Reaction Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 10

Reaction Paper - Essay Example I felt that the poet wrote that days and months are travelers of eternity because these are some of the factors that will be there till eternity. When I read this, I asked myself what eternity was. I was left wondering how days and months connect to eternity. I am a layman person, and we describe eternity as something that has no end. However, the poet’s journey was just for a moment, but days and months last forever. Days and months are there for eternity, unlike Basho’s journey, which came to an end. It is as if Basho never expected to complete his journey. He suffered throughout his journey so he was left wondering how days and months felt as they seemed to travel throughout. Days and months will always be there. Days and months could becompared to travelers, who never seem to complete their journey. They will travel forever, and this is the thesis of Basho’s quote (Basho 1). This line is also extremely intriguing. According to the poet, the moon and the sun will always be there in every generation making them seem like ideal wanderers (Basho 139). As Basho wandered throughout Japan, he always met the sun and the moon during the days and nights respectively. Basho’s journey took ages to complete likewise as the moon and the sun never seem to complete their voyage around the earth. The sun, according to the poem, never seems to end their voyage around the world. The poet illustrated this well as he assumed that the moon and sun were also in a voyage, which never seems to end. This line is easy to interpret as I got the message in this line immediately I finished going through it. Even though, it is advisable for writers to puzzles their readers, it is also essential to offer them lines, which will make them understand or interpret what they are reading. The poet made it easier for his readers to understand what they are reading. I found this line overwhelming as people would not

Business Analysis of British American Tobacco Case Study

Business Analysis of British American Tobacco - Case Study Example Philip Morris leads the market with 18% share, BAT follows with 11%, while Imperial Tobacco and Gallaher hold fourth and fifth position in the global tobacco pie. The missing third spot belongs to Japan Tobacco. In UK, the cigarette and tobacco market is predominantly captivated by Gallaher and Imperial Tobacco; the two firms enjoy an 80% hold in the market. BAT has its manufacturing facilities in UK but exports most of its production. (Action on Smoking and Health Fact sheet No.18) Recently, BAT has strengthened its position in the Tobacco world market with different moves. As per the most recent developments, to expand their reach farther, BAT is in process of acquiring small firms internationally so as to have extended access to the markets, and to have stronger position at the same. The group is also quite close to the completion of purchasing House of Prince (HoP). As per the Citigroup officials, the huge network of supply chain that BAT carries with itself can assist in exceeding HoP's last years 30 billion cigarettes sales figure throughout Europe. This would have a net impact on BAT's sales rather than increasing the existing lines sales. At the same time, in the start of March 2007, BAT declared its results for the ended fiscal year showing an increase in operational profits of 7-8% with Middle East, Latin America, Africa, and Asia-Pacific are the major contributors to this increment. Apart from this, another major cause has been an increment in the sal es volumes of subsidiaries that rose by 2%. It is noticeable that the net tobacco products sales was drove by the 4 major players of the market, giving it a volume increase of 17%. Internal & External Analysis Two of the most effective tools used widely for internal and external analysis of an organization are PEST and SWOT. PEST is the simple analyses of the external environment of an organization, while SWOT matches the internal and external factors to identify critical points for concentration. Following are the same conducted for BAT: SWOT SW presents the internal scenario of the organization, matched against the existing or anticipated external OT provides a plan for the future course of action. Following is a pictorial representation of the same: Strength Independence from single importer-monopoly Brand loyalty and associated good will Tremendous market segmentation Weaknesses Lack of regional market knowledge Unpredictability of Importers Very less presence in the local market Lack of

Imagined community

Imagined community According to Benedict Anderson, what is an ‘Imagined Community? How does this relate to the contemporary world? â€Å"I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can† George Bernard Shaw (Wisdom Quotes, 2009). Such views demonstrate that communities are an integral part of day-to-day life within the contemporary world, be this in a tiny, remote village in rural India or the thriving capital city of Beijing, China. This essay examines communities within the international sphere, focusing primarily on Benedict Andersons theory of ‘Imagined Communities. The first section of this essay examines Anderson as an academic scholar and his views towards nationalism, including of course a detailed understanding of his theory of ‘Imagined Communities. The second section then goes on to explore other political theorists take on Andersons work, focusing on three such theorists: Ernest Gellner, Anthony D. Smith and Eric Hobsbawm. This theory and reasoning behind Andersons and these three other theorists work, is then used as the foundation on which to build when looking at the contemporary world, focusing on the case study of Great Britain and how this study is of relevance to contemporary political issues. Communities within Britain are examined in terms of the imagination Anderson refers to, namely the Ukrainian community and also the Sikh community, both within multicultural British society. Andersons background is that of anthropology and when assessed, it is clear that he falls within the Modernist school of thought, arguing that nations are simply a product of modernity, in existence to cater to political, economic and military needs. Andersons theory of ‘Imagined Communities has been widely spread and applied to the field of international relations and political science, a theory which has been influential in carefully examining the politics of identity and the formation of communities across the globe, also known as nationalism. Anderson explores the modern nation in terms of its development throughout history, aiming to understand the emergence of these nations and how they have remained as nations in terms of status (Higson, 1998, p.355). Nationalism took form and began as an ideology during the eighteenth century, and more recently has undergone a global movement across the varying borders and boundaries of nations. It has three generic goals: â€Å"natio nal autonomy, national unity and national identity, and for nationalists, a nation cannot survive without a sufficient degree of all three† (Smith, 2001, p.9). National identity in particular is fundamental to the order of the contemporary international sphere. According to Anderson (1991) therefore, the building and construction of nation states is an imitative action in that it follows similar patterns and trends as used by fellow nation states. Nationalism, in Andersons (1991) eyes is thus an instrument and product of such social constructions and all of this was in actual fact an American construction. Additionally, he contends that nation building is consistent of and on a par with fictional narratives, a point which agrees which Smith (2001), discussed later on in this essay. With such a clear focus on nationalism, Anderson (1991) studies the idea of membership of a community, the idea of membership as boundaries defining ‘us and ‘them, and the idea of the community as an equal comradeship, thus collectively leading to the creation of an identity. Under the umbrella of nationalist thought therefore, Anderson is largely interested in the formation and preservation of political identities. His key argument is as follows: communities are in fact imagined ones as, in truth, individuals residing in one particular place i.e. Britain, will never know, see, meet, converse or have any sort of