The Influence of Hip Hop on the Black-American Culture free essay sample

HIP Hop as a musical genre has gone through much change not only In the content of the music, but the message conveyed and how many would say It has In some ways defined black culture in the last 20 years. A significant amount of hip hop music nowadays is geared towards painting this unrealistic image of hyper- materialism, sexism, and violence that ultimately assists in dragging black culture down, and the people as a whole. You look at hip hop artists like 50 Cent and IllWayne who Is reinforcing this thuggish persona, making music revolved around money and drugs and It paints a bleak picture for young blacks. These young impressionable youth view this way of life as the norm, and the ghetto pathology seen as an authentic part of black culture, even though it does nothing more than demean a multitude of black people. To start at the roots of hip hop however you can clearly see that the message of the music was not to promote violence, but to help curb crime and show that its not gla morous. We will write a custom essay sample on The Influence of Hip Hop on the Black-American Culture or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page During the sasss you had artists Like Grand Master Flash, and Public Enemy who preached black empowerment, and left Imparting lessons that didnt hinder but allow black culture to grow, as well as morale. This leads people to pondering nowadays, what happened to this once positive, intelligent music that defined a race and culture? You have 12 year old children listening to vulgar raps about sex, and prostitution, and for black kids in poor ghetto neighborhoods this fantasy driven music clamoring crime, is seen as the sole voice for these children ultimately view that lifestyle as the true way they should be acting.It Is as If hip hop music Is still attempting to sell this Image of the crime life, even when most of the artists have all the money in the world. Hip hop basically reversed the accomplishments of the black community, disguising itself as pertaining a strong message but just masked in ignorance and fraudulence. In order to fully understand how negatively hip hops embrace on the black culture has gotten you can look at great black entertainers before hip hop emerged and see the change In Integrity.Black entertainers Like Louis Armstrong, and Nat King Cole emerged during the Jim Crow era, a time of strong racial segregation, and skyrocketing poverty rates in black neighborhoods. It was these musicians who were always on the forefront of the fight for desegregation, and they were able to be heroes in a fight for equality, that was apparent through their music. Now in a stark contrast to those influential musicians you have the hip hop artists of today who are exploiting the crime and violent lifestyles common In there old communities. So there ho are not Just rappers but directly related to this reinforcement of black stereotypes.These rappers are not doing anything to give back to the community, in terms of teaching good morals and lessons to stay out of crime and go to school, but basking in the music filled with ignorant pimp stereotypes, and glorifying selling drugs. It would seem as if hip hop has taken black culture back 100 years in the impact that it is making on the black youth. The musical aesthetics of hip hop music do not seem to outweigh the outright vulgarity, and profanity laden lyrics that comprises cost hip hop songs. To look at a song in particular take Los Angles rapper Ice T song Cop Killer, where here raps got my black shirt on.I got my black gloves on. I got my ski mask on. This chits been too long. I got my 12-gauge sawed-off. I got my headlights turned off. Im bout to bust some shots off. Im bout to dust some cops off.. What does this say about black people as a whole, that they enjoy talking about killing police officers, I would safely say no, but as a voice for black people and artist whose influence reigns supreme over black in other positions it would seem that way. The language used by Ice T in this song in particular, and many other rap songs, with vulgarity and threatening content towards police, rival gangs, or Just other people.With this massive popularization of hip hop music on a world spectrum, with music videos of these rappers flashing diamond Jewelry, fancy cars, and scantily dress women, they are exploded into a super stardom. Even though there message through belligerent, profane lyrics sells best. Now it is not fair to say that all hip hop music portrays this same message that grades black culture, as there is positive hip hop. This positive hip hop went back to doing what musicians like Louis Armstrong, and Nat King Cole were trying to convey through their music and that was black empowerment.Now you can ask yourself what went wrong, how did hip hop music become the embodiment of ignorance in black culture? The answer is very simple, when musicians in the asss and asss were putting songs out they were in a position of low status, and used positive cultured music to rise there stature up. Nowadays rap is doing the exact opposite, it is sectioning off what is a very small portion of the black population living in poverty, about one fourth percent of the total population. Hip hop music has stooped the black people to this savage race of thugs and pimps and drug dealers solely because that is all people hear and most importantly see in the media. Now me being a hip hop fan makes this argument a much more fickle discussion, as I dont listen to a lot of the profane rap glorifying gang lifestyle and violence. You have many hip hop enthusiasts, producers, and intellectuals who see hip hop lenience, and the misogyny towards women, as a revolutionary cry from a youth that went through hardships in the ghetto.That partly make sense, as many hip hop artists feel that that the music is important to educate those on the tough life outreach to the youth in a way they can understand clearly. My thoughts however are strong on the foundation that hip hop being the authentic cry of blacks is an utter joke. Even as early as 40 years ago blacks were going through oppression much worse than today, and artists flaunting the mindset of an angry, violent, rebellious lack m an.Hip hop in my mind serves as the number one hindrance in the progress of African Americans socially, and politically. The many hardworking African Americans, who work as doctors and lawyers, are being held responsible for the overall image that people have of their people through music that they do not even necessarily find pleasant. In conclusion, looking at the state of hip hop you can see that it is as popular as ever, a lot of the time people want to hear whats catchy, and not what has the most significance in positive reinforcement within the lyrics of music.Hip hop music will continue to push this message of outright negligence of authority, and it is unfortunate to think that the idea of true blackness is defined by that genre of music. The only way that hip hop can move to a positive direction, is when black people take a stand and speak against the music and profane lyrics saying it is not what a majority of them promote. And until this is done, hip hop will continue to embarrass black people, and shoot there culture even more down the road until its completely too late.

When to Use the Latin Abbreviations i.e. and e.g.

When to Use the Latin Abbreviations i.e. and e.g. The Latin abbreviations i.e. and e.g. are often confused. When used incorrectly, they achieve the exact opposite of the writers intention, which is to appear learned by using a Latin phrase in place of an English one that means more or less the same thing. Knowing the meanings of e.g. and i.e.- and how to use them correctly- will save you from making foolish errors and make your writing more sophisticated. What Does E.g. Mean? E.g. is short for the Latin exempli gratia, meaning for the sake of example or for example. E.g. is used in places where you might write including, followed by a list of one or more examples. However, e.g. should not be used to introduce an exhaustive list. At the places where I work best, e.g., Starbucks, I have none of the distractions I have at home. [There are lots of coffee shops I like, but Starbucks is an example thats known to most people.] Some of the things he likes to do in his spare time, e.g., racing cars, are dangerous. [Racing cars is dangerous, but it is not this mans only dangerous hobby.] The abbreviation e.g. can be used with more than one example. However, avoid piling on multiple examples and adding etc. at the end. I like coffee shops, e.g., Starbucks and Seattles Best, for getting work done. [Do not write coffee shops, e.g., Starbucks and Seattles Best, etc.] The children of Leda, e.g., Castor and Pollux, were born in pairs. [Leda gave birth to multiple pairs of children, so Castor and Pollux are one example, as would be Helen and Clytemnestra. If Leda had only given birth to one pair of children, e.g. would be used incorrectly here.] What Does I.e. Mean? I.e. is short for the Latin id est, which means that is to say. I.e. takes the place of the English phrases in other words or that is. As opposed to e.g., i.e. is used to specify, describe, or explain something that has already been referred to in the sentence. Im going to the place where I work best, i.e., the coffee shop. [There is only one place that I am claiming is best for my work. By using i.e.,  I am telling you that I am about to specify it.] The most beautiful human in Greek mythology, i.e., Ledas daughter Helen, may have had a unibrow, according to a 2009 book. [Helen, whose beauty launched the Trojan War, is considered the most beautiful woman in Greek mythology. There is no other contender, so we must use i.e.] He wants to take some time off and go to the most relaxing place in the world, i.e., Hawaii. [The man does not want to visit just any relaxing place. He wants to visit the most relaxing place in the world, of which there can only be one.] When to Use E.g. and I.e. While they are both Latin phrases, e.g. and i.e. have very different meanings, and you dont want to confuse them. E.g., meaning for example, is used to introduce one or more possibilities or examples. I.e., meaning that is to say, is used to specify or explain by giving more detailed information. A way to remember the difference is that e.g. opens the door to more possibilities, while i.e. reduces the possibilities to one. I want to do something fun tonight, e.g., go for a walk, watch a movie, play a board game, read a book.I want to do something fun tonight, i.e., watch that movie Ive been waiting to see. In the first sentence, something fun could be any number of activities, so e.g. is used to introduce a few of them. In the second sentence, something fun is one specific activity- watching that movie Ive been waiting to see- so i.e. is used to specify that. Formatting The abbreviations i.e. and e.g. are common enough that they do not require italicization (though the full Latin phrases, if they are written out, should be italicized). Both abbreviations take periods and are followed by a comma in American English. European sources may not use the periods or the comma. It is rare to see i.e. or e.g. at the start of a sentence. If you choose to use one of them there, you must also capitalize the initial letter of the abbreviation. Grammarians will argue over this kind of minutiae all day, so deploy these abbreviations at the head of a sentence only if you must.

