Wednesday, November 27, 2019

The Dj Essay Essay Example

The Dj Essay Paper The Dj Essay, Research Paper The DJ About fifteen years ago a culture was born. In Europe a new type of music was being created. Something new, something fresh. A music fueled by throbbing beats over rattling bass. This is electronic music. The mastermind behind this whole up and coming culture was and is the DJ. In the past five years have become more and more popular everyday. Some people who are not aware of this music or this culture might argue that being a DJ is not a serious profession for various reasons. Throughout this paper I will prove these notions false. As support I will provide the history of the DJ, what exactly it is, insight from various DJ’s and much more. It all began about fifteen years ago. In towns in Europe people started throwing secret parties, small parties more of a social event to party and have fun. At these parties there would DJ’s spinning early electronic sounds and dancing. Not too long after that word started to spread and more and more people wanted to â€Å"party†. So the people throwing these parties sought out bigger places to have these parties that could accommodate more people. We will write a custom essay sample on The Dj Essay specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Dj Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Dj Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer It grew so fast that secret information phone lines were created to prevent problems with the authorities. Over the next few years more and more people grew to love these parties for the music and the overall atmosphere. Also more and more electronic artists started to surface. As popular as these events were the truth is without the DJ none of it would have been possible. In the early nineties this growing underground movement started to form slowly in the United States and other countries. These parties soon took on the name of â€Å"raves†. In Europe these raves grew constantly. Soon there were raves being thrown with five to ten thousand people in attendance. Soon thereafter we started to see not only the growth of a music and culture but also a new industry. There started to be more and more electronic artists surfacing everyday. The technology increased very fast every year more new equipment allowed new creative boundaries to be broken. Soon the DJ slowly started to become more of the focal point of these â€Å"raves†. DJ’s started to be the attractions of these raves instead of just a place to have fun. The DJ’s started to make names for themselves along with this came different styles of DJing. One of the first styles of electronic music created was house music. This music quickly moved into nightclubs and raves. Soon thereafter many different styles of electronic music were born. Such as, break beat, drum and bass, hard house, trance, progressive trance, big beat, and happy hardcore(www. clubdance. com). DJ’s started to specialize in certain types of electronic music. Some started to consider themselves not just as DJ’s but also artists. The music became more about expression and unity. In a recent documentary drum and bass artist Roni Size says(Better Living Through Circuitry) â€Å" When I step behind the tables at a party it’s more than just playing tracks for a group of people. It’s like my goal to take these people to a place they have not been before. To create a mix that is so unique and intense that takes the audience and puts them all into a new place together. It’s an art form! † As you can see by this statement these DJ’s take their jobs seriously. Soon DJ’s started to not only put out many mix cd’s but also they started producing their own tracks. I think that this was a great breakthrough in this type of music. Over the past few years some of the best electronic albums put out have been by DJ’s. DJ’s soon started to go on their own tours, playing venues that rock bands play at. They were not only playing at these venues but also selling them out at the same time. Perfect evidence of this comes from a book The Ambient Century, â€Å" Dance music exploded into a phenomenon that seemed to have no end. As the music mutated, new forms were thrown up by the year. Ambient House and Ambient Techno were mind balming responses to the intensity of the club culture. Trip-hop and Drum and Bass were UK black variations of what was originally an innovation by black Americans. Rock music absorbed House and Techno, and DJ’s and electronicists began to tour and act like rock stars. As one century tipped into another, dance music was still a primary source of interest and creativity as Trance, a futuristic blend of technology and House and Techno, became a chart-topping, globe girdling sensation†( Prendergast pg 367). Another great more specific example of this is Paul Oakenfold as written in Last night a DJ saved my life, â€Å" When Paul Oakenfold plays records in a club, every person on the dance floor will be facing him. Just like they’d face a rock band on a stage. There’s not much to see: a baseball cap maybe, a studious face leaning into a pair of headphones, some minimal arm movements as he slides in another flawless mix. Occasionally he might throw his hands up in excitement, smile out in response to a particularly grand track, or share a wink with some energetic fan, and when he does, there’ll be a sea of hands aloft, a breakout of waving and grinning, an ocean of smiling dancers mirroring his every gesture. For he is a superstar†( Brewster pg 384). Along with these tours came annual festivals. Huge festivals every year with sometimes over a hundred thousand people in attendance. Some of these are Love Parade and Gatecrasher( www. loveparade. com)( www. gatecrasher. com). Just like any music industry this one soon started having conventions. The biggest