to be a fortress for the other and the EU is often referred to as a Christian Club, because historically all states on the continent of Europe had Christian societies. The Ottoman Empire was the greatest enemy of European states as well as Christianity in the Middle Ages; which made Islam the primary characteristic of the other for Europeans from the perspective of history. Today, the accession dialogues of Turkey into the European Union raise wide public opposition in Europe while the European Union officials make constant efforts to prove their allegiance to non-religious, non-ethnic but solely liberal and non discriminatory Copenhagen Criteria independent from historical aspects of the other which has actually been extensively used to define the European identity. Finally, Europe is unique because it has possessed an identity as a cultural space which gave birth to political unions throughout its history; however, it has never succeeded to constitute a single nation-state or a unified ethnic group. Although the European Union with its single currency and supranational political and legal institutions changed these historical facts to an extent, it is only possible with the means of a common European identity which will carry Europe to the next stage of integration that it always aimed but failed to achieve during its long history. Nevertheless, history has already proved that it will surely be hard to overcome uncertainties of a common European identity at the level of the masses. Over the past millennium, the advancements of European civilization gave rise to the elites living on the continent of Europe who feel increasingly attached to Europe as a whole and shared dreams of a united continent. However, Europe as a realm sharing a common history as well as a common destiny has been largely abandoned by fixed prejudices on often nationalistic and ethnic grounds. National interests and biases at local, national, and global levels have prevented the masses of European people from viewing themselves collectively (Lowenthal, 2000: 315). However today, forces of globalization, advancements in communications technologies and popular culture now promote the sense of being European among larger segments of society other than the European elites. Although a truly trans-European society is still far away, many of its essential elements are already in place this time largely due to the forces of globalization. Most European states are increasingly democratic; their econo mies are for the most part market driven; their popular culture grows more homogeneous as communication technologies expand under the forces of globalization in the 21st Century (Waterman, 1999: 23). Therefore, Europe is at the stage of defining its identity today; however which criteria are being deployed to define Europe, Europeans, Europeanness and their respective boundaries is critically important. A common European identity must be constructed by defining and understanding the historical roots of outstanding features of the European society in relation to the notion of citizenship, which will be discussed in depth in the following parts of this paper; developed in the past over the land of Europe. For sure, Europe is being redefined as a result of a complex set of processes, but an important question is what sort of Europe is emerging from them? Nationalist Responses to European Identity: There is certainly a structured symmetry in the perception of the European Union as the coincidence of a homogenized socio-political space, a unified regulatory space of an EU super-state, a singular European civil society surpassing existing national and regional differences in culture and identity (Hudson, 2000). In some respects there has been progress towards such an ideal of European common European cultural and a trans-national civil society. For example, the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights have had an important role in defining acceptable standards across Europe. The issue of European identity and the criteria used to denote Europeans is clearly a critical one for the political and social integrity of the European Union. Europe will exist as an unquestionable political community only when European identity permeates peoples lives and daily existence (Demos 1998). Identity is a key issue which is continuously changing and thats the reason why it is so hard to define especially in a world of fast changes in the 21st Centurys globalization. The member states of todays enlarged EU have become multi-ethnic and multi-cultural societies with various structural phenomenon ranging from the immigrant community of France to Post-Communist yet ethnic communities of the Central and Eastern European states. As the EU expanded eastwards in the last two rounds of enlargements, the issue of defining a European identity became even more critical for sake of integrity and stability of the Union. One conception of a singular European identity would see it constructed through a process similar to that involved in the creation of national identities in the 19th and the 20th Centuries. Ironically, while the aim was to create those national identities in the past, the challenge that Europeans face today would be to transcend them for the creation of a trans-national understanding of Europeannes. However, the current trends at local European level are quite different from the interests of Europeanists at the supranational level. There are pressures from nation-states and their citizens to resist any further transfer of national sovereignty as well as erosion of national identity (Hudson, 2000). In fact, the success of extreme right wing political