Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Criminal Justice Trends Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Criminal Justice Trends - Essay Example In the case of Arab-American communities right after the September 11 terrorist attack, one substantial implications of such incident led to understanding how the US law would treat the Arab-American communities especially within the context of US legal system. There were four important barriers to effective law enforcement, which were found to obstruct good relationship between US law enforcement and Arab-American community: distrust between Arab-American community and law enforcement, deficient cultural awareness, difficulty in language, and prevailing concerns regarding immigration status and deportation (Victor & Naughton, 2010). Robinson (2009) argues that there is no such thing as existence of criminal justice in the US due to inefficient, uncoordinated and lack of harmonious consensus effort among criminal justice agencies. Nonetheless, Robinson points out that there are prevailing efforts in the justice system to emancipate justice and ensure reduction of crime. However, base d on his arguments on this issue, it seems the US criminal justice system lacks grandeur especially in the achievement of its goals. The proof of this is tantamount to Robinsonââ¬â¢s suggestion for alternative goals for the criminal justice system and one of them would be meeting limited interests through placing certain population segments under control. Furthermore, Robinson adds to his argument that the law in the US does not actually represent all Americans. One of his major point is this, legislators at the federal and state level could not actually stand as representative of Americans from the point of view of demographic terms. Second, at some point one could not consider voters to be representative of Americans by looking at it from demographic terms. Finally, he shows evidence that most people do not actually vote. Another argument he specifically points out just to argue that no such thing as criminal justice exists in the US is relevant to the invention of law itself. He argues that crimes do not exist not until they are invented by law makers. This means that there are still certain crimes that could exist without corresponding action from the criminal judicial system due lack of detailed law regarding them. One specific example of this is the continuing subjective concerns underlying organized crimes. Another point is the varying legal policies for certain crimes from state to state or based on demographic terms. Robinson also adds in his argument that there exists an undermining of due process values due to excessive support for crime control values. He cites the very case how the media stereotype crimes and criminal justice. His proof is the focus media have on most violent and random types of crimes in the US. Robinson also points out that police tend to be more biased against poor people and people of color. Robinson calls this as innocent bias. Robinson also presents statistical evidence showing that the plea dispersal could reach more tha n 90 percent of felony crimes, implying further that one could less likely expect a reasonable criminal trial in the US. Furthermore, Robinson includes the idea that one could actually associate
Monday, October 28, 2019
Multinational Expansion Of Companies Essay Example for Free
Multinational Expansion Of Companies Essay Ghe increasing multinational expansion of companies requires individuals who can perform effectively across national borders by handling cross national job assignments (Stahl Bjorkman 2006). Expatriates/international assignees are employees who work outside their national borders. A lot depends on human resource (HR) management in selecting appropriate workforce and rewarding them accordingly in companyââ¬â¢s best interests. HR managers need to show expertise in choosing suitable personnel for international assignments based on employeeââ¬â¢s personal characteristics, interests, overseas experience and the type international assignment. Moreover, it becomes the responsibility of HR managers to look after compensation packages, and compliance with regional work standards and government policies. Hence, it is necessary to review all these issues in detail to gain an idea on the role of HR professionals in relation to international assignees. Firstly, to understand the aspects of expatriate selection and functions, it is first necessary to review the reason for global expansion of companies and their requirements. Companies Go Global à à à à à à à à à à à There are various reasons for companies choosing international existence. They include increased pressure on costs, search for new markets, greater customer demands and product and service qualities, government policies, search and desire for technology development, worldwide communication and information flow, increasing global opportunities with interdependence of nations in trading blocs, integrating cultures and values leading to common consumer demands, availability of skilled workforce, decreasing trade barriers, and E-commerce (Briscoe Schuler 2004). à à à à à à à à à à à This increasing globalization requires companies to look for employees with ability to operate at varied conditions. Accordingly, various criteria are set for the selection of international assignees. International assignees may be parent-country nationals (PCNs), host-country nationals (HCNs) or third-country nationals (TCNs) Selection of International Assignees à à à à à à à à à à à Human resource (HR) managers have a major role in selecting international assignees. The highly followed selection process includes self-selection, creating a candidate pool, technical skills assessment and making a mutual decision (Frazee 1998). à à à à à à à à à à à HR management has to consider several criterion before selecting the candidates, such as candidateââ¬â¢s maturity, ability to handle foreign languages, possession of favorable outlook on the international assignment by the expatriate and his/her family (Briscoe Schuler 2004). Apart from these personal characteristics like health, desire for the assignment, individual resourcefulness and adaptability are very important. à à à à à à à à à à à International assignees should have various qualities such as computer literacy, prudent negotiating skills, ability as a change agent, visionary skills and effective delegatory skills (Briscoe Schuler 2004). Functions of International Assignees à à à à à à à à à à à The functions of international assignees may include all or any of the following areas depending on job responsibilities. Technical responsibilities Managerial responsibilities Cultural responsibilities such as interacting with local nationals and local communities In general, global long term assignments may vary between two and five years. In long term assignments employees are generally loaned to the host company by the home company (Mullaney 2007, p. 3). The position and seniority of the assignee often determine the nature of the assignment package. Executive assignees are seen as prominent members of the local management team, whereas assignees at manager level or below are credited with career development opportunity. An Insight on the Roles of HR Managers In the current globalization arena, the role of human resource (HR) personnel in relation to international assignments should be viewed in specific perspectives: human resource personnel and international assignees, and the role of past experience in dealing with diverse employees. Whatever the role is, the basic requirements are openness to people, flexibility, autonomy, and career motivation (Frazee, 1998, p. 29). Firstly, the phases in selection of international assignees can be described as self-selection, creation of a candidate pool, assessment of technical skills, and making a mutual decision. Firstly, the candidate has to self analyze whether he or she can be a global assignee. Moreover, the favorability of family and other conditions need to be evaluated. In selecting global assignees, it is better to opt for self-selection than traditional selection. While traditional selection in meant for choosing assignees by employers through various interviews and tests, self-selection promotes self-assessment of candidates and decide on whether or not to go for the next step for selection process (Frazee, 1998, p. 29). The factors of self-selection include personality and individual characteristics, career and family issues. According to Johns, in case of personnel who shift from another position to HR, the experience in past positions and the change of influencing abilities pertaining to the post may help perform better as a HR manager in dealing with employees from different backgrounds (as cited in Frazee, 1998, p. 52). à à à à à Furthermore, HR managers do have a major role in proper orientation of global assignees and making them adjust with new environment. Moreover, HR personnel need to evaluate the costs associated with expatriate programs. Finally, they may have to deal with situations where employees may rise about differences in compensation between local and global assignees. Requirements of International Business Management in the Context of HR Professional in Working with International Assignees In my opinion, such requirements as workforce planning and staffing, training and health safety, and Crisis Management are the central issues of international business management in the context of HR profession when working with international assignees. The most significant subject for planning of training for international assignees is the importance of understanding the restricted culture and language. The organization of the compensation programs for multiple workforces around the world is a compound and not an easy work that is put into effect with the help of the balance sheet approach. à Health and safety practices vary among countries as per related laws in those countries. However, HR managers should understand and cope with business decisions that are concerned with strategies, health and safety systems, and different practices faced in countries that may have an impact upon workforces and employee relations between international assignees. So, the requirements include learning the laws, systems of working and understanding the cultures of the countries. Global HR activities that involve preparation, scheming, structuring, implementing, organizing, or developing may be unsuccessful if they are used without considering the differences in countries. Successful processes and systems that are used in one country may fail when they are used in the same way in another one. All the aspects of the international business have a human element. The human recourse management was underestimated for a long time, but its functions and roles, nowadays, are accepted to be one of the most important. Nevertheless, ââ¬Ëthe HR professionals must first learn the geography and characteristics of the fieldââ¬â¢ (Ohmae, 1990). Potential Involvement of International HRM à à à à à à à à à à à With the increasing human resource problems in the multinational companies due to increased global operations, it has become to necessary to redefine the scope and role of the human resource management. à à à à à à à à à à à International HRM should be involved as a active partner in formulating global strategies. Necessary skills need to be imparted into senior HR professional through proper training. HR professionals should lead developing processes and activities involving emerging strategies (Briscoe Schuler 2004, p. 398). Companies should facilitate the development of global strategies by finding out the skills necessary for management and employees, and a major role should be played by the HR department in accomplishing it (Briscoe Schuler 2004, p. 398). Enhanced interaction is essential among line management, HR personnel and workgroups. Moreover, it is better to decentralize the functions of the headquarters IHR departments. Also, main HR