Globalization and Cultural Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Globalization and Cultural Change - Essay Example There are many convincing arguments both against and in favor of globalization. Those against globalization have one primary concern; they claim that globalization benefits corporations while harming people. It is feared that globalization reduces human rights, harms the environment, undermines sovereignty, and increases inequality. Below are some important points for and against globalization. Strengths and Opportunities: Productivity grows more quickly when countries produce goods and services in which they have a comparative advantage. Living standards can go up faster. Global competition and cheap imports keep a lid on prices, so inflation is less likely to derail economic growth. An open economy spurs innovation with fresh ideas from abroad. Export jobs often pay more than other jobs. Unfettered capital flows give the U.S. access to foreign investment and keep interest rates low. Weaknesses and Threats: Millions of Americans have lost jobs due to imports or production shifts abroad. Most find new jobs--that pay less. Millions of others fear losing their jobs, especially at those companies operating under competitive pressure. Workers face pay-cut demands from employers, which often threaten to export jobs. Service and white-collar jobs are increasingly vulnerable to operations moving offshore. U.S. employees can lose their comparative advantage when companies build advanced factories in low-wage countries, making them as productive as those at home. Anthropology can be very beneficial in the study of globalization if properly organized. Corporations, firms, NGOs, non-profits, governments, universities, policymakers and a host of other entities comprised of humans interact daily in global networks. They are underpinned, for the most part, by a neo-liberal framework constructed in assumptions about rational choices. Many anthropologists study these networks, frameworks and assumptions, grounding them within particular socio cultural contexts. Anthropology, however, has yet to engage in an exploration of its own assumptions, findings and responses to "globalization" in an attempt to integrate our anthropological understanding of these processes, to evaluate the questions that frame research and advocacy and the methods used in carrying these out, and to communicate our contributions in this area of research to our discipline, policymakers and the public. The implications that globalization has on societies is quite extreme, especially in the developing third world nations. For example, Thousands of farms and homes in east and central India are being swallowed up by coal mines financed by the World Bank. The entire village of Balanda was demolished last year by bulldozers. The local villagers were sent to the "resettlement colony" of Handidhua, which lacked drinkable water, electricity, and small businesses promised as part of the $530 million World Bank loan guarantees. These are just few of many severe implications that globalization brings upon the world (Lukas, 2000: 4). But do the benefits out weigh the costs The world is becoming more and more a mixed environment, and all of these different cultures, different people who have grown up in these particular different cultures are coming up against each

Violence against women Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Violence against women - Essay Example ll under include rape, sexual harassment, female genital mutilation, forceful marriages, wife inheritance, trafficking as sex slaves among a list of other forms of violence as this tends to differ in terms of nations (Ghanim, 2009). Essentially, some states tend to support violent treatment of women, especially those by strict Islamic laws making it hard for women to survive in these regions, meaning the state to be in support of those that commit violent acts among women. Based on this overview, this essay will delve into the causes and effects of violence committed against women across the states. In some African and Middle East states, violence against women is a dominant factor in which neither the state nor the society can intervene because this is their way of life since they tend to view women as voiceless beings and objects (Ghanim, 2009). In some African states, women tend to experience violence based on the fact that these nations are on a constant path of civil war in which armed rebels rape and commit all manner of atrocities against women without being answerable for it. Therefore, civil war can be one of the causes that can influence violence against women because the women become vulnerable because those that should protect them become their foes. On the other, religious extremism can also be another cause of violence against women because some of them permit the ill treatment of the so-called weaker gender by having stiffer penalties for them. Essentially, the nations that practice sharia law, subject women to punishment if they get pregnant outside marriage or for even dressing indecently, which is as per what they prescribe. In this case, women do not have the freedom to dress as they please and live under a male dominated society (Ghanim, 2009). It becomes difficult for the women to liberate themselves against such forms of violence because their societies do not view this as going against their rights and freedoms. The effects or consequences