parties in important European countries such as Austria and France in recent years may be seen as a sign of the reappearance of dangerous nationalist and racist ambitions which the peoples of Europe have most probably experienced more tha n any other continent in the world history. Eric Hobsbawm has proclaimed that nationalism is dead (Hobsbawm, 1990). On the contrary, Llobera argues that national identities are certainly not eternal, but the time of their demise has not yet arrived (Llobera, 2003). In fact, national identities are still dominant in Europe as recent Eurobarometer surveys show that people in Europe prefer maintaining their national identity and sovereignty; but increasing number of people have accepted European identity in addition to their national identities. Therefore, European nationalism is another important component of a common European identity and it has been a major ideological tool for unifying nation states as well as the Europeans as a whole throughout Europes history. To start with, the European Union, with its both intergovernmental and supranational characteristics represents a far different type of state-organization than a classical nation state. The main distinguishing characteristics of the EU from the nation-state are the ab sence of a shared language, a uniform media, common education system and most importantly a central state structure (Shore, 2000: 64). Furthermore, the powers of the EU rely on the sharing of sovereignty of its member states which may often have conflicting national interests. Indeed, the European integration project has mainly served as a tool for progressively limiting individual nation-states to practice any kind of harmful nationalism and this makes up an important part of the European identity. At this point, nationalist Euroskeptics may argue that building a common Europe and an identity for it means destroying nations. However, a general feeling of Europeanness and loyalty to Europe in a cultural sense, does not need to conflict with national identities (Andreani, 1999). A successful construct of European identity must include the concrete and symbolic realities created within history of the Continent but exclude nationalist ambitions of the past. Surely, the European states have not always been nationalist through Europes long history. The definition of nationalism counts on the idea of nation and territory; while the definition of a European nationalism depends on the historical and ideological evolution of the European nation states and aspirations for a post-national Europe. In fact, the aspirations that underlie in the roots of the foundation of the European Union are parallel to European cosmopolitanism in the 18th and the 19th centuries. From the Enlightenment to the beginning of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) after the Second World War; European nationalism found two separate meanings: one as an antinational Pan-European idea of a new united Europe that limits the sovereignty of the nation states, and the other as a pro-national ideology to create or legitimate new nation states (DAppollonia, 2002). Historically, cosmopolitanism reflected intentions for a European unity, and gave rise to anti-national European nationalism. European nationalism was characterized by the will to protect the European interests and its supremacy from non-Europeans as well as protecting Europe from itself by creating a federation. It can be argued that economic development, comme

A Comparison of High School and College :: Compare Contrast Comparring Essays

School plays an important role in our lives. Many people will spend more than fifteen years at school in order to get the qualifications that are required to work in a specific field. Those years are broken down into several levels, some of them being more enjoyable than others. Two very important levels that people go through are high school and college. Even though some think that these levels are almost the same, there are significant differences between them. The cost of high school is not the same as the cost of college. Also, some differences apply from an academic point of view. Typically, the social environment also differs from high school to college, which can be related to the question of freedom versus responsibility. High school and college are different in many ways. It is true to say that college is more expensive than high school. Of course, it provides a higher level of education, but that expensive fees make it hard for those that come from low income families. At college you also have to buy books where in high school you borrow them from the school. Paying for education can get expensive, but some people pay even more than imaginable. Some cities do not have colleges, so students that want a higher education have to move away to another city where they can get a higher education. This often involves paying for an apartment, food and transportation. However, the cost is not the only thing to consider when comparing high school to college. As college provides a higher level of education, the amount of homework increases. At high school, where it is more of a general education, the time spent at home doing homework is a lot less. This does not mean that in high school, t here is no work; it just means that it is a lot easier in some sense. At college you can also choose from subjects related to your field of study if you desired. There are also some differences between the social environment of students at high school and students at college. Since college students have more work to do at home, they have a limit on the time they can spend outside of school.