one is the Winter Music Conference( www. wmcon. com). This usually includes anybody and everybody in electronic music. A three day long festival including a showcase of the new gear and equipment and the best talent in the music performing. In Europe now DJ’s are becoming bigger than rock stars. They walk down the street and people flock. DJ’s like this are Fatboy Slim, Paul Oakenfold, Carl Cox and John Digweed( www. yahoo. com). So now that you have a brief background on the history of DJ’s you might wonder what different types of jobs are available out there for DJ’s. Well first of all there is the kind of DJing I have been mainly focusing on that is the rave DJ. There are also many opportunities for work these days in night clubs all over the world. The night club industry now is becoming a very large industry. Some are saying even more so that the days of Studio Fifty-Four. Also there are a lot of jobs as mobile DJ’s. These DJ’s usually work for a company. These companies do parties, weddings, and all sorts of special events. On a cruise I went on last summer I met a mobile DJ that works out of Houston. He said, â€Å"Even though I have a degree in Communications I cant beat the amount of available work and the money of being a DJ. I can pull in 60,000 to 70,000 a year if I work hard. † This alone shows how in need the world is of DJ’s. So now that you have a good idea of the history of DJ’s and what jobs are available you might be wondering what it takes to be a good DJ. Well this question all depends on whom you ask. So I have collaborated different idea of what a good DJ is. First of all a good DJ has to know the music he is spinning. Not only does he have to know it like the back of his hand but also they have to have a love for the music. Without the love and passion for this job then it changes from an art form to just playing music. A good DJ has to have knowledge of the crowd and how to work them into frenzy. Many different little skills are all combined together to make a great DJ. DJ Tony Humphries who has worked professionally since 1977 and has been a major influence on his peers in New York City, speaks from an underground perspective on a good DJ: â€Å" DJ’s have to understand the concept of programming. How to break a record. How to play with records, repeat intros, lengthen breaks, endings†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦There is an art to programming your set†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. The DJ who plays all his hottest records in a row is not doing his job right. You can’t play all your best material all at once because you want to save some of it for later in the evening. The DJ does not into that power record the same way the crowd does. You are supposed to be separate from the crowd. You’re supposed to be into exposing them to new material. So, what you do is play a track, followed by something new and then you back it up with something they know and like. It’s like a train ride. The crowd becomes trustworthy that you will come back with something they like. It’s the fifteen-minute game. About every third song, you give them a well known song. After one hour, the crowd has been exposed to ten new records. That way, you please yourself and the crowd. Larry Levan was great at this. The most important thing to remember is that musical content, how you program, is more important than actual mixing skills sometimes†( Fikentscher p38). As you can see there are many different things that a DJ has to know. Another view of a good DJ was taken from a book called Last night a DJ saved my life, â€Å" At its most basic DJing is the act of presenting a series of records for an audience’s enjoyment. So at the simplest level a DJ is a presenter. This is what radio DJ’s do, they introduce music. However the club DJ has largely abandoned this role for something more musically creative. To become a good DJ you have to develop the hunger. You have to search for new records with the insane zeal of a gold rush prospector digging in a blizzard. The essence of the DJ’s craft is selecting which records to play and in what order. A great DJ should be able to move a crowd on the most primitive equipment. More than anything else, it’s how sensitively a DJ can interact with a crowd. A good DJ isn’t just stringing records together, he’s controlling the relationship between some music and hundreds of people. A good DJ is always looking at the crowd, seeing what they like, seeing whether it’s working or not; communicating with them, smiling at them. And a bad DJ is always looking down at the decks and just doing whatever they practiced in their bedroom†( Brewster pg 9). As you can see it’s not as easy as it might first appear a lot of time and dedication to gain the knowledge.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Universal Healthcare Con, Quantity vs. Quality Essay Example

Universal Healthcare Con, Quantity vs. Quality Essay Example Universal Healthcare Con, Quantity vs. Quality Essay Universal Healthcare Con, Quantity vs. Quality Essay Healthcare needs to stay in the realm of the free market system. If not it will become like any other widely distributed good. It is a simple rule of quality supply vs. demand. If the supply of healthcare services goes up in quantity, the quality of healthcare services will go down. In this country we are able to pay for what we can afford and the free market allows us to pay for the best possible service, if we have the means to do so. For example if a person needed to get their taxes done, they could pay a minimal nominal fee and go a place like Hamp;R Block and get it done cheap, and perhaps have many expenses that the inexpensive, yet low quality tax accountant missed and end up owing the IRS more money than they needed be in the first place. The inverse to this would be