English Essays Hitchcock Movie Of Rebecca

English Essays Hitchcock Movie Of Rebecca Analyse the differences between the text and the Hitchcock movie of Rebecca The film Rebecca (1940), directed by Alfred Hitchcock, is an adaptation of a book by the same title published in 1938 by author Daphne Demurer. To analyse the differences between these two pieces of work it is perhaps necessary to first point out the obvious; film adaptations of novels are never completely true to the original book. It is often a criticism that when novels are turned into screenplays that the author of the screening play has left chunks of the book out. This usually because their just is not time to cover every single detail on screen could you have sat through more than three hours of Peter Jacksons epic Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, based on J.R.R. Tolkiens novel, for instance? (I dont think any cinemagoers bladder could have coped with more!) Or there are elements of the original story that would distract the viewer from the crux of the plot for too long, hence Fran Walsh cut out the character Tom Bombadil out of The Fellowships script, much to the dismay of some Tolkien purists. However, sometimes a scriptwriter will assert his/her autonomy to the point where the novel that has been turned into a film does not even have the same ending as its original source. In Louis De Bernieres much loved book Captain Corellis Mandolin the main characters, and two lovers Captain Corelli and Pelagia, part for several years and Pelagia believes Corelli is dead until hes in his senior years and directly approaches Pelagia again and their love rekindles. However, in the movie (2001) one of the many contrasts to the original text is that Pelagia and Corelli live happily ever after together in their younger years. With regards Hitchcocks Rebecca and DuMauriers Rebecca the storyline remains largely unchanged, yet the implications of its sexual contexts have been treated differently. Throughout history women have been subjected to the patriarchal order; the model female being chaste and submissive and essentially what Simone De Bouviour calls mans other: [Woman] is defined and differentiated with reference to man and not he with reference to her; she is incidental, the inessential as opposed to the essential. He is the Subject, he is the Absolute -she is the OtherWhereas a sexually confident woman and assertive woman is depicted as impure, bad and on occasions mad. Before World War II, women were particularly vulnerable to the former categorisation. But during the war, women participated in the work force as never before and thus asserting greater independence and autonomy. DuMauriers novel Rebecca, examines female sexuality, and its repercussions, in a society, which condemns its existence. Although both the novel and film reveals societys wish to keep the sexuality of women under control some of DuMauriers message lost in the translation of novel to film. However, the film was produced and directed by men so it was inevitable that their sex would affect the way they choose to interpret DuMauriers work on screen. As Helene Cixous says in her essay, The Laugh of the Medusa, it is impossible to produce a work of art that does not implicate your sex: I write woman: woman must write woman. And man, man. In both the novel and film, Rebecca is dead (she supposedly drowned the previous year) and is depicted as a threat due to her overt sexuality. Mrs. Danvers, Rebeccas devoted housekeeper, says, Ive seen them here, staying in the house, men shed meet in London They made love to her of course (p.245). Regardless of Rebeccas infidelities, her reputation remains intact; she is regarded as pleasant, beautiful and confident. Yet the double life she leads of wife and mistress is comparable to the duality of existence in which only men are allowed to indulge and thus threatens the structure of patriarchy. As Rebeccas housekeeper Mrs Danvers aptly states [Rebecca] ought to have been a boy (p.243). Rebeccas sexuality even threatens to destroy patriarchal dynasty. As Simone de Beauvoir writes in her essay The Second Sex: Marital infidelity where patriarchal traditions survive, still seems much more heinous for the wife than for the husband Womans adultery risks bringing the son of a stranger into the family, and thus defrauding legitimate heirs. Indeed the prospect of an illegitimate heir is the crux of Rebeccas death in both novel and film. In the novel Max, Rebeccas husband kills her when she boasts that she is pregnant by another man, however the coroner rules death by suicide. In the film, Rebeccas death is attributed to an accidental fall after Max has physically struck her after she reveals her unfaithfulness to him. The reason for this important