How Technology Affects the Business Environment Essay Example for Free

How Technology Affects the Business Environment Essay During the last century, the world has been through a technological revolution. We have in few years moved from being a world where it could take months to receive a message, to being a world where it takes microseconds. Within most industries, technology is a very important factor to succeed. Especially in certain industries, like energy, transport and financial services, technological innovations have been vital to make those industries develop into what they are today. Companies are always struggling to acquire better technology, so that they in a more efficient way can produce their products or carry out their services. It is therefore important for companies to keep an eye on new technological innovations. The technological elements of the external environment are a part of the LoNGPEST analysis, which is being used to scan a firms environment, so it in a best possible way can adopt to it. In this essay, I will attempt to explain how technology has been a vital reason for the globalization, and how it has made the world more efficient. There is no doubt that the development of information and communications technology is one of the causes for globalization. The table below shows the reduction in communicating and travelling prices. According to the table, the price of a 3 minutes phone call have been reduced by 98,6%. The reduction in air transport costs per mile is 74%. There is no doubt that such reductions encourage companies to expand geographically. In addition, the rapid growth of the internet has made it possible to share information with the rest of the world in microseconds. Eric Samuels states that one of the industries that has grown because of information technology is the financial service industry. He states that â€Å"delivery of services has become more efficient because of the application of technology.† What he is saying, is that the financial services provided are being done more effective and at a lower cost than before. By using the internet, companies can reach out to the whole world without spending a pound. In addition to claim that the financial service industry has grown due to the information technology, Dr. Nicolas Pologeorgis also states that the industry, since 1998, has gon e through a rapid geographic expansion. This especially applies to wealthy nations, like countries from Europe and USA. He claims that â€Å"customers previously served by local financial institutions are now targeted at a global level.† Dr. Pologeorgis believes that one of the reasons for this, besides deregulation and more trading between countries, is the information technology. Services like ATMs and websites is being used to develop a more efficient relationship between long distance customers and suppliers. A study about globalization of the banking industry, states that improvements in technology â€Å"have facilitated greater geographic reach by allowing institutions to manage larger information flows from more locations and to evaluate and manage risks at lower cost without being geographically close to the customer.† One example of a company from this industry that expanded geographically in the 90’s is Goldman Sachs (GS). I 1990, Robert Ruding and Stephen Friedman decided to focus on GS global operations. During the 1990’s, GS went through a rapid geographical expansion. Today, GS has offices located in all major financial centres around the world. I have made a comparison between the growth in the financial service sector and the use of internet worldwide. It was in the 90’s that the internet use exploded. In 1995, 16 million people were connected to the internet (0,4 of world population). The table below shows that the use of internet exploded about the same time that the financial service industry, according to Pologeorgis, really started expanding geographically. However, it is not only the improvements in communication and information technology that has contributed to a more efficient and globalized world. Another industry that has been affected by improvements in technology the last century is the oil and gas industry. An article made by naturalgas states that â€Å"new innovations have reshaped the industry into a technological leader9.† A report made by the U.S. Department of energy in 1999 shows that if technology had stagnated in 1985, America would have needed twice as many wells to produce the same amount of oil and gas. However, because of technological improvement, we only need half as many wells to produce the same amount in 1999. In 1999, the America used 22 000 less wells to produce the same amount as they did in 1985. A statistical review of world energy made by BP illustrates how much oil and natural gas that has been produced in each country and worldwide from 1965-2010. Worldwide, the total development of oil has increased from 31,806,000 barrels daily in 1965, to 82,095,000 barrels daily in 2010. The development of oil has increased from 96,9 billion cubic feet daily in 1970, to 309 billion cubic feet daily in 2010. The main reason to the increase in production is off course the growing demand, but according to naturalgas it would have been impossible without the improvement in our technology. Consumption of oil increased from 30,783,000 daily in 1965 to 87,382,000 barrels daily in 2010 and consumption of gas increased from 63 billion cubic feet daily in 1965 to 306,6 billion cubic feet daily in 2010. Another industry that has developed because of new technology is the nuclear industry. Numbers taken from NEI shows that 13,5 of the world’s electricity production IN 2010, was provided by nuclear power. Furthermore, NEI states that â€Å"in total, 15 countries relied on nuclear energy to supply at least one-quarter of their total electricity†. According to NEI, one example of a country that is dependent of nuclear energy is France. 74,1 percent of the energy produced in France was generated through nuclear energy. The statistical review published by BP, shows that the consumption of electricity generated from nuclear power has increased tremendously since 1965. In 1965 the global consumption of terra hours has increased from 25,7 in 1965 to 2767,2 terra hours in 2010. FINN UT OM DAILY In this essay, I have tried to show how technology has been a vital part of both the globalization and the development of a more efficient world. I have found that information and communication technology has been important for globalization. Lower costs of travelling and communicating overseas encourage people to expand geographically. In addition, the fact that use of internet has developed into a common thing, especially in developed countries, makes customers able to do services that they could not do before. My essay also shows how the oil and gas industry have become more efficient, and how the nuclear industry has grown due to technological improvements. Reference list: Department for Business Enterprise Regulatory Reform (2008) Globalisation and the changing UK economy, page 3 [online]. Available from: http://www.bis.gov.uk/files/file44332.pdf accessed at 22.11.2011. British Petroleum (2011) Historical data [online]. Available from: http://www.bp.com/sectionbodycopy.do?categoryId=7500contentId=7068481 (then click on historical data) Accessed at 23.11.2011. U.S. Department of energy (1999) Environmental benefits of advance oil and exploration and production technology [online]. Available from: http://www.fe.doe.gov/programs/oilgas/publications/environ_benefits/4envben.pdf Accessed at 22.11.2011. U.S. Department of Energy http://www.fe.doe.gov/programs/oilgas/publications/environ_benefits/3innov.pdf Funding Universe, The Goldman Sachs group INC [online]. Available from: http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/The-Goldman-Sachs-Group-Inc-Company-History.html Accessed at 22.11.2011. Goldman Sachs (2011), who we are – at a glance [online]. Available from: http://www2.goldmansachs.com/who-we-are/at-a-glance/index.html Accessed at 22.11.2011. Internet World Stats (2008), internet growth statistics [online]. Available from: http://www.internetworldstats.com/emarketing.htm Accessed at 21.11.2011. Internet World Stats (March 31, 2011), internet usage statistics [online]. Available from: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm Accessed at 21.11.2011. Dr. Nicolas Pologeorgis (2009), The Globalization of Financial Services [online]. Available from: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/financial-theory/09/risk-free-rate-return.asp#ixzz1eNeBhksO Accessed at 20.11.2011. Eric Samuels (2011), Marketing of Financial Services [online]. Available from: http://www.measurethat.com/?cat=5 Accessed at 20.11.2011. Natural Gas (2010), Natural Gas and Technology [online]. Available from: http://www.naturalgas.org/environment/technology.asp Accessed at 22.11.2011. Nuclear Energy Institute (2011), world statistics, nuclear energy around the world [online]. Available from: http://www.nei.org/resourcesandstats/nuclear_statistics/worldstatistics/ Accessed at 22.11.2011. Wall Street Journal (2010), A Brief History of Goldman Sachs [online]. Available from: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704671904575193780425970078.html Accessed at 21.11.2011 Allen N. Berger, Qinglei Dai, Steven Ongen, David C. Smith (2002) To What Extent Will the Banking Industry be Globalized?A Study of Bank Nationality and Reach in 20 European Nations, page 3 [online] Available from: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTFR/Resources/banking_industry_globalization.pdf Accessed at 22.11.2011.