to pay a high priced independent CPA and get as many tax deductions, make sure that they are filling the taxes correctly. Similarly if a person gets into legal trouble, they are entitled to a public defender, but in most cases if someone can afford to pay for a high priced, high powered and established attorney they will do so over the free government issued resource. If healthcare reform is taking away our right to choose, and is taking healthcare out of the free market scenario, than we will be left with the general, unsharpened commodity that no one really wants in the first place. Healthcare is expensive for a reason, because in America we are able to get the best technological services, the best expertise in specializations from our physicians and our physicians come from the best medical schools in the world, which are in turn American schools. Compare this to what we see in other countries with socialized healthcare. â€Å"The British government says that, at any one time, there are about a million people waiting to get into hospitals. According to the Fraser Institute, almost 900,000 Canadian patients are on the waiting list at any point in time. And, according to the New Zealand government, 90,000 people are on the waiting lists there. † (Goodman, 2005) New Zealand is a country the size of California yet has more sheep than people living on it and has this problem, what will the United States with a population of over 300 million be faced with? While everyone has universal access, they have to wait a long time in order to see a doctor, if a person can choose to have a heart surgery in a week, and that surgery could significantly increase the chances of survival for that individual, then why would a government choose to take that right away? With Universal Healthcare the same person waiting for heart surgery will have to wait months, perhaps longer because everyone in the system, every citizen is entitled to the same services. So that person who could pay for that surgery and had the means and the willingness to get it done soon, now has to wait on a list with everyone else with the same heart condition in a perpetual line to have his life saved. The flip side of this is that as the government sees these long lines whether they be actual lines or simply a list written on a paper in a database, that the government may try to ration healthcare in order to resolve the wait problem that will be induced by socialized healthcare. Republican New Gingrich recently expressed concern over President Obama’s healthcare reform plan and how it called for the expand of control for government over healthcare; he referred to this as a form of healthcare rationing. He saw that with the influence of these rising f actors that rationing would explicitly be imposed on the elderly. (Gingrich , 2009) We do not want to government to step into our free market economy with our services this way. Whether it be for health services or any other choice that we have the means to have control over as we see fit. Socialized healthcare is a socialized system. Socialism is not capitalism, it is not the free market that the American economy is built on. The government should not increase the quantity of healthcare as it will diminish the quality, whether by the sheer volume and the over saturation of consumers into the market, or whether by curtailing that effect. Healthcare needs to be left as is, as a free market commodity. Bibliography Goodman, John. (2005). Five myths of socialized medicine. Catos Letter, 3(1), Retrieved from cato. org/pubs/catosletter/catosletterv3n1. pdf doi: Cato Institute Gingrich, Newt. (2009). Healthcare rationing: real scary. Center for health transformation, Retrieved from healthtransformation. net/cs/home

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Significance of Air Pollution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Significance of Air Pollution - Essay Example As the discussion stresses scientists has founds pesticides remains in Antarctica where there no possibility of finding pesticides where seldom we can see human interaction. The mother Earth has the ability to absorb the gases for a certain limit but as the capacity increases beyond limitations air pollution shows its adverse affects. According to the report findings the pollutants can be seen in every part of our life whether you are out or inside your house. The main pollutants are: carbon monoxide, Nitrogen oxides, Sulfur oxides, Haze & Visibility, Hydrocarbons and particulate matter (both solid and liquid) .These are the prime resources of air pollution in this contemporary world. Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas produced by incomplete burning of carbon-based fuels including petrol, diesel, and wood. Smoking cigarettes and burning plastics will allow CO to mix with atmosphere. It damages our respiratory organs and causes damage for our lungs which may at times lead to cancer. Nitrogen oxides are another most dangerous gas comes from fossil fuels and biomass. Nitrogen gases are responsible for acid rains and smog. Nitrogen gases damage the ozone layer and do remain in earth atmosphere for long periods of time. Sulfur oxides are produced by combustion of sulfur-containing fuels, such as coal and fuel oils. Sulfur oxides can injure man, plants and materials.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Proposal on Strategic Human Recourse Management Essay