relationship with all other residents, yet this ideological concept of a ‘British community still exists. Anderson thus is focusing on nationalism, in particular nations and their identity building processes, a nation being â€Å"an imagined political communityimagined as both inherently limited and sovereign† (Anderson, 1991, p.7). In his argument, the a nation is imagined as limited in that, even the one holding the greatest number of human beings, each community has finite boundaries, beyond which are other nations (Anderson, 1991, p.7). The nation is imagined as sovereign as the concept emerged during a time in which â€Å"Enlightenment and Revolution were destroying the legitimacy of the divinely-ordained hierarchical dynastic realm† (Anderson, 1991, p.7). Finally, the nation is imagined as a community as despite inequality and exploitative behaviour that may occur, the nation remains a â€Å"deep, horizontal comradeship† (Anderson, 1991, p.7). Such ‘imagined communities are in actual fact socially constructed entities, consisting of individuals who have similar, if not identical, interests, these interests forming the basis for their grouping choices and decisions, and allowing the individuals to identify with one another. Andersons theory therefore comes from the location of individuals within specific ordered communities, as members of bounded communities whose members have common traits and concerns. His idea of this type of a community existing emerges from how the general public, according to him, identifies and understands themselves with respect to the community of their nation. As a result, all individuals have a horizontal relationship with all other members of their supposed ‘imagined community and this creates identity. Such identity provides safety and security to members of the imagined community, providing a sense of belonging to a group of people who are on the same wavelength and have similar i nterests and motivations (Anderson, 1991). This is of course, opposed to the previous identification which was wholly concerned with pre-existing religious systems and dynasties, which have now collapsed. Anderson (1991) then goes on to examine the fall in access to privileged scripts and discourse such as Latin, the movement to eradicate ideas and commands of the monarchy and divine rules of power and finally the emergence of print capitalism in terms of the media and how this is related to the concept of nations. The final point here is of greatest relevance to this essays discussion. From first thought, it is common to think that no real relationship exists between media and communities, yet on closer inspection, it becomes clear that this is not the case. Anderson (1991) argues that the media is the key group creating these ‘imagined communities through their mass audience targeting procedures. The media often makes generalisations to the ‘public and when thought about, is most definitely an ‘imagined community in itself. Anderson (1991) therefore argues that national media and education systems have a critical role in ensuring a nation imagines itself as  "a coherent, meaningful and homogenous community† (Higson, 1998, p.355). His primary concentration however lies with newspapers, which he argues are a fundamental part of print-capitalism, this being the key commodity in the generation of new ideas and concepts (Anderson, 1991, p.37). Print-capitalism contributed greatly to the imagined communities that exist within nations and will continue to do so in the future. He argues that newspapers allow shared experiences of resenting authority to take form, this not being beneficial as this gives rise to the marketplace, where print-capitalism is produced and invoked within consumer society in terms of profitability. Print-capitalism is, in Andersons opinion a commodity which is vital to current and forthcoming generations of completely new ideas and concepts (Anderson, 1991, p.37). His argument focuses primarily on the impact of the Reformation, this being: â€Å"the coalition between Protestantism and print-capitalism, exploiting cheap popular editions, quickly created large new reading publicsand simultaneously mobilized them for politico-religious purposes† (Anderson, 1991, p.40). He posits that much of the success of the Reformation is as a result due to print-capitalism itself (Anderson, 1991, p.39). Thus in Andersons critique with regards to the promise of the media in the public sphere and whether or not they invoke public debate, his answer is yes i.e. it was a vehicle for the American war of independence. The key example however given in his work is that relating to the Protestant and print-capitalism coalition, which he argues, was detrimental through the exploitation of cheap popular print-works (Anderson, 1991, p.40). Such â€Å"administrative vernaculars† (Anderson, 1991, p.41) led to religious and printing upheaval during the sixteenth century, and is regarded by himself as an â€Å"independent factor in the erosion of the sacred imagined community† (Anderson, 1991, p.41). In terms of ‘imagined communities and its relationship with the media, film and cinema are good areas to explore. Film is often indicative of â€Å"consensual images of communities† (Higson, 1998, p.355) and is keen to show individuals from varying backgrounds coming together in shared interests. The British musical Sing As We Go (1934) (cited in Higson, 1998, p.355) for example deals with this same image as explained above and ends with the ‘imagined community being explicitly â€Å"nationalized† (Higson, 1995, cited in Higson, 1998, p.356) in the final scene. It is important to distinguish though that not all of the ‘imagined communities Anderson refers to are united. Particularly within the contemporary multicultural location that is Great Britain, nations can be presented and represented as being in disarray (Higson, 1998, p.356). Higson (1998) refers to the British film named The Beautiful Laundrette and how this is demonstrative of such a thing, providing images of â€Å"social and cultural disturbance and fragmentation† (Higson, 1998, p.356) as opposed to images of consensual imagined communities. This is therefore raises questions of what it is like to be British and to hold such an identity. Films like this consequently oppose what Anderson claims to be the truth, displaying that national identity in contexts like this one are not â€Å"as consensual but as hybrid, not as pure but as variegated† (Higson, 1998, p.356) and so this challenges Andersons point. This theory of ‘imagined communities has often led to various branches of thought, one of the key ones with relation to this topic being that of ‘imagined geographies, a concept which has emerged from Edward Saids work on ‘Orientalism a theoretical framework which argues that Europeans define themselves against their cultural contestants i.e. people from the Orient and as a result define themselves against this. Back to ‘Imagined geographies though, this is a form of social constructivism, referring to the perception of space and boundaries within texts, illustrations and of course, discourse. Arguably, there is no real geography and that imagined geographies can be compared with, thus posing problems of comparative analysis. So the argument lies that such imagined geographies must not be taken as given, but rather they should be deconstructed in order to display the various power sources which have been embedded in them. Ultimately, although Anderson is sceptical of the general public in their decision to be part of ‘imagined communities, he acknowledges that in the current day and age, nationalism and the idea of community has taken to other extremes i.e. projecting fear and hatred towards the ‘Other, being deeply affiliated with racist and discriminative behaviour (Anderson, 1991, p.141.) He critiques this though by reinforcing how such communities are supposed to bring individuals together as opposed to dividing them further, and thus communities need to be reminded that â€Å"nations inspire love, and often profoundly self-sacrificing love† (Anderson, 1991, p.141). Other theorists however conflict with what Anderson (1991) poses as the function of nation building, namely Ernest Gellner, Anthony D. Smith and Eric Hobsbawm. Their proposals of national identity vary with respect to one another. Firstly, anthropologist and philosopher Gellner (1983) argues that nationalism is ultimately