departments should assign basic administrative responsibilities to venders with expertise in HR activities, as the main departments will need to deal with many growing global responsibilities (Briscoe Schuler 2004, p. 398). Expatriate Performance, Training and Interactions Joint ventures and foreign subsidiaries are usually structured and organized much like their mother companies; the only distinction is that they have both expatriate and local managers. Thatââ¬â¢s why the international business operations are more difficult and have more complex structure than the domestic business operations. Regardless of the effectiveness or availability of Performance Management (PM) tools, expatriate PM success depends largely on the manager and expatriate in question: how well they both understand, internalize, and accept PM, and how skillful they are in its implementation. To this end, appropriate PM training should be available for all expatriates, including their superiors. (Johnson 2003). The high level of the performance management of the expatriate leads to improvements in their careers and companyââ¬â¢s development. à The performance management system that is used in the global business includes a lot of areas of international human recourse management responsibility, such as evaluating foreign managers and international assignees for pay increases. However, one of the most important obstacles to the successful administration and progress of these managers and international assignees is the regular require of recognition of the value of their overseas experience and expatriation, in general, and the casualness with which companies often evaluate these international assignees foreign performance. Certainly, big enterprises that have a lot of overseas assignees and many foreign subsidiaries say that ââ¬Ëmost (83%) do not use performance management to measure international assignees success. And many (35%) dont use any type of measurement at all.ââ¬â¢ (Andersen 1999, p. 18) One of the most important factors that influences upon the international assigneesââ¬â¢ performance is the performance appraisal system of the company. However the correct and effective system of the performance appraisals is not an easy task even in the native country. The knowledge and the skills that have to be developed by the international assignees differ a lot from the abilities of the workers of the company that is located in the native country should have.à The international assignee and other foreign managers have to increase and make use of the knowledge that is necessary for any managerial assignment without any doubt. The requirement for more number of highly qualified human resource personnel has resulted in the need to use larger numbers of foreign nationals. ââ¬ËMost multinational firms favor hiring local nationals for foreign subsidiaries, home-country nationals at headquarters, and, where a regional organization exists, a mix of foreign and home-country managers for regional positions.ââ¬â¢ (Johnson 2003) Thanks to such method of international HR management the ethnic groups unite usually varies with the environment of a firms business and with the product strategy. So, the role of the staff that works at the native country diminishes in the case of lowering the importance of the area expertise. The principal subject for a large amount of companies in the management of their international assignment system is the arrangement of the competing interests of the firm, international HR management, and the international assignees and family. The business that is concerned about its globalization requires fast deed in order to produce innovative revenues, and to direct the expenses and threats involved with doing that. International human resource department requires adequate lead time to discover and choose successful international assignees. As Ohmae (1990) writes ââ¬Ëthey need a low enough case load of international assignees to be able to provide good service; they want to be able to apply an effective process for selecting and developing quality of international assignees candidates; and they desire to be able to apply a consistent policy of treatment of international assignees.ââ¬â¢ International assignees themselves, and their families, need sufficient compensation for the individual and profession sacrifice they make while they relocate; they would like their family concerns to be given essential priority; and they look ahead to à be able to come back to a profession promotion that à takes benefit of their foreign practice. So, the way to success in the global operations is to satisfy the needs of companies and the needs of international assignees. The role of international assignees is very significant; because whether the business strategy will be clear and understandable all over the world depend on their working performance. In order to improve the results of the work there are a large amount of programs that consist of relevance, acceptability, sensitivity and practicality. The factor of relevance means that the HR manager and the worker should realize the relevance of their labor in the general activity and to evaluate the situation correctly. Acceptability is the right evaluation of the job from the side of the HR manager and the diligent execution of the duties by the expatriate. It needs to be seen as fair, reasonable, and accurate. Sensitivity is the attitude of the administration that includes taking into consideration cultural differences and adequacy in evaluating the business reality. The fact that the programs should be practical for the expatriates is also important. They should correspond to the business strategy and be not difficult to execute but not to simple. In this case there is a threat that such program will be done partially. These entire characteristics have to be implemented by the HR managers and need special attention. Compensation for International Assignees à à à à à à à à à à à International HR department has to create compensation packages that appropriate for employees and profitable to the companies. The components of a balance sheet approach that are helpful in determining expatriate compensation are described below. Home-country salaries International standard Regional standard Better of home or host policy Expatriate Failures The three main reasons for expatriate failure are inappropriate selection, inadequate preparation and the stress associated with expatriation (Enderwick Dunning 1994). Proper training of expatriates before giving international assignments is necessary to overcome failure. All in all, performance of international assignees depends greatly on proper selection and training. Moreover, appropriate compensation packages are necessary. Women as International Assignees à à à à à à à à à à à Coming to the gender differences in international assignees, there are important aspects to consider. It has been observed that though the number of women employees is increasing over the years, they are not making a substantiate percentage in international assignments. To be precise, in spite of having 47% women workforce in the United States by 1998, only 13% to 14% were selected for international assignments (Varma et al. 2004). Also, in spite of having 30% female students in MBA programs in the US, only 14% are being selected by corporate America for international postings (Koretz, 1999).à Furthermore, the estimated number of female expatriates is between 2 and 5 percent only (Harris, 1993).There are multiple reasons for this scenario. à à à à à à à à à à à The important cause is the reluctance of management to send women employees abroad stating that they face more prejudice than men at the new workplace. Also, supervisor-subordinate relationship seems to be an important factor. It was found that female employees showed higher agreement with female supervisors than males (Varma et al. 2004). It becomes crucial, as most of cases require women to interact with male supervisors. à à à à à Other related reasons can be explained such as over estimation of womenââ¬â¢s problems at workplace by males, and lower availability of corporate development programs such as fast track programs, individual career counseling and career planning workshops for women. Further reasons include the traditional confinement of women to only certain job categories, socio-cultural issues of host countries and the problems of dual career couples. Conclusion In conclusion it is necessary to say that global HRM is more democratic than it was earlier. It provides employees with lots of opportunities and possibilities without paying attention to such factors as cultural characteristics or racial prejudices. Global HRM tries to present cultural diversity at all level of organizations. HRM model in public sector is characterized by lifetime employment, social cohesiveness and seniority wages. The vitality of organization is less important in the country that family ties and friendship. It is seen that GCC countries are not greatly influenced by globalization processes. Managers try to promote their relatives instead of teaching staff how to work. HRM model in the private sector is only on the evolution stage. It is still trying to find innovative ways how to manage the staff effectively. It is recommended for strategic human resource management of future to be characterized by cultural diversity and equal job opportunities for all people. HRM should use the concepts of globalization and labor division in order to achieve highest results. HRM should provide qualified employees with proper positions. Human resource managers should also have highest qualification and professionalism to achieve companyââ¬â¢s goals and objectives. One more recommendation is to create more job places and to provide people with them. The cultural dimensions of power distance index, individualism, masculinity, uncertainly avoidance index and long-term orientation are necessary to be studied by the HR managers. The improvements of the programs that are aimed at the expatriateââ¬â¢s learning should include relevance, acceptability, sensitivity and practicality. As the result the production will increase as well as the organizationââ¬â¢s revenue and profits. All in all, HR management has a great responsibility in companyââ¬â¢s success pertaining to international assignments. They need to identify required personnel with adequate skills and experience to carry out international assignments. HR managers should plan proper reward packages to retain efficient employees on international assignments. Moreover, they need to adjust existing and adopt new policies in order to gain compliance with respective countryââ¬â¢s policies and standards. Also, they are supposed to plan and implement relevant training for employees to perform effectively as international assignees. References 1998, ââ¬ËROI on International Assigneesââ¬â¢, HR Focus, Vol. 75, no. 3, p. S5. Briscoe, D. R. Schuler, R. 2004, International Human Resource Management, Second Edition, Routledge, London and New York. Budhwar, Pawan. Human Resource Management in Developing Countries. London: à Routledge. Chiavenato, Idalberto. 2001. ââ¬Å"Advances and Challenges in Human Resource Management in the New Millenniumâ⬠. Public Personnel Management, 30, pp. 17-25. Dunning, Joseph. 1999. Governments, Globalization and International Business. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Eaton, Jack 2000. ââ¬Å"Transnational Companies, Globalization and Industrialâ⬠, Comparative Employment Relations, Cambridge, Polity Press. Enderwick, P. Dunning, J. H. 1994, Transnational Corporations and Human Resources, vol. 16, Routledge, New York. Frazee, V. 1998, ââ¬ËAn HR Pro Forges a Well-rounded perspectiveââ¬â¢, Workforce, Vol. 77, no. 2, p. 52. Frazee, V. 1998, ââ¬ËNo Common Thread in Expat Selectionââ¬â¢, Workforce, 4, 4, p. 9. Frazee, V. 1998, ââ¬ËSelecting Global Assigneesââ¬â¢, Workforce, 3, no. 4, pp. 28-30. Harris, H. 1993, ââ¬ËWomen in international management: Opportunity or threat?