difference is that the censors demanded that Max could not kill his wife without paying the penalty for his crime. Suicide was also frowned upon. However, Rebeccas death suggests that both novel and film are in agreement that patriarchal society views Rebecca actions as immoral and that her death is the only way to keep the structure of patriarchy in tact. Although, in novel and film, Rebecca is highly regarded within society, Demurer understood she needed to justify Maxs crime to make it plausible, so she takes steps to dehumanise Rebecca. Aside from Maxs derogatory words about Rebecca, other characters assist in creating a negative view of Rebeccas character. The village simpleton, Ben, calls her a snake (p.154); the biblical connotations of this image suggest irreparable female sin. Damning language such as this pave the way for Maxs confession and provides justification for Maxs wish to kill her in the film, and his actually doing so in the novel. Prior to Rebeccas death, both novel and film reveal that a doctor had diagnosed her with terminal cancer and that her pregnancy is in fact a malformation of her uterus that would have prevented her from having children. From the perspective of the patriarchal society, Rebeccas cancer, her infertility, and her death are all attributable to her sexually deviant conduct. The message to women is that female sexuality must be confined to their husbands and that any deviation will be punished because it undermines the superiority of men. Lesbianism in the novel also seeks to shake the foundations of patriarchy. The relationship between the spinster/housekeeper Mrs Danvers and Rebecca has homoerotic overtones. Mrs. Danvers tends to speak of Rebecca in sexual terms, especially in the novel. An example of this is when she recalls an incident involving Rebecca at sixteen: I remember her getting up on one of her fathers horses, a big brute of an animal too, that the groom said was too hot for her to ride. She stuck to him all right. I can see her now, with her hair flying out behind her, slashing at him, drawing blood, digging the spurs into his side, and when she got off his back he was trembling all over, full of froth and blood. The film, however, tends to diminish or soften lesbian overtones, because the film industry prohibited sexual perversion or any inference to it; images depicting Mrs Danvers stroking Rebeccas nightgown, as well as references to Rebeccas nude body were cut out of the film. Instead the film chooses to paint Danvers as being obsessed with her dead mistress. This was also arguably because Hitchcock et al did not want their patriarchal authority over Du Mauriers text of screen to be diluted by the presence of masculine women Both novel and film strip Mrs. Danvers of humanity in the same way Rebecca is. She is described in the text as someone tall and gaunt, dressed in deep black, whose prominent cheek-bones and great, hollow eyes gave her a skulls face, parchment-white, set on a skeletons frame (p. 66). Furthermore, Mrs Danvers is also punished by death for moving outside the confines of patriarchy. Yet although novel and film are in agreement concerning societys condemnation of Mrs. Danvers, however, they do not necessarily agree upon her punishment. In the film, Mrs. Danvers defies the patriarchal establishment a final time by burning down Manderley, yet is burnt to death as a result. In the novel, the there is no evidence to suggest that the fire has killed Mrs Danvers; all we know is that she cannot be found. In conclusion both novel and film explore the implications inherent for women who do not follow the doctrines of patriarchy as well as the differences between works of art produced by men and women. DuMauries emphasises the injustice of a man committing murder, by shooting his wife in the heart, and emerging unpunished, unblemished. The dispensability and devaluation of women is illustrated by the fact that Max remains free, and remarries just ten months after committing the murder. Even when he confesses to the murder he manages to horrifyingly convince his unnamed wife that Rebecca deserved to be killed due to his inability to control her sexuality. Whereas Hitchcock preserves the reputation and authority of Max by changing Rebeccas murder to a death by accidental fall, of which Max is innocent. This major alteration serves to dilute DuMauriers progressive thoughts regarding female sexuality and her condemnation of men and patriarchy. Thus it appears that Hitchcock smearing his own artistic authority all over DuMauriers work mirrors the male dominance over womens sexuality within the society of the novel. Bibliography Walder, Dennis, Literature in the Modern World, De Beauvoir, Simone, Woman and the Other, p.307 (Oxford University Press, 1990)