political in that it acts as the foundation for politics and nations as being on an equal footing. In his critique, nationalism only emerged within the modern sphere very recently, becoming a necessity in sociological terms, and thus has not been embedded within history. Smith (2001) was a student of Gellner yet did not completely agree with the argument made by his teacher. His argument therefore depends on his creation of an approach to nationalism termed ‘ethnosymbolism, this being a combination of traditional as well as modern views toward the theory and practice of national identities (Smith, 2001, p.13). Smith (2001) distinguishes between the concept of the term ‘nation and another word he terms ‘ethnie, this being: â€Å"a named human community connected to a homeland, possessing common myths of ancestry, shared memories, one or more elements of shared culture, and a measure of solidarity at least among the elites† (Smith, 2001, p.13). Thus in his critique, the imagined communities Anderson speaks of do have a cultural and historical background to them, and so they arent completely imagined but have some substance behind them. Smith (2001) on the other hand, studies nationalism in terms of ethnic groupings. To him, the concept of the nation is: â€Å"a named human community occupying a homeland, and having common myths and a shared history, a common culture, and a measure of solidarity at least among the elites† (Smith, 2001, p.13). Within this though he narrows down further his understanding of nations, consisting of what he terms â€Å"ethnie† (Smith, 2001, p.13): â€Å"a named human community connected to a homeland, possessing common myths of ancestry, shared memories, one or more elements of shared culture, and a measure of solidarity at least among the elites†(Smith, 2001, p.13). Hobsbawm (1992) too examines nationalism, a concept which he refers to as the same as defined by Gellner: â€Å"primarily a principle which holds that the political and national unit should be congruent† (Gellner, 1983, p.1, cited in Hobsbawm, 1992, p.9). He contends that imagined communities act as a shield for and to religious-based nation states, which in turn allows individuals from a vast array of backgrounds to come together through the notion of compromise (Hobsbawm, 1992, p.14). One of his key arguments is that nations are: â€Å"dual phenomena† (Hobsbawm, 1992, p.10), by which he means that they are socially constructed from both above and below, with regards to the â€Å"assumptions, hopes, needs, longings and interests of ordinary people† (Hobsbawm, 1992, p.10). Thus he reinforces the central and underlying importance of nationalism throughout history in relation to political evolution. With respect to this, we identify that no real national conscienc e is forged within his text, and later on he makes clear the number of incited mass movements of nations i.e. he refers to the liberalisation of countries like Italy. National identity has a huge role to play within countries across the globe. In particular, it is focused on and can be identified during sporting games i.e. football or cricket, avid fans supporting their nation to be successful and triumphant. National identity can however also be associated with negativity and can create tensions, as demonstrated politically within international relations more generally. This section focuses on Britain as its key contemporary example but compares and contrasts the experiences within Britain with those of other countries too. Britain, quite clearly, consists of a multicultural society, one which is made up of a variety of community groupings. Community-World (2009) provides examples of many of the community groupings that are existent in modern day Britain, i.e.: regional, ethnic, religious, charity/voluntary and finally miscellaneous ones which include vegetarianism and so on. In many cases, such communities are reflective of Andersons thought of ‘imagined communities. An example of this can be seen with respect to the South-Asian community in Britain, formed of Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and many more, yet all come together under the umbrella term of South-Asian community even though it is most definitely likely that not all of these community members know each other nor have they seen each other nor, in reality, will they ever really do so. Such a community, although to be congratulated in bringing people of similar backgrounds together, is in actual fact a socially construct ed entity according to Anderson. In my critique of this however, such groupings are embedded in human nature in that terms like this have not been created as a product of society and societal views but rather because of religious, cultural and historical backgrounds. Thus they are not socially constructed. Andersons concentration of the media too is useful here when looking at Britain in that, in the contemporary world, his point that the print media, namely newspapers, is largely to blame for the creation of communities is only somewhat true. This is due to the rise of other media forms, particularly the internet, which has led to newspaper sales and general success of them falling over recent years. Greenslade (2009) in review of 2009 and the past decade identifies the spectacular decline of this once thriving industry: the Daily Mail recorded a fall from 2,777,501 to 1,260,019, a decline of 55%, whilst the Daily Express experienced sale plunges of 33.7%, the Daily Telegraph losses of nearly 27% and the Guardian a fall of just over 23%. Although newspapers are now widely available online, combining the previous paper form with the recent phenomenon of the internet, this does contradict with Andersons core argument. As sales of print newspapers have fallen, this suggests that readers hip too has declined and thus communities are less likely today to identify with communities within such media. Fisk (2010) makes an interesting point though in his work, arguing that many human communities within Great Britain have been abandoned since the Middle-Ages and so he works to commemorate such communities and identify their reasons for abandonment. Contrastingly, Hall (2004) examines the process of immigrants becoming citizens, with a particular focus on the Sikh community within Britain, namely second-generation ones. Her argument is that cultural politics have a huge role to play and in terms of the formation of nations, yet many more cultural processes are also at work: the role the media has in circulating religious, national and ethnic illustrations and political imaginaries; youth movement between cultural worlds in the home, at school and professionally; the frequently contradictory nature of the schooling system; and the cultural matters which flow across transnational and diaspora networks and communities (Hall, 2004, p.118). Thus Hall (2004) is suggesting that although this Sikh community may live and reside in Britain, this does not instantaneously make them a fundamental part of the imagined ‘British community, but rather due to their heritage and ancestral roots, many British Sikhs often find themselves to b e torn between identifying with Britain and identifying with their parents country of origin. Hence individuals can be part of a series of imagined communities as opposed to simply one as posed by Anderson (1991). Hall (2004) does however agree with Anderson (1991) to the extent that the media is incredibly influential in the contagion of national and cultural identities across various borders and boundaries. Similarly, Smith and Jackson (1999) studied ‘imagined communities with respect to Ukrainian communities living in Bradford, UK. Their argument was one of this sense of community, being shaped by Ukrainian history and the ever-changing global political climate (Smith and Jackson, 1999, p.367). For many Ukrainians living in Bradford, Ukraines independence in 1991 was symbolic of de-stabling an unsettled, often imaginary, sense of â€Å"Ukrainianness† (Smith and Jackson, 1999, p.384). Furthermore, they propose that recent cultural and historical change has led to an over-complication of the way in which the Ukrainian community within Bradford, UK is imagined and thus poses problems in terms of narratives and discourse. In my critique, although cultural influences are considered by all of the previously discussed political theorists, economics in terms of social status and inequality is