ââ¬â¢,Women in Management Review, 8, no. 5, pp. 9-14. Hofstede, Geert.1998. International and Cross-Cultural Management Research. Sage: Jean Claude Usunier. Iii, Edward E. Lawler. 2003. Creating a Strategic Human Resources Organization: An Assessment of Trends and New Directions. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Johnson, David. 2003. International Business: Themes and Issues in the Modern Global Economy. London: Routledge. Kim, Pan Suk. 1999. ââ¬Å"Globalization of Human Resource Management: A Cross-Cultural Perspective for the Public Sectorâ⬠. Public Personnel Management, vol. 28, pp. 27-37 Koretz, G. 1999, ââ¬ËA Womans Place Is..à :Men Frown on Female Execs Abroadââ¬â¢, Business Week, 3646, no. 28, p. 28. Less Available to Female than to Male Expatriates?ââ¬â¢, Journal of Business Ethics, 43, no. à ½, pp. 125-136. Mullaney, E. 2007, ââ¬ËGlobal Mobility in a Brave New Worldââ¬â¢, International Assignment Perspectives, PricewaterhouseCoopers, pp. 1-54. Ohmae, K. 1990. The Borderless World. New York: HarperCollins. Rowden, Robert W. 1999. ââ¬Å"Potential Roles of the Human Resource Management Professional in the Strategic Planning Processâ⬠. SAM Advanced Management Journal, vol. 64, pp. 22-28. Selmer, J. and Leung, A. S. M. 2003, ââ¬ËAre Corporate Career Development Activities Sims, Ronald R 2002. Organizational Success through Effective Human Resources Management. Westport, CT: Quorum Books. Solomon, C. M. 1997, ââ¬ËDestination U.S.A.ââ¬â¢, Workforce, pp. 18-22. Sparrow, Paul, Brewster, Chris and Harris, Hilary. 2004 ââ¬Å"Globalization and HRMâ⬠, Globalizing Human Resource Management, Oxon, Routledge. Spring, Joel. 1998. Education and the Rise of the Global Economy. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Stahl, G. K. Bjorkman, I. 2006, Handbook of Research in International Human Resource Management, Edward Elgar. Varma, A., Stroh, L. K. Schmitt, L. B. 2001, ââ¬ËWomen and International Assignments:à The Impact of Supervisor-subordinate Relationshipsââ¬â¢, Journal of World Business, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 380-388.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
George Orwells Animal Farm :: Animal Farm Essays
Pigs walking on two feet, horses and sheep talking. This is how George Orwell satirizes human nature in his classic novel Animal Farm. Animal Farm is an allegory of the Russian Revolution of 1917. The title of the book is also the setting for the action in the novel. The animals in the story decide to have a revolution and take control of the farm from the humans. Soon the story shows us how certain groups move from the original ideals of the revolution to a situation where there is domination by one group and submission by all the others. The major idea in this story is the political corruption of what was once a pure political ideal. Orwell uses satire to ridicule human traits in his characters such as Napoleon and Squealer. There are several different characters in the novel utilizing animals as symbols of people in real life during the Russian Revolution. Napoleon is the leader of the pigs that ultimately come to dominate the farm. The characteristics that we associate with pigs , lazy, greedy, and pushy are meant to symbolize the characteristics that the leaders of the Russian Revolution exhibited. Napoleon is admired by all of the animals because he is their leader. All of the animals believe that their leader wants to fulfill all of their needs. They also are convinced that Napoleon’s decisions are made the best interest of the animals. Napoleon’s piglike qualities are shown throughout the story. He exhibited greediness when he sold the dying horse, Boxer to a slaughterhouse for money so that he and the other pigs could purchase whiskey. Orwell ridicules human nature through Napoleon in the sense that he is trying to show how the greedy and power hungry eventually end in corruption. Squealer is short, fat and nimble. Just the image of a pig. Squealer is so persuasive that he could turn black into white! This is just what he does again and again throughout the story. Every time that the pigs take more power and money Squealer persuades the animals to think that the decisions are being made are absolutely necessary for the well being of all. When things are scarce, he proves that production has increased- with figures that the animals can not read of course.He is also the one who makes the changes in the Seven Commandments. The characteristics that Squealer has in his personality are not admirable in a human being because Squealer is accurately portrays the propaganda agent that he represents.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Racism in the Adventure of Huckleberry Finn
Huckleberry Finn is a wonderful book that captures the heart of the reader in its brilliance and innocence. Despite many critics have attacked its racist perspective;the piece merely represents a reality that occurred during antebellum America,the setting of the novel. Twainââ¬â¢s literary devices in capturing the focal of excitement,adventure,and human sympathy is a wonderful novel that should be recognized,not for bigotry, but that it is the candid viewpoint of a boy that grew up in that era.And even then,the protagonist does overcome some social prejudices of slavery because he is concerned with the well-being of his runaway slave friend Jim. That the mockery of the slave race in the end allowed by Huck is more about fulfilling the awes of Huck towards Tom. The novel is a success because it does not fail to capture the one singular point of growing up for Huck:boyhood. Mark Twain definitely characterizes the protagonist,the intelligent and sympathetic Huckleberry Finn,by the di rect candid manner of writing as though through the actual voice of Huck.Every word,thought, and speech by Huck is so precise it reflects even the racism and black stereotypes typical of the era. And this has lead to many conflicting battles by various readers since the first print of the novel,though inspiring some. Says John H. Wallace,outraged by Twainââ¬â¢s constant use of the degrading and white supremacist wordââ¬Ëniggerââ¬â¢,â⬠[The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is]the most grotesque example of racist trash ever writtenâ⬠(Mark Twain Journal by Thadious Davis,Fall 1984 and Spring 1985).Yet,again to counter that is a quote by the great American writer Ernest Hemingway,â⬠All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finnâ⬠¦itââ¬â¢s the best book weââ¬â¢ve hadâ⬠¦There has been nothing as good sinceâ⬠(The Green Hills of Africa [Scribnerââ¬â¢s. 1953]22). The controversy behind the novel has been and will always remain the crux of any readers is still truly racism. Twain surely does use the wordââ¬Ëniggerââ¬â¢often,both as a referral to the slave Jim and any African-American that Huck comes across and as the epitome of insult and inferiority.However,the reader must also not fail to recognize that this style of racism,this malicious treatment of African- Americans,this degrading attitude towards them is all stylized of the pre- Civil War tradition. Racism is only mentioned in the novel as an object of natural course and a precision to the actual views of the setting then. Huckleberry Finn still stands as a powerful portrayal of experience through the newfound eyes of an innocent boy. Huck only says and treats the African-American culture accordingly with the society that he was raised in. To say anything different would truly be out of place and setting of the era.Twainââ¬â¢s literary style in capturing the novel,Huckââ¬â¢s casual attitude and candid position,and Jim ââ¬â¢s undoubted acceptance of the oppression by the names all signifies this. The thesis has three chapters. Chapter one is introduction of the whole work. Chapter two give some information about the criticism literature. Chapter three give a deep look at the research about the racial problems in the book Huck Finn. Chapter four is the conclusion part. 1 Literature Review Literary criticism is an attempt to evaluate and understand the creative writing,the literature of an author.Literature includes plays, essays,novels,poetry,and short stories. Literary criticism is a description,analysis,evaluation,or interpretation of a particular literary work or an author's writings as a whole. Literary criticism is usually expressed in the form of a critical essay. In-depth book reviews are also sometimes viewed as literary criticism. Controversial in death as he was in life,Mark Twain has been seriously accused by some of being aâ⬠racist writer,â⬠whose writing is offensive to bla ck readers,perpetuates cheap slave-era stereotypes,and deserves no place on today's bookshelves.To those of us who have drunk gratefully of Twain's wisdom and humanity,such accusations are ludicrous. But for some people they clearly touch a raw nerve,and for that reason they deserve a serious answer. Let's look at the book that is most commonly singled out for this criticism,the novel that Ernest Hemingway identified as the source of all American literature:The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. For Twain's critics,the novel is racist on the face of it,and for the most obvious reason:many characters use the wordâ⬠niggerâ⬠throughout.But since the action of the book takes place in the south twenty years before the Civil War,it would be amazing if they didn't use that word. A closer reading also reveals Twain's serious satiric intent. In one scene,for instance,Aunt Sally hears of a steamboat explosion. ââ¬Å"Good gracious! anybody hurt? ââ¬Å"she asks. ââ¬Å"No'm,â⬠comes the answer. ââ¬Å"Killed a nigger. â⬠But anyone who imagines that Mark Twain meant this literally is 580 SCIENCE;TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION2010 5? missing the point.Rather,Twain is using this casual dialogue ironically, as a way to underscore the chilling truth about the old south,that it was a society where perfectlyâ⬠niceâ⬠people didn't consider the death of a black person worth their notice. To drive the point home,Twain has the lady continue: ââ¬Å"Well,it's lucky,because sometimes people do get hurt. â⬠That's a small case in point. But what is the book really about? It's about nothing less than freedom and the quest for freedom. It's about a slave who breaks the law and risks his life to win his freedom and be reunited with his family,and a white boy who becomes his friend and helps him escape.Because of his upbringing,the boy starts out believing that slavery is part of the natural order;but as the story unfolds he wrestles with his conscience,and when the crucial moment comes he decides he will be damned to the flames of hell rather than betray his black friend. And Jim,as Twain presents him,is hardly a caricature. Rather,he is the moral center of the book,a man of courage and nobility,who risks his freedomââ¬ârisks his lifeââ¬âfor the sake of his friend Huck. Note,too,that it is not just white critics who make this point. Booker T. Washington noted how Twainâ⬠succeeded in making his eaders feel a genuine respect for'Jim,'â⬠and pointed out that Twain,in creating Jim's character,hadâ⬠exhibited his sympathy and interest in the masses of the negro people. â⬠The great black novelist Ralph Ellison,too,noted how Twain allows Jim'sâ⬠dignity and human capacityâ⬠to emerge in the novel. ââ¬Å"Huckleberry Finn knew,as did Mark Twain[Ellison wrote],that Jim was not only a slave but a human being[and]a symbol of humanityâ⬠¦ and in freeing Jim,Huck makes a bid to free himself of the conventionalized evi l taken for civilization by the townâ⬠ââ¬âin other words,of the abomination of slavery itself.In fact,you can search through all of Twain's writings,not just the thirty-plus volumes of novels,stories,essays,and letters,but also his private correspondence,his posthumous autobiography and his intimate journals,and you'll be hard put to find a derogatory remark about the black raceââ¬âand this at a time when crude racial stereotypes were the basic coin of popular fiction,stage comedy,and popular songs. What you find in Twain is the opposite:a lively affection and admiration for black Americans that began when he was still a boy and grew steadily through the years.In a widely praised post-Civil War sketch titledâ⬠A True Story,â⬠for example,he wrenchingly evoked the pain of an ex-slave as she recalls being separated from her young son on the auction block, and her joy at discovering him in a black regiment at war's end. And on those occasions when Twain does ventur e to compare blacks and whites,the comparison is not conspicuously flattering to the whites. Things like: ?