Proposal on Strategic Human Recourse Management - Essay Example Master of Business Administration 2011/2012 Business Issue Report Name: Word count: 1941 This work is copyright of the author. ... The proposal also discusses about the various previous literatures that have discussed about the topic under study in the past. The paper also includes the use of different methodologies that has been adopted in the research. The methodologies include the use of primary and secondary sources for data collection for the purpose of analysis of the research. The survey and interview method will be used for the purpose of primary data collection and the review of the several literary sources as been utilized for the purpose of collecting the secondary data. The proposal also includes reflection statement with respect to the potential and practical problems that have been faced while performing the research. The reflection also includes the theoretical and conceptual problems faced by researcher during the research. Finally a conclusion is drawn based on the overall research, and discussing the next steps that need to be taken. Introduction Aim/ Focus The main aim and focus of research st udy is on the use of training and development in the immigration police department in order to address the building and development of the culture in the organization and bring in new insights in the department with respect to improving the current practices (American Society for Training and development 1987). This focus will be effective to explore the impact training and development also to determine the way through which the immigration police department will benefit from these practices. Dissertation Topic: â€Å"Training and Development: Immigration Police Department in Cyprus.† Main Research Question: How does the employee development and

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Critically explore and analyse concepts and debates in contemporary Essay - 2

Critically explore and analyse concepts and debates in contemporary health and - Essay Example This issue is challenging for the physicians and the care givers. It also suggests the fact though the UKNHS policies and interventions really strive to reach each and every people but they also fail in some specific sections of the population. In this article the conceptual problems leading to this discrepancy of policy and manifestations are elucidated and discussed.(Unal,2004) Though there has been literature regarding the issues there has been very little work done as to how to improve from this issue. The Health Development has the task of developing the evidence base in health to inform policies and practice to reduce inequalities. The HAD has done reviews on issues like low birth weight, social supports in pregnancy, prevention of drug In fact the HAD reviews implicated that the dimensions of social positions and social differences such as ethnicity, disability, gender, age , place and geography was though not been explicitly denied as important but are underdeveloped empirically and theoretically. Thus the question of social work requires much more prominent role in policy making in health planning services. In Britain social inequalities has been evaluated by occupations. The occupation of the male head household was used to determine social class positions of all the members of the society including the aged population. Hence in the mind of policy makers the women were thus not distinguished for the social class positions and hence their was little allowance for kinds of social difference other than the occupation of the male head to determine for the health inequalities. Though the society has changed with the women and the geriatric population actively been employed, the decline of manual work that has taken place but the policy makers abide by the earlier rule of occupation based data capture for formulating policies. There are a number of factors of social

Friday, November 15, 2019

Paradigm Transitions in Education

Paradigm Transitions in Education Introduction professional context For this piece I will look to investigate the transition to paperless education to coincide with the opening of a new sixth form centre. Alongside the research question I will look into the relevant epistemological, ontological and methodological paradigms and how they influence my professional practice. During this piece I hope the reflexly look into my personal experience, my Habitus (Bourdieu, 1993) and how this has affected the decisions made in the pursuit of this goal to become paperless. I have worked with education for the last 11 years having the predominant section of ,my career being in the secondary education sector. I was recently appointed to the position of Head of Deeside Sixth form centre, which is a brand new  £15 million build the enhance the provision of A levels for North Wales and beyond. The building is a XXX square feet and is part of Coleg Cambria, which is one of the largest Colleges in Wales with some 20,000 students. The new role has not only changed my lens in terms of sector, with a move from secondary to further, but also significantly changed my role within the organistion, by moving from a position of middle management to senior management. This has challenged my epistemology of A level provision, specifically within the field of preparing students for positive progression to employment or university. With the building of this new Sixth form centre, I made the claim that we would have cutting edge IT facilities (Deeside Sixth Website), and this gave me the perfect opportunity to make large investment in ILT (information for learning technologies). The centre had a large budget of IT facilities with some 800 log-ins around the building. Because of the large investment I was able to look at ways of developing pedagogy to best suit 21st century education. This large investment coupled with the overarching drive to become more sustainable as a college, made me look into the options of reducing paper use. In order to allow this reduction in paper use and to prepare current A level students for future employment and education, as a new Sixth form centre I have decided to make a transition from a paper