Comparing Writing Careers of Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King Essay

Comparing Writing Careers of Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King In human nature there exists a morbid desire to explore the darker realms of life. As sensitive beings we make every effort to deny our curiosity in the things that frighten us, and will calmly reassure our children that there aren't any creatures under their beds each night, but deep down we secretly thrive on that cool rush of fear. Despite our efforts to maintain a balance of respectable emotions, we are a society of people who slow down to look at traffic accidents and find excitement in the macabre. We turn off the lights when watching scary movies, and when it?s time to go to bed, we secretly make sure the closet doors are shut. Fear keeps our hearts pumping and endorphins rushing, for it is an emotion that reminds us of our mortality. How ironic it is to experience more life in our fascination with death. Two legendary writers have ruled the universe of death and horror with remarkable success, both gifted with the talent of introducing each reader to his or her own subconscious fears. Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King are the masters of their craft, blessed- or perhaps cursed- with imaginations that set higher standards in the field of writing. Both authors broke new ground in fiction that has had a significant impact on the world of literature. Similar in quite a few ways, though contrasting in many others, this paper will explore the lives and styles of these two remarkable men, paying close attention to the differences that exist in their approaches to writing. A look into Poe?s childhood might shed some light on where this divergence stems from. Edgar Allan Poe was born in 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts to drifting actor parents. Denying his parental responsibilities, his father abandoned his wife and three children, leaving her to support the family as best she could. She traveled through various cities acting in stage engagements as she could get them, but the struggle eventually took a toll on her health. Towards the end of 1811 while in Richmond, Virginia, she became ill and died. Her children were promptly farmed into homes, Edgar being placed into the residence of a well-off, yet unsupportive merchant named John Allan. Allan was emotionally detached from Poe, refusing to even legally adopt the boy. This move would begin a chain of events, eventually triggering a drinki... ..., and even if Poe?s use of language may be difficult to understand in this day and age, his subject matter is just as timely as Kings is. They have followed the norms in style of their respective cultures and times, even though their themes don?t exactly adhere to society?s morality. They are different and stand out because of it. We may never know if any of this affected either writer?s ideas or successes, or if they simply were destined to write the way they have. What we do know is that as readers we will never be the same. The things that have secretly scared us since childhood are forever entrenched in the stories by these two great writers, and the subject of fear will never grow cold. WORKS CITED Charters, Ann. The Story and Its Writer. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin?s, 1999. Edgar Allan Poe- The Life of a Poet. National Park Service. 4 Apr. 2001. King, Stephen. Needful Things. New York: Viking Penguin, 1991. ---. Night Shift. New York: Doubleday Dell, 1976. ---. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. New York: Scribner, 2000. Van Doren Stern, Philip. The Portable Poe. New York: Penguin Books, 1957. Trotter, Jeffrey. Epinions. 5 Aug. 2000.

Sexual Harrasment

Sexual Harassment Topic: Human Resource Management/Sexual Harassment Characters: Paula, Management trainee in the Production Department of a medium-sized company Steve, Vice President of Production and Paula’s Manager Richard, Paula’s coworker and a Manager in Production Paula, a recent college graduate, is a newly hired manager in the Production Department of a medium-sized US Company. The first woman selected for this production training position, Paula takes her work very seriously. She has been with the organization for three months.For the first two months, she performed her duties very well, but during the last month, Steve, her boss, has noticed a change in Paula. She seems more tense and uneasy and is to not concentrating on her work as conscientiously as she previously did During the last month, Paula has been continually harassed by Richard, a coworker. At first she tried ignoring his jokes and sexual banter. However, his persistence has caused Paula have very uncomfortable feelings while she is at work and at home as well.Paula looked into the employee’s handbook concerning sexual harassment policies and found none. She really did not know what to do. Finally, after noticing her continually declining work, Steve asked her what was bothering her. She told him the problem and showed him information concerning the EEOC laws dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace she had found in a human resources textbook from college. She also said that she was considering taking action against Richard if his actions continued.Steve told her he was totally unaware of the problem but agreed something should be done. He asked her to investigate what the organization needed to do to stop this from occurring now and also to anyone else in the future. He also thanked Paula for her patience and honesty and also promised her that something would be done. What Are the Ethical Issues? 1. What is sexual harassment, and why is it prohibited? 2. What obligations does a company have to deal with sexual harassment issues?Does an organization have an obligation to establish written policies on sexual harassment? 3. What obligations does a manager have to deal with accusations or established incidents of sexual harassment among his subordinates? How should such incidents be handled? 