â⬠One of my theories is that the hearts of men are about alike,all over the world,whatever their skin-complexions may be. â⬠?â⬠Nearly all black and brown skins are beautiful,but a beautiful white skin is rare. ?â⬠There are many humorous things in the world;among them is the white man's notion that he is less savage than all the other savages. â⬠2 Methods/Research Design The null hypothesis for this research is that half of the university students study literature will think that there are racial discrimination in the book Huck Finn and others wonââ¬â¢t. 1000 students in their third and forth years of university will be the subject. They must never see the book or the movie of Huck Finn. They come from both big cities and rural area. They are divided into four groups.The first two groups(each has 250 students)include the students from big cities,par t of them students from rural areas. First,all of them will hear the story of Huck Finn. Then they wi answer relevant questions about the images of Huck Finn in th questionnaires and during the interviews. The questions are about th using method of language,the plot design and the thinking of Huck,et Finally,the movie of Huck Finn will be shown. Students will describe th image of Huck and their views about racial problems in this book According to their answers,different answers will be divided into differen groups.After these works,comes the analyses of the statistics and dat After comparing the answers of the four groups,gives the conclusio whether literary students from big cities and from rural areas have th same opinion of the racial discrimination in this book. As expected,half o them will have the same opinion and half of them wonââ¬â¢t. 3 Anticipated Results 3. 1 Time-Table My studies will last more than two years. I decide to spend about 5 hours per month on my studies. I plan to spend the first six month developing my proposal and methodology and completing the literatur review.During this period,I will also attend some relevant courses abou readerââ¬â¢s response theory. Then I will spend about six months i questionnaires and interviews. After that,I plan to spend eight months i analyzing the statistics and data. Finally,four month will be used mainl on the thesis. February 2008ââ¬âAug. 2008 *Develop proposal and methodology and complete the literatur review *Attend some relevant courses about readerââ¬â¢s response theory Aug. 2008ââ¬âFeb. 2009 *Design the questionnaires Collection of official and unofficia statistic Feb. 2009-October 2009 INTERVIEWS October 2009ââ¬âFeb. 2008 *Analysis the statistics and data *Mainly work on the thesis 3. 2 Anticipated result University students from different countries will have differen opinion on the same thing. As expected,half of them will have the sam opinion and half of them wonââ¬â¢t. However,if the result doesnââ¬â¢t suppo my anticipated result,I will try to find the weakness of my researc design,and improve it. Then do the research again and again. If I als can not get the anticipated result,I will accept the result with a scientifi attitude.http://42explore. com/litcrit. htm
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Understanding the Business Competitive Environment
When designing a new strategy for the company, a firm must fully analyze the respective competitive environment in order to come up with decisions that are beneficial. A company must take into account even the minutest details regarding the competitors to understand the factors driving the success of the competitors. PEST analysis, SWOT analysis and Michael Porterââ¬â¢s 5 forces analysis are some ways that develop an understanding of the success of the competitor firms (Porter, 1998). Some questions are given below which help the companies to understand the importance of their expertise and their operations. . How strong is the team of the members at the competitor firm? A firm must focus on their own team and work towards the exploitation of expertise of these members. The other firm may perform well because of their specialization in that field. However, at your company you should make your team strong to gain a competitive edge. 2. What are the practices (operations) adopted by the competitor firm? This helps the firm to gather knowledge on the procedures and methods adopted by the competitor firms. This knowledge helps the company in making its processes efficient in order to stay ahead in the industry and also so that the firms practices can become a benchmark. (Withrow, 2006). 3. What markets or market segments your competitors serve? This question helps the firm in realizing the markets that are being catered and the markets that can be tapped. If the company focuses on itself, it can capture the market of its competitors and create a loyal customer base for itself (Withrow, 2006). 4. What are the competitorââ¬â¢s products/ services prices and promotion strategy? This helps in gaining an insight about the strategies that the companies adopt in order to capture the market. The firm must focus on improving its strategies of cost cutting and adopting to the technological changes so that it can remain ahead of the competition. (Ward, n. d. ) 5. Why customers buy from your competitors? The answer to this question tells about the added value that customers receive as a result of using the competitor products. The firm must focus on providing best services to the customers so that they remain loyal.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
A Character Study of Damon Wildeve -Return of the Native essays
A Character Study of Damon Wildeve -Return of the Native essays The purpose of this essay is to study the character of Damon Wildeve and how the other characters of the novel perceive him. I will begin by examining the authorial view of his character. Considering the techniques used by Hardy to represent his characters passions are an important part of understanding their thought processes. Hardy often relates his characters to their surrounding natural landscape, thereby integrating the backdrop to the story with the participants in it. For example, Wildeves name conjures images of the wild terrain of the heath and this reflects his passionate and impulsive nature. Another technique Hardy employs in constructing an initial image of Wildeve is by using the hearsay of other minor characters. It is through a discussion among the heath-folk that Wildeves name is first introduced to the reader. To give him his due hes a clever learned fellow in his way...An engineer-thats what the man was, as we know; but he threw away his chance...His learning was no use to him at all. This gradual unfolding of information draws the readers attention and we look more closely for those clues that will provide further insight into Wildeves character. As we approach the discussion concerning Wildeves forthcoming marriage to Tamsin Yeobright, we are conscious of the contrasting opinions of the heath folk. The women seen to appreciate Wildeves impetuosity and passionate temperament claiming: A hundred maidens would have had him if hed asked em, however the men seem to affront their opinion stating: Didst ever know a man, neighbour, that no woman at all would marry? Wildeves paradoxical nature is also reinforced by Hardys own words: Altogether he was one in whom no man would have seen anything to admire, and in whom no woman would have seen anything to dislike. Hardy&apos...
Monday, October 21, 2019
Analyzing the rational actor model of decision essays
Analyzing the rational actor model of decision essays The initial chapter of this book deals with how analysts use models to predict behavior within government. Using model 1, or the rational actor model, analysts can predict the future actions an agent will take based on the assumption that the agent will choose alternatives that have the greatest utility. The agents goals or objectives, alternatives, consequences, and choice, are the four concepts analysts use in determining actions agents will take. There are four states of being in which analysts place agents and two types of rationality the agent may use within these states to make decisions. During the first state the agent is armed with the least amount of information and thinks in a notional (limited context) state. As the agent receives more information their state of being thickens and the agent moves from the notional into the generic, then identified, and finally the personified state of being. As the agent moves through these states, their rationality also changes. During the initial states the agent can act in a bounded rationale where he has limited resources or information on hand. As the agent again ascends it begin to use a more comprehensive rationale where all alternatives are ranked and the agent chooses the action with the greatest utility regardless of consequence. The RAM is a great tool for analysts to use in helping predict possible outcomes. However, as more complex concepts such as institutionalism and strategy come into play and decision makers must look for alternatives that not only maximize utility, but also not seem threatening. ...
Sunday, October 20, 2019
6th Grade Math Word Problems with Answers
6th Grade Math Word Problems with Answers Math is all about problem-solving. One of the best ways to help children learn math is to present them with a problem in which they have to devise their own strategies to find the solution(s). There is usually more than 1 way to solve math problems and children need the opportunity to discover shortcuts and their own algorithms to determine the appropriate solution, they should also justify their solution(s). The following math word problems are specific for children in the sixth grade and are divided into the main math categories: Number Concepts, Patterns and Algebra, Geometry and Measurement, Data Management and Probability. Children should be involved in problem-solving activities every day. Problems for third grade students should be read to them. Students should also be able to describe why their solutions work or how they know its the right solution. My favorite question to children is how do you know. When they have to explain how they arrived at their answer, you immediately know the learning that has taken place. Patterns and Algebra Kellys classroom organized an e-Pal club. 11 people joined the club. Each of them sent an email to each of the members of the club. How many emails were actually sent? How do you know? Ticket sales for the bake sale were underway. Four people bought tickets on the first day of sales, twice as many people bought tickets on the second day and each day afterwards twice as many people bought tickets. How many tickets were sold after 16 days? Data Management and Probability Pet Parade: Mr. James has 14 cats, dogs and guinea pigs. What are all the combinations he could have? How many different types of pizza can you make with the following toppings: pepperoni, tomatoes, bacon, onions and green peppers? Show your answer. Number Concepts Sam bought 8 ball caps, one for each of her eight friends, for $8.95 each. The cashier charged her an additional $12.07 in sales tax. She left the store with a measly $6.28. How much money did Sam start with? Geometry and Measurement Watch your favorite television show from beginning to end. Time each of the commercials and determine the percentage of commercial time for the entire show. Now determine the percentage of time the actual show is. What is the fraction of commercials? Two squares are beside each other. One square has 6 times the length of the other square, how many times greater is the area of the larger square? How do you know?