Recommendation to the President of the United States Assignment

Recommendation to the President of the United States - Assignment Example Alternatively, this recommendation report tries to convince the President of United States to acknowledge training and development as profitable strategy of saving companies (Moskowitz, 2008). Furthermore, this recommendation is meant to appeal to the President in assisting small and medium companies without enough finances to train their workers. Finally, the recommendation report attempts to convince the American President on influencing companies to embrace training and development as technique of not only increasing the GDP of corporations but saving jobs. This will helps families weighed down by effects of recession to afford their essential needs despite hard times. The training and development field is comprised of a number of issues that this paper will attempt to explore. For instance, in other terms, it is referred to as human resource development or learning development and it pertains to activities of the organization that target at improving the performance of the worker . Additionally, the performance may include those of groups within the company through the use of varying methods of training. On that note, training and development comprises of three major activities and they entail training, education, and development. Therefore, when we consider training it means an evaluation conducted upon and against the current job that a person holds in a given company. On the other hand, education suggests an activity based the job that a person may have a chance of attaining in the future and the analysis is conducted against those opportunities. Similarly, the two activities may not function without development. This involves critical analysis conducted by the company that employs the person concerning his activities and the activities that may be taken by person in future. On that note, most Human Resource Managers concur that it is an aspect of training and development that is hard to analyze. Furthermore, in training and development, there are stakeho lders who have equally crucial roles in the progress of an organization in terms of its employees. These people include senior managers who act as the sponsors of training and development. On the other hand, business planners involve clients or customers of training and development. In addition, those who experience the process of training and development are called participants. Others include facilitators who are key in nay firm include the staff of HRM and specialists in the field called providers. On that perspective, these mentioned groups always have varying views concerning their motivations and agendas hence creating divergence with group with opposing views. Furthermore, in the training and development field there have been both traditional and modern approaches. In the traditional approach, many companies did not encourage training for its workers and managers. On that account, the belief held that managers are not naturally born and not made. Other critics opposed to trai ning claim the high expense is worth for a company. Alternatively, companies would apply the technique of executive pinching. However, when it comes to modern approach, organizations are encouraging corporate training and development to save cost and retain its workforce. Furthermore, training and developing the workforce enables the organization to have a smart workforce that is able to

Health Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Health Psychology - Essay Example While the biomedical model is good in gaining a comprehension of the purely medical aspects concerning a patient's health the biopsychosocial is being found to be fundamentally imperative because it incorporates the actual mental states and physical states of the human being. For example, the biopsychosocial model introduces the emotional state, personal issues, family issues, and community issues that might have an affect on a patient's health and medical diagnosis. Therefore the acceptance of this model has stemmed from the fact that medical providers have now come to the realization that the psychological influences in an individual's life can alter the medical care and affect the patient outcome (Borrell-Correlo et al 2004, pg. 577). 2. Investigate Cultural differences in the incidence and prevalence of various diseases, such as HIV/Aids, and Cancer and of life expectancy. What factors do you believe are related to these differences. present, many different cultures approach these based on their religious beliefs, social customs, and over all societal views of them (Martin & Kukall 1996, pg. 993). For instance with Alzheimer's disease, those with a Latino background are more apt to care for their family member at home rather than placing them in a nursing care facility. This is in comparison to how Americans often care for a relative with this medical prognosis. Australian culture follows much the same type of philosophy; with diseases such as AID's, and even Cancer having an influential factor in the life expectancy that might present itself. This is due to the fact that these two cultural bodies carry a collectivist attitude instead of an individualistic one such as Americans have. Therefore, obviously the factors that play a pertinent role in disease and how different cultures relate to it are listed as follows, religion, family bonds, social perception, personal values, societal view, and community support. This clearly shows that some cultures focus more on the psychological aspects of the medical diagnosis; more so than what the actual biological bearing is going to be. 3. What is the Placebo Affect, and why is it often important to include a placebo in health research A placebo is simply an inactive element in medicine that has absolutely no affect on any medical outcome. It is or can be a pill that holds no medicinal qualities, a liquid of the same quality, or even an intravenous fluid that is used in medical studies and other experiments to see if the patient or individual in a study perceives there to be an actual affect. The main purpose is to test the strength of the actual drug and to compare the two too see if the real medicine does promote improved health and destroy cells in the body that can promote more health complications, depending upon what it is being developed for (Hrobjartsson & Gotzsche 2001, pg. 1594). The importance of including a placebo in medical

Police Accountability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Police Accountability - Essay Example As the paper declares abusive police behavior is conceived of as antithetical to the functioning of a modern, free society and the public has a natural right to seek arrests in instances of police abuse. Seeking to understand police accountability presently in place in Canada, the following essay will explore the mechanisms to keep police officers subject to the law which they are charged with upholding. What are the police accountability mechanisms presently in Canada and are these mechanisms effective? With the theme of exploring this question with an eye to the ramifications of police accountability and 21st century, the following now turns to an exploration of police accountability in the Canadian context. According to the discussion findings as stated above, police accountability is essential to the functioning of a modern and free democratic society. Accordingly, Canadian society is based upon the notion that power rests with the people in that elected officials are subservient to the electorate. This is the basis of modern liberal democratic governance and the tenets which frame the ideas of Canadians vis-Ã  -vis their elected officials are also relevant with respect to the security of the state. Similarly, those who are entrusted with upholding the law are subject to the stipulations of the criminal justice system and are held accountable for their actions in the pursuit of fairness, justice and equality. In the Canadian context, police officers are accountable to the wider public through a variety of mechanisms which are in place to ensure that police officers remain subject to the law while they seek to uphold it.