4. What should be done with individuals who are accused of sexual harassment? What would be appropriate penalties for individuals found to have been involved in sexual harassment of others? 5. What obligation does a company and its managers have towards the victims of sexual harassment?What Actions Should Be Taken? 1. What actions should Paula take? 2. Should Steve address this current problem before he asks Paula to draft a harassment policy for the organization? 3. Is Paula the best choice to develop this document? 4. Should Richard be fired? Punished? 5. What are the choices Steve can take, and which would you choose? Why? 6. What ethical theories mak e the most sense (utilitarian, rights, justice) concerning this case? 7. What actions should Steve take? Sexual Harrasment Sexual harassment is a two word phrase which hopes to never be brought up in a fire department, legally or just in conversation. It is a despicable practice that is widely acceptable around the nation in fire departments and in business. However, it is not tolerated on the legal front, nor should it ever be condoned in a professional environment. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender is absolutely intolerable and is a plague on today’s fire service. Claims on sexual harassment arise all the time and are never short of horrendous and demeaning acts, as well as crude remarks against the plaintiff.Many legal issues arise when it comes to sexual harassment as so many aspects play into a claim of sexual harassment. The term ‘sexual harassment’ is defined as – â€Å"Unwelcomed sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, when submission to or rejection of this conduct affects an individualà ¢â‚¬â„¢s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment† By J. Curtis Varone, Legal Considerations for Fire and emergency services, 2nd edition, page 421.Accordingly sexual harassment claims tend to include almost all the above elements as well as many more elements, be they physical or verbal. It is also broken down into two main categories. The two categories of sexual harassment are ‘quid pro quo’ (this for that) and ‘hostile work environment’. Quid Pro Quo sexual harassment – â€Å"Occurs when the employee’s employment opportunities or benefits are granted or denied because of an individual’s submission to sexual advances or requests for sexual favors. † Varone, 421.Such examples of this kind of sexual harassment would include a female firefighter being denied a promotion unless she submitted to a perverse act entirely u nrelated to the typical means of promotion. Often times, such harassment only occurs whereby the supervisor is the harasser, making the employer strictly liable for the claim. Hostile Work Environment sexual harassment â€Å"Occurs when unwelcome sexual conduct unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance or has the effect of creating an intimidating or offensive work environment†Varone, 422. Such related examples do not even need to relate to employment opportunities or anything related under ‘quid pro quo’ harassment. It is possible for hostile work environment harassment to occur when either the employer or supervisor should have known about the event occurring, or that the said supervisor should have done something about it. Possible examples include sexually oriented comments, display of sexually oriented material in the workplace, sexually oriented demeaning names or obscene remarks or jokes to the harassed individual.Often more time s than not, hostile work environment harassment is more common than quid pro quo. Statistics on sexual harassment are surprisingly low compared to other types of harassment or discrimination. Sexual harassment is under-represented due to fear of punishment or disciplinary action. The EEOC puts out statistics every year on the matter. The year of 2011 was the lowest amount of claims year in the past decade; however, the damages done are no less degrading. The below table is based upon EEOC statistics. EEOC Sexual Harassment Claims: 2011 Statistics |Total Claims filed | 11,364| % of Charges Filed by Males | 16. 3%| | Claims Resolutions by Type: | Number | Percent | Settlements | 1,367| 10. 9% | Withdrawals w/Benefits | 1,150| 9. 1% | Administrative Closures | 2,635 | 21. 0%| No Reasonable Cause | 6,658| 53. 0%| Reasonable Cause | 761| 6. 1%| Successful Conciliations | 288| 2. 3%| Unsuccessful Conciliations | 473| 3. 8%| Merit Resolutions | 3,278 | 26. 1%| Total Settlement Dollars | $5 2,300,000| Compared to previous years, 2011 has been substantially lower in amount of claims of sexual harassment.Also seen is the financial burden that sexual harassment carries. It is by no means unreasonable for the amount and extent of damages that occur for the affected individuals. Real examples of sexual harassment in the media are ever prevalent today. One such recent example comes from Phoenix, Arizona. The female plaintiff alleges that she endured years of demeaning names and remarks as well as having been passed up for promotion where it was due. She issued a $70,000 lawsuit against the City of Phoenix. A case very similar to this is the Julia M.O’Rourke v City of Providence case from the early 90’s, which I think will be similar to the final outcome of the City of Phoenix case. Julia M. O’Rourke was one of the first female firefighters in the history of the Providence fire department. She started with 6 other women in the process of the fire departme nts academy in January of 1992. After which, O’Rourke was hired under the city’s new affirmative action policy. It wasn’t until this point that the Chief of the department made a sexual harassment policy. The policy stated was to keep sexual related content, be it media, or remarks out of the department.It also stated that the supervisor of each station was responsible to enforce the policy. Also added was a course on sensitivity training as well as a sexual harassment course. Prior to even being fully employed, Julia experienced many instances of sexual harassment during the academy. Almost