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Macroeconomices Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
Macroeconomices - Term Paper Example These transactions enter as either debit items or credit items. The debit items include all payments to other countries: these include the countrys purchases of imports, the spending on investment it makes abroad and the interest and dividends paid to people abroad who have invested in the country. The credit items include all receipts from other countries: from the sales of exports, from inward investment expenditure and from interest and dividends earned from abroad. (John Solomon, Essentials of Economics, page 462-265) The sale of exports and any other receipts earn foreign currency. The purchase of imports or any other payments abroad use up foreign currency. If we start to spend more foreign currency than we earn, one of two things must happen. Both are likely to be a problem. The balance of payments will go into deficit. In other words, there will be shortfall of foreign currencies. The government will therefore have to borrow money from abroad, or draw on its foreign currency reserves to make up the shortfall. This is a problem because, if it goes on too long, overseas debts will mount, along with the interest that must be paid; and/or reserves will begin to run low. The exchange rate will fall. The exchange rate is the rate at which one currency exchanges for another. For example, the exchange rate of the pound into the dollar might be à £1= $1.60. When all the components such as current account, capital account, financial account of the balance of payments account are taken together, the balance of payments should exactly balance: credits should equal debits. If they are not equal, the rate of exchange would have to adjust until they were, or the government would have to intervene to make them equal. In order to achieve the goals of high and sustainable economic growth, low unemployment, low inflation, a satisfactory balance of payments and stable exchange rates,
Friday, October 18, 2019
Case 9 Discussion Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1
Case 9 Discussion Questions - Essay Example Furthermore, there was no discussion of the target audience for which the renovations would take place. As was made obvious in the case study, the club itself is losing out on a powerful and important demographic of membership. As a means of attracting this demographic, the shareholders should be intimately aware of what types of improvements to the Hunt Room, if any, would engage this otherwise disenfranchised group of potential clients. A very important piece of information that should be sought prior to determining whether to remodel, shutter, or leave the Hunt Room as is relates to the feelings of the current clientele. Although the room itself is not necessarily generating a large share of profits for the club, it does fill an important niche and retain a level of happy and satisfied customers; therefore, attempting to poll these individuals as to the level of change they would like to see and incorporating these inputs in with layers of what would attract newer/younger patrons could be an effective win/win situation. Furthermore, performing such a level of market research is both easy to do and costs virtually nothing. With regards to how often a room should be reconcepted, this entirely depends on the clientele that avail themselves of the room, the level of brand image that is associated with the room, and the degree to which customers are not only loyal to the firm/organization/club, the food, or the management, but also the actual immutability of the room itself. For these reasons, providing a hard and fast rule with reference to a definite time period in which a given room should be reconcepted would be foolish to the litany of different business plans that exist which to a varying degree rely on the appeal of the unchanging nature of the setting itself as a prime selling point. Secondly, with regards to what makes restaurant concepts grow out of practice, it is the belief of this author that the style in
Children today waste too much time playing video games Essay
Children today waste too much time playing video games - Essay Example Children virtually spend their summer vacations playing these games. About half of all children have a video game player or a computer on which to play the video game and parents do not restrict the types of game the children play. AskDr.Sears.com reports eighty percent of most popular video games feature violence and aggressiveness. Surveys also suggest, by the time a typical American child reaches the age of eighteen, he has seen 200,000 acts of violence and 40,000 murders on screen. According to Maney (2005) video games might be the best things that children can do to ensure their future success. Maney quotes Steve Johnson, who says that at every point while playing the video games one has to make decisions. One has to think about patterns, long-term goals, and resources. These help to take a decision and depending upon the feedback from the game one again has to adjust the decision. Maney confirms that games like Halo 2, EverQuest or the lurid Grand Theft Auto hone the kind of decision-making abilities that define a successful person. Parents often insist that children should spend time reading books rather than playing video games. Johnson disagrees saying whatever the benefits of reading, you are following someone elseââ¬â¢s decision. Video games have been linked to violence and aggressive behavior. Others believe that video games provide an outlet for aggression and frustration. According to the journal American Family Physician, studies have not been able to show concrete evidence of behaviour being affected due to violent video games. This argument can be countered by the violence and blood bath that children are exposed to, in books like King Lear and Lord of the Flies. They challenge the belief that books are automatically better than video games. Dr. John C Beck, author of Got Games, believes video games foster team skills (cited by Powell S, 2005). He refutes the view that it
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Professional development, learning how to deliver Sport Education Assignment
Professional development, learning how to deliver Sport Education model - Assignment Example This study reviews all significant literature that is available in this field of professional development through sports education. The need to understand the impact of sports education on students is incomplete without a thorough understanding of how the education is provided to students in the first place. In a study to understand teaching processes, Curtner-Smith et al (2008), ran an experimental survey by interviewing six American and four British beginner level teachers of sports education. The paper is titled, ââ¬Å"Influence of occupational socialization on beginning teachersââ¬â¢ interpretation and delivery of sport educationâ⬠. The theoretical framework used to determine the course of action in the experimental study was the process of teachers engaging in sports education at the beginnerââ¬â¢s level and then growing to become senior level instructors in one or more sports. To chart the journey of a teacher as he takes his job as a sports education provider seriously over PETE programmer, the different questions asked during the interview were based on three different phases of professional socialization which were acculturation, professional socialization and organizational socialization. The results found were based on all the here factors and would be considered influenced by organizational factors. The teachers were given individual space and interviewed one by one. Individual opinions were noted down and the data was collected from their comments, replies and observations. The procedures employed in the analysis included constant comparison and analytical induction. Most questions that were asked in the survey were directed towards assessing the level of occupational socialization and mode of teaching of sports education to students, which these teachers adopted. It was found that sports education was imparted to students in one of the three forms, namely, watered down version, cafeteria style and full version. The choice of teaching mode
A accounting calculations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
A accounting calculations - Essay Example According to Caplan (2006) suitable methods like value engineering and value analysis could contribute to reducing the cost of the three products. It helps in sorting additional overhead components like cooperative marketing, high levels of customer service, and product return handling to identify profitable customers. The approach enables the organization to put more emphasis on clients who earn large profits for the company while turning away unprofitable customers (Caplan, 2006). Distribution of product is a major undertaking for all enterprises. Most companies employ different channels of product distribution like email, distributors, the Internet, retails shops, and order catalogue. Reducing distribution cost is the primary function of ABC. Structural components that maintain the distribution falls under overhead. Therefore, ABC helps in deciding efficient delivery systems with lower costs or dropping unprofitable channels (Caplan, 2006). ABC helps the management decide on whether to buy or make a product. It does this by highlighting costs associated with product manufacturing. Such is the basis that guides one to either outsource or carry out in-house manufacture. Using ABC makes it easier to allocate overhead costs appropriately. Such allocation assists in determining margins of product lines, products, and their subsidiaries. The information guides the personnel to identify areas that would give maximum return margins (Caplan, 2006). The model assists marketing managers decide on the minimum price for the product. ABC model guides the marketing personnel to select particular overhead costs for inclusion in the minimum cost. The approach eradicates the possibility of selling a product at a loss or overpricing (Caplan, 2006). Using ABC model increases the cost pool volume, which increases the cost incurred to manage the system. A reduction in cost pool involves running a system that analyses and maintains the cost
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Professional development, learning how to deliver Sport Education Assignment
Professional development, learning how to deliver Sport Education model - Assignment Example This study reviews all significant literature that is available in this field of professional development through sports education. The need to understand the impact of sports education on students is incomplete without a thorough understanding of how the education is provided to students in the first place. In a study to understand teaching processes, Curtner-Smith et al (2008), ran an experimental survey by interviewing six American and four British beginner level teachers of sports education. The paper is titled, ââ¬Å"Influence of occupational socialization on beginning teachersââ¬â¢ interpretation and delivery of sport educationâ⬠. The theoretical framework used to determine the course of action in the experimental study was the process of teachers engaging in sports education at the beginnerââ¬â¢s level and then growing to become senior level instructors in one or more sports. To chart the journey of a teacher as he takes his job as a sports education provider seriously over PETE programmer, the different questions asked during the interview were based on three different phases of professional socialization which were acculturation, professional socialization and organizational socialization. The results found were based on all the here factors and would be considered influenced by organizational factors. The teachers were given individual space and interviewed one by one. Individual opinions were noted down and the data was collected from their comments, replies and observations. The procedures employed in the analysis included constant comparison and analytical induction. Most questions that were asked in the survey were directed towards assessing the level of occupational socialization and mode of teaching of sports education to students, which these teachers adopted. It was found that sports education was imparted to students in one of the three forms, namely, watered down version, cafeteria style and full version. The choice of teaching mode
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
University level Statistics Maths problem Speech or Presentation
University level Statistics Maths problem - Speech or Presentation Example Q1. (vi) The data points outside the range [Q1-1.5*IQR, Q3+1.5*IQR] are termed as outliers. For the dataset this range is [6.5, 82.5]. As there is no data point outside of this range. Hence there are no outliers. Q2 (ii) He should definitely construct two frequency histograms. Only then he will be able to visualize the true picture of the difference in capabilities of the two sexes in solving the mental rotation problems. (a) A histogram of a variable and residual should be drawn. If the histogram of the variables shows rough normality and that of residuals show normality then it is taken as an evidence of normality. (http://faculty.chass.ncsu.edu/garson/PA765/assumpt.htm) (b) Kolmogorov-Smirnov D test or K-S Lilliefors test, is a test of normality for large samples. This test is available in SPSS under Analyze, Descriptive Statistics, Explore, Plots. Here one needs to check "Normality plots with