Does Foreign Financial Aid Work Economics Essay

Does Foreign Financial Aid Work Economics Essay The current world is categorized into industrialized and developing countries. The chief difference between these countries is the sum of money applied by the governments in their important sectors like health, commerce, and education. A developing nation or a less-developed nation is any country with a significantly lower lever in terms of her material well-being. There is no internationally recognized definition of a developing country. The development levels may vary greatly within the developing nations with some having high average living standards. A developed nation on the other hand is any nation allowing all her citizenry the right of enjoying healthy and free life in a considerably safe environment (Sullivan Sheffrin 471). Aid, or overseas aid, foreign aid, or international aid is a free resources transfer from one nation to the other with the aim of benefiting recipient nation. Giving of aid is a social responsibility of the rich nations and is not just a mere obligation or duty. It entails an element of morality as the rich nations have a moral duty of redressing the diverse economic inequalities, which they have created across the world (Fajardo 184). Majority of the poorer countries are masked in debts due to their unbalanced finances reflected in weak international trade, unstructured system of education, and failed health care. Due to this vicious cycle, the wealthy nations have shown interest in reducing the global economic differences by taking more responsibility towards assisting the unfortunate nations (Sunstein 163). However, this paper wishes to critically examine giving of aid to the poorer nations and take a stand supporting that such aid should not be given. In this, the paper shall examine the fact that foreign financial aid does not work for the poorer nations; the rich nations should not give aid to the poorer ones; and giving aid leads to dependency of the poorer nations. The paper shall also examine the need for refurbishing of the internal issues instead of relying on international aid, whether there are better ways of helping the poorer nations other than giving aid to them, and the reasons why the poorer natio ns should be denied aid from the international community. Today, people and nations across the world are more closely linked. This has seen an increment in trade as well as peoples movement between nations in greater levels than ever. However, millions of individuals still live in much poverty, with the gap between the rich and poor widening in many places. Thus, there are numerous reasons for assisting the poor nations with humanitarian reasons topping the list. Just like the individuals who give towards charity, many nations consider it their social, moral, or religious obligation/duty to assist people in the other nations suffering from drought, famine, diseases, or war. However, a good number of rich nations also make donations for diplomatic or political reasons. This is aimed at maintaining a dependency relationship with the recipient countries governments, or simply to manipulate such government and/or the countries direction. Another factor facilitating giving of aid to the poorer nations is for economic issues. Donors may wish to c ontrol supply of commodities like oil, wheat, or water. Alternatively, such rich nations may wish to ensure readily available markets for their products, whether they are shoes, computers, or planes (Sustein 162-163). However, foreign aid is not automatically the most effective means of helping a nation. One reason for this is that millions of dollars obtained from such aid is often misappropriated or goes missing into the inefficient administration and corrupt governments. Secondly, most foreign-aided projects are inappropriate for the target nation. Numerous agencies construct huge industrial projects or dams, which fail after some few years. Worse still, some of those projects ignore the local people and fail to involve them in the project yet it is meant for them. Furthermore, much of such aid proceeds to the donor in form of expensive experts and specialized equipment from such a donor nation (Birdsall, Rodrik Subramanian 137). Should the Rich Nations Give aid to the Poor Nations? Considering Vietnam and Nicaragua, the two nations are poor with their economies primarily being agriculture-based. The two have suffered due to prevalence of conflict and have also benefited from significant foreign aid. However, only Vietnam has minimized her poverty level dramatically as well as enjoyed a steady economic growth (5% per capita since the year 1988). On the other hand, Nicaragua has floundered in terms of economic performance with her per capita growth being too modest to cause a real dent towards the population of poor people. Until 1994, Vietnam faced an embargo from the US and the nation is still not adopted as a WTO (World Trade Organization) member. Regardless of such obstacles, the nation has found reliable markets for its coffee exports as well as other agricultural products. In addition, the nation has started diversifying her economy into manufacturing sector, especially of textiles. In comparison, Nicaragua benefits from the preferential access of the lucra tive markets of the US and had a huge debt waved off in 1990s. However, her clothing and coffee export industries lag much behind those of Vietnam (Birdsall, Rodrik Subramanian 137). Why does Nicaragua fall some few steps from Vietnam yet they have been exposed to international aid? Answers to such a question are internal: political and economic institutions and history have trumped the other factors in determination of economic success. The access to the American market as well as the donors largesse has not had powerful impacts to overcome the history of Nicaragua in terms of economic and social inequality. In addition, power and land in Nicaragua have been concentrated in hands of some few elites with the government notable in failing to invest substantially in public welfare and infrastructure. Experiences of numerous other developing nations confirm the significance of the specific internal factors. Just like Vietnam, neither India nor China- the two emerging economic powerhouses of the later quarter of the 20th century- has accrued much benefits from international aid and trade preferences. Neither of these two nations has received much international aid compared to the nations in Central America and Africa. Their success is attributed to enactment of creative domestic reforms within their governance systems leading to their notable prosperity as well as plunging of their poverty levels (Hardin 2). Most of the African nations have not managed to match the success of Vietnam despite being more agrarian or no poorer. True, health and education indicators have improved notably in Africa with some countries having achieved higher levels of macroeconomic stability. However, even within the best-performing