Benefits of Foreign Direct Investment

Benefits of Foreign Direct Investment Do Host Countries Benefit From Foreign Direct Investment? Evidence From Developing Economies Executive Summary The multinational companies (MNCs) and associated foreign direct investment (FDI) play an important role in international economy. It is well-known that FDI activity can bring many significant effects to host countries. In this essay I estimate such effects from three different aspects: The first part I focus on the relation between FDI and host country wages. Previous studies show that it is a universal phenomenon that the wages in foreign companies are higher than domestic companies. The FDI activity has a positive effect to the overall wage levels of the host countries, although wages spillovers to domestic companies are not always exist. The second part I focus on the relation between FDI and host country productivity. Foreign companies have higher productivity than domestic companies; it can be supported by most of the available studies no matter what measures have been used. Although some findings reflected that local firms in developing countries can benefit from FDI by productivity spillovers, in more cases, the productivity spillovers are not significant, even negative. The third part I focus on the relation between FDI and host countrys economic Growth. The result shows that developing countries can benefit from FDI and achieve economic growth. Overall, the host countries, especially the developing countries, can benefit from foreign direct investment. 1. Introduction The worldwide spread of multinational companies (MNCs) and associated foreign direct investment (FDI) play an important role in reconstructing economy pattern of the world. It is well-known that FDI activity can bring many significant effects to host countries development. In this essay I will estimate such effects from three different aspects- the effect in wages, the effect in productivity and the effect in economic growth- by reviewing numerous relative studies and try to find out whether host countries, especially the developing countries, can get benefits from foreign direct investment. 2. FDI And Host Country Wages In this section, I will explain to what extend does FDI influence host countries wages level. Whether local firms could benefit from the entrance or existence of foreign companies will be analyzed based on the previous studies. Firstly, let us take a look at the difference between foreign companies and domestic companies in regard to wages level. Almost all the available studies proved that foreign companies did pay higher wages in developing countries. Haddad and Harrison (1993) made a research on different companies performance in Morocco. They found that in unweighted means, foreign firms paid about 70% higher wages than domestic firms. According to weighted means, the foreign companies still paid higher real wages than domestic companies (PP.58-59). Higher wages paying by MNCs was also supported by some studies of other developing countries, such as Indonesia (Hill, 1990, Manning 1998, Lipsey and Sjà ¶holm, 2001). Lipsey and Sjà ¶holm (2001) reported that when taken the educational level into account, blue-collar workers can get 25% higher wages and white-collar workers can get 50% higher wages in foreign companies. In the conclusion part of this paper, the author stated â€Å"those higher wages for workers of a given educational level do not reflect only the greater size and larger inputs per worker in foreign plants, or their industry or location† (p.13). If considered all these factors, the foreign companies paid 12% and 20% more wages than domestic companies for blue-collar workers and white-collar workers respectively. Another evidence is taken by Ramstetter (1999), he did an research in five East Asian economies (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan) and made a report that wages in foreign plants were higher than domestic firms over 14-23 years, but the differences were not so significant in Singapore and Taiwan. It is a universal phenomenon that the wages in foreign companies are higher than domestic companies. Lipsey (2002) gave several explanations of this phenomenon. Firstly, higher wages may be caused by host-country regulations. Foreign firms are required to pay a higher price to the same quality workers in order to keep a good relationship with the host countries. Secondly, it could regard as compensation for the workers because they tend to choose local companies rather than foreign companies. Thirdly, as the foreign companies possess some advanced technology, they would rather pay more money to the employees to reduce the technology leaking resulted by stuff turnover. Last, the higher wages could count as an expense for attracting better employees because the foreign companies are not familiar with the labor market in host countries. Whether higher wages paid by foreign firms would affect the wages level in domestic firms and then change the wages level in host countries is another important question. The effects in wages of the local firms in host countries are referred as wage spillovers. Many studies focused on such wage spillovers as well as the effect to the overall wage level of the host countries taken by FDI. Aitken, Harrison, and Lipsey (1996) investigated the relationship between wages level and FDI in Venezuela and Mexico and found â€Å"no evidence of wage spillovers leading to higher wages for domestic firm†(Aitken et al., 1996, p.369). The lack of wages spillovers is in line with the different wages level between foreign and domestic companies. But there was a positive relationship between foreign ownership shares and averages industry wages, which means higher foreign ownership tend to increase industry wages. Besides, the effect was more significant for well skilled workers. The wage differ ences can be explained by â€Å"the greater human capital formation in foreign firms and lower turnover† (Aitken et al., 1996, p.369), well the increasing industry wages can be explained by the raising demand of labor in the foreign companies. Lipsey and Sjà ¶holm (2001) calculated the wage spillovers caused by FDI in Indonesia and found out foreign ownership could affect the wage level in domestic companies even if the difference in wage levels is not significant. Higher foreign ownership tend to increase the wage level of domestic companies, especially for white-collar than for blue-collar workers. We can conclude that the FDI activity has a positive effect to the overall wage levels of the host countries as the higher wages in foreign companies can increase the average wage level of the host countries, although wages spillovers to domestic companies are not always exist. As Lipsey (2002) summarized, the positive effect might caused by the higher wages paid by the foreign firms if there are no wages spillover to domestic companies; if there are positive wage spillovers, both higher wage level in foreign companies and the positive spillovers to domestic companies can contribute to the overall wage increasing; even when foreign companies take a negative effect to the wages of domestic companies, the negative spillovers could be offset by foreign companies higher wages, so it could not impact the wage level increasing in the host countries. 3. FDI And Host Country Productivity In this section, I will review the previous literatures based on two questions. The first one is whether the productivity is higher in foreign companies than domestic companies in developing countries. Only if the existence of higher productivity has been proved in foreign companies could the productivity spillover of FDI take place in developing countries. The second one is whether the higher productivity in foreign companies spills over to domestic companies. According to previous studies, comparisons of productivity between foreign-owned plants and domestic-owned plants were focused on the manufacturing sectors in developing countries. Lipsey (2002) gave a summary of Blomstrà ¶m and Wolffs working paper. They found that by measuring both value-added and gross output from manufacturing data of Mexcican in 1970, the productivity of foreign companies was more than twice of domestic companies on average. When comparing with domestic companies, the labor productivity in foreign companies was much higher in 20 manufacturing industries. They also found that the capital intensity in foreign companies was 2.5 times higher than Mexican domestic companies. Sjà ¶holm (1999, p.55) in his article examined intra-industry spillovers from FDI in the manufacturing sector of Indonesian. He used micro-level data to examine the difference in labour productivity between foreign and domestic companies in 28 industries. It was proved that technology level was higher in foreign firms than domestic firms in 26 out of 28 industries. A similar conclusion can be found in a working paper written by Okamoto and Sjà ¶holm (1999) which published in the same year. They reported in Indonesia, higher foreign shares of gross output than foreign share of employment between 1990 and 1995 indicated that foreign-owned companies had higher labor productivity. Many other studies also showed that in developing countries, the foreign companies have higher productivity than domestic companies. For Morocco, Haddad and Harrison (1993) compared the â€Å"deviation of firm productivity from each sectors best-practice frontier† in 18 industries from 1985 to 1989. They found a higher output per worker and a smaller deviation from best-practice frontiers in foreign companies than in domestic companies among total 12 industries. For Uruguay, value added per worker was used to estimate the difference in productivity between foreign and domestic owned companies. Result revealed that in 1988, the productivity in foreign firms was about 2 times as in domestic firms on average (Kokko, Zejan, and Tansini, 2001). According to a research of Taiwan manufacturing sector in 1991, Chuang and Lin (1999) found that labor productivity of MNCs was much higher than local firms, but total factor productivity of foreign companies was only slightly higher than lo cal companies. The study for Turkey between 1993 -1995 in which different elements of the production function were taken into account by Eridilek (2002), as well as the study for five Ease Asian economies (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan) in which Ramsteteer (1999) used value added per employee to measure labor productivity, both found that the average productivity of were significant higher in MNCs than in domestic firms. From all evidence mentioned above, the conclusion that â€Å"foreign companies have higher productivity than domestic companies† can be supported in developing countries no matter what measures have been used. This phenomenon may be resulted from â€Å"larger scale of production† or â€Å"higher capital intensity† in the foreign companies (Lipsey, 2002, p. 40). Before move to the research on whether host countries could get benefit from FDI in respect of productivity growth, we should first make clear when the productivity spillovers take place. Blomstrà ¶m and Kokko (1998) expressed that the productivity spillovers occur when establishment of foreign companies result in promoting the productivity and efficiency of the local companies in host countries, and the foreign companies can not completely internalize the value of these benefits. Another reason that productivity spillovers take place is the domestic companies are forced to improve the efficiency of using their existing technology and resources because the entry of foreign companies carried fierce competition to the host countries. The severe competition also leads the domestic companies to pursue new technologies which can result in the productivity spills out. Besides, we should also classify the different types of spillovers. Horizontal spillovers are the effects from foreign to local firms belonging to the same industry. Vertical spillovers occur both in upstream industries and downstream industries (Javrcik, 2004). For horizontal spillovers studies, Aitken and Harrison (1999) used a panel data of Venezuelan companies during 1976 to 1989, concluded that there are â€Å"no evidence supports the existence of technology spillovers† between foreign and local companies (p.617). Konings (2001) also used panel data to study the effect of FDI in Bulgara, Romania and Poland. According to their conclusion, they did not find any evidence of spillovers in these emerging market economies. Such results have also been supported by Djankov and Hoekman (2000). However, this conclusion can not be generalized from all the developing countries. Damijan et al. (2003) used firm-level data to study 8 transition countries between 1994 and 1998, found spi llovers from foreign to local companies were positive in Romania ( p.11). Besides, Kinoshita (2001) proved that the RD-intensive sectors of Czech Republic have positive horizontal spillovers. Compared with horizontal spillovers, â€Å"It is quite upbeat about the existence of vertical spillover† (Javrcik and Spatareanu, 2005, P.54). Since many existing articles have provided evidence of vertical spillovers in developing countries. In another paper of Javrcik (2004), firm-level panel data was used in testing the productivity spillovers in Lithuania. The results revealed positive spillovers from FDI in upstream sectors but the positive productivity spillovers were associated with partially owned foreign