based curriculum to an electronic curriculum, which makes use of Goolge as a learning platform including google classroom as a VLE, thus allowing online work submission, marking and feedback. This should best prepare students for university, where their studies will be largely dependant on this format and an employment world, which is under rapid change and has a growing reliance on technology. As head of a brand new sixth form centre this decision has fell solely with me and during the planning phase there has been no staff engagement or student voice, due to not having a staff team or student body during the planning phase. To allow retrospective planning and ensure smooth future transition this piece will look at staff and student opinion of the transition to paperless and outline stage for further progress to the Holy Grail of paperless education. Paradigms Having come from a natural science background the idea of paradigms is a novel idea, which has made me challenge my own thoughts and feelings about epistemology and how the phenomenology as opposed the the cartesian philosophy may be more applicable to the social world of a school or college. To start with a definition of a paradigm, Oxford Dictionary defines it as a world view underlying the theories and methodology of a particular scientific subject. A more grounded description would be simply a belief system that moulds the way we think and act about all aspects of life. Upon commencement of this unit I was faced with the philosophical viewpoint that There is no such thing as absolute truth and absolute falsehood. (Rowland, H, 1899), which brought about some dissonance in my understanding of the world. Previously, the idea of my research falling into a certain ontological perspective other than positivist seemed absurd, however upon making my way through some of the numerous philosophical opinions and approaches within the area of educational research, my lens has widened and allowed me to embrace some of these theories and their application in the social setting. The term paradigm, which can largely be derived from the work of Kuhn (and his  book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions published in 1962) and can broadly be described as the ways in research be investigated and interpreted. Further work by Patton (1978) in Sparkes (Ed.) (1992, p.11) takes the idea of a paradigm a step further and refers to it as a world view. This world view has shifted throughout the progression of this unit to acknowledge the strengths and applications of the interpretivist paradigm. This paradigm shift, would show strength for the work of Kuhn, Kuhn argues that changes in paradigm is brought about by a series of peaceful interludes punctuated by intellectually violent revolutions, and in those revolutions one conceptual world view is replaced by another. (Kuhn, T 1962). I dont feel I am in a position to fully move away from the positivist paradigm, but I feel my Lens has significantly altered. As previously mentioned, my natural science background has largely ingrained the positivist paradigm with my outlook and this has embedded in my professional practice. Positivism is an epistemological standpoint that looks for experimental testing , where controlling bias and the importance of subjectivity is vital. Ledoux (2002, p. 34) defines natural sciences as disciplines that deal only with natural events (i.e. independent and dependent variables in nature) using scientific methods. According to work Bà ¼chel (1992), the birth of natural science was initated by those who questioned earlier explanations about the world and wanted systematic / scientific methods for research.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Critique: the Scottsboro Boys – an American Tragedy

The Scottsboro Boys: An American Tragedy The author or producer of this documentary film was smart in setting the scene for the viewer. He showed scenes of the area and described the sounds of the train, gravel, and attempted to give the viewer a snapshot of the attitude of the inhabitants of Northern Alabama. This takes you from the comfy surroundings of your home, the accessibility to transportation to the hardships of the 1930’s and the dismal state of life for blacks, especially poor blacks. The theme of Scottsboro: An American Tragedy was that blacks were so hated that one well-placed lie destroyed the lives of nine young men.Only one of these boys lived long enough to have a family and to fight for a pardon. The judicial system of that time was so terribly flawed (not that it isn’t now) with racism and bigotry that when facts were presented they were not heard because they wanted the boys to be guilty. Clearing the Scottsboro Boys were not in the plan! The key pla yers were the Scottsboro Boys but historians, relatives of Judge Horton, citizens of the area, photos, video clips, and newspaper articles all came together to tell the historical story which spanned from the 1931 to 1976.This may have been the best way to tell the story since none of the Scottsboro Boys were still alive when this was filmed. Several men of Scottsboro were interviewed and it was interesting that they wished the incident had happened 30 miles away (Huntsville) so the stigma that is associated with their little town would belong to another town. Jokingly, they said then they would have been called the Huntsville Boys and that would have been fine with us.So from those statements, I believe that many of the town’s citizens are embarrassed of the notoriety this incident has placed upon their little town. One aspect, I found missing and would have liked to known more of the effect that the trials and imprisonment had on their families, especially their siblings an d mothers. I, however, was most intrigued with Judge Horton and the stand he finally took regarding