nations, productivity and growth remain modest with their investment initiatives depending solely on international aid infusions. It could be luring to ascribe some rare African successes such as in Mauritius and Botswana to the high international demand for their garments and diamonds respectively, but limited explanation has been offered so far. Obviously, the two nations could be considerably poorer if they had no access to the international markets. What distinguish these nations is not the external advantages they enjoy, but their ability to exploit these advantages. (Birdsall, Rodrik Subramanian 138) Many developing nations have been hurt by their natural resource endowments . For instance, diamond has hardly conjured images of prosperity and peace in Sierra Leone while oil has been a blessing in disguise for Nigeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, and many others. Mexico is a perfect example of how foreign aid can be detrimental in development. The nation has an advantage of bordering the US (a strip of about 2,000 miles), which is the greatest economic power across the world. Since the enforcement of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994, the US has given goods from Mexico a duty-free access into its markets, has continued absorbing thousands of Mexicans into its labor-force, and has made large investments into the Mexican economy. In the course of peso crisis of 1994-95, the United States Treasury underwrote the financial stability of Mexico an implication that outside economic assistance gets no better. Since 1992, the economy of Mexico has grown at barely 1% per capita on annual average rate. This figure is far much below the rates exhibited by the growth superstars of Asia. In fact, this is a fraction of the nations own growth rate of 3.6% on annual basis in the 2 decades, which preceded her debt crisis of 1982. Access t o external resources and markets has not given Mexico a platform of making up for her internal problems (Sunstein 163). The membership of the European Union (EU) is a remarkable exception to limitations of international assistance. By offering their poorer southern and eastern neighbors not just market access and aid transfers but also the hope of joining their union, the European Union has stimulated far reaching institutional changes and policy as well as impressive growth rates in around 20 nations. Unfortunately, accession to EU or even to any other such major power is a nightmare for majority of the poorest economies across the world. In addition, increasing the trading opportunities and financial solutions for the poorest nations is an insufficient substitute (Birdsall, Rodrik Subramanian 138). Which is the Best Way of Helping the Poorer Nations? There exist numerous ways of helping the poor nations as opposed to giving them aid. Some of the mechanisms include opening up the existing trade barriers, removing subsidies to facilitate easier and fair competition of the imported products from poorer nations, or forgiving their international debts. In fact, most of the poor nations economic performance is maimed by the huge interest repayments imposed on their old loans. The requirements of the poorer nations may seem obvious but there is need of examining their real needs as well as implementing solutions, which will benefit them as well as the donors. Material and economic help is essential towards the poor nations that are victims of sickness and famine though it is only a short-term solution. The rich nations should assist the poorer ones but it is a rather utopian idea to envisage that their aid will never be affected in diverse ways by political corruptions in the poorer nations. Furthermore, helping them is a paradoxical action since the political and economic system impoverishes these countries. The best solution could be changing the exchange between needy and wealthy nations, as it is not right to continue living in the current system with so many individuals dying due to the inequalities that have been created (Andre Velasquez Para 2-3). There are many kinds of aid ranging from food aid, to humanitarian emergency assistance, military assistance, etc. The developed nations have for long recognized development aid as vital to assist the poor developing countries to grow out of their poverty. The worlds richest nations in 1970 agreed to offer an annual 0.7% of their Gross National Income (GNI) as an official foreign development aid. Since then, regardless of the billions given out each year, the rich countries have hardly met their promised targets (AJWS 7). For instance, the United States is the largest donor but is rated amongst the lowest when it comes to meeting the agreed upon 0.7% target. International financial aid has always come with some costs towards the developing countries. The first one is that such aid is mostly wasted on the conditions since the recipient nations are required to use overpriced commodities and services from the donor nations. The majority of such international aid does not go to the most needful countries, which would need it most. Thirdly, the aid are often dwarfed by the rich nation protectionism, which denies access of international markets to the products of the poor nations, while the rich ones use aid as levers of opening markets of the poor countries for their products. Finally, massive grand strategies or large projects often fail to assist the vulnerable in such nations as money can easily be embezzled away. Presently, the international system of trade has a wide range of inequities. Rich nations place high tariffs on the imports like agriculture and garment products, which are vital to the economic performance of the developing nations. These tariffs escalate with increase in processing level; hence discourage industrialization within the poor nations. Besides, multilateral trades negotiations are short of transparency hence exclude the developing nations from real action. Employing the procedures of WTO in settling trade disputes and other anomalies needs technical expertise and money, which the poor nations lack. However, saying that such flaws are serious deterrents of development in the struggling economies would qualify as overlooking the notable and outstanding success of China and Vietnam over the preceding two decades in exportation of manufactured products, Chiles wine and salmon exportation, and services exportation in India. All these nations have realized success in exportat ion regardless of the impediments. In fact, barriers on the manufactured exports sourced from the developing nations were higher when Asian tigers arrived on the international scene in 1960s and 1970s (Sullivan Sheffrin 145). Why Deny aid to the Poor Nations? Some ethicists claim that wealthy countries are under no obligation to help the poor ones. They claim that their moral duty is acting in manners, which will maximize happiness of the people as well as minimize their suffering. Aiding the poor countries, in the long term, will produce more suffering