investments. Such existence of vertical spillovers has also been provided by Blalock and Gertler (2004) and Schoores and van der Tol (2001). Although most of the articles have a common idea on the existence of vertical spillovers, they cannot reach agreements in some questions, such as whether there are some positive spillovers carried by FDI in upstream industries. Javrcik and Spatareanu (2005) gave a theoretical assumption that if multinationals can benefit from the better performance of intermediate input suppliers, they would not take measures to prevent productivity spillovers from happening. Thus, a spillovers-channel would be established between foreign companies and their suppliers belonging to local firms. In their opinion, positive effects of FDI might take place in upstream industries as the foreign companies would impose an increasing demand and better quality of intermediate products, such requirements would stimulate local suppliers to improve their technology in productive activity, meanwhile, they can benefits from scale economies. It seems reasonable but is not always the case in reality. Lipsey (2002) in his article cited an unpublished paper written by Aitken and Harrison (1991), which showed â€Å"negative effects of foreign direct investment in an industry on productivity in upstream industries† in Venezuela (p.41). They also provided a possible reason that â€Å"foreign firms shift the demand for intermediate inputs from domestic to foreign producers, reducing the scale of output, and there fore productivity, in domestic production† (p.41). Other factors that could influent spillovers are also existent. Xu (2000) used data from 1966 to 1994 of US manufacturing MNCs in 40 countries to investigate whether MNCs can help international technology diffusion. The paper found a weak evidence of technology diffusion from US MNCs in less developed countries (LDCs). The explanation given by the author is most LDCs cannot reach â€Å"a human capital threshold of about 1.9 years (in terms of male secondary school attainment) to benefit from technology transfer of US MNE affiliates† (p. 491). A conclusion that â€Å"the technology spillover effects brought by FDI are not significant in less developed countries† could be abstracted from this paper. Some studies did support that local firms in developing countries can benefit from FDI, because productivity spillovers from foreign firms can help local firms to improve their existing technology as well as achieve scale economies. However, in more cases, the spillovers are not significant, even negative. So we can not make a simple conclusion as whether the positive spillovers are really existent is depend on different factors in different circumstances. 4. FDI And Host Countrys Economic Growth Economic growth, which is a common objective for all developing countries, can be achieved from productivity spillovers. Several authors have studied the interaction between FDI and economic growth in developing countries. De Mello (1999) found that spillovers of technology and knowledge from the foreign countries were two determinants of long-term growth in host countries and FDI has positive effects on economic growth in developing countries. Bende-Nabende (2001) used annual data from 1970 to 1996 studied on Asian countries and showed that in Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines there is a positive impact carried by FDI. Bengoa and Sanchez-Robles (2003) used data between 1970 and 1999 of Latin American countries and find that positive effect only take place in countries with more economic freedom. According to Kohpaiboon (2003) and Marwah and Tavakoli (2004), a positive correlation between FDI and GDP growth were showed in Thailand, Malaysia and Philippines. Moreover, several papers focused on FDI effect in China also reflected positive effect on economic growth (Vu et al., 2008, p. 546). However, not all the studies supported the positive effect of FDI in developing countries. In the research of Blomstrà ¶m, Lipsey, and Zejan (1994), developing countries were separated into two groups the higher income countries and the lower income countries -and reported that only the higher-income group FDI inflow lead to economic growth. Through the analysis on 69 developing countries in the period of 1970 to 1989, Carkovic and Levine (2002) used panel data to test the correlation between FDI and developing countries economic growth. The results showed that the effect of FDI inflows was not significant. The different methods and data choosing may lead to such different results. Some unknown factors would also affect the results. But they do not have so much impact to our conclusion. Based on the findings of previous studies, generally speaking, developing countries can benefit from FDI and achieve economic growth, 5. Conclusion The propose of this essay is try to estimate whether developing countries can get benefits from foreign direct investment. The effect of FDI has been classified into three aspects. Firstly, it is a universal phenomenon that the wages in foreign companies are higher than domestic companies. The FDI activity has a positive effect to the overall wage levels of the host countries, although wages spillovers to domestic companies are not always exist. Secondly, â€Å"foreign companies have higher productivity than domestic companies† can be supported by most of the available studies no matter what measures have been used. Although some findings reflected that local firms in developing countries can benefit from FDI by productivity spillovers, in more cases, the productivity spillovers are not significant, even negative. Thirdly, developing countries can benefit from FDI and achieve economic growth. Overall, we can get a positive conclusion that the host countries, especially the dev eloping countries, can benefit from foreign direct investment. References Aitken, B., Harrion, A., Lipsey, R. E., (1996) ‘Wages and foreign ownership: A comparative study of Mexico, Venezuela, and the United States, Journal of International Economics, Vol. 40 Issue 3-4, pp.345-371 ScienceDirect [Online]. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Bende-Nabende, A., (2001) ‘ FDI, regional economic integration and endogenous growth, some evidence from Southeast Asia, Pacific Economic Revies, Vol. 6 Issue 3, pp.383-399 InterScience [Online]. Available at: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com / (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Blalock, Garrick. ‘Technology from Foreign Direct Investment: Strategic Transfer through Supply Chains. Paper presented at the Empirical Investigations in International Trade Conference at Purdue University, November 9-11, 2001 (part of doctoral research at Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley). Blomstrà ¶m, M. and Kokko, A., (1998) ‘Multinational Corporations and Spillovers, Journal of Economic Surveys, Vol. 12 Issue 3, pp.246-277 EBSCO [Online]. Available at: http://web.ebscohost.com/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Borensztein, E., Goregorio, D. J., Lee, J-W (1998) ‘How does foreign direct investment affect economic growth?, Journal of International Economics, Vol. 45 Issue 1, pp.115-135 ScienceDirect [Online]. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Carkovic, M. V. and Levine, R. (2002) ‘Does Foreign Direct Investment Accelerate Economic Growth?, University of Minnesota Department of Finance working Paper SSRN[Online]. Available at: http://papers.ssrn.com/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Chakraborty, C. and Basu, P., (2002) ‘Foreign direct investment and growth in India: a cointegration approach, Routledge, part of the Taylor Francis Group, Vol. 34 Issue 9, pp.1061-1073 [Online]. Available at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Chuang, Y. C. and Lin C. M., (1999) ‘Foreign Direct Investment, RD, and Spillover Efficiency: Evidence from Taiwans Manufacturing Firms, Journal of Development Studies, Vol. 35 Issue 4, pp.117-137 EBSCO [Online]. Available at: http://web.ebscohost.com/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Damijan, J. P., Knell, M. S., Majcen, B., Rojec, M (2003) ‘The role of FDI, RD accumulation and trade in transferring technology to transition countries: evidence from firm panel data for eight transition countries, Economic Systems, Vol. 27 Issue 2, pp.189-204 EconPapers [Online]. Available at: http://econpapers.repec.org/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) De Mello, Jr.,L.R., (1999) ‘FDI-led growth: evidence from time series and panel data , Oxford Economic Papers, Vol. 51 Issue 1, pp.133-151 OXFORD FOURNALS [Online]. Available at: http://oep.oxfordjournals.org/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Gà ¶rg, H. and Greenaway, D., (2000) ‘Multinational enterprises, technology diffusion, and host country productivity growth , Research Paper 2000/12, Centre for Research on Globalisation and Labour Markets, University of Nottingham. Available at: http://globalisationandeconomicpolicy.com (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Haddad, M. and Harrison, A., (1993) ‘Are there positive spillovers from direct foreign investment? Evidence from panel data for Morocco , Journal of Development Economics, Vol. 42 Issue 1, pp.51-74 RePEc [Online]. Available at: http://repec.org/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Javorcik, B. S. and Spatareanu, M., (2005) ‘Does foreign direct investment promote development?, PP. 45-71, Available at: www.economics.ox.ac.uk (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Javorcik, B. S. (2004) ‘Does Foreign Direct Investment Increase the Productivity of Domestic Firms? In Search of Spillovers through Backward Linkages , The American Economic Review, Vol. 94 Issue 3, pp.605-627 JSTOR [Online]. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Kathuria, V., (2001) ‘Productivity Spillovers from Technology Transfer to Indian Manufacturing Firms, Journal of International Development, Vol. 12 Issue 3, pp.343-369 InterScience [Online]. Available at: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/home (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Kohpaiboon,A., (2003) ‘Foreign trade regimes and the FDI-growth nexus: a case study of Thailand , Journal of Development Studies, Vol. 40 Issue 2, pp.55-69 RePEc [Online]. Available at: http://repec.org/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Kokko, A., Zejan, M., Tansini, R., (2001) ‘Trade Regimes and Spillover Effects of FDI: Evidence from Uruguay, Economics of Transition, Vol. 137 Issue 1, pp.124-149 RePEc [Online]. Available at: http://repec.org/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Konings, J., (2001) ‘The effects of foreign direct investment on domestic firms: Evidence from firm-level panel data in emerging economies, Economics of Transition, Vol. 9 Issue 3, pp.619-633 EBSCO [Online]. Available at: http://web.ebscohost.com/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Lipsey, R. E. and Sjà ¶holm (2001) ‘Foreign Direct Investment and Wages in Indonesian Manufacturing, NBER Working Paper No. 8299, Cambridge, MA, National Bureau of Economic Research. Available at: www.nber.org/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Lipsey, R. E., (2002) ‘HOME AND HOST COUNTRY EFFECTS OF FDI , NBER Working Paper No. 9293*Issued in October 2002 NBER Program(s): NBER [Online]. Available at: http://www.nber.org (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Marwah, K. and Tavakoli, A. (2004) ‘The effect of foreign capital and imports on economic growth: further evidence from four Asian countries (1970-1998) , Journal of Asian Economics, Vol. 15 Issue 2, pp.399-413 ScienceDirect [Online]. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Okamoto, Y. and Sjà ¶holm, F., (1999) ‘FDI and the Dynamics of Productivity: Microeconomic Evidence, Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance, No. 348, Stockholm School of Economics, December. RePEc [Online]. Available at: http://repec.org/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Ramstetter, E. D., (1999) ‘Comparisons of Foreign Multinationals and Local Firms in Asian Manufacturing Over Time, Asian Economic Journal, Vol. 13 Issue 2, pp.163-203 EBSCO [Online]. Available at: http://web.ebscohost.com/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Sanchez-Robles, B. and Bengoa-Calvo, M. (2002) ‘ FDI, economic freedom, and growth: new evidence from Latin America, Universidad de Cantabria, Economics Working Paper No. 4/03. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=353940 or doi:10.2139/ssrn.353940 (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Sjà ¶holm, F., (1999) ‘Technology Gap, Competition and Spillovers from Direct Foreign Investment: Evidence from Establishment Data, The Journal of Development Studies, Vol. 36 Issue 1, pp.53-73 RePEc [Online]. Available at: http://repec.org/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Vu, T. B., Gangnes, B., Noy, I. (2008) ‘Is foreign direct investment good for growth? Evidence from sectoral analysis of China and Vietnam , Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, Vol. 13 Issue 4, pp.542-562 informaworld [Online]. Available at: http://www.informaworld.com/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Xu, B, (2000) ‘Multinational enterprises, technology diffusion, and host country productivity growth , Journal of Development Economics, Vol. 62 Issue 2, pp.477-493 RePEc [Online]. Available at: http://repec.org/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009)