not considered. It is no surprise that the creation and preservation of ‘imagined communities as discussed by Anderson (1991) leads to â€Å"fractionalization† (Alesina et al, 2003, p.155). My argument contends that such fractionalization is the cause of the observed rise in cross-country inequalities, Britain included, and Anderson (1991) fails to account for this. A broad view of heterogeneity demonstrates that anything that generates groups, as Andersons theory does, has both political and economic consequences, ultimately leading to greater inequality. In Britain for example, we can see that Central London, in most cases, is a highly affluent area. The outskirts of Greater London though vary in affluence such that groups are formed and located according to these same groups. Research has proved such theses to be correct i.e. Alesina et al (2003) examined approximately one hundred and ninety countries, concluding that â€Å"ethnic, religious and linguistic fractionalization† (Alesina et al, 2003, p.155) increases corruption, infant mortality and illiteracy, and reduces democracy and political rights indexes. Thus this supports my point of critique, that although ‘imagined communities bring people together from similar backgrounds and who have shared interests, the creation of such groupings leads to divisions and ultimately, in many cases, such divisions are indicative of social status, welfare and affluence. Hence Anderson (1991), along with Gellner (1983), Smith (2001) and Hobsbawm (1992), did not investigate this. Theorists in future should therefore research this area, building on the work mentioned above. In an age where it is extremely common for â€Å"progressive, cosmopolitan intellectuals to sit on the near-pathological character of nationalism, its roots in fear and hatred of the Other, and its affinities with racism† (Anderson, 1991, p.141), it is crucial to remember at all times that â€Å"nations transpire love, and often profoundly self-sacrificing love† (Anderson, 1991, p.141). Hence whether communities within these nations are imagined or not, which Anderson (1991) would say they are, they act as the fundamental foundation for society to communicate, evolve, exchange information and knowledge and ultimately to progress. Thus communities are incredibly important in multicultural Britain but also on a transnational scale too. To conclude, Andersons work on ‘Imagined Communities is one which has been used largely within the realm of political science and international studies. It does provide the reasoning as to why people commune together in the majority of instances yet at the same time, is rather broad in its explanation and thus has limited generalisation and applicability to the modern world that is the twenty-first century. The theory of ‘Imagined Communities is rather useful though in terms of understanding community and group formation with regards to historical, religious and cultural contexts across the world. This essay has examined what Anderson terms to be an ‘Imagined Community and how this has been used within the Social Sciences, in particular International Relations and Political Science. It has then later gone on to look at Britain as a contemporary example of how a series of ‘Imagined Communities have been formed i.e. the Sikh community and the Ukrainian communit y. Thus it is important to recall that nationalism is not simply a â€Å"sociological or cultural phenomena: it is also a powerful political instrument which†¦has played an important part in both the creation and the reform of modern states throughout the world† (Jackson, 2003, p.610). Bibliography Alesina, A.et al (2003) â€Å"Fractionalization† in Journal of Economic Growth, Vol.8, No.2, pp.155-194. Anderson, B.R. (1991) Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (Revised ed.), London: Verso. Community-World (2009) Community-World UK [online] Available from: http://www.community-world.co.uk/ (2001) in Durham, M.G. and Kellner, D.M. (eds.) Media and Cultural Studies: Keyworks, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Fisk, A. (2010) Abandoned Communities [online] Available from: http://www.abandonedcommunities.co.uk/ [Accessed 14th March 2010] Gellner, E. (1983) Nations and Nationalism, Oxford: Blackwell. Greenslade, R. (2009) Newspaper sales plunge over the decade [online] Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/dec/14/national-newspapers-sales-decade [Accessed 14th March 2010] Habermas, J. (1989) The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society, Cambridge: Polity. Hall, K.D. (2004) â€Å"The Ethnography of Imagined Communities: The Cultural Production of Sikh Ethnicity in Britain† in Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 595, pp.108-121 Higson, A. (1998) â€Å"Nationality: National Identity and the Media† in Briggs, A. and Cobley, P. (eds.) The Media: An Introduction, Harlow: Longman, pp. 354-364 Hobsbawm, E.J. (1992) Nations and Nationalism since 1780: Programme, Myth, Reality (2nd ed.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Inglis, F. (1993) Cultural Studies, Oxford: Blackwell. Jackson, J. (2003) â€Å"Book Review Nationalism and the state: John Brueilly, 2nd edition (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1993), pp. 474,  £40.00 H.B.,  £14.99 P.B.† in History of European Ideas, Vol.21, No.4, pp.608-610. Smith, A.D. (2001) Nationalism: Theory, Ideology, History, Cambridge: Polity. Smith, G. and Jackson, P. (1999) â€Å"Narrating the nation: the ‘imagined community of Ukrainians in Bradford† in Journal of Historical Geography, Vol.25, No.3, pp.367-387 Wisdom Quotes (2009) Community Quotes [online] Available from: http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_community.html

Struggles Within the Middle East: United States Supplying Israel During

In October of 1973, a war between the Arabic states of Egypt and Syria and the state of Israel broke out known as the Yom Kippur War. Being vastly overwhelmed by the Arabic states in terms of sheer volume of troops and equipment, Israel turned toward its ally in the West, the United States. With profound diplomatic pressure from multiple Arabic states, the United States found itself in an increasingly difficult position. In an effort to create the best outcome for America in both the Middle East and the global theatre, the United States made the decision, knowing full well the possible consequences, to help supply Israel during the Yom Kippur War. On October 6th, 1973, during the Jewish holy day of atonement, Yom Kippur, a surprise attack transpired, catching Israel off-guard and potentially putting over sovereign nations in a precarious position pertaining to Middle Eastern foreign affairs. The governments of Egypt and Syria, knowing that Yom Kippur was the holiest Jewish day of prayer and fasting that the Jewish military actively participated in, knew that they would be able to catch the well-defended Israeli positions off-guard. By combining their military might, the Egyptian army created a combined force that totaled the forces of NATO in Western Europe, creating a potential security threat to first world nations. In Golan Heights, the Syrian tank force outmatched Israeli by nine to one, and in the Suez region the Egyptian forces outnumber the Israeli by a ratio of one-hundred and sixty to one. Both sides, willing to commit both their men and equipment, were willing to sacrifice in order to gain their necessary victory. W illing to sacrifice their equipment, all sides in the war were looking outward toward other nations in or... ...rael during the war. With a fear that failure to maintain the balance of power in the Middle East, while trying to drive Soviet influence out, could upset America’s interests and security in the Global theatre, United States officials made the decision that supplying Israel during the Yom Kippur War was in America’s best interest the long term. Works Cited U.S. State Department. Middle East Task Force. Situation Report #18. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1981. U.S. State Department. Middle East Task Force. Situation Report #22. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1981. U.S. State Department. Middle East Task Force. The Middle East Conflict and U.S. Oil Interests. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1981. The White House. Memorandum of Conversation, October 9, 1973. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1981.