compared to the one it will alleviate. Countries with the highest poverty incidence have the highest rates of birth also. One-report estimates 90% of the total population growth of the world by 2025 will happen in the developing nations. Provision of aid to such nations will only facilitate survival and reproduction of more of these people, placing greater demands upon the limited food supply of the world. And as these countries populations swell, more individuals will be forced into the environmentally fragile and marginal lands, resulting into widespread degradation of land, which will further reduce the available land for food production. Increase in the demand of the limited supply of food combined with a reduction in food production will certainly threaten the future generations survival (Andre Velasquez Para 4). Other ethicists argue that little benefit, even within the short-run, is accrued from offering aid to the poor countries. The aid offered to the developing nations hardly reaches the individuals intended to benefit. On the contrary, it is utilized by the oppressive governments in subsidization of their military or on projects, which benefit the local elites only, or even end up on black market. Over 80 percent of the 596 million-food aid offered to Somalia was channeled towards the military as well as other public institutions within 1978 and 1984. Worse still, El Salvador channeled 80 percent of the US dry-milk-aid into the black market (World Bank 17). These illustrations imply that giving aid to the poor nations undermines any form of incentive on these nations part in their efforts of becoming self-sufficient via the programs, which would be of great benefit to their citizenry. Such programs include the ones that would help in controlling population growth or increasing productio n of food. Food aid, for instance, depresses the local prices of food; hence discourage local production of food as well as agricultural development. The poor dairy farmers from El Salvador found themselves facing stiff competition against the US-free milk. Consequently, many nations, such as Sudan, Zaire, and Haiti have become dependent on international aid. There are also some other ethicists who maintain that principle of justice dictates against giving aid to the poor countries as justice needs a fair distribution of both the benefits and burdens among peoples. Countries that have laid out effective plans for the requirement of their citizens through regulation of food production in order to foster an adequate supply of food for the present and a surplus in case of emergencies, as well as the countries, which have implemented programs for limiting population growth ought to enjoy their foresight benefits. Majority of the poor countries have irresponsibly failed adoption of policies, which would stimulate production and development of food. On the contrary, their resources are spent irresponsibly on military regimes or lavish projects. Consider the air-conditioned cathedral worth $200 million, constructed just recently in the impoverished Cote DIvoire nation. Worth consideration is also the 1986 fact that the developing nations spent a bout 6 times, of what they received as foreign aid to strengthen their armed forces (WCED 12). These nations failed the test of acting responsibly and should thus bear their consequences. Therefore, it is unjust for such nations to ask the others that acted responsibly to assume their burdens. All people are entitled to a basic right of freedom that includes the right of using all the resources acquired legitimately as they desire. The UN has somehow coerced the wealthy countries to offer financial and other humanitarian aid to the poor countries, which is a violation of their right of using their resources freely. Thus, aiding the poor nations is not obligatory but is praiseworthy. Summary International or foreign aid is essential towards the social, economic, and political issues facing the poorer nations. In fact, such aid has been significant in the humanitarian crisis faced by numerous nations, including the rich ones such as Japan, and this paper does not refute that fact. Moreover, a good number of rich nations also make donations for diplomatic or political reasons in the poorer nations. Most of the African nations seek international aid to sponsor their elections or referendums as was the case in Kenya in 2010 during the nations urge for a new constitution. However, the paper has shown that there are so many funds that are channeled into inappropriate programs and projects especially the ones favoring the governments receiving them. In addition, the donors (the rich nations) attach strings to their aid and the poorer nations benefitting from their aid must agree with their conditions. The paper has also shown that international aid is not essentially the only means of developing the poorer nations. Increasing market access and aid for the poor nations makes sense but do not have that much effect in terms of such nations development and economic performance. The wealthy countries should push some other measures, which could be more rewarding. Such measures could include giving the poor nations more control towards their economic policy, opening labor markets, as well as financing new technologies that are development-friendly. It is also clear that the rich countries should avoid giving aid to the poorer nations and give them space for their individual economic development. An illustration is the state of Vietnam, which has flourished without market preferences from the leading economic centers or much international aid. One essential means of developing the poorest nations across the world is giving their producers an effective access to the international markets, especially in America and Europe. Foreign development assistance or aid is viewed as being wasted on some corrupt recipient governments, or too much despite the good intentions from the donor nations. In reality, both quality and quantity of such aid have been quite poor and the donor countries have rarely been held accountable. Assumptions by the developed nations that the poor and/or the developing nations can only be developed via aid ignore some key lessons learnt over the past couple of years as well as the ones of economic history. Develop ment can only be determined to a large extent by the poor nations themselves while outsiders can only play a limited role. The developing nations have emphasized this stand but the rich ones often overlook it. Thus, it is true that financial aid as well as the further expansion of the wealthy nations markets are tools possessing only a small ability of triggering growth in such poor nations. This paper concludes that the poorer nations should not be given foreign aid as a means of developing their economies. The nations should rather look into their internal political and economic institutions to foster their governance, which could in the long-run boost their economic performance, development, and independence.