American Prohibition :: essays research papers fc

Prohibition   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On midnight of January 16, 1920, one of the started around the turn of the century, when many people got the idea that most of what was wrong with America was caused by boozepersonal habits and customs of most Americans came to a sudden halt. It . They saw prohibition as the silver hammer that would decimate all of their alky-related woes. Instead, it turned out to be the lodestone that lead America into thirteen years of chaos. The eighteenth amendment was ineffective because it was unenforceable, it caused an explosive growth in crime, and it increased the amount of alcohol consumption.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Eighteenth Amendment was put into effect to prohibit the manufacture, sale and transportation of all intoxicating liquors. Shortly afterward, the Volstead Act, named for author Andrew J. Volstead, was put into effect. This complimentary law determined intoxicating liquor as anything having an alcohol content of more than 0.5 percent, omitting alcohol used for medicinal and sacramental purposes; this act set up guidelines for enforcement as well (Altman 15). Prohibition was meant to reduce the consumption of alcohol, and thereby reduce crime, poverty, death rates, and improve the economy and general quality of life. This, however, was undoubtedly to no avail.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the Volstead Act was put into place to determine precise laws and methods of enforcement, the Federal Prohibition Bureau was developed in order to see that the Volstead Act was enforced. Nevertheless, these laws were frequently violated by bootleggers and commoners alike. Bootleggers smuggled liquor from overseas and Canada, stole it from government warehouses, and produced their own. Many people hid their liquor in hip flasks, false books, hollow canes, and anything else they could find. (Bowen 159). There were also illegal speakeasies which replaced saloons soon after the start of prohibition. By 1925, there were over 100,000 speakeasies in New York City alone (Bowen 160). As good as the ideal sounded, prohibition was far easier to proclaim than to enforce. With only 1,550 federal agents and over 18,700 miles of extensive coastline, it was quite impossible to prevent large quantities of liquor from entering the country (Bowen 166). Barely five percent of s muggled liquor was hindered from coming into the country through the 1920s. Additionally, the illegal liquor industry was under the control of organized gangs, which subdued most authorities. Many bootleggers shielded their business by bribing the authorities, namely federal agents and persons of high political status (Bowen 160).