FAITH AND REASON DURING THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURY :: Essays Papers

FAITH AND REASON DURING THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURY During the seventeenth and eighteenth century many ideas were placed forth that ended up changing peopleà ­s faith and reason. These new ideas challenged humanà ­s conception of the universe and of oneà ­s place in it. They challenged the view of a person, and they also challenged the belief of the economy. There were many scientists and philosophers during this time period, Francis Bacon, Renà © Descartes, John Locke, Nicolaus Copernicus, Isaac Newton, and Adam Smith to name a few. All of these people contributed to the change in peopleà ­s faith and in their reason. They were given new ideas and a new way to look at life. Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) helped change peoples reason. People believed that most truth had already been discovered. And those who have "applied themselves to the invention of arts have but cast a glance or two upon facts and examples and experienceÃâ€"."1 Bacon believed that these people never really worried about the facts. He believed that these people were afraid that movements and changes in philosophy would end in assaults on religion. They were also afraid that their investigation of truth might be dangerous to them. But he believed "that all knowledge is derived from sense experience, observation, and experimentation"2 and that there was much left to be discovered. Bacon believed that we are servants and interpreters of nature. What we know and what we do is only what we have observed of natureà ­s order in fact or in thought.3 Renà © Descartes helped change the idea of how the person is looked. He also came up with a way of deductive reasoning. He believed that "human beings were endowed by God with the ability to reason and that God served as the guarantor of the correctness of clear ideas."4 Descartes believed in "I think, therefore I am."5 He believed that everybody had the ability to think for themselves. Descartes provided a way of deductive reasoning, a way to arrive at an answer. The first step of this process is not to accept anything to be true unless it was not clearly true. The second step is to divide each of the difficulties into as many parts as possible. The third step is to conduct thoughts in order. And the final step is to make detailed reports to make sure that nothing is omitted.6 This method was influential well into the

On Adam’s Curse Essay

William Butler Yeats is an Irish dramatist, author, and poet whose works are mostly classified as lyric and almost belonging to the age of the English romantics. He was a Nobel Prize awardee and one of the founders of the Irish Literary Revival. His works are the utmost expressions of his emotions and opinions and for such they are renowned. They have made Yeats the most influential English-writing poet of the twentieth century (â€Å"William Butler Yeats†). In his work, â€Å"Adam’s Curse†, which was published in 1902, Yeats exposed to his audience the depths of his mind. He spoke of his beliefs in beauty, how it may truly be seen, and achieved. More importantly it explained how beauty is truly understood and appreciated. Typical with Yeats’ other works, the poem has a consistent rhyme and meter. For every stanza, there is a definitive sound that ties all the lines together and makes the lyric piece progress smoothly to its meaning. The rhymes are external mostly by the end of each line and the point of view utilized is first person. This means that the speaker of the poem is present as the story of the piece unfolds. The speaker is the one who experienced a disturbing occurrence. Also the speaker is the one opining on the given occurrence, the one conveying the writer’s message. The initial clue as given by the speaker of the poem is in the first stanza, where the speaker was seemingly disappointed by people’s perception of true beauty. He said that he, together with the object of his affection is talking about poetry, and how beauty is created in difficulty. The disappointment set in when he stated that there are people who believe that they know beauty and yet they find artists and poets as lazy people. They do not see the labor that is poured into by creators in their works, yet they claim to know how to appreciate real beauty (Yeats). In the second stanza, the object of the speaker’s affection agreed with the speaker in saying that beauty needs to be labored upon. Merely admiration is not the basis for knowing true beauty, nor is merely reciting a beautiful poem. This is supported by the succeeding lines where the speaker further pointed that after Adam’s fall, there had not been anything beautiful that was not a result of hard labor. In the example which was given in the poem, the beautiful feeling of love. The speaker indicated that love is beautiful and it is not easily earned. A man needs to work to achieve the love of a woman. Merely knowing the feeling of love and not taking action upon it is not the true way of appreciating love. Lovers who work for their feelings are the good laborers, while those who keep their emotions are idlers. In the case of artists and poets, which seems to be the trade of the speaker, he who creates beauty by combining words to create an image that can convey a message are the true laborers. The businessmen and merchants who claim that they are lazy have no right to claim that they know the beauty in poetry or in paintings and many other forms of art. They have no right to attest that a work is of beauty because they do not accept the labor that is behind it. They fail to accept that the secret of beauty is that it never looks like it has been labored upon. Its power is to trap life’s wonders and make it appear at an arm’s reach. This is why it is relaxing and comforting. This is the message that the poem tries to convey. The writer is telling that artists and poets are not idlers. In fact, they have what may be considered as the biggest burden of all. They are to contemplate, imagine, and create a work that can console a sorrowing heart, or bring excitement to a bored soul. Their task is difficult as they are to hide hardships in their works. It is even worse than computing for the day’s sale. There is nothing routine in it, for routine can destroy its essence. Adam’s curse that made laboring necessary is a curse that is heaviest on an artist’s shoulder and this is what Yeats conveyed in his poetry. Works Cited â€Å"William Butler Yeats†. 2009. Nobelprize. org. 27 April 2009 < http://nobelprize. org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1923/yeats-bio. html >. Yeats, William Butler. 1902. â€Å"Adam’s Curse† the beckoning. com. 27 April 2009 < http://www. thebeckoning. com/poetry/yeats/yeats4. html >.