every instance can be tied to hostile work environment sexual harassment. On numerous occasions, one specific academy member, Ferro, was found to be discussing overly sexual opinions, displaying pornographic content to other members as well as making remarks specifically to O’Rourke.In one specific event, Ferro pointed to O’Rourke’s breasts and claimed t hat she was â€Å"stacked†, in the company of many other students at a water training exercise. Ferro continued to be a general problem for O’Rourke during the course of the academy. Even after making through the academy and being hired on at engine 5, B shift, the harassment did not stop, in fact, it got worse. Instead of just from a co-worker, harassment was now coming from the company officer on her shift. A specific event occurred where the company officer threw pieces of paper with O’Rourkes number out of the engine while going past a bar in the own. Despite being asked to stop by O’Rourke, the company officer continued and laughed. Also at one point, she was warned that there was the possibility of there being a closed circuit camera in her bunk room. She felt completely invaded and violated in a place that should feel at the very least safe. Volatile treatment like this continued to occur for the next 2 years. Finally in September of 1994, Oâ€℠¢Rourke sought out the City’s EEO officer. This finally got the ball rolling to straighten out and shed justice on the issue.Final verdicts won for O’Rourke throughout the year of 1997 on numerous cases on the basis of hostile work environment sexual harassment. O’Rourke was victorious in receiving her dues on the basis of sexual harassment. I feel that the Phoenix Arizona case will play out similarly, but only time will tell as there is not much information so far on the exact events or court trials. Ultimately, sexual harassment will continue to plague the fire service until people become more tolerable of others differences.Sexual harassment is immensely degrading for the affected individual and is nothing short of driving a person to inadequacy. It should never be tolerated in the workplace or professional environment and certainly has no place in the fire service. The main virtue is that a person can do the job. That is the only merit that holds true, but d iscrimination on the basis of gender or sexual preference simply isn’t a proper means of deciding whether or not an individual should be able to perform in this job.It is my hope that there will continue to be a downward trend in sexual harassment claims and actual occurrences as the practice of such is horrendous. Works Cited – Varone, J. C. (2006). Legal considerations for fire and emergency services. Delmar Pub. Resendez, M. E. (Writer) (2012). In ABC 15. Phoenix, AZ: ABC. Retrieved from http://www. abc15. com/dpp/news/region_phoenix_metro/central_phoenix/70k-sexual-harassment-lawsuit-prompts-big-changes-at-the-Phoenix-Fire-Department Eeoc. Retrieved from http://www. eeoc. gov/ Sexual Harrasment Sexual Harassment Topic: Human Resource Management/Sexual Harassment Characters: Paula, Management trainee in the Production Department of a medium-sized company Steve, Vice President of Production and Paula’s Manager Richard, Paula’s coworker and a Manager in Production Paula, a recent college graduate, is a newly hired manager in the Production Department of a medium-sized US Company. The first woman selected for this production training position, Paula takes her work very seriously. She has been with the organization for three months.For the first two months, she performed her duties very well, but during the last month, Steve, her boss, has noticed a change in Paula. She seems more tense and uneasy and is to not concentrating on her work as conscientiously as she previously did During the last month, Paula has been continually harassed by Richard, a coworker. At first she tried ignoring his jokes and sexual banter. However, his persistence has caused Paula have very uncomfortable feelings while she is at work and at home as well.Paula looked into the employee’s handbook concerning sexual harassment policies and found none. She really did not know what to do. Finally, after noticing her continually declining work, Steve asked her what was bothering her. She told him the problem and showed him information concerning the EEOC laws dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace she had found in a human resources textbook from college. She also said that she was considering taking action against Richard if his actions continued.Steve told her he was totally unaware of the problem but agreed something should be done. He asked her to investigate what the organization needed to do to stop this from occurring now and also to anyone else in the future. He also thanked Paula for her patience and honesty and also promised her that something would be done. What Are the Ethical Issues? 1. What is sexual harassment, and why is it prohibited? 2. What obligations does a company have to deal with sexual harassment issues?Does an organization have an obligation to establish written policies on sexual harassment? 3. What obligations does a manager have to deal with accusations or established incidents of sexual harassment among his subordinates? How should such incidents be handled? 4. What should be done with individuals who are accused of sexual harassment? What would be appropriate penalties for individuals found to have been involved in sexual harassment of others? 5. What obligation does a company and its managers have towards the victims of sexual harassment?What Actions Should Be Taken? 1. What actions should Paula take? 2. Should Steve address this current problem before he asks Paula to draft a harassment policy for the organization? 3. Is Paula the best choice to develop this document? 4. Should Richard be fired? Punished? 5. What are the choices Steve can take, and which would you choose? Why? 6. What ethical theories mak e the most sense (utilitarian, rights, justice) concerning this case? 7. What actions should Steve take?