Myths as a Mirror of Society Essay

In a democratic society that struggles with how to support individuality and yet develop a consciousness of shared concerns and actions that promote equality, the color of your skin and the place of your origins still matter to a lot of people. Power relationships between people still exist and continue to influence people’s perceptions of themselves and the members of other groups. One of the struggles of a certain person is the construction of self, including identification and affiliation with one’s gender and a racial or ethnic group. Living in a â€Å"melting pot† of cultures like the United States, one could not help but encounter different people that belong to different ethnic group. In an article by Linda Seger entitled â€Å"Creating the Myths† (2000), she averred that although people come from different cultures or has a different skin color, We share similar experiences in the life journey of growth, development, and transformation. We live the same stories, whether they involve the search for a perfect mate, coming home, the search for fulfillment, going after an ideal, achieving the dream, or hunting for a precious treasure. Whatever our culture, there are universal stories that form the basis for all our particular stories. The trappings might be different, the twists and turns that create suspense might change from culture to culture, the particular characters may take different forms, but underneath it all, it’s the same story, drawn from the same experiences (p. 308). Living in a multi-ethnic society does not come in as easy. Often, we have heard or maybe encountered ourselves some prejudice with regards to people that has not the same color of our skin. In television and in movies, there are clashes in cultures. Unknown prejudice caused mainly by people’s refusal to accept reality as it is. When you see the word crash, it always summons to mind an unfortunate event that has to deal with vehicles. Someone even told me that it is prohibited to say this word when you are boarded on an airplane because you might cause panic among another passengers. Planes, cars and even computers crash. Crash basically means collision. Similarly, the title of Paul Haggis movie is Crash (2005). However, viewers will see not only collisions involving cars, but collisions involving race, culture and classes. Although it is just a movie, †Crash† tackles the realities of what cross-cultural panorama of Los Angeles urban life looks like. More than an interwoven stories of mythic heroes, it involves no direct good or bad people. These are people interconnected to each other in vestiges of crime, racism, corruption, obligation, indignation and chance over a two-day period. The storyline superimposes the complexity of the multifaceted narratives of their lives entwined under the numerous social and psychological issues usually hidden inside the closet of the American consciousness. Demystifying the Plot Seger proposed that a myth is a story that is â€Å"more than true. † She elaborated that these stories are true because one person, somewhere, at some time, lived it. Like the stories that intertwine in the movie Crash, these events are based on facts that we encounter in our daily lives. We connect to a â€Å"myth† because we believe that this is more than true because it is lived by all of us, at some level. The plot of the movie Crash are stories that connects and speaks to us all. One of the poignant stories that revolve around the movie is about two cops, one senior and the other junior. The other jaded and abusive, the other one is a novice and willing to learn the ropes. These cops are played by Matt Dillon and Ryan Philippe respectively. One day, when they were assigned in their beat site, they pull over and eventually harass a black couple (Terrence Howard and Thandie Newton) because the SUV they’re driving vaguely fits the description of a carjacked vehicle that was reported. Viewers get the impression that the character of Matt Dillon is racist chauvinist pig. We immediately tag him as the villain. More complications swiftly supersede within 24 hours as archetypes of characters cross paths again in separate incidents of incredibly high tension. These archetype characters challenge both the prejudices that have formed between them and the assumptions we draw out from their different perspectives about race and culture as a whole. Later in the film, we are surprised to see that it turned out that Christine (Thandie Newton) that she encounters Sgt. Ryan (Matt Dillon), the racist cop who sexually molested her during a traffic stop the previous night, the officer on the scene who tries to pull her from the burning car. Of course, she refused. â€Å"Anyone but you! † Christine screamed. We see the frustration in the face of Sgt. Ryan. He profusely apologized and explained that nobody was there to help but him. He informed that gasoline was dripping off her car. More or less, she has to get out of there before it explodes. Hesitantly, Christine agreed after Sgt. Ryan promised not to touch her anymore. Luckily, Christine was pulled out before the explosion. Viewers are perplexed with the transformation of Sgt. Ryan as an anti-hero. Maybe, he was not bad after all. Heroes and anti-heroes abound the movie Crash. To further intricately muddle the conflicts, characters encounter and reencounter one another in highly convenient ways. For example, a young African-American criminal Peter (Lanrez Tate) is murdered. Fortunately, he has a brother, Graham (Don Cheadle), an LAPD detective, who discovers Peter’s dead body in the desert. Prior to learning of his brother’s death, Graham is thwarted by the district attorney’s office into suppressing evidence that may partially absolve a white police officer charged with killing a black cop. Incidentally, the district attorney (Brendan Fraser) is looking for a conviction that would help him gather enough support from the black community, since he is trying to manage a potential media scandal. He and his wife (Sandra Bullock) were carjacked in Sherman Oaks by two young black men. We come to realize that around the community of New York we get acquainted with various myths, as this movie depicted. We witness the patterns and elements that connect with our own human experience As film involves various crashes and clashes, forcefully it does not just invoke commonly hackneyed racially-charged confrontations found in some films, but it almost subliminally showcases how passive prejudice and pre-conceived notions are often prevalent in simple day-to-day life. Thus, people could just collide and all these complications happen within a blink of an eye, unaware that they are villains and victims all at the same time of the milieu. The Myths of Crash Although the dominant illusion of myths that Crash could perpetuate among its viewers about its own narrative is that each character does something virtuous in one situation, and something unconscionably racist in another. Entirely, this is not the case because some characters could be deemed as purely good people. These characters are not simply out and out heroes. They are called anti-heroes because they do not possess certain respect that people should bestow them because of racism and prejudice. The Latino locksmith Daniel exists solely to incur racist threats and insults from other characters, then to disprove their opinions through his role as the most upstanding of family men. Unfortunately, other characters display no redeeming traits, like the DA’s wife, Jean Cabot (Bullock) is depicted as a self-involved rich and uptight woman who is there to speak the unspeakable ‘truth’ when justifying her fear of black men. Eventually, she stops just short of calling Daniel a wetback, and undergoes a quite insincere transformation that resulted from her inability to understand that her housekeeper Maria (Yomi Perry) is nice to her when she fell down some steps and fractured her leg, and nobody else has given her sympathy. She had no choice, but be nice to the person who helped her (Sicinski, 2005). Craig Detweiler (December, 2005) analyzed that Haggis portrays the film as a depiction a fine interconnectedness of realistic portrait of pertinent issues with a subliminal touch of magic realism. The movie offers a range of familiar types, attempting to prick his viewers’ consciences without being overbearingly preachy or nearly jingoistic. As the film kicks off, tempers are already surging as invectives and epithets are blurted out without batting an eyelash. Prejudices are looking for confirmation. â€Å"I am angry all the time, and I don’t know why,† laments a frustrated housewife. The first half of the film whips up the melting pot of complications, with racist assumptions spilling out of the characters ears. Viewers relish a platter of racism and crime, seasoned with sexual harassment, a broken health-care system and the purchase of firearms. In the softer second half, Detweiler explains that the isolated moments suggest a possibility of redemption for the characters. A motorist hassled by the cops for â€Å"driving while black† turns out to be a conflict-avoiding â€Å"Buddhist for Christ’s sake. † But that doesn’t dissuade the police from violating his humanity and that of his wife. A statue of St. Christopher shows up at surprising times, but it ultimately proves ineffectual. A protective icon inspires a random act of violence. As Christmas unfolds in the movie, we see images of the nativity that could only summon unrealized prayers for â€Å"peace on earth† (Detweiler, 2005). Circumscribing the â€Å"circle† that goes around the film’s plot, a realization could smack its viewers that in the small world we are living in, we are connected to each other, like it or not. Conclusion To quote John F. Kennedy, he said that â€Å"every American ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated. † In our present time, racism is a topic well-tackled among discussions. We are aware that it is generally loathed by people and we heard calls of putting a stop to it. We have seen the fall of Apartheid, we have seen those protests voicing out equality, but people still commit racism unconsciously as they encounter each other in their daily lives. Is prejudice primarily a question of color? How do differences of language and culture play into our misunderstandings? What must be done to bridge understanding and permanently inculcate the ugly face of prejudice regarding our differences? The film Crash does not present the myths to an ultimate panacea to racism and prejudice. But certainly, it is a mirror of the archetypes that persist in American society. It is presenting a consciousness about the interconnectedness of people and the situations that made them come up with their own realizations. Thus, the film invites its viewers to come up with their own realizations about the contemporary cross-section of American society and provide a space about perspectives on how to deal with their own prejudices. Works Cited Detweiler, Craig. Cultural Collisions. Sojourners Magazine. Washington, (December 2005), 34 (11): 45-46. Seger, Linda. â€Å"Creating the Myth. † Signs Of Life In The USA. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000. 308-316. Sicinski, Michael. Crash, Film Review. Cineaste. New York, (Fall 2005), 30 (4): 51-54.

Free Essays on Are DJ’s True Artists

Are DJ’s True Artists, and How Have They Effected American Music? The crowd cheers and pushes their way closer to the Disc Jockey (DJ) booth, and the lights start to lower in anticipation for the music that will lead their night. The DJ leaves the backstage and makes his way towards the 4 Technic turntables, 2 Pioneer CD players, 3 Pioneer mixers, and 2000 vinyl records from various genres. He slips on his Sony MDR-V700 headphones and places his first vinyl record on the turntable to his left. Sliding it back and forth under his fingers to find the first beat of the song, he lets go and slides the cross-fader towards that table. The crowd goes crazy as the first beat pounds through the speakers into their bodies. Glow sticks are now being waved, break-dancing boys/girls (b-boys/b-girls) are breakin’ out their moves, and the DJ has started his next vinyl in motion. Matching the next song’s beat to the song currently being played, the DJ can now play both songs at the same time. With songs playing simultaneously, the DJ can now trade be ats, create new sounds, and control treble, mid, and bass. After transferring from vinyl to vinyl, the DJ puts down a special record for scratching. This record will have certain phrases, sounds, and voices, made specifically for scratching. By manipulating the sounds on the record, the DJ can create new sound effects, stutter sentences, and even create a sentence from two records. The crowd doesn’t even know how he does it, but that doesn’t matter, he keeps them dancing all night long to the beats of the vinyl. This story happens every night across the world as DJs use their talent in creating an atmosphere for dance. They know what to play, when to play it, and how to play it. Records are their tools, whether used at a club, rave, hip-hop show, or turntable competition. DJ’s create music and express other artist’s music in a one time original form. This paper will state specific poi... Free Essays on Are DJ’s True Artists Free Essays on Are DJ’s True Artists Are DJ’s True Artists, and How Have They Effected American Music? The crowd cheers and pushes their way closer to the Disc Jockey (DJ) booth, and the lights start to lower in anticipation for the music that will lead their night. The DJ leaves the backstage and makes his way towards the 4 Technic turntables, 2 Pioneer CD players, 3 Pioneer mixers, and 2000 vinyl records from various genres. He slips on his Sony MDR-V700 headphones and places his first vinyl record on the turntable to his left. Sliding it back and forth under his fingers to find the first beat of the song, he lets go and slides the cross-fader towards that table. The crowd goes crazy as the first beat pounds through the speakers into their bodies. Glow sticks are now being waved, break-dancing boys/girls (b-boys/b-girls) are breakin’ out their moves, and the DJ has started his next vinyl in motion. Matching the next song’s beat to the song currently being played, the DJ can now play both songs at the same time. With songs playing simultaneously, the DJ can now trade be ats, create new sounds, and control treble, mid, and bass. After transferring from vinyl to vinyl, the DJ puts down a special record for scratching. This record will have certain phrases, sounds, and voices, made specifically for scratching. By manipulating the sounds on the record, the DJ can create new sound effects, stutter sentences, and even create a sentence from two records. The crowd doesn’t even know how he does it, but that doesn’t matter, he keeps them dancing all night long to the beats of the vinyl. This story happens every night across the world as DJs use their talent in creating an atmosphere for dance. They know what to play, when to play it, and how to play it. Records are their tools, whether used at a club, rave, hip-hop show, or turntable competition. DJ’s create music and express other artist’s music in a one time original form. This paper will state specific poi...