the boys and the political fallout for him. The Scottsboro Boys case, how it began, handled, and ended is really scary to me.Now that I know more of the details, it reminds me of the recent execution of Troy Davis of Georgia. In several ways, the two cases are similar. The tragedy in the Davis case is that he did serve around 17 years and he did die for a crime that he may not have committed while the Scottsboro boys served time and were eventually freed and/or broke parole. Due to support given them by northerners, they were allowed to remain free as long as they stayed in the North. Ruby Bates recanted her accusations of rape and later helped the mothers fight for the sons’ release.Seven of the nine that testified against Troy Davis recanted but he exhausted all his appeals and was executed anyways against the number of organizations that protested against it. We can also go back a few months, to where a black woman was charged more time for jaywalking than the man that was driving drunk that hit her, her daughter, and killed her son. He was black but it since it was black on black crime, the young mother was treated as an example. In general, the judicial system is not a friend to the black American. This is 2011, isn’t it?Has anything really changed? Are we going backwards? This is supposed to be a different day. We have a black president which, in my opinion, has only given certain groups in our country to more openly exhibit their racism and bigotry. Since they cannot get to him, any black that runs afoul of the law become enemy number one just as the Scottsboro Boys were the enemy of the time back in 1931. This film was not entertaining to me at all but it was educational and eye-opening in that no matter how much we like to think that times have changed so much is still the same.I can see in many ways how far we have come but once you liste n to the news and see just what is going on around you, you can almost see the 1930’s again. That is why I used the word â€Å"scary† earlier in my critique to describe the Scottsboro Boys story. Concern about the future for the black community, myself, and more importantly, our children, has increased and we must become better informed about the world in which we live, the judicial system we must work within, and the consequences of it all.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

White body, wheels shining, dust flying

White body, wheels shining, dust flying. This is how it began. Sam Blake's new top of the range saloon pulls into Lunpona, he can see it now, tall factories, noisy equipment and more money then he dared think of. Only something stood in his way, the people of this dirty, foul, black tribe village. Far removed from his civilized western world these people lived in near squalor. He thought back to his wife and children in their palatial manor house on the outskirts of the city, if he could get this over with quick enough he would be back there inside a week. This was ingenious; instead of importing the wood for his highly successful furniture business he would ‘harvest' natures already plentiful supply. His aim was to speak to the village elder or some such person, he wasn't all too familiar with this bizarre black man hierarchy obsession. He wanted these village people to become his employees – they would do his dirty work, dirty work for these dirty black bastards, they would cut down the trees, prime them, sort them, and ship them to him, and all for a pittance, it couldn't fail. There was a crowd already waiting they'd seen him across the plane some time ago. He stepped out of his car, his brand new, shoes messing themselves in the mud that was the yet to be converted base for his idea. He took a cigar from his holder, his movements smooth and graceful. A host of small children had already gathered by his car, inspecting every nook. A tall, old man, with a wizened face, and mysterious eyes approached, before he could speak, Sam launched into his much practiced speech; â€Å"Sam Blake, of Blake and Associate.† He says gruffly. â€Å"Welcome to Lunpona mate,† said the Aboriginal, â€Å"what business brings ya here Sam?† â€Å"Very important business, business that could make a village like yours quite rich. Providing you don't mind a bit of change.† â€Å"Yeah? That so is it bud?† The old mans eyes gaze over Sam, probing him, seeing into him. The chief turns and says something in his native tongue, the crowd parts and goes back to their business. Sam is led into a humpy (shack like building) at the head of the village. As they pass through the village, they walk over a rickety old wooden bridge. Bright roughly drawn, markings adorn it, it seems steeped in spiritual history. Sam is offered a seat, they sit down to talk, an open fire to their right blazes away, some form of native coffee or some such drink is brought by a good looking aboriginal girl, tall and slender, deep black eyes, full lips, and a mat of thick, black, long hair. Blackness forms a harmony of beauty. They talk solidly for a couple of hours, until Basra (the chief) rose. â€Å"Wait here.† He said as he turned and walked out. Soon he returned, the look on his face said it all. â€Å"I'm sorry Mr. Blake, my people, they do not see sense in your deal.† â€Å"What! You must be kidding me you stupid old black prick! You go and tell them again. This will go ahead whether they like it or not. You idiotic wogs should learn some sense† â€Å"How dare you? Get out of my bloody village now, you ignorant bastard!† With this Sam pulled out his gun, he always brought it with him when he came to places like this, he never did trust these types of people. Before he could think in his enraged state, he pointed the gun straight to the man's chest and loosed a bullet. With a deafening noise the bullet left the gun, and hit the man in the right side of his chest, he was knocked to the ground. As he struggled for breath, he spoke these words that cut through Sam like a razor blade; â€Å"You do not realize the full impact of your actions, ignorant white men such as you are careless and have no regard. A curse upon you and your operations after my death. Be gone with you.