The Issue Of Cultural Relativism Human Rights Essay

The Issue Of Cultural Relativism Human Rights Essay When it comes to human rights, the issue of cultural relativism is widely discussed. Majority of the human rights literature encompasses the western and non-western argument on what best illustrates what human rights should be. As a result of these debates, comes the discussion of cultural relativism. Cultural relativism, at first glance, seems like quite a reasonable argument towards safeguarding different cultural groups. However when we begin to analyse the cultural relativism theory, we come to find that it is not quite as reasonable or even as practical as it seems to be. Cultural relativism seems to not only ignore human rights violations, but actually seems to approve them. Furthermore, it hardly disapproves any cultural or religious practices. Cultural relativism ignores the necessity to oppose violations and other human rights, and also ignores the freedom of choice to do so. This paper seeks to prove that there is no conceivable claim in supporting cultural relativism, and will discuss and analyse the issue of conflict between human rights and cultural relativism. This will provide some insight on how some scholars, anthropologist, philosophers, and political scientists have debated over this issue and how some of them have questioned the validity of cultural relativism in relation to human rights. I will discuss both cultural relativism and universal human rights and analyse the conflicts that have risen between them and their ensuing practices, as well as give examples to show the absurdity of the cultural relativist claim. I will conclude by p roviding evidence that shows that cultural relativists are indeed human rights violators, as well as show that their notion on cultural relativism proves to be highly contradictory and unreliable, now and in the future. The Human Rights Debate: Cultural Relativism versus Universalism 2.1 What is Cultural Relativism? The idea of Cultural relativism was developed by Franz Boas (1858-1942) in 1911. Robert Redfield described cultural relativism as values expressed in any culture are to be both understood and valued only according to the way people who carry that culture see things. Melville Herskovits gives an even more elaborate definition of cultural relativism as a philosophy which, in recognizing the values set up by every society to guide its own life, lays stress on the dignity inherent in every body of custom, and on the need of tolerance of conventions though they may differ from ones own. He continues by going on to say that each culture is said to constitute a total social world that reproduces itself through enculturation, the process by which values, emotional dispositions, and embodied behaviours are transmitted from one generation to the next. From the descriptions above, we can therefore say that cultural relativism is the principle by which a human beings beliefs should be perceived in accordance with his or her own culture. This concept of cultural relativism came about during discussions about the origin of human rights. There are quite a few ideas and claims that have led to the concept of cultural relativism, one of them being Kants argument that human beings are incapable of gaining unmediated knowledge of the world, and that the human mind interferes with all our experiences of the world, thus structuring our perceptions universally. However Herder disagreed with Kants argument saying that human experiences were mediated by cultural structures as well. As a result of this debate between Kant and Herder, came the belief of ethnocentrism. The Universal Human Rights Doctrine The Universal Declaration of Human Rights set the pattern for the contemporary conception of human rights.It was established as a result of the World War II atrocities as a means of protecting citizens and residents of various states. The conflict between the universal human rights doctrine and cultural relativism came about during the establishment of the Universal human rights doctrine in 1948. The conflict arose due to the theory that there was some kind of dominance over some cultures, and that the universal human rights doctrine come from European or Western philosophy. This doctrine was the Universalist approach to human rights that placed value on individuals. On the contrary, some theorists believe that the enactment of these human rights is not the only way that human rights exist. There is the theory that people are born with natural, God-given rights and that God is the absolute law-maker who bestowed upon us some basic human rights. For this reason itself, cultural relativism critics therefore argue that there should be no exception to the universal claim to human rights as some of these rights are already natural and God-given. 2.3 Cultural Relativism versus Universalism Now that we have defined cultural relativism and the universal declaration of human rights, one question comes to mind based on the two theories. Can universal human rights exist in a multicultural world? In other words, can the concept of cultural relativism really coexist with the notion of universal human rights? Naturally, cultural relativists argue that there are indeed moral justifications underlying the claim that various practices and beliefs differ from society to society and should be accepted as being relative to other cultural beliefs. For example, women in some cultures that undergo female genital mutilation are regarded as clean and pure. One culture may believe that there is indeed some moral justification towards this practice, as women who dont go through the cut are considered unclean and are seen as outcasts in their societies. On the other hand, a different cultural group may practice eating of dead bodies as a ritual. Cultural relativists would therefore claim that one cannot justly say which culture is right or wrong as this proves to be relative within different cultures. It is therefore possible to say that, from the cultural relativist point of view, there is no particular truth in what is right or wrong but rather the truth depends on what a particular culture believes is right or wrong. This observation in turn then brings me to my next point. If the views of the truth on what is right or wrong is relative, then the issue of morality definitely plays a huge role in this debate. Our moral beliefs indicate the kind of environment or culture we grew up in. Therefore, if we were born in Somalia, we would believe that it is morally right to go through female circumcision as a rite of passage. However, if we grew up in the western world, then we would not believe in female circumcision. We can therefore see the relativists argument of cultural relativism in this case, because if cultural relativism exists, then naturally, morality will also be relative. Additionally, to support his stance, the relativist will also argue that tolerance comes into play when it comes to cultural relativism. Contemporary society is often referred to as a multicultural world, with people from various cultures increasingly becoming accustomed to interacting with people from other cultures. As a result of this, the ability to learn to respect and tolerate different cultural practices and beliefs has developed. In todays society, people have shown an increased reluctance to criticise other cultures for various reasons. One of these reasons could be the fear of history repeating itself. An example of this is the European invasion of different parts of the world, including Africa, Asia and America, in the name of spreading Christianity and education. The aftermath of this resulted in slavery, apartheid and many other violations. The reluctance to criticise other cultures in this case arises from the fear of making the same violations as in the past. Another reason why there is the reluctance to criticise other cultures is that people feel the need to be tolerant of other cultures. Truth be tol d, tolerance is indeed essential for the sake of living in this multicultural world of ours peacefully. However, one should not feel obligated to tolerate particular cultural beliefs, especially if it involves some form of human rights violation. However, relativists can argue that tolerating these different cultural practises has led to the acceptance of some of these various practices especially in the western world, for example, the Muslim veil. The contradiction here comes about when these same Muslim women are undergoing various human rights violations as a result of their cultural beliefs, for example, female genital mutilation. In this particular case, is it possible for relativists to defend human rights as well as justify cultural relativism? This surely indicates some contradiction in the cultural relativism theory, for one cannot support cultural relativism and defend human rights at the same time. It is true that people from different cultures have different ideas of what is right and what is wrong. Warburton describes moral relativism as values held by a particular society at a particular time.However, moral