The Strategy of Localizing HR Practices from the Perspective of Multinational Corporation

The Strategy of Localizing HR Practices from the Perspective of Multinational Corporation Localization of International Human Resources Management Contemporary international human resources management strategies are focusing on how they can be able to localize human resources policies and practices for the betterment of their organizations; when localizing human resources policies, it takes the forms of international coordination, global leadership development and management, cultural intelligence, and diversity management.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Strategy of ‘Localizing’ HR Practices from the Perspective of Multinational Corporation specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More When managing a diverse global human capital, multinationals (MNCs) have the mandate of facilitating production of work of difference cultural beliefs, social settings, with diverse views, thinking styles, personalities, and emotional intellectualism. Despite the differences, they offer a rich ground for diverse views and decisions that when effectively managed they can be of high benefit to the multinationals (Kaplan and Norton, 2001). In international human resources management (IHRM), there are three main approaches, they include, the MNC may send people from the country of incorporation to represent the company abroad (expatriates approach), hire host countries employees, or hire a third countries employees. With globalization and improved education across binderies, the countries are able to produce people with the knowledge and the expertise to operate and run multinationals; this has come as a blessing to the multinationals that are nowadays relying on local people to manage and run international businesses, the approach is called localization of IHRM (Maznevski and DiStefano, 2000). This paper evaluates the emerging strategy, localization; it will evaluate how the concept came into operation, how MNCs manage/adopt it as well its advantages and disadvantages. The emergence of localization The idea to use local people for the management and running of multinational came from the challenges that use of experts had on MNCs; the main issue that expatriates had is the costs that are associate with their deployments. In most cases the costs of deploying expatriates is high and calls for increased operational costs to the MNs. Other than the general operational costs, in most cases, the company is responsible other human needs like housing, security and the welfare of the expatriate. Expatriates have higher remuneration than local employees who have the same post, qualification as well as responsibilities; the high remuneration does not necessarily mean that they can perform better but the notion that they are foreigners and experts creates the urge for high pays.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to Warner 2003, the cost of an American expatriate in China is about six times higher than that of a Chinese expatriate; with this kind of a difference, then when dealing with the expatriates, then the firm violates the noble objective of efficiency, cost management and profit improvements. Other than remuneration, there are other costs that come along with an expatriate, they include, cost of families, including relocation expenses, special allowances like education, mileage, accommodations, recruitment and training costs; it is also a challenging task to get a person who is qualified and willing to work in a foreign country (Takeuchi, Chen, and Lam, 2009) When a manager is operating in an industry, it is by default required that he understands the cultures, environment, and the general conditions that he is working under; when they are understood, then the firm will be able to make such responsive decisions. The issues of using expatriates come into play here; they are people with different backgrounds, culture and belief thus the y may not be able to connect with the situation on the ground (both market and the work force they are managing). With this the MNCs is not bound to be competitive and chances of loss of business to the local venders is high. Other than the personal bias, the expatriates may not have the drive and motivation to follow the market situation as well as the day-to-day occurrences of the market. This may be aggravated more by their temporary job assignments in the foreign country. When it comes to the issue of local employees, they are able to connect to the market and have deeper analysis of the situation on the ground; this facilitates making of market effective decisions and the use of the local information and experience to make sound decisions. Cultural differences, language barriers, and perception of the locals is another issue that faces expatriates; they are people with differences with the locals and thus they need incur further costs in their efforts to seek acceptance and und erstanding of the locals behavior and their character traits. In the case of a local executive, he has grown in the country and developed such special skills and culture intelligence that he can understand and make more business responsive questions to the good of the organization (Triandis, 2006). The concept of localization In simple terms localization means MNCs relying on local people for the provision of technical and otherwise jobs in their country; after an establishment, the MNC decides instead of having other people to manage and operate an international business, the choice made is local people. When using this model, the normal process of human resource that starts with planning, recruiting and selection is done to ensure that, the local person to secure the position has been vetted for experience, qualification and capability.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Strategy of ‘Localizing’ HR Practices from the Perspective of Multinati onal Corporation specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More After choosing the local person, sometimes there is need to orient, train, and inform the person o matters of the company that may be special to the company’s management or otherwise. This may be done through seminars, or in some cases, the employee may travel to the parent company for such training and assist in making the final plans. When the employee starts working, it will be assumed that he performs his duties with diligence and for the best interest of the employer; he will need to be appraised, motivated and appropriate measures to keep him going put in place. Recruitment and selection After knowing the country of venture as well as the human resources method to adopt, the MNC must on the ground and start the recruitment method; the method is slightly special and takes different forms where the company can hire a recruiting firm in the local country to make the recruitments. Al ternatively, the MNC can get on the ground and undertake the task; the earlier is more preferred. The recruitment and selection of appropriate staff is the foundation of any quality-conscious firm; thus, the MNC needs to enact such appropriate measures that ensure they have recruited people of high dignity, experience and who can perform effectively (Hollinshead, 2009). In the past, professionals were recruited based on technical criteria, experience, and membership of an appropriate professional body; although these criteria are still important, technical skills are only a part of the overall service delivery, which also includes functional criteria such as marketing and business skills and the ability to foster client relationships. Different countries needs different category of people thus when called upon to recruit for particular company; there are some special traits that may have much weight in a country A than they have in country B. The customer-centered firm should take i nto account all these criteria and consider recruitment as the first stage of retaining loyal, well- motivated and happy employees. Technological changes call for competent and skilled employees thus; organizations should ensure that their employees match the current technology. During the interview, the panel should ensure that they identify the strengths and weaknesses of the candidate. This will assist them in making the final decision (Trudel, 2009).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Training and development With the people deployed, the next major and very important step is t orient, train, and mentor the recruiting; every company has its own organizational culture that makes them what they are; the recruits needs to be well acquainted with the culture as he will be needed to instill such culture to the international branch. To get such mentoring and orienting, the parent company may decide to have him on board in the parent company or can use trainings, seminars and one-on-one training to orient and get the manager on board. On the other hand, when on the ground, professional employee, need to be continually trained to improve their skills, decision making, and expertise; they have limited set of skills that require continual upgrading to match the changing market demands and technology. Only by updating these skills using well-developed programs, can professional firms ensure that they equip their staff with the skills needed to respond to future business exp ectations. The management should ensure that employees are well motivated; highly motivated employees are more productive (Harzing and Van Ruysseveldt, 2004). To enable employees perform their duties effectively, continuous training system and employee’s appraisal is important. It helps management establish areas that needs improvement. Some organizations have employees training as a continuous process to ensure that employees are up-to-date with the changes in the industry. Motivational measures should be put in place to ensure that employees are loyal to the organization and they work efficiently. This ranges from attractive salaries or/and benefits, to developing a good working environment. This ensures that employees are retained as assets in the organization (Hampden–Turner and Trompenaars, 2006) Motivation, appraisal and evaluation With all policies and strategies set, the parent company management should be keep to appraise, motivate and evaluate the local emplo yees to ensure they live to the expectations of the MNC. When appraising, care needs to be taken to ensure that the situation and condition on the ground has been well understood and advice coming from the locals understood effectively. The employee must be appraised appropriately to enable the human resources department to establish the areas that need to be improved. It is through effective communication and feedback that these areas of weaknesses can be established; programs to facilitate communication should be put in place. Those who meet expectations of the management should be rewarded accordingly. With contemporary business environments, there are a number of scientific appraisal models that an employer can use, they include balanced score card appraisal model (Trudel, 2009). Retaining It is more cheap, efficient and easy to retain employees within an organization; as the employees meet the organization’s expectations, it is important for the organization to realize t hat the employees also have their targets that they want met. Many employees think of looking for another job if the current job is not satisfactory this stage. The human resources department must come up with measures that are aimed at retaining employees. One of the ways is to make the working environment as comfortable as possible. Remuneration and rewards of employees are other ways that can be used. Rewards mean that the efforts of the employee are recognized (Fernandez-Alles and Ramos-Rodrà ­guez, 2009) Advantages of localization Numerous advantage have come with the new MNCs human resources management style.  From a wider angle, when a company employ’s locals, they eliminate the risks and business challenges associated with deployment of expatriates. When an MNC employs the local people, they are developing opportunity benefits of developing local managerial skills that promote talents and develop talents to the local people; when this happens, the locals feel they are working with a company of their own that they can depend on and respect as their own. With such moves, an improved business-customer relationship can lead to customer loyalty and growth in business. People are more willing to trade with local companies that seem to be promoting their own culture, and wellbeing’s; they will be able to develop good business relations with the customer, suppliers and other stakeholders like the government and shareholders if any. The costs of personal culture contexts/tensions and cross-culture misunderstandings will be saved as the locals understand what the nation or the country they are operating in wants.  One of the most important attribute of a well-managed company is the motivation of its local staffs; when an MNC is, manage by a foreigner, the local workforce feels less motivated than when a local person is the business leader. When accompany has high employees motivation, then it is bound to perform better than when the motivation is minimal and wanting (DiStefano and Maznevski, 2000).  When locals are given the task of managing MNCs, other than using their experience and qualification, they use the general understanding and learnt social aspects about the country to make such decisions that are responsive to the needs of the country of operation. For example, they may be able to know the cultures or tribes they should deploy in certain areas, as they have been known to have some special attributes that can favor the MNC. The net effect is an improved business. Through inpatriation, local managers are able to combine any international experience with the local experience for the good of the company; when they successful do this, then the company stands to benefit. For example, they may combine root-marketing methods to international marketing approaches and come-up with a strategy that fits the county of operation.  Despite the above advantages, a number of challenges MNCs face when they take the option of using local people. Disadvantages of localization When the MNC rely on localization method of recruitment, then the control and the influence that the parent management has will be diluted and the locals may highjack the management. When this happens the running of the organization as a single unit moving to single noble destination is lost. In the case that the concept has been adopted by all MNCs they risk the career development of international managers and expatriates; in some companies, the method of expatriates had been used for rewarding and motivating employees in the organization; when the chances has been lost, then the MNC is likely to suffer demonization. When deploying the local people, there is needed to have training, mentoring, and coaching of the local people to align them with the needs of the organization; this task may become expensive and challenging task to the organization. Sometimes, the trainings may be done but the expected outcome fails to come outs lea ding to cost losses. It is also very challenging to get a person who can be molded to the needs of an MNC since there is much influence from experiences and exposure. Another challenge that comes with employing local people is lack of new ideas, creativity and sometimes innovativeness in a foreign company; this is caused by the similar ideas and decisions or way of thinking as may be expected from the local employee. The lack of exposure can lead to decisions that do not favor the business (Bullen and Eyler, 2010) Conclusion MNCs need to have an effective and efficient human resources team; there are three main options available to the company they are deploying expatriates, deploying local people or using people from a third country. When using the localization method, using country is of operation employees, the MNC stands to benefit reduced human resources costs, cultural intelligence, and builds customer confidence. The main challenge with localization is loss of parent’s company management controlling power as well as scarcity of creativity in the companies as the local people experience is confined in their country. International human resources management team has the role of ensuring the MNC’s human capital is highly motivated for favorable working environment. References Bullen, M. L. and Eyler, K. ,2010. Human resource accounting and international developments: implications for measurement of human capital. Journal of International Business Cultural Studies, 1(1), pp. 31-16. DiStefano, J. J. and Maznevski, M. L., 2000. Creating Value with Diverse Teams in Global Management. Organizational Dynamics, 29(1), pp. 45-63. Fernandez-Alles, M. and Ramos-Rodrà ­guez, A. ,2009. Intellectual structure of human resources management research: A bibliometric analysis of the journal Human Resource Management, 1985–2005. Journal of the American Society for Information Science Technology, 60(1), pp. 161-175. Hampden–Turner, C. and Tromp enaars, F.,2006.Cultural Intelligence: Is Such a Capacity Credible? Group Organization Management, 31(1), pp.56-63. Harzing, A.W. and Van Ruysseveldt, J. ,2004. International Human Resource Management. London: Sage. Hollinshead, G. ,2009. International and Comparative Human Resource Management. Basingstoke: McGraw-Hill Kaplan, R. S. and Norton, D. P.,2001. Transforming the Balanced Scorecard from Performance Measurement to Strategic Management: Part I. Accounting Horizons, 15(1), pp. 87-104. Maznevski, M. L. and DiStefano, J. J.,2000.  Global Leaders Are Team Players: Developing Global Leaders Through Membership On Global Teams  . Human Resource Management, 39(2/3), p.185. Takeuchi, N., Chen, Z. and Lam, W. ,2009. Coping with an emerging market competition through strategy-human resource alignment: case study evidence from five leading Japanese manufacturers in the Peoples Republic of China. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20(12), pp. 2454-2470. Triandis, H. C.,2006. Cultural Intelligence in Organizations. Group and Organization Management, 31(1),pp. 20-26. Trudel, J. M. ,2009.  International human resources management: a new challenge.   Portuguese Journal of Management Studies, 14(2), pp.149-161.