Institute of Technology Essay

A minor news item featured in MSNBC last month, from which the above excerpt is taken, talks about a 38-year-old aging nuclear power plant in the state of Vermont that is still efficient but appears to pose increasing threat to the environment. The local and state authorities want it to be decommissioned, but the owner of the plant, Entergy corp. , intends to run it for another 20 years. The plant meets one-third of the state’s electricity needs, and the people of Vermont are very much dependent on it for the electricity, of course. But at the same time they have grown distrustful of the quality of management at the plant and the plant’s viability. The future of this plant may not be a national or international concern, but it is a crucial issue for the local people. The fundamental dilemma of the situation here reflects, in microcosm, the vastly larger problem of the future of nuclear-generated electricity as such: should we enthusiastically embrace it or wisely abjure it? Many of the rapidly developing countries of the world, especially, tend to be upbeat about the potential of nuclear power, while in some of the developed countries where nuclear power has been put to use for generating electricity for several decades now there has been an increasing degree of opposition to the continued reliance on nuclear power, from the point of view of threats it poses to the environment. As in the case of Vermont Yankee power plant, the basic conflict in the nuclear power sector is between the potential and the potential risk. The Vermont facility has still the potential to supply a large fraction of the state’s electricity needs for a couple of decades more which is by no means a mean feat, but there are signs, such as the recent tritium leak detected at the plant, of the decreased reliability and robustness of the plant. The Vermont news story provokes the question: Can nuclear power plants be robust and reliable in general? The rewards they proffer may outweigh the risks they pose, but even so, do the rewards far outweigh the risks so that the risks – to the extent they are present – can be considered acceptable? A number of countries of the world have benefitted from nuclear power for several decades now with only one major disaster to speak of so far. But how many closely averted disasters such as the Three-Mile Island incident of 1979 there might have been — it is difficult to estimate. Because, as can be seen in the case of Vermont facility, there is apparently a widespread culture of â€Å"leaks and lies† in the nuclear power sector, which tends to neatly cover up inefficiencies, mismanagement, breaches, increased risks and so on. The world’s experience with nuclear-generated electricity so far could be seen as a trial or an experiment, based on which we are compelled to take decisions regarding the future of nuclear power. Should the world’s reliance on nuclear power be dramatically expanded, as advocated by many nuclear power enthusiasts and as was initially expected when nuclear power technologies were developing in the 1950’s? Or, should we gradually phase out our dependence on nuclear power and switch to much safer alternatives, or should a middle way be adopted? There are many well-informed people who would like to see all nuclear power plants shut down — how far are their fears valid? Literature Review: 1) Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (2003, 2009) The Future of Nuclear Power: An Interdisciplinary Study. Retrieved from http://web. mit. edu/nuclearpower/ The experts at MIT â€Å"believe† in nuclear power and prominently emphasize the chief advantage of absence of carbon emissions in its production. This study takes a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to assessing the feasibility of nuclear power. While the basic stance of MIT favors the increased use of nuclear power, the risks are not downplayed. The issues that the nuclear industry faces are tackled in a clear and detailed way. The study does succeed in inspiring confidence in the potential of nuclear power. Though the fears and concerns are not really eliminated, they are not simply vague forebodings of doom now but are based on actual facts and conditions. The challenges can be dealt with, in principle, with more commitment and initiative. 2) Biello D. (2009). The Future of Nuclear Power: An In-depth Report. Scientific American. Retrieved from http://www. scientificamerican. com/report. cfm? id=nuclear-future This is a 4-part in-depth report featured in the Scientific American magazine in early 2009. The first report, â€Å"Find Fissile Fuel,† explores the issue of availability of uranium and other raw materials for nuclear power. The second report, â€Å"Reactivating Nuclear Reactors for the Fight against Climate Change,† examines the ongoing escalation in nuclear power production in the U. S. â€Å"Spent Nuclear Fuel,† the third part, deals with the major issue of nuclear waste management. The final report, â€Å"Atomic Weight: Balancing the Risks and Rewards of a Power Source,† asks the question: â€Å"Is it worth the minor chance of a major catastrophe? † 3) Department of Trade and Industry, U. K. (2007). The Future of Nuclear Power: The Role of Nuclear Power in a Low Carbon UK Economy. Retrieved from www. berr. gov. uk/files/file39197. pdf This is a UK government white paper / consultation document on the relevance of nuclear power in addressing the issues related to global warming and climate change and ensuring continued energy supplies. Though it is a document of advice and information provided to the UK government to help it make decisions, a consideration of the particularities of the UK situation can be useful in more general contexts. In the UK, nuclear power is already making a significant contribution to the ‘electricity generating mix’ and this paper is inclined to the view that it could make an even more prominent contribution. 4) Mahaffey, J. (2009). Atomic Awakening: A New Look at the History and Future of Nuclear Power. New York : Pegasus Books Mahaffey, a senior research scientist at Georgia Tech Research Institute, has written a book meant to interest laymen about nuclear power and its possibilities. He wants to show us that nuclear energy is not the monster it is portrayed to be; while the risks cannot be completely mitigated it can still be used in a very safe manner. One of the barriers to greater acceptance of nuclear power is the general unfamiliarity of the subject, the degree of alienation between the common man and the tall-standing nuclear reactors. The author seeks to bridge this gap by familiarizing his audience with the subject in an entertaining and engaging manner, largely in a historical perspective. 