relativism, just like cultural relativism can also be perceived in different ways by different cultures. In other words, relativists see that moral values are valid only within some cultural boundaries. Some examples illustrated by anthropologists as morally acceptable in some cultures and condemned by others are polygamy, genocide and sexism. Consequently, the moral difference in these cultures brings about the issue of ethics. Ethical relativism also promotes the belief that morality is, and cannot be universal. Moral relativism is therefore justified by relativist through various examples. For instance, practices regarding clothing and decency. This can be justified by one culture in that it is their moral obligation and duty to have women dress in a decent manner so a s not to compromise their ethics. Some cultures would therefore agree with these practises under the moral principle that it is the duty of society to protect the women of their society. With that beings said, I do not believe that there is any logical connection between cultural relativism and tolerance as is illustrated in the relativism point of view. Furthermore, I disagree with moral relativism because despite some moral beliefs being culturally relative, there are other beliefs that are not relative. Practices such sexism and dressing depend on the local customs and traditions. However, violations such as torture, slavery and genocides, should definitely have universal moral standards. Therefore not all practices should be deemed as being relative just because some practises are deemed as being so. The Asian Values Argument Today, there has been a tremendous improvement over the years towards the universal system of human rights. There is now the increased need for accountability and responsibility for individuals and society. However, this is not the case in Asian societies. The Asian society claims to come from a culture with an exceptional set of values. This was done while they criticised western ideas and culture. According to Asian values, human rights are culturally specific, communities take precedence over individuals, social and economic rights take precedence over political and civil rights, and rights are a matter of national sovereignty.This concept has therefore been celebrated by relativists, and used as an example to support the relativist theory of cultural relativism. The issue of Asian values was brought about during discussions by East and South Eastern government leaders. The Journal of Democracy explains that the basis of Asian values is said to contribute to high growth rates to certain cultural traits. These characteristics include hard work, frugality, discipline and team work. Western democracy hinders rapid development.With that being said, it was easier for relativists to justify their rejection towards universalism because there was an increase in economic growth in the Asian region that accompanied this debate. In the 1970s, some countries in the Sub Saharan region had tried to oppose these liberal views of the Western world. This proved to be unsuccessful as they did not harbour the same economic results as their Asian counterparts. In addition to this, as a result of the tremendous economic growth in the Asian region, the Asian values debate received the attention and even admiration of the international community. Asian authoritaria ns argue from a position of economic and social success. This has therefore presented a challenge towards the universal theory of human rights because developmentalists have used the concept of Asian values to justify cultural relativism, and have even presented evidence that has shown tremendous success in some Asian states. In spite of this, the Asian values argument has still proven to promote various human rights violations. An example of these human rights violations is the situation of the Harijans, or the people outside the Indian caste system, who had the lowest social status? The Harijans, are also referred to as the untouchables of the Caste System. In more economically advanced Asian states, the use of soft authoritarianism is said to be sufficient. Additionally another way in which cultural relativism in conjunction with the Asian values argument poses a threat toward universalism is the issue of technology. As we embrace the growth of information technology, we see that this improves globalisation as communication and other forms of interaction are enhanced. However, in states such as Malaysia and Singapore, there has been an establishment of authoritarian interferences by the government, where services such as the internet are being monitored or even blocked. This poses a potential risk and hindrance towards globalisation. In spite of the Asian values seemingly strong argument, the Asian regions success seems to have been short-lived as the decline in economic growth has somewhat changed the way in which the international community views their Asian values argument. With that said, if we really take all this into consideration, it is possible to see that it is ridiculous to create standards of morality based on these societies as every society perceives morality according to their own interests and interpretations. It is also quite impossible to permit these major differences in the interpretation of human rights standards, if they are to protect individuals. The Asian Values argument is therefore highly irrelevant, as we can see, because the Asian society places its citizens lives at risk as it violates various human rights in the name of Asian values and attempting to justify their actions as being culturally relative. Criticism of Cultural Relativism We live in a world where cultural relativism is constantly questioned and debated. As earlier stated, relativism came about as a result of arguments on ethical issues. In support of cultural relativism, Benedictexplains that cultures are coexisting and equally valid patterns of life, which mankind has created for itself from the raw materials of existence.According to Benedict, all cultures are equally valid as they embrace different views on morality and ethics. However, Kluckhohndisagreed with Benedicts doctrine on cultural relativism saying that this excluded any kind of moral criticism, his argument being that if one accepted Benedicts theory, then they could not, complain about any kind of evil against humanity including slavery, communism, terrorism and many other forms of evil.The perception of cultural relativism is that peoples rights depend on their nationality, culture, and religion. Therefore according to relativist, the rights of people in Nigeria are different from thos e in China or anywhere in the world. Namazie gives the following examples to demonstrate the absurdity of these cultural relativist claims; [1] An 18-year-old woman was burnt to death by her father after having refused to marry the man he had chosen, in Germany. The courts gave her father a reduced sentence, saying he was practicing his culture and religion. [2] In Iran, women and girls are forcibly veiled under the threat of imprisonment and lashes, and cultural relativists say that it is their religion and must be respected. [3] In Holland, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that Irans prisons are satisfactory for third world standards, allowing the forcible return of asylum seekers. With each of these examples, among all other forms of evil against humanity, we can clearly see that cultural relativism promotes these crimes. Namazie goes on to argue that the basis of the cultural relativist debate opposes the imposition of western views onto non-westerners. How, then, is it that when it comes to using the telephone, or the car, the mullah does not say it is western and incompatible with Muslim society?It is therefore safe to say that these countries are using the claim to cultural relativism as an excuse to get away with various human rights violations. Relativists using the imposition of western culture as an excuse does not hold water as these same countries still use western ideas in different aspects of their lives. Furthermore, these countries are, in fact, quite westernised societies. The fact that these are former colonies of the British and French empires, who now speak western languages, is proof of their westernisation. In addition to this, Namazie goes on to say that in respect to cultural relativists, there should be a clear distinction between human beings and human beliefs and cultures. She adds that human beings are the element of importance in the universalism-relativism argument and not their beliefs. She adds that human beings are sacred and worthy of the highest respect and it is human beings that are meant to be equal and not their beliefs.The reason as to why cultural relativism is deemed as racist and discriminatory is because, while the universal human rights doctrine aims to protect human beings as being the most sacred creature, relativists are seen as merely choosing to forgo the human being and are only worried about protecting their culture, which in most cases harms the human beings in their