China If You Know China

Beijing, China If you know China, you must know the Chinese capital city of Beijing, but what is China like? What is Beijing like? Maybe you don’t know. China is too big for me to tell you about in this essay, but let me tell you about Beijing. Beijing has many famous places, such the Great Wall. Beijing is a beautiful city. It has many ancient buildings, and a lot of modern buildings. Beijing is the biggest city in the world. It has 16,808 square kilometers. Beijing is situated in the northwestern part of north China. To the west, the northwest, and the south, the city is surrounded by mountain ranges. The Great Wall is on the mountain ranges. To the northeast the ocean lies by the city. A long, long time ago the king thought this was a good place to build the capital city, so they built the capital city there. In the years that followed, the many kings still thought this was a good place for them, so this city is an ancient city; from there you can know about ancient China Next, I will tell you about the Great Wall. The Great Wall is really majestic ancient structure. It was built 2000 years ago. The Great Wall is on the mountain ranges. It crosses five provinces, and about 6500 kilometers long. It is the only man-made structure you see it from the moon. We are very proud about it. The ancient people used it for war. One famous person said â€Å"If you can go to the Great Wall, you will be a success. † It means that 2000 years ago, ancient people were able to build the Great Wall, so why can’t you make some great things? Therefore, many, many people travel to the Great Wall. Even if they can’t be successful, they can admire the majestic Great Wall. Now, I think you know some things about Beijing, but I haven’t told about all the beautiful places in Beijing yet. I want to keep something in case you have time to travel the Beijing; you will be surprised. I love Beijing very much. I hope you will like it, too.