Monday, October 14, 2019
How Boko Haram Developed And Under Developed Nigeria Essay Example for Free
How Boko Haram Developed And Under Developed Nigeria Essay 1.0 INTRODUCTION The stability of any society depends largely on the ability of its citizens to live together in harmony and peace. However, history has provided us with many instances of occasional uprisings in Nigeria which might have occurred as a result of a political, religious, cultural or tribal misunderstanding. Such squabbles, many a time, have ended up in bloodletting. Presently, Nigeria has not ceased to experience some misguided and misled fellowship in the name of religion. This is because, for some years now, many Nigerians especially in the Northern part of the country have lived in a perpetual fear of the unknown as a result Boko Haram insurgence. Thus, since 2009 till date, the activities of an Islamic sect called ââ¬Å"BOKO HARAMâ⬠have bedevilled the Nigerian society and threatened the very foundation of her unity and peace. What baffles me is that these insurgents even claim to be fighting for justice in Nigeria. Also, it is pertinent to remark that while Nigeria is endowed with abundant resources, numerous challenges of insecurity orchestrated by Boko Haram insurgency nowadays within the polity appears to have created porous security condition that engenders violence and retards development. The basic question many Nigerians and foreigners ask is: How has Boko Haram developed or underdeveloped Nigeria? This paper is thus an attempt to address this question posed above. But this paper argues that boko haram activities have not been of any good help to Nigeria; hence, it has contributed to Nigerian underdevelopment especially the Northern part of the country. Before we proceed, it is of utmost necessity to clarify certain terms that will appear within this intellectual exposition. 2.0 CLARIFICATION OF TERMS According to Aristotle, ab initio disputandis, definitio nominis, (definition of terms is the beginning of any discussion.) hence, it is of paramount importance for us to clarify some of our key words that will frequently occur within the fabrics of this intellectual study. 2.0.1 Definition of Development and Underdevelopment According to Agbakoba, ââ¬Å"development denotes a type of change, a purposeful or goal-oriented changeâ⬠. While in the words of Walter Rodney, development ââ¬Å"implies increased skill and capacity, greater freedom, creativity,à self-discipline, responsibility and material well-beingâ⬠¦.more often than not, the term development is used in an exclusive economic sense-the justification being that the type of economy is itself an index of other social featuresâ⬠. Hence, our definition of development here is from economic perspective. Development therefore, could be defined as the process of empowering people to maximise their potentials and their ability to explore nature in order to meet daily human needs. It is a process by which the quality of human lives and capacity to surmount daily needs are considerably improved. However, according to Rodney, ââ¬Å"underdevelopment is not absence of development, because every people have developed in one way or another and to a greater or lesser extent. Underdevelopment makes sense only as a means of comparing levels of developmentâ⬠. So, underdevelopment implies inadequate development, low levels of economic productivity as compared to other developed countries or regions. 2.0.2 BOKO HARAM Etymologically, the term Boko Haram is made up of two different words namely; Boko and Haram. Boko is the Hausa word meaning western education while Haram is the Arabic word figuratively meaning sin and literally meaning forbidden or impermissibleâ⬠. Thus, the term when loosely translated means western education is forbidden. Boko Haram group propagates that western education is forbidden because it sees western education as corrupting the Muslims. However, Boko Haram group seems to me as a destructive political tool with a cosmetic pretension of being religious. Because Boko Haram group attempts not only to sow panic but also to undermine confidence in the government and political leadership of Nigeria, it could also be called a Terrorist Group. Little wonder the US government though belatedly has confirmed Boko Haram as one the Terrorist groups in the world. (cf. Punch Newspaper on Dec; 1, 2013) 3.0 Nigeria and Boko Haram Insurgence: An Exposition Since independence, Nigeria appears to have been bedevilled with ethno-religious conflicts. With over 400 ethnic groups, belonging to several religious sects, Nigeria since independence has been grappling and trying to cope with the problem of ethnicity and ethno-religious conflicts. Needless to say that, in May 1999, Nigeria returned to civil rule which wasà accompanied with fresh hopes and latent optimism Regrettably, the worst seems to have occurred due to current rise in Boko Haram uprising. Boko Haram insurgency is a destructive political tool with a cosmetic pretension of being religious. Nigeria does not seem to have suffered only from the economic setbacks caused by Boko Haram bombings but also suffers from the battered image and humanitarian disaster the group inflicted on her. For instance, between July 27, 2009 and February 17, 2012, Boko Haram has launched fifty three (53) attacks in which 1157 people were killed and hundreds of people injured in the Northern Nigeria. T his indiscriminate and sporadic bombing seem to make Northern Nigeria increasingly unsafe and has compelled most non-indigenes of the region to relocate especially the Igbos. I therefore set out in this paper to argue with the following points, how the despicable activities of Boko Haram group have underdeveloped Nigeria. 4.0 How Boko Haram Underdeveloped Nigeria: A Critical Analysis The lethal activities of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, are crippling the economy of Nigeria especially the North and has stultified the developmental strategies of the country thereby leaving us in the abysmal state of economic backwardness and underdevelopment. Although some may say that Boko Haram has some developmental characters because it has revealed the ineffectiveness of our force men, ensured checks and balances in government and has increased the rate development in the Southern part of the country. But I stand here to refute such claims saying that Boko Haram (Terrorism) has been of no benefit to Nigeria, rather it has led to the underdevelopment of Nigeria with these points: 4.0.1 Insecurity No meaningful development will thrive in any environment where people are in constant fear of the unknown due to insecurity. This is the dismal state in which Boko Haram activities in the Northern Nigeria have left us. Needless to say that, the security situation in Nigeria has become so alarming, disturbing, and upsetting nowadays because of the recurrent attacks of these Boko Haram insurgents. The spate of insecurity in the Northern Nigeria has impacted negatively on both the private and public sectors of the economy as many business men and traders have relocated their businesses from the region. This, though pathetically, has led to a massive underdevelopment of the North. This has warranted channelling of the money which would have beenà used for other developmental strides to security in Nigeria annual budget. Little wonder the federal government spent 950 billion naira in 2013 only to combat insecurity caused by Boko Haram insurgence. Depopulation of the North and Overpopulation of the South Since current attack by Boko Haram group has become the order of the day in most Northern states, it has led to many Southerners and even some Northerners to relocate to the South for the sake of their life. This has led to the depopulation of the North and Overpopulation of the South; hence decreasing the Internal Revenue (1GR) of most Northern states thereby leaving the government with little or no money to carry out some developmental projects. In the other hand; due to large influx of people to the South, it has led to environmental problems like overpopulation, dilapidation of existing infrastructures, deforestation, cultural breakdown etc. These make life in both regions unbearable; hence pointing out that Boko Haram activities have succeeded in under developing both Northern and Southern part of the country. 4.0.3 Stifling of Economic and Social Development Boko Haram activities have led to dislocation of people from their business base, hence leading to disruption of economic activities. In Nigeria presently, the fear of Boko Haram is everywhere. Financial and business activities have been paralysed as everyone live in fear. Banks and their customers are also operating under difficult situation and have reduced their business hours to guard against being attacked by members of the sect. In most states in the North, the devastating socio-economic effects of the sectââ¬â¢s sequential killings and bombings, especially in Borno, Yobe, Niger, Kaduna, Kano, Kogi, Bauchi, Sokoto etc., have destroyed economic and commercial activities with many people relocating to other places. It should then be noted that Boko Haram have not only led to closure and/or abandonment of peopleââ¬â¢s business activities within affected region but also led to migration of people from the affected Region. It has also led to reduction of peopleââ¬â¢s patron age of product from the Northern Region. Also, the Boko Haram insurgence has reduced drastically; government derivation from the affected region (IGR) due to restiveness in those places as well as reduced investment and growth of business in the affected places without excluding government executed project. Little wonder why the 2011 Worldà Investment Report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development reported that stillness in business activities caused by insecurity in Kano State alone has cost the Nigerian economy N1.3trillion. Furthermore, Boko Haram activities have stifled social developmental programmes like; youth employment, housing, health schemes, education, welfare services etc. in the Northern part of the country. In fact, almost all the states under Boko Haram rampage have been completely isolated economically, socially and politically. The resultant effect of these is underdevelopment of the country, especially the affected region. 4.0.4 Scaring Away of Foreign and Local Investors The inimical uprising of Boko Haram has negatively affected the relationship between Nigeria and other Nations of the world. Incessant bombing coupled with kidnapping and hostage taking with or without demand for ransom by the members of Boko Haram has scared away both foreign and local investors from Nigeria, especially the Northern part of the country. In fact, this terrorist group has paralyzed the diplomatic relation between Nigeria and many countries of the world. The concomitant result of all these are poverty, low per capita income and underdevelopment. 4.0.5 Reduction of Human resources The crisis occasioned by Boko Haram has led to the death of many ebullient Nigerians thereby reducing the skilled and unskilled labour force of the country. The United Nation affirmed this assertion by saying that about 1,200 people have been killed since May 2013 when a state of emergency was declared in three North Eastern states (Cf. Punch Newspaper Dec; 16, 2013 or Daily Sun of Dec; 17, 2013. Aljazeera TV on September 30, 2013 reports that since 2009, an estimated 3,600 people have been killed through Boko Haramââ¬â¢s disastrous activities. We can even talk of brutal Bama attack, 22 people killed in Catholic Church at Waga Chakawa village in Adamawa just last Sunday and myriads of other attacks perpetuated by Boko Haram insurgents at the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014. All these lead to reduction of lives and properties worth over billions of naira and live our nation in the miserable state of underdevelopment. 5.0 EVALUATION AND CONCLUSION From the above analysis, we can affirm without any fear of equivocation that Boko Haram has really underdeveloped Nigeria especially the Northern part of the country that is why socio-economic activities in the North have drastically been reduced. The implication is that the crisis is rather under-developing Northern region and threatens Nigeriaââ¬â¢s prospect of joining the league of highly developed countries come the year 2020. Personally speaking, the impact of the activities of the Boko Haram group in Nigeria cannot be overemphasised. It retards economic growth and distorts socio-cultural equilibrium and leads to environmental deterioration. At the same time, it resurrects the issue of suspicion which led to the Nigerian civil war of 1967-1970 among three major ethic groups in Nigeria. Regrettably, the activities of Boko Haram in Nigeria have paralysed almost all sectors of the countrys life and have distorted peace and stultified progressive development of Nigeria. Boko Hara m has really underdeveloped Nigeria.