† With this his eyes closed and he drew his terminal breath. Sam's rage turned to perfect fear. By now people were arriving from all over the village, he ran. He ran faster then he had ever before, he could feel something pursuing him, not human, not physical. He ran to his car, and fled. On his way back he was shaken, scared, and tired. He stopped off at a hotel, and booked in for the night. Too tired to go for a drink he went straight to bed. All night he tossed and turned, his dreams were plagued by visions of woodarchis. Visions of his own death. He didn't get much sleep that night, tossing, turning, waking every hour or so. In the morning he woke up, washed, and decided to go for his breakfast. As he slipped on his shoe, the mud was still there, clinging, a reminder of the brutality. He took his other shoe in his hands, n tried in vein to brush off the mud. It was useless, something told him he wasn't going to forget this. Just as he was about to put his shoe on he heard the last words of Basra, the curse. All of a sudden he felt a pang on pain in his foot, he'd been bitten, he looked down, it was a black widow spider, she crawled from his shoe and up his trouser leg, twice more inflicting her deadly poison. He knew that a bite from such a spider was fatal, but three in quick succession would have you dead inside 20 minutes. Thoughts rushed through his head, where was he? The nearest hospital was 60km away at best, unless the hotel had any antidotes he was in trouble. After get over the initial pain he tried to get up and walk. But he couldn't his leg was swelling and the pain immense. He reached for his phone, and as he dialed the battery failed on him. He could hear the curse again, as if carried on the wind. He cried out for help in desperation. But nobody came. He was slipping in and out of consciousness. He looked at his watch, it was 45 minutes since he'd been bitten. He slipped out of consciousness for the last time. As if by some supernatural force the old mans voice echoed through his head; â€Å"Samuel Blake,† it said, â€Å"you are suffering, not vengeance for my death alone, oh no, but for all the of the wrongs white man has done black man. Your corporate enterprises, and your money-making schemes don't belong in the bush. Keep them to your cities. Have your suburbia and be happy. You keep your ‘civilized' lives, and we'll keep out ancestral traditions. May you learn a lesson with your life.† With this he passed. A lesson indeed learnt. And financed by his own life.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Sweatshops Workplace Standards and Codes

Sweatshops Workplace Standards and Codes In a review of business ethics with reference to global climate change, the material referring to the issue has been minimal. This is in spite of the topic of global climate change being a key subject in ethics for scientists, policy analysts and politicians, because of its adverse effect on the ecosystem, human and nonhuman populations. Ethical analysis has been focused on distribution of the burden among states, in order to reduce emissions.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Sweatshops Workplace Standards and Codes of Conduct specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More With the large corporations focusing more on design and contracting suppliers in developing countries, it may be seen as an issue of chasing cheap labor and transfer of the emissions to third world countries, where the factories are situated. While this paper will not look at the ethics of business with regard to climate change, it was a necessary perspective, as we observe the working conditions provided by these corporations, to their suppliers (Arnold and Bustos 1). Introduction The globalization of production has resulted in international division of labor, whereby companies prefer to focus on product design and marketing, while the production of the items is contracted to suppliers in developing countries. Companies that contract their items to suppliers in developing countries include Nike and Reebok. Labor and human right activists are opposed to this since they view it as exploiting foreign workers, in their chase for cheap labor. In doing so, these big companies pay the laborers poorly, make use of child labor, ignore human rights and keep their workers from joining labor unions that would help them in addressing the issues of workplace standards. Codes of conduct have been developed by many of these companies, in order to try and meet the concerns raised by the suppliers (Maitland 155). Campaign against international sweatshops Th e main channel through which the issues have been publicized is the television, followed by print media. The media has disclosed information regarding the sweatshops by televising the poor work conditions in the factories. One of the issues raised was by Kernighan in 1996, when he disclosed that the Kathie Lee Gifford’s clothing line was being made by laborers aged between 12 and 15, and that they worked for more than 18 hours a day. The companies that make use of sweatshops are unable to come up with effective defence strategies when sued for their inhumane contracts, and therefore respond by suing for peace. This is strategic so that they can protect their corporate image. They have also taken up codes of conduct on human and labor rights, in their global practises (Maitland 156). The companies adhere to the code of conduct so that they can protect their reputation, by not appearing to be unethical, unfair or conducting illegal operations. It is important to identify the ap propriate labor standards in the international sweatshops, as well as find out the right wages for the workers. This paper looks at the labor conditions of the plant as reported by other researchers with a view to identifying their compliance to the codes of conduct (Maitland 156).