societies. Cultural relativism also promotes minoritism, as different cultures embrace the classification of people in their societies. For example, the Caste system of Hinduism which rejects equal treatment of different caste members in Hindu society. As stated earlier, these individuals are denied various rights such as education, healthcare and jobs. Cultural relativism, in turn, denies the victims of these situations any access to universal standards. Furthermore, since cultural relativism supports groups of cultures, it logical to say that individual rights in these cultures are disregarded. This means that individuals have no say in anything as society speaks for them and decides what is right or wrong for the individual. Moreover, Universalists believe that cultural relativism has caused more harm than good towards cultures. An example of this is the war in between Israel and Palestine. The Israeli culture claims that they are fighting to get their holy land, Jerusalem, back. However, th is war has killed thousands of Muslims in the name of doing what is culturally right in accordance with the relativist theory. In the past, anthropologists were not afraid to show their discontentment about various unjust practises such as Apartheid against South Africans and the acts of genocide performed by the Nazi. Today, however, they have not spoken against similar practises that endanger human life such as female circumcision and even genocide in Rwanda and Sudan. How, then is it possible for one to rely on a theory that contradicts itself in this manner? If we therefore reflect on these relativist theories, cultural relativism just seems very unrealistic and impractical. Conclusion All in all, although we learn about the virtue of tolerance from the cultural relativism theory, it is safe to say that the reason why we believe it is so important to be tolerant of other cultures is because we are also want to experience our own freedom, thus we do not want other cultures to criticize our own. Nobody wants to have their freedom restricted, and therefore if we want to enjoy the freedom to enjoy our beliefs we would not dare to limit the freedom of the beliefs of cultures we do not agree with. Furthermore, we can clearly see how overall, the cultural relativism theory seems to make sense. However, under careful scrutiny, it does not make for sound argument. It is obvious to see, just as Rachels argues, that the mere fact that there is no real truth when it comes to morality due to the difference in cultural beliefs, proves to show that the cultural relativism argument attempts to extract the definition of morality from the simple basis that people do not agree with it in the first place. While different countries have the right to demand their rights in various ways, there are fundamental doctrines that should be made universal. Dress, Language, food and other minor beliefs and traditions can vary, and cultures should be allowed the freedom to practice them. However practices such as slavery, sexism, female genital mutilation, and infanticide, among other human rights violations must be held up to universal standards. Cultural relativism is therefore not an answer to human rights concerns, nor will it be in the future.

Comparing Characterization in Alias Grace, Their Eyes Were Watching God

Characterization in Alias Grace, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and Fools Crow      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood is a novel where the main character Grace is a sort of mystery character.  Ã‚   In the end she is at peace, but there are still many questions about her left unanswered.   Because Atwood's style of writing is informative, yet unclear at the same time, the audience is left to put the pieces of the puzzle that is Grace together themselves.  Ã‚   This leaves the reader guessing about her character.   Two other works that contrast the characterization of Grace Atwood uses in Alias Grace are Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, and Fools Crow in Fools Crow by James Welch.   The characterization the authors use in these three novels determines how well the reader will get to know the main characters in terms of emotion.      Ã‚  Ã‚   Characterization is one of the main components of writing a novel.   Most of the time in a novel the attributes of the main character are well known.   By the time you've finished the novel, you feel as if you know all that there is to know about that person.   In the case of Alias Grace, Atwood leaves more to questions about Grace's character than are answered.   It seems as if the more you learn about her life, the more of a mystery she becomes.   It is the reader's job to take what is known about Grace and piece her together the best she can. In a review of the book, David Wiley states, "What unfolds is that no one will ever know Grace" (Wiley 3).   Her personality is never totally revealed, and the reader is left wondering who she is. One character, Dr. Jordan never finds out anything new about her personality than any of the other doctors who evaluated her before did.   She t... ...statement:   The characterization the authors use in these three novels determines how well the readers will get to know the main characters in terms of emotion. I.   Characterization of Grace   Ã‚  Ã‚   A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What role characterization plays   Ã‚  Ã‚   B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How well the reader gets to know Grace II.   Characterization of Janie   Ã‚  Ã‚   A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hurston's development of Janie   Ã‚  Ã‚   B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What the reader learns about Janie III.   Contrast of Janie and Grace   Ã‚  Ã‚   A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What makes the two characters different   Ã‚  Ã‚   B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Contrasting views on love and marriage IV.   Characterization of Fools Crow   Ã‚  Ã‚   A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Transformation made by his character   Ã‚  Ã‚   B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How his character is developed V.   Contrast of Fools Crow and Grace   Ã‚  Ã‚   A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Difference in the two character's emotions   Ã‚  Ã‚   B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reaction (emotionally) to different situations   

Tension in Witchs Money Essay -- Witchs Money Essays

Tension in Witch's Money  Ã‚   In John Collier's "Witch's Money," the stranger who suddenly appears in a remote mountain village in Spain is initially seen by Foiral as an unwelcome madman. Certainly his surrealist description of the landscape must seem a symptom of insanity to one unfamiliar with the trends of modern art. Once he offers a nice sum of money to buy Foiral's house, however, the stranger is treated with a new attitude. He is still not completely accepted by the community that he has moved into, but he does wield a new type of power simply because only he can produce cash from paper billets. With his magic cheques, though, the stranger creates a tension that grows into an economic struggle between himself and his community. Even worse, the stranger unknowingly creates a conflict among the natives of the town who have been a united group. Ultimately, because of the power that the "witch's" money brings into this community, the people of the town -- once happy and content -- are destroyed, and so is the community as a whole. Despite his unconventional art, this stranger is a misbegotten missionary for the decadent values of Western civilization, and with his money he brings the disease of capitalism to the innocent village. One of the first signs of a struggle between the stranger and the community arises when the villagers voice their suspicions about him. They seem to think that the stranger is fabricating details in order to hide a secret perhaps. For example, Arago points out that the stranger claims to have "[come] from Paris" but also "that he was an American" (67). The fact that the stranger has no relations adds to the town's suspicions. More importantly, though, Foiral and the town are skeptical about t... ...e to him'" (75). Thus, at the end of the story the townsfolk laugh at Guis as they march to the bank to demand their money. Guis, they believe, has nothing while they have a remarkable treasure in cheques. Little do they know that disaster awaits when they demand payment for their blank cheques. When their demand is refused, their little town will no longer be happy and content. Moreover, their attempt to cash the cheques will lead to the discovery of the artist's murder and the ruin of the village. The doors of prison will swing shut upon them as quickly as the doors of the bank do. But in reality the village has already been ruined, its innocence destroyed by the capitalistic power of witch's money. Works Cited Collier, John. "Witch's Money." 1939. Short Story Masterpieces. Ed. Robert Penn Warren and Albert Erskine. New York: Dell, 1958. 61-75.   