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Types Of Business Activities And Business Organizations Commerce Essay
Types Of Business Activities And Business Organizations Commerce Essay Sole Trader-ship is the most primitive form of business organization. A business organization owned and managed by only one person, having full share of profit and responsible for all the losses of the organization is called sole trader-ship. Due to some of sole trader-ship the limitations including limited capital, limited scope of business and short-life a need for a new organization was felt. Thus a new business organization evolved that is known as partnership. In a partnership two or more persons pool together their resources to form the partnership business. The partnership combined financial resources, mental resources, and experience of partner for the success of the business enterprise. The rules and regulation that governs the partnership business is called partnership contract. The contract is the bye-laws of business and specifies the nature of the business, partners capital, profit and loss ratios and various terms and conditions relating to the business. Limited financial resources, unlimited liability and limited life of the partnership are cited as the peculiar demerits of the partnership, hence a need have been felt for a new organization that do not have the abovementioned demerits. A new type of business evolved after the industrial revolution called Joint Stock Company (Corporation in USA). A joint stock company is a business organization that is an artificial person, having perpetual existence and common seal with transferable shares, and separation of management from shareholders. This type of business tries to eliminate the demerits associated with sole-trader-ship and partnership (limited capital, limited life, and unlimited liability) plus it provides professional management of the company affairs through separation of ownership and management. The owner of the enterprise selects Board of Director amongst itself that chalk out broad-range policies concerning the business enterprise. The day-to-day affairs of the business a re run by professional who have expertise in their related field. Types of Business and Strategic Objectives: The objectives of the business depend on whether the business is owned by private investors or by the government. A private business is a business owned, managed and control by private investor(s. It may take any form including sole trader-ship, partnership or Joint Stock Company. On the other hand public enterprise also known as state-owned enterprise is owned, managed and run by government through its representative. If the business owned by private investors some of the possible objectives may be: To achieve a stated goal in terms of profit To achieve a stated goal in terms of sales To achieve a stated goal in terms of Return on Investment (ROI) To be a leader in a category To achieve a stated percentage of Earning Per Share (EPS) To be an environment friendly organization To be socially admirable organization To be a producer of quality products and/or services On the other hand if the business is owned by government (state owned enterprise) some of the possible objectives of the enterprise may be: To provide high quality services (e.g. health, education, communication etc) to the masses on equality bases To provide quality products and/or services to the masses at a lower cost as compared to private sector To reduce the disparity between the masses by reducing the income/status gape To provide access to quality product and/or services to all the masses irrespective of income, status, religion, geographic territory etc. Financial Activities and Organizational Structure: According to Vanhorn and Wachowics (2001) financial management is concerned with acquisition, financing and management of assets with some overall goal in mind. The overall goal is usually to increase the wealth of present and prospective shareholders. Organizational structure is an arrangement of organization activities that portray the various relationships amongst the organizational member. The organizational structure depicts who is the boss and who is the subordinate. Usually organizational structure are build on pyramid type, as depicted in Figure 1.3. Figure 1.3. Organizational Structure Macro (External) Environmental Factors: The macro environment consists of uncontrollable forces that directly or indirectly influence an organizations ability to achieve a desired result. In the word of Kotler and Armstrong (2003) marketing environment consists of the actors and forces outside marketing that affect marketing managements ability to build and maintain successful relationships with target customers. These influences create both opportunities and threats for a manager. A prudent manager is supposed to capitalize the opportunity provided by the macro environment and decrease potential bad impact of a threat that may hinder the organization performance. The macro environmental factors include economic factors, demographic factors, social and cultural factors, technological factors, and legal and political factors. An organization management is supposed to constantly monitor and evaluate these factors, and capitalize the opportunity if any. Organization that failed to take action in response to change in the environmental factors will not be able to succeed and hence to achieve its mission. Section 2 Investigating Business Resources. 2.1. Human Resource Management: Organization resources can be grouped into four categories including Financial, Information, Physical and Human Resources. According Braton (2005) Human Resources Management is the the direction of organizational systems to ensure effective and efficient use of human talent to accomplish organizational goals. The human resources of the organization are the most crucial assets of the organization. In fact one can argue that the factor responsible for success and failure in most of the cases is HR, but unfortunately it cannot be portrayed on Balance sheet as an Asset because it is priceless. 2.2. Purpose of Business and Technological Resources: Resources such as air, water, gas, oil, forests, paper, iron, core etc is known as physical resources, while technological resources includes, computer, plants, machinery etc. Organization needs to ensure that best utilizations of these scarce resources, by showing quality, efficiency, and waste management issues are addressed to improve performance and reduce costs. The management of these resources involved obtaining the desired materials, supplies, equipment, premises and energy and using them in the most efficient way to decrease operational cost and to attain the organizational objectives. 2.3. Access source of finances: In order to start a business or boost the established business through injection of new funds there are various sources of finances that an entrepreneur can access. The various options include banks that provide short, medium and long term finances to business enterprise. On the other hand there are also various developmental institutions that provide grants to boost a business in a particular sector, for example industry, trade, exports, agriculture, etc. Another possible option to get the fund is from venture capital provider, who usually charge slightly higher rate than the market. 2.4. Interpret financial statement: Financial statement is interpreted using ratio analysis. Financial ratio provides an insight about the firms performance. The organization can compare its financial results with its previous year results or they can compare the results with another player of the same industry. Financial ratios quantify many aspects of an organization including sales, profitability, creditworthiness, liquidity, usage of assets, and are an integral part of financial statement analysis. Thus ratios of a company in different industries provide an insight regarding a firms risk, capital requirements, and the nature of competition. Section 3. Introduction to marketing: 3.1. Key concept and principle of marketing: According to Kotler and Armstrong marketing is the process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others. So we can say that the task of marketing is satisfy consumer needs and wants while achieving organization goals. A need is basic such as need for food, shelter, safety etc. when these needs are shaped by individual preferences and culture it becomes wants. The task of marketer is thus to identify a consumer need, translate that in wants, and designed the offering that have the capability to satisfy such needs and wants. When organization deliver the product and/or service to its customer, customer get a product and/or service, that have the ability to satisfy a consumer need and want while organization get money in exchange. 3.2. How and Why Marketing Research is conducted by Organizations: In achieving the organization mission and carrying out their marketing responsibilities, managers need a great deal of informations to make inform decision keeping in view the customer needs and wants. Marketing research provide manager insight regarding customer taste and preferences, product pricing, place and promotion strategy, competitors products, etc and help manager make better marketing decisions. Thus marketing manager increase his chances of success in the market by using up-to-date information while designing the marketing mix for the company offerings. Marketing research involves collecting information relevant to a specific marketing problem facing the organization through research by defining problem and coming up with the research objectives, preparing the research plan, and then implementing and interpreting the findings through research report for actions to marketing manager. 3.3. Kinds of Marketing Information used by Organization: According to OBrien and Marakas (2004), an information system can be any organized combination of people, hardware, software, communications, networks, and data resources that stores and retrieves, transform, and disseminates information in an organization. A company can use two types of marketing information based on the position of the end-users and type of use: the MIS for the managers and MIS for operational sales and marketing activities. The users of Marketing Information system and decision-making systems are primarily senior executives, Heads of SBUs and Manager Marketing, and analyst. Usually experts use raw data collected from various sources and refine them to be presented to marketing department. 3.4. How Marketing Increase Demand. The marketing concept is a process by which marketers identify consumer needs and wants and then provide products that satisfy these needs and wants, in a process of achieving organizational objectives. A product created and delivers based on the marketing concept benefit customer when it satisfies his need or want. When one have the ability, desire and authority to purchase certain product it is called demand. Marketer creates demand for his offering by providing to its target markets four types of utility known as form utility, place utility, form utility and possession utility. Section 4: Effective People communication and information: 4.1. Important of employing suitable people: For effective communication in an organization it is vital to employee suitable people across the organization. The communication within and outside the organization will have impact only when the receiver (one who receives and interpret the message) pursue exactly what the sender (a person who transmit and idea or message) mans. This depends a lot on the people inside the organization. If people inside the organization are talented and have mature personality they will interpret the message by using their professional skills acquired through various training and development. If the case is opposite, the organization will be facing difficulties in every wake of life. Communication skills of an employee also add goodwill for the employee as well as the organization. 4.2. Communication using appropriate method: The appropriate method of communication is first to determined the purpose of communication. The manager can determine that by answering: Why is the communication required? After defining the purpose of the communication the manager then need to identify the target audience, as the construction of message will depends a lot on the audience. He is supposed to ascertain some background information regarding the receiver of the message including position, educational level, experience etc. The communicator is then required to develop his message in a very clear, coherent, correct, concise and logical manner by maintain positive attitude that is reflected in choice of words. 4.3. Different type of information and how it can be process: Communication can occur through different processes and methods and can also be classified on the channel used and the style of communication. On the basis of channels communication can be divided into verbal communication (communication in written or oral form) and non-verbal (communication through body language, expressions, visuals etc.) On the basis of style communication can formal and informal. Formal communication occurs when in formal organization settings including communication between a superior and subordinate or organization and taxing authorities etc. On the other hand informal communication is free and unrestricted communication between employees who share casual relation with one another. An example of this is communication between pears. 4.4. Presenting Information Effectively: Effective information contains 7 characteristics that are known as 7 Cs of effective communication. This 7 Cs are Credibility, Courtesy, Clarity, Conciseness, Correctness, Coherent, and Consideration. Credibility of information means that the information present should be trustworthy. Courtesy means that the presenter of information should starts and end on courteous note. Clarity is important regardless of the content of the message. A message is clear when it contains information that is easily interpreted. A message should also be correct when it is 100% error and accurate and facts and figures are backed through documented evidence. The presented message need also be consistent, meaning stable and have no ups and down. Concreteness of message is present when the message is not vague and abstract but rather a solid statement that is used to reinforce the confidence. Conciseness of the message means providing to the point information to the target that saves time for both sender an d receiver. Section 5: Introduction to Accounting: 5.1. Purpose of accounting and categorization of business income and expenditure: Accounting is said to be the language of business. According Horngren and Harrison (2001), accounting is the system that measures business activities, processes that information into reports, and communicates these findings to decision makers. An organization income can be classified into Gross Income (the residual of total revenue minus cost of goods sold or direct expense), Operating Income (Gross Income minus Operating Expense), Income before taxes (Operating Income minus interest expenses) Income After Taxes (Income before taxes minus corporate taxes, if any). On the other hand expenses can be categorized on the basis of Cost of goods sold (material, labor and overhead expenses in case of manufacturing, and purchase price plus direct expenses in case of merchandizing business), operating expense (include marketing, sales and administration expense). 5.2. Preparing a cash flow forecasts: Cash flow forecast is the amount of money that organization expects that will come-in (Inflow of cash) and goes-out (outflow of cash). The inflow of cash includes sources such as cash sales, collection from customer, bank loan, and proceeds of stocks issued, or through sales of fixed assets. On the other hand cash outflows include all the disbursement to suppliers, payment of staff salaries and benefits, repayment of loan and/or capital, payment of expenses like rent, rates, taxes, capital expenditure for the acquisition of new assets, and interest payment by an organization. The total net cash flow is the difference between the total cash Inflow and total cash outflow for a particular period of time. The forecasting of cash flow includes tabulating all the major cash inflows, for example, cash sales, receipts from customer, loans etc and then analyzing the timing of expected payments in the form of salaries, material, capital expenditure etc. To this amount the current period net ca sh flow is added (if positive) while the desired started cash flow for the upcoming year is then subtracted. If the organization has left with negative figure then it arranges a loan accordingly. 5.3. Profit and loss account and balance sheet: The profit and loss account also known as Income statement portrays the results of business for particular period of time usually a year. It can be called a moving picture of the business stating the total revenue earned by the organization and total expenses incurred on earning the revenue, and the end result whether profit have been earned or losses have been sustained. On the other hand Balance Sheet depicts financial position of a business organization on a particular date usually at the end of year. Balance Sheet is like a snapshot of the organization that portrays the Assets it organization and liabilities and owners equity of the organization. 5.4. Review business performance using simple ratio analyze: In order to evaluate an organization performance one can use ratio analysis for interpreting the results and then comparing that with its own past results or with that of industry player. The most commonly used ratio includes liquidity ratios, that measure the business liquidity whether the firm will be able to pay its short term debts when it comes due or not. Profitability ratios measure firms profitability with respect to sales, equity, assets, long term assets etc. Coverage ratios measure whether firm will be able to pay its fixed charges from the profit or not. Activity ratios measure various activities of the organization including inventory, receivables, payables, etc.