9 Reasons You Might Be Failing at Your Careerâ€And How to Fix It

9 Reasons You Might Be Failing at Your Career- And How to Fix It The time has come to talk about the â€Å"F† word. (No, not that â€Å"F† word.) Failure. No matter who you are or what you do, that word usually has the power to strike fear. If you suspect you’re already failing in your life (for example, you’re not where you thought you would be at this point, or you’ve experienced setbacks), that can be incredibly intimidating. It may keep you from shaking off bad habits and picking up new ones that would get you in a better place. This is especially true in your career. It can be super easy to fall into an inertia bubble and then find yourself shrugging helplessly when you know it’s time to get out. Let’s look at some of the reasons you might think you’re failing at your professional life, and what you can do about them.1. You feel helpless to make changes.This is one I struggle with all. the. time. You may not think you’re helpless per se, but maybe you just feel overwhelmed by dail y minutiae, and you feel like staying afloat is all you can accomplish. If you’re managing only what comes your way, you’re troubleshooting rather than improving.What to do about it: Realize that you do have a say in your daily life, even at work where things might seem very regimented or non-negotiable. If you want to take more agency and control in your life, it starts with you. Learn to advocate for yourself, and negotiate what you want. You’d be surprised at what you can get if you learn to ask for it in the right way.2. You’re too busy blaming other people.I’d be much further along if Susan weren’t getting all the attention and good projects at work. I’d be making more money if Frank paid more attention to what I’m doing. I’d have a better job if it weren’t for my cat/my parents/my therapist.What to do about it: You do you. Your career is yours, and yours alone. This means that ultimately, your decisions are your responsibility- not your cat’s, your parents’, or your therapist’s. It’s time to stop blaming, and instead start thinking about what it would take for you to get what you want: that raise, the good projects, the job you want. Blaming others takes up a lot of mental energy, which you should instead be using to do an internal audit of why things aren’t working out the way you want- and what steps you can take to make progress.3. You’re settling for a mediocre status quo.This is an especially insidious kind of failure. You’re comfortable enough, have a job that pays your bills, but you’re not really going anywhere. It’s settling for the good-enough-right-now, at the expense of what is good for you in the future.What to do about it: Do things that scare you a little (within reason). You don’t have to go busting every piece of your status quo right now, but if you start by doing one thing every week that is outsid e your comfort zone, you’ll likely find that â€Å"status quo† expanding around you. Take on a project that is a bit of a stretch. Take a class in a new skill. Apply for that reach job. If you find yourself hesitating, ask yourself why, and what you have to lose if you go for it. And if the answer isn’t â€Å"it’s physically dangerous† or â€Å"this will cause a divorce,† then consider moving forward with it after all.4. You don’t have the resources or education.If you avoid applying for jobs because you don’t have the necessary skills, experience, or education, that feeling of failure may creep in while you’re browsing job openings. It’s hard not to feel like a failure if all you can see are closed doors.What to do about it: Take a class! Going for a new degree (or completing an old one) just may not be feasible for everyone, but there are often ways to get around the traditional â€Å"going back to school† model. For skill-building, sites like Lynda.com offer free or relatively inexpensive courses you can take on your own time. There are also many universities and colleges that offer part-time degree programs, or non-degree courses online. There are so many ways to stay academically active and keep learning, even when time or money is tight.5. You’re avoiding hard truths.Facing reality is hard. That’s why we have 8 million things to distract our attention at any given time. Cat videos, TV, social media- we all have ways of decompressing and avoiding reality for a while. Those are all temporary, though. Ultimately you’ll have to think about new and different ways of doing things, or facts that make you uncomfortable. If you’ve been avoiding thinking about your professional future because it might lead to uncomfortable realizations about the choices you’ve made and the ones you will need to make in the future, then you’re setting yourself up f or failure.What to do about it: Time for a little self-audit. Where are you in your career, what’s keeping you in it, and where do you want to be in five years? This is an exercise just for you- no one else will see or judge, so it’s important to be extremely honest about what you have, and what you want.6. You think you’re too old to make changes.We often pick our career paths pretty early in life, based on what we want to study in college, or what we think we’d be good at doing when we’re 18. And think about it: how well do many of the life decisions you made when you were 18 still hold up? How many of your hobbies and interests are the same? You’re not locked into a career that you chose because it seemed like a good idea at the time. As you change, you’re never too old to change your professional path.What to do about it: If you feel stuck in a path that doesn’t interest you anymore, think about making a change- no matter h ow significant. Think about what it is you want to be doing, and start doing real research into what it would take- like education, certification, or skills. These are all things you can work on in the meantime, before you make any big moves.7. Your fear of failure has you pinned down.Failing because you fear failure? Is that a thing? Yes, yes it is. It’s possible to back right into failure while you’re on guard against it, avoiding risky changes or proactive steps that could result in failing. This kind of failure is sneaky, because it comes right from the place you thought you were watching.What to do about it: Don’t be afraid to be bad at something, or to make a bad decision once in a while. Failure can actually be one of the great learning experiences, painful though it may feel in the meantime. By letting fear of failure paralyze you, it can kill your career progress. Your professional life thrives on both your successes and your failures.8. You’re o verestimating your abilities.Full disclosure: I’m failing at being a ballet dancer. This is because I am the biggest klutz ever, I don’t have the right body type, and†¦oh yeah†¦I have very few ballet skills. So Misty Copeland’s title is probably safe. But if I expected to be a ballet dancer at this point in my career, I’d be making a fatal assumption that I could be one in my current state. It’s one thing to be confident in the abilities you have, but another thing entirely to be confident that you’ll be good at something without the education or skills to back it up. This kind of mindset lets you get comfortable in the idea that you don’t need to learn or do new things, because you’re the best the way you are.What to do about it: Embrace your strengths, work on your weaknesses, and accept the need to be realistic about what you can do.9. You’re not setting realistic goals.If you’re not planning your car eer in a realistic way, of course you’re going to feel like a failure- you set it up that way yourself. Going from entry level to CEO in two years was never going to happen.What to do about it: Time to set up some SMART goals. That’s Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Based. Setting these career goals both in the short-term (say, for the next year) and the long-term (five years or beyond) will help you make progress that you can quantify. There are lots of apps and tools you can use to help you, but don’t underestimate the power of a good old-fashioned checklist, and the smug, well-earned sense of satisfaction you get as you check something off the list.If you feel like you’re failing, it’s never too late to stop, figure out why, and start taking concrete steps out of the muck. Understanding why you’re failing is the most important first step you can take.