Germination of Seeds

A seed consists essentially of a seed coat, stored food and a young plant, the embryo. The seed coat may be made of inner tegmen and outer testa. On the seed coat a scar (hilum) is present which shows the place of attachment of a seed in the fruit is present. At one end of the hilum is the micropyle. Through micropyle the seed absorbs water during the process of germination. The embryo consists of epicotyl,one or two seed leaves called cotyledons, and a hypocotyle. The portion of the embryo above the point of attachment of cotyledons to embryo axis, and below the plumule is called epicotyl. The plumule forms shoot. the portion of the embryo below the point of attachment of cotyledons to embryo axis but above the radicle, is called hypocotyls. The radicle forms root. The seed also contain the food, derived from the endosperm tissue. The food may remain as such or may be digested and stored in the cotyledons. Thus the cotyledons become thick due to the presence of stored food. This food is supplied to the developing plant during the process of germination of seeds. In the grain of maize, the cotyledon is modified into an organ called scutellum a term that comes from the Latin word meaning â€Å"Shield†. The food stored in scutellum is used first during germination of seed. Later on scutellum absorbs the food of endosperm and supply it to the developing embryo. â€Å"The maize grain is infact a single seeded fruit in which seed coat fruit wall is fused. † Practical Work: investigating structure of seed of gram and maize With the help of hand lens locate micropyle and hilum of the two seeds. With the help of scalpel cut the seeds longitudinally and observe different parts of the embryo along with endosperm with the help of (fig 16. 1) 1. What is the function of micropyle? 2. Why can’t you find endosperm in gram seed? Fig. 16. 11 Structure of seed of gram (a) and maize grain (b) 16. 5. 1 Seed germination During germination (growth and development) of a seed the water is absorbed through micropyle, and the formerly dormant embryo resumes growth and emerges from the seed. The root is normally the first structure emerging the seed, growing rapidly and absorbing water and min erals from the soil. Much of the water is transported to the cells in embryo. As its cells elongate the stem pushes out of the soil. There are two types of germination, epigeal and hypogeal. When the cotyledons appear above Fig 16. 12 (a) Hypogeal germination in gram seed the ground by the elongation of hypocotyl, the type of seed germination is called epigeal, e. g. seeds of melons, cucumber and beans[Fig 16. 12(b)]. 16. 12 (b) Epigeal germination in bean seed When the cotyledons remain below the soil, and epicotyl elongates bringing only plumule above the soil surface, it is described as hypogeal germination, e. g. eed of gram and maize grain[Fig 16. 12(a)] Germination is the onset of growth of a seed, often lollowing a period of dormancy, in response to suitable environmental conditions. 16. 5. 2 Conditions For germination to take place the seed must be viable (living) and should have sufficient food for its germination. The following environmental conditions must exist. In some seeds such as of tobacco plant light is also necessary to trigger germination o f seeds (i) Moisture or water (ii) Air(O2) (iii) Suitable temperature (i) Moisture or water Through micropyle, the seed absorbs water, which swells it causing the seed coat to burst. This helps the root to emerge out of seed. Water absorbed by the germination seed helps to activate the enzymes to digest the food of seed, which is made available to the growing embryo. It also helps to elongate hypocotyls and epicotyl, to grow out. (ii) Air Because oxidative metabolism usually takes over soon after a plant embryo starts to grow, most seeds require oxygen for germination. So air is very important for germination as it contains about 21% of oxygen, which is used during respiration. iii)Suitable temperature Germination of seeds occur over a wide temperatue range between 5-30 C. the optimum temperature for the germination of seeds of most plants ranges between 25-30 C. optimum or suitable temperature is necessary for the enzymes to function. During early germination of seeds, the vital mobilization of food reserves stored in the embryo cotyledons or the endosperm is mediated by h ormones, which in some cases are gibberellins. Practical work: investigating the conditions necessary for germination Set up four test tybes each with ten seeds labeled A, B, C and D as shown in Fig. 16. 13. Put tubes A, C and Din a warm place, in laboratory, Put tube B in a refrigerator. The test tube will have the following environmental conditions: Water, suitable temperature and air Water and the air (low temperature) Suitable temperature and air Water and suitable temperature (no air) Observe the test tubes regularly for about one week. 1. In which tubes the seeds germinate? 2. Did all the seeds in these tubes germinate, if not, why? Name the conditions necessary for the germination of seeds?

Music Is a Form of Media Essay

Thesis sentence: music is a form of media that can influence and define your life. Listening to music can be a good way to feel better about yourself and those around you. Music, as media, has a huge effect on how a person behaves. The type of music a person listen to can either relax them or put them on edge. The difference is how the music is accepted. Music also has a powerful way of bringing back memories and emotions, such as a song played at a wedding that shows love and passion. Sometimes music will remind you of hard times and bad memories of a break up from a spouse or sufficient other or maybe the death of a love one. Most people do not know the impact music has on one’s life. Music can be used to charm humans and animals alike. The studies has shown that humans and animals can be influenced by the sound and pattern found in music. An example is the King cobra being charmed by a snake charmer using music to put him into a trance. Upon hearing the music the cobra goes into a trance tamed as can be. In summary it is not hard to see how much influence music has. As a form of media, music has the ability to influence an individual as well as those around him. We all share a common connection through music both humans and animals alike are bound to the power and influence of music.