American History Since 1865 Annotated Bibliography - 1

American History Since 1865 - Annotated Bibliography Example Site summary: The site is very easy to navigate and the other sites mentioned in it are quite useful and provid more information about the history of women suffrage. The writing is quite academic, because of the use of formal language and the reference to other important information. The information included on the webpage itself, however, is too short. It is more of an introduction to the wider history of women’s suffrage. I believe it should have included already some more information about the key events of the suffrage history. Annotation: This website analyzes how the Treaty of Versailles contributed to the failure of the Weimar Republic. This corresponds to the material on pages 484-485 of our textbook. It discusses the territorial, military, financial, and judicial elements of the Treaty of Versailles. Scheck provides a detailed but brief analysis of what went wrong and what went right with the Treaty and how it fuelled World War II. He notes that the Treaty is judged as either too harsh or too lenient with Germany, and still, it failed to stop another war from erupting. By virtue of its inability to prevent another World War, the Treaty of Versailles cannot be treated as a genuine peace agreement that all stakeholders accept as fair and respectful of each nation’s autonomy. Site summary: The site is easy to navigate and contains academic material. The author surely wrote with knowledge and experience about the topic, since he is a college professor in history. The analysis of the weaknesses and the strengths of the Treaty provided additional knowledge on the topic that is worth exploring further. This is an important resource for readers who want to know more about why the Treaty of Versailles also contributed to World War II. The main weakness of the website is that it does not cite its sources. There should have been footnotes at least to substantiate the facts and assertions mentioned there. Annotation: This website

Why 70s generated and accepted new definitions for family structures Essay

Why 70s generated and accepted new definitions for family structures and gender roles - Essay Example This meant that even servants were part of the family (Ellwood and Christopher, 34). In the present structure, even the non-parental adults qualify as family members as long as they are actively involved in the upbringing of the children of others. The implication of this is that there is no universal definition of family. One of the reasons is the fact that the family has evolved over the years. In the middle ages, the nuclear family was the most common family setup. Ideally, a nuclear family consisted of the father, the mother and the children. However, there were some instances around the same time where sets of nuclear families resided together. The family in the United States has also seen a high degree of evolution. The evolution was mainly as a result of the changing perceptions in the culture of marriage starting from as early as the 18th century (Furstenberg, 34). Most views on family change are usually not representative of the facts on the ground. For instance, there has been a general increase in single-parent situations since the 1970s. This is mainly attributed to out of wedlock and fatherless children. The American society largely views the changes in gender roles as well as the new family definitions to be mainly caused by three factors namely, economic factors, development factors and last but not least, moral factors (Furstenberg, 40). The economic problems of single motherhood are mainly stemmed in the fact that very few single moms can actually get a good wage. In addition to this, they have to juggle between their professional deities as well as their role of upbringing their children. This ultimately reduces the amount of money they make at the end of a typical month. The government often offers some financial support to single mothers but the money is not usually substantial. These are the main reasons why the issue of