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Review - Revolting Librarians Redux: Radical Librarians Speak Out :: Essays Papers
Review - Revolting Librarians Redux: Radical Librarians Speak Out Who can resist a book with a chapter titled, "Labia Lumps, Chunky Discharge, and Other Things They Never Taught Me in Library School"? Released this past summer, Revolting Librarians Redux: Radical Librarians Speak Out takes no prisoners as its contributors ponder everything from the backtracking of '60s values by ALA's baby boomers to librarian imagery in erotica. This edited volume is a sequel to a 1972 self-published book titled Revolting Librarians. The original is worth checking out for its historical value alone. The editors of the 2003 volume, Katia Roberto and Jessamyn West gathered essays from ten of the original writers from the 1972 book for this version and it is interesting to see what thirty years has done to these radical librarians. The book contains some of what you would expect in a book by revolting librarians. There are the requisite essays on the suppression of civil liberties through the Patriot Act along with essays detailing the problem of cultural representation in the Library of Congress Subject Headings. And of course, there's something both by and about Sandy Berman, a living legend among progressive librarians. But there are also quite a few surprises. Ever curious about the astrological breakdown of librarians? You'll find an extensive article complete with enough statistics to make you break out your notes from IRLS 506. [Leos dominate the field, with Aquarians an astrological minority.] Another notable essay concerns what services librarians can offer to day laborers. From my perspective as a library graduate student, however, my attention was drawn to the section titled "Library School is Revolting." This collection of essays explores questions such as "Are we really learning the practical skills necessary to be librarians, such as public relations and professional writing?" and "Is accreditation really a big deal?" While I felt fortunate that some of the not-so-subtle digs at library schools didn't really apply too heavily to SIRLS, some of it is familiar enough to make you laugh (or cry). I also felt myself drawn to essays that dealt with the everyday work lives of these revolting librarians. I have not been in the library world my whole life. In fact, I applied to library school less than one month after the idea of becoming a librarian occurred to me for the very first time. Any writings that describe the "real world" of librarianship, therefore, pique my interest.
Friday, October 11, 2019
Failing to Love Essay
In her story ââ¬Å"Never Marry a Mexicanâ⬠Sandra Cisneros introduces the reader to the complex issues surrounding the racial and sexual identity of a Mexican-American woman living in the United States. The story is about a Chicana woman and how she seeks revenge on a white lover who has rejected her by becoming the sexual tutor of his teenage son. Cisneros give life to the protagonist Clemencia and paints her as a character in a modern day to demonstrate the pervasive negative impact on Mexican-American women, especially on Chicanas residing within the United States. Clemencia, the protagonist of the story, thinks ââ¬Å"Drew, remember when you used to call me your Malinalli? It was a joke, a private game between us, because you looked like a Cortes with that beard of yours. My dark skin against yoursâ⬠¦My Malinalli, Malinche, my courtesan, you said, and yanked my head back by the braidâ⬠(192). Clemencia is a painter, but she must support herself in other ways too. She sometimes acts as a translator; however for Clemencia Spanish is now the ââ¬Å"nativeâ⬠language. In this discussion of her occupation, Clemencia pronounces ââ¬Å"any way you look at it, what I do to make a living is a form of prostitutionâ⬠(181). She feels as though when she is not painting she merely sells herself to make a living, much like La Malinche had to do in her relationship with Cortes. Clemencia constantly allows herself to fall in love with unavailable men who are always married and always white. This pattern results from her motherââ¬â¢s constant advice, ââ¬Å"Never Marry a Mexicanâ⬠. Clemenciaââ¬â¢s mother, a lower-class Chicana woman from the United States who married an upper-class Mexican man, felt inescapable discrimination by both her husbandââ¬â¢s upper-class family and mainstream U.S. society for her dark skin color. Her answer to this was to marry out, and supposedly up, by divorcing Clemenciaââ¬â¢s father and marrying a white man. It is because of this example that Clemencia never sees Mexican men as potential lovers. She explains: ââ¬Å"Mexican men, forget it. For a long time the men clearing off the tables or chopping meat behind the butcher counter or driving the buss I rode to school every day, those werenââ¬â¢t men. Not men I considered as potential lovers. Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Chilean, Columbian, Panamanian, Salvadorean, Bolivian, Honduran, Argentine, Dominican, Venezuelan, Guatemalan, Ecuadorean, Nicaraguan, Peruvian, Costa Rican, Paraguayan, Uruguayan, I donââ¬â¢t care. I never saw them. My mother did this to meâ⬠(179). Here Clemencia is adopting the racist Anglo discourse by lumping all Latinos into one, unified group. Her discussion of ââ¬Å"Mexicanâ⬠does not distinguish between class and race; to her ââ¬Å"Mexicanâ⬠means busboys, butchers, and bus drivers. Mexican is no longer the nationality of the people of Mexico, but rather a class of servers who happen to be brown. Here Cisneros demonstrates how the racism of dominant society in America is often internalized and serves to separate the people of disempowered groups. Cisneros makes a strong statement against internalized racism by showing how Clemenciaââ¬â¢s rejection of men of her own race and obsession with white men ultimately leaves her lonely. Clemencia comes to the frustrating, yet enlightening realization that the white men in her life have, like her, adopted the mantra ââ¬Å"never marry a Mexicanâ⬠when she remembers the conversation Drew and she had the last night they spent together. Clemencia recalls in an inner dialogue, how ââ¬Å"we had agreed. All for the best. Surely I could see that, couldnââ¬â¢t I? My own good. A good sport. A young girl like me. Hadnââ¬â¢t I understoodâ⬠¦responsibilities. You didnââ¬â¢t think? Never marry a Mexican. Never marry a Mexican. No of course. I see. I seeâ⬠(186). Now Clemencia is now lost without a proper choice of lovers. Mexicans are out of bounds because she could never marry a Mexican, but she now realizes that white men are also out of bounds because they too could never marry a Mexican; they could never marry her. Cisneros is therefore demonstrating how internalized racism does not serve to differentiate certain ethnic Mexicans from others in the eyes of white society, and instead only serves to isolate such Mexican-Americans from the culture to which they are supposed to feel connected. By having Clemencia reject the roles of wife and mother and instead embrace the socially deviant mistress role, Cisneros demonstrates how women who refuse socially acceptable roles often must do so at the expense of other women. In an attempt to claim agency that she would otherwise be denied as a married Chicana in dominant, patriarchal society, Clemencia embraces the role of the mistress. The mistress, because of her strictly sexual nature, is traditionally regarded as a role that reinforces male dominance in heterosexual relationships. Through her role as mistress and her rejection of the role of wife or mother, she attempts to combat the patriarchal system of oppression and makes allowances for flexibility of gender-role expectations. However because the role of the mistress also depends upon there being another woman, the wife, who is betrayed by both her husband and the mistress, the mistress role does not combat the patriarchal system for all women. It does, in fact, reinforce patriarchal oppression of the wife/mother role. Clemencia seems to have little problem acknowledging her betrayal of other women. She candidly tells the reader ââ¬Å"Iââ¬â¢ve been accomplice, having caused deliberate pain to other women. Iââ¬â¢m vindictive and cruel, and Iââ¬â¢m capable of anythingâ⬠(179). Therefore, in order to escape subscribed gender roles and claim agency in her sexual relationships, Clemencia hurts other women. Cisneros seems to be saying that ââ¬Å"mujeres andariegasâ⬠, or daring women who reject the roles society expects of them, do not help to institutionally change society for all women but rather must betray other women in their search for personal freedom. Clemencia attempts to further com bat patriarchal gender roles in her sexual relationships the role of el chingà ³n. When describing sex with Drew, she says ââ¬Å"I leapt inside you and split you like an apple. Opened for the other to look and not give backâ⬠(185). Here Clemencia not only takes on the manââ¬â¢s part by ââ¬Å"leapingâ⬠inside, she also executes the violent actions attached to the verb chingar. Clemencia imagines that this sexual aggressiveness empowers her over Drew. She says ââ¬Å"You were ashamed to be so nakedâ⬠¦But I saw you for what you are, when you opened yourself for meâ⬠(185). To Clemencia, sexual relations are based on power dynamics, and in order to escape the passive feminine chingada role she must embrace the possessive, dominant, masculine chingà ³n role. Clemencia extends her embodiment of the chingà ³n role into her dealings with the wives, and even a son, of her lovers. More than once she had sex with a lover while his wife was in labor with his child. She confesses ââ¬Å"it has given me a bit of crazy joy to be able to kill those women like thatâ⬠¦To know Iââ¬â¢ve had their husbands when they were anchored in blue hospital rooms, their guts yanked inside outâ⬠(184). Clemenciaââ¬â¢s relationship with Drewââ¬â¢s son is another example of her fulfilling a sort of ââ¬Å"vindictive sexual satisfactionâ⬠. She says of him ââ¬Å"I sleep with this boy, their son. To make the boy love me the way I love his father. To make him want me the way I love his fatherâ⬠¦I can tell from the way he looks at me, I have him in my powerâ⬠¦I let him nibbleâ⬠¦Before I snap by teethâ⬠(187). Therefore she seduces him not to satisfy the yearning of her body or hear, but rather to achieve sexual power of the son, which she perceives as giving her indirect power of his parents. Clemencia is ultimately left lonely without a lover, a connection to her culture, or meaningful female friendships. The reason for this lies in the world view Clemencia has inherited from her society. She perceives the world in black and white, in terms of inescapable binaries between which she must choose. She fails to become an acceptable marriage partner to Drew, she fails to escape being hurt by her lovers even as a mistress. Works Cited Never Marry a Mexican. Random House, Inc. and Vintage Books1991
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