5) Smith, J & Beresford, N. A. (2005). Chernobyl: catastrophe and consequences. New York : Springer The public perception of nuclear power has radically changed after the Chernobyl tragedy. Ever since, people living in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant are naturally beset with fears that their installation does not turn out to be another Chernobyl. And if a nuclear facility is actually having some known problems, as in the case of Vermont, these fears are vastly exacerbated. In this context it is very pertinent to understand what caused Chernobyl and assess how likely is it for a similar disaster to happen again, for broadly similar reasons. Smith and Beresford’s detailed yet uncomplicated account of the Chernobyl incident is useful for developing a mental picture of the events that led to the 1986 mishap, what really occurred and how it was handled. Methodology: This short paper is built around a minor incident at Vermont’s nuclear power plant and the public reaction to it — with the aim of examining the broader implications of nuclear power to the future of the world. We propose to survey the works cited in the literature review in order to glean the opinions and standpoint of their authors in regard to the risks and rewards presented by the use of nuclear power. A special focus is laid on the Chernobyl incident. Results: — The MIT study of 2003, later updated in 2009, is the one of the most authoritative studies in this field. It begins with what would appear like a sad note that despite the great promise nuclear power holds in regard to significantly restricting earth’s green house emissions, nuclear power is virtually facing stagnation. It recommends a tripling of world’s nuclear generating capacity of the world by 2050 in order to turn around the situation of decline. Doing so would help in cutting 25% of the increment in greenhouse gas emissions which would occur if such a resurgence of nuclear power did not take place. The safety of modern reactor designs is considerably superior to those of the earlier models, and there is very low risk of serious accidents. However, the very low risk associated with modern nuclear reactors holds true only when their operation implements â€Å"best practices. † Proliferation is another major concern in regard to nuclear power generation. With increased use of nuclear power, there is increasing likelihood of misuse of raw materials and technology for manufacturing nuclear weapons. The existing international safeguards regime is far from being adequate, according to the report, to meet the greater security challenges of a global growth in nuclear usage. Especially, the kind of reprocessing system that is used in a majority of nuclear power using countries, including European Union, Japan and Russia, poses unwarranted risks of proliferation. Waste management is yet another major area of concern. Closed fuel cycles involving reprocessing are generally considered to offer waste management benefits, but the study is not convinced of their benefits; improved open fuel cycles can offer just as many benefits and they present diminished security threats along with decreased costs. The study therefore recommends open, once-through fuel cycles for facing both security and waste management challenges in a better way. However, the international safeguards regime needs to be improved, and greater efforts have to be put in by the government and the private enterprise to develop better solutions for the waste disposal problem. Apart from the safety, proliferation, and waste management concerns, the fundamental issue in regard to nuclear power is the cost, which is not yet competitive with the other conventional modes of power generation. However, even this problem is not insurmountable, and various strategies are suggested to increase the economic feasibility of nuclear power. Finally, forebodings and misguided perceptions among the public present a great barrier for creating a movement to expand the world’s nuclear power capacity. This, the report suggests, can be dealt with by implementing an intensive program of public education. — The 4th part of Scientific American’s in-depth feature on the future of nuclear power covers many risky scenarios faced by the American nuclear power sector in the past few decades. The report leads us to conclude that the future of nuclear power in the US largely depends on the quality of management of the nuclear installations. So far the US has a rather impressive track record in running the nuclear facilities, and this consistency is likely to continue. — A chapter in the UK white paper on the future of nuclear power addresses the specific safety and security risks posed by nuclear installations. It stresses on the additional safety features added to the latest models of nuclear reactors: Designers of nuclear power stations have taken this earlier operational experience and learned lessons from previous nuclear events. They have added features to reduce the likelihood of plant failures and to limit the consequences when failures occur. (p. 105) From design to operations and maintenance, rigorous procedures can be developed, and in fact have been developed, which make nuclear energy one of the best options for meeting the electricity needs of UK and Europe. — Mahaffey, in his book ‘Atomic Awakening’ raises many interesting points. He observes, for example, that Chernobyl caused only 55 to 60 deaths (most of them being fire fighters exposed to lethal doses of radiation), whereas the Bhopal incident which took place in 1984 in India killed over 15,000 of the city’s inhabitants. Despite the overblown public fears, the safety record of the nuclear industry world wide is relatively very solid. There is no reason why people should fear nuclear power generation more than they fear many other processes to do with advanced technology. Seen from a safety perspective, nuclear power plants are like airlines: a single disaster can create great fear among the public for air travel, but when we look at the statistical record of safety of airlines and compare them with road transport, airplanes turn out to be vastly safer than cars. — In the early hours of April 26, 1986, a massive nuclear reactor accident took place at the Chernobyl Power Plant in Ukraine. A small test procedure that was being conducted went completely out of control, resulting in two non-nuclear explosions that demolished the heavy ceiling of the reactor and expelled the radioactive contents and waste products of the reactor’s core into the surroundings. Chernobyl is the worst nuclear disaster in the history. It has cast a heavy shadow on the entire nuclear industry which continues to darken the horizons. But we must note that the Chernobyl disaster is a result of bad design compounded by bad management practices and a work culture which flouted all safety considerations. One safety feature after another was deliberately suppressed in order to facilitate the test procedure; serious warnings were callously disregarded. The Chernobyl meltdown occurred as a result of operator incompetence on a huge scale, as was acknowledged by the Soviet official report of the disaster. A group of technicians are directly responsible for this disaster, and they committed six serious violations or errors besides many others. Many of the operators as well as managers in charge at Chernobyl actually knew very little about nuclear technology. Moreover, there were certain high-risk features associated with the RBMK design of the Chernobyl reactors. A Chernobyl can never happen in the Western world because the minimal industrial standards here are far superior to those that prevailed in the Soviet Union during the last years of its existence. Conclusion: Nuclear power plants have been safe and would continue to be safe — in the context of advanced nations. But the real problem comes when we consider nuclear energy in the setting of the developing nations of Asia, Africa and Latin America. All the studies we have dealt with so far focus on the U. S. , U. K. and the E. U. How would nuclear power fare in the volatile developing countries is in fact even difficult to outline even in broad terms. The major obstacle for the Third World Countries in embracing nuclear power is the cost. However, in a bid to develop environment-friendly energy sources, Western nations are engaged in bringing down the costs of production of nuclear power. If they succeed, nuclear power production can spread rapidly in the developing countries of the world, and this can have potentially highly adverse consequences. A Chernobyl can never happen in the U. S. or Europe, but it can very well happen in Angola or Pakistan or Columbia. References: Associated Press. Vermont Town Halls Want Nuclear Plant Shut. MSNBC. Retrieved from http://www. msnbc. msn. com/id/35687805 Biello D. (2009). The Future of Nuclear Power: An In-depth Report. Scientific American. Retrieved from http://www. scientificamerican. com/report. cfm? id=nuclear-future Department of Trade and Industry, U. K. (2007). The Future of Nuclear Power: The Role of Nuclear Power in a Low Carbon UK Economy. Retrieved from www. berr. gov. uk/files/file39197. pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (2003, 2009) The Future of Nuclear Power: An Interdisciplinary Study. Retrieved from http://web. mit. edu/nuclearpower/ Mahaffey, J. (2009). Atomic Awakening: A New Look at the History and Future of Nuclear Power. New York : Pegasus Books Smith, J & Beresford, N. A. (2005). Chernobyl: catastrophe and consequences. New York : Springer

Managing Rapport through talk across Cultures Essay

Spencer-Oatey certainly does not neglect the concept of culture in her book, the second component of the rather lengthy title, though she concedes that ‘culture’ is ‘notoriously difficult to define’ (Spencer-Oatey, 1). In support of this, she cites several authors have noted that â€Å"†¦despite a century of efforts to define culture adequately, there was in the early 1990’s no agreement among anthropologists regarding its nature,† (Apte 1994, p. 2001) Due to the ambiguity of the term, Spencer-Oatey (2000, 2) defines culture as: â€Å"†¦a fuzzy set of attitudes, beliefs, behavioral conventions, and basic assumptions and values that are shared by a group of people, and that influence each member’s behavior and his/her interpretations of the ‘meaning’ of other people’s behavior. † This definition opens up the field for several issues. At one point, culture is manifested â€Å"at different layers of depth, ranging from inner core basic assumptions and values, through outer core attitudes, beliefs and social conventions, to surface level behavioral manifestations† (Spencer-Oatey, 2). The second issue concerns the sub-surface aspects of culture as influencing people’s behavior and the meanings they themselves attribute to the behavior of other people, i. e. personality. Due to the fact that the members of a cultural group â€Å"are unlikely to share identical sets of attitudes, beliefs and so on, but rather show family resemblances,† (Spencer-Oatey, 2), she puts forth the thesis that there is â€Å"no absolute set of features that can distinguish definitively one cultural group from another† (Spencer-Oatey, 2). This is of course stemming from the thesis that culture is associated with social groups. In the social sciences it is a given that all people simultaneously belong to a number of different groups and categories, e. g. ethnic groups, professional groups, gender groups, etc. Another important term directly related to culture is the concept of ‘cross-cultural,’ which for Spencer-Oatey (2000, 3) refers simply to comparative data, i. e. ‘data obtained independently from two different cultural groups. ’ A related term is that of ‘intercultural’ – interactional data obtained ‘when two different cultural groups interact with each other’ (Spencer-Oatey, 3). The speaking component highlighted in the book’s title itself refers to the management of social relations as a specific aspect of communication. Spencer-Oatey goes back to the work of earlier authors such as Watzlawick, Beavin and Jackson (1967, as cited in Spencer-Oatey, 1) who had initially proposed that â€Å"all language has a content component and relationship component. † In a similar study, Brown and Yule (1983) had identified two main functions of language: the transactional (information-transferring) and the interactional (maintenance of social relationships), with two corresponding goals – the coherent and accurate conveying of information (transactional) and communication of friendliness and good will in a comfortable and unthreatening manner (interactional). In both cases, culture definitely plays a significant role, and in the two studies it is utilized as an explanatory variable. Attempting to use culture as an explanatory variable to account for similarities and differences in communication across cultures necessitates appropriate ways to â€Å"unpackage† culture before it could be linked to communication outcomes and operative psychological constructs (Spencer-Oatey, 2000). There are dimensions to cultural variability which could be viewed as psychologically comparable among cultures, and these are often used as the tools to account for the differences. There remains however a number of problems in the use of cultural-level values to account for variability in communicative behavior across languages and cultural groups. Following Gudykunst (2000, as cited in Spencer-Oatey) cultural level variables, e. g. individualism and collectivism, prove to be insufficient if one aims to establish a framework providing causal explanations of social behavior. Cultural level variables may have a direct effect on social behaviors through its influence on cultural norms and the rules specific to a particular culture yet it is important to note that the members of a culture are not socialized in the same way, nor do they adopt a culture’s rules to the same extent. As such, the socialization processes at the individual level clearly play a mediating role in the influence of cultural level variables on social behaviors. With regards to communication, for Spencer-Oatey et al (2000) pragmatic variables, i. e. factors influencing how people both produce and interpret communicative behavior, can possibly yield important dimensions of cultural variability at the individual level. Of particular interest are two influential aspects of socio-linguistic pragmatics – interactional ‘rules’ (maxims) and contextual factors. The view that it has now become necessary to move beyond a value approach in the conceptualization of culture has merit, and Spencer-Oatey provides the needed empirical illustrations to give strength to the argument of the need to explore new ways of conceptualizing culture. Contemporary development in linguistics suggests two important ways in which culture can have an impact on language use: pragmatic maxims, and the conventions of use of a particular language (variety). In illustrating the limits of culture as an explanatory variable, a discussion on politeness theory is presented. ‘Politeness’ often refers to the â€Å"use of relatively formal and differential language† (Spencer-Oatey, 2), though as Fraser and Nolan (1981, 96) carefully point out, it is in actuality also a contextual judgment in the sense that â€Å"†¦no sentence is inherently polite or impolite. †¦it is not the expressions themselves but the conditions under which they are used that determine the judgment of politeness. † Furthermore, politeness maxims appear to have ‘universal valences,’ wherein one pole of a given dimension is always viewed as more desirable than the other (Spencer-Oatey 2000). Yet interestingly, in different cultures and even in different speech contexts within the same culture, there are different points on the continuum that are more favored over others. There is already a significant body of work researching the universal and culture-specific aspects of politeness behaviors available. House (2000, cited in Spencer-Oatey) conducted a series of analyses contrasting the English and German spoken and written discourses over the past two decades. Among the interesting findings is the tendency of German students to use less verbal routines than their English counterparts, which appear to lend credence to the insight that they are more direct, content-oriented and self-referenced (House, 162). A temporary cultural dissonance is said to result when participants are unable to retain emotional equilibrium (House, 2000), i. e. they are overcome by a sense of misunderstanding and disappointment. Emotional reaction for House (2000) is often a â€Å"major factor responsible for a deterioration of rapport and for the mutual attribution of negative personal traits which, in turn, prevent any recognition of real differences in cultural values and norms. † Crucial to Spencer-Oatey’s work is the concept of ‘rapport management’ as an analytical framework, of which a detailed discussed is presented in Chapter 2. As several attempts have already been undertaken to create language use universals, the concept of ‘face’ as a â€Å"universal human need and the key motivating force for politeness and rapport management† has been proposed by Brown and Levinson (1987, as cited in Spencer-Oatey 2000, 12-13). Two related aspects comprise the ‘face’- positive (representing the desire for approval) and negative (desire for autonomy). Meanwhile, critics such as Matsumoto (1988), Ide and Mao (1994) relegates prime importance to that of social identity, as illustrated in Chinese and Japanese cultures (as cited in Spencer-Oatey, 67-68). A discourse-processing approach is a powerful analytical tool towards in-depth comprehension of how rapport can be mismanaged across cultures through communication. It involves detailed descriptions of the processes utilized in the production and comprehension of discourses, as well as illustrations of how misunderstandings can occur between and within cultures. Emphasis is on the discourses invoked by the participants. With regards to communication processes, prime importance is given to how the discourses are socially constructed and then understood and internalized by the participants of the discourse. Contrastive discourse studies (Spencer-Oatey 2000) in particular, as illustrated by the researches presented in the second part of the book, are of prime importance when one aims to explain intercultural misunderstandings. Meanwhile, in a pragmatic transfer approach to the study of intercultural communication, its explanatory power in accounting for intercultural encounters is largely based on existing pragmatic knowledge in the communication process (Spencer-Oatey 2000). ‘Pragmatics’ is â€Å"the study of the relationships between linguistic forms and the users of those forms† (Yule, 4), i. e. it is mainly concerned with the notion of implied meanings. The pragmatic transfer framework draws on the perspective of relevance theory. For one to be able to communicate effectively and competently, one needs to know how to choose the appropriate form and the appropriate meaning in order to avoid inter-cultural pragmatic problems. Related to the first two frameworks, Accommodation Theory nonetheless presents a rather different theoretical perspective to account for intercultural discourse. Focus is on the various manner in which speakers themselves can ‘attune’ their talk more or less to each other (Spencer-Oatey 2000). Thus though all three frameworks are to some extent concerned with processes involved in communication, in contrast to the other two frameworks there is a strong dynamic aspect to human agency in Accommodation Theory, though the manner and extent wherein one can be accommodating in ‘talking’ is still within socio-culturally prescribed boundaries. In terms of the merits and weaknesses of methodologies, cross-cultural or comparative studies are very useful in providing a rich array of baseline data. However, comparative studies suffer when used for analytical purposes, particularly in providing a comprehensive analytical framework to account for intercultural encounters. As such, the researcher(s) have to go back to and rely on the explanatory power and analytical categorizations provided by theory in order to provide a comprehensive account of the factors influencing performance both in the individual and social levels. We find in Chapter 6, â€Å"Telephone Conversations in Greek and German: Attending to the Relationship Aspect of Communication† the uses of speech act analysis as a research method of collecting data. It recorded observations concerning the opening and closing sections of conversations in authentic Greek and German. Analysis involves a comparison between the two groups of their preferences to attend to the relationship aspect of communication, though of course there are significant limitations to the variables that could be studied, i. e. those which could possibly affect the management of rapport as it could not encompass all cultural groups and languages. Different styles and beliefs about argumentation of people in initial encounters, which are still largely facilitated by variables of culture, can have a negative effect on how people evaluate their initial interaction, as gleaned from Chapter 10’s empirical study of the negotiation of rapport in Chinese-German conversations. It utilized authentic conversation analysis between Chinese and German students meeting for the first time. Different methodologies have their own strengths and weaknesses, and a triangulation of methods (e. g. use of survey questionnaire and observational field data) is commonly utilized to cover more extensively the nature of the variables under study. A critical reading of the various inter-cultural studies presented in the book presents one the insight that selection of the appropriate methodology (e. g. conversation analysis, surveys, face-to-face interviews, among others) and analytical framework – discourse processing model, pragmatic transfer, accommodation theory, etc. – for a research undertaking ultimately depends on the nature of the questions being asked and the aims of the research, wherein one has to select the corresponding methodology which would facilitate the gathering of relevant data for analysis. Works Cited Birkner K. & Kern, F. (2000) Impression Management in East and West German Job Interviews 2000 In H. Spencer-Oatey (Ed. ) Culturally speaking: Managing rapport through talk across cultures. London: Continuum Gudykunst, W. B. (2000). Methodological issues in conducting theory-based cross-cultural research. In H. Spencer-Oatey (Ed. ) Culturally speaking: Managing rapport through talk across cultures (pp. 293-315). London: Continuum. House, J. (2000). Understanding misunderstanding: A pragmatic-discourse approach to anaysing mismanaged rapport in talk across cultures. In H. Spencer-Oatey (Ed. ), Culturally speaking – Managing rapport through talk across cultures (pp. 146-164). London: Continuum. Spencer-Oatey H. ed. (2000) Culturally speaking: Managing rapport through talk across cultures (pp. 293-315). London: Continuum. Yule, G (1996). Pragmatics. In H. G. Widdowson (ed. ) Oxford introductions to language study. Oxford University Press.