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Ethically appropriate labor standards There are policies set out to regulate the labor standards in international sweatshops, and they are discussed below. Home-country standards Most business ethicists and international sweatshops critics argue that home-country standards such as provision of similar wages and labour standards should not be implemented in host-countries as well. The reason for this is that it would eliminate the need for hiring foreign workers if the US earnings were used as bench mark for fairness. The ethics of multinational corporation s cannot be based on wages since if they paid the workers in a manner similar to their home countries, they would interfere with the local labor market, since the wages would not correspond to the local cost of living (Maitland 156). Living wage standard It has been suggested that international corporations should have their minimum payment equivalent to the living wage, which allows the laborers to live in dignity. The payment should allow the workers to provide for themselves and their dependents (Maitland 157). Donaldson’s test This was the opinion of Thomas Donaldson, who believed that the most significant issue regarding the wages of laborers was whether they complied with the international minimum, without considering the home and host wage requirements. One of the shortcomings of his approach was that it left a few matters unattended, including harms and threats that the workers may face, besides physical injuries. The test also incorporates counterfactuals that may pr ovide scapegoats for managers who act unethically (Maitland 157). Classical liberal standards This standard is rejected by most business ethicists since it argues that a labor or wage practice is ethical only if it is chosen by knowledgeable laborers. The right level according to the World Bank is one that balances expenses of the workers with the working conditions and level of risk, as evaluated by informed laborers. The determination of work safety has been observed to be compromised by the high rate of unemployment, which makes the few people who get employment to overlook safety issues. The reliance on market solutions is also affected by the global debt and Islamic fundamentalism. In addition to this, the absence of institutions to protect the workers or provide bargaining power affects the opinions provided by the informed workers (Maitland 157).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Sweatshops Workplace Standards and Codes of Conduct specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Characteristics of international sweatshops Globalization has been viewed as the transfer from regulated economies to unregulated economies, which is basically from domestic to world economies. The large nature of these corporations gives them the power to influence decisions made in host countries, and manoeuvrability, in that they can shift locations with ease. Because of this, and the high rate of unemployment in developing countries, the governments compromise on various issues in order to attract the large corporations. The developing countries compete against each other by decreasing the wages, in order to encourage the corporations to invest in their countries, which leads to poorer working conditions, as the countries are held below the poverty level, and the gap between the rich and the poor widens (Maitland 158). Unconscionable wages Critics demand that workers be paid living wages instead of the slave wages that are in sufficient to support their families. The studies on various sweatshops have indicated wages as low as $35 a week in Mexico, and $1 per day in Indonesia, which are below the minimum physical need set by the government, and are obviously insufficient for the employee to feed and provide for other needs of the family (Maitland 158). Immiserization thesis Robert Reich suggested that nations should follow up on policies that limit the benefits of trade to a few elite corporations who exercise rationality in their endeavours. The activists believe that these factories push the laborers into poverty by lowering their living standards, especially when the countries bid for the lowest working conditions (Maitland 159). Widening gap between rich and poor The globalization of trade by large corporations seeking suppliers in third world countries has resulted in increased inequality within developing countries. It has also led to an increase in the gap between rich and poor. Development is sup posed to reduce the gap between the rich and poor, though it does not apply to international sweatshops. Critics argue that the GNP of some countries may appear to be growing, but the gap between rich and poor continues to widen, due to the exploitation of the vulnerable people, by both local and foreign elite (Maitland 159). Situation presented by sweatshops The international corporations introduce sweatshops because they need cheap labor, they can produce at lower wages at times going below the country’s poverty level, the working unions are suppressed by country regimes resulting in minimal demands and they take advantage of cheap child labor. Such s=is the situation in Indonesia (Maitland 160). Wages and conditions Critics have observed that multinational laborers are paid better than in their local firms. The international labour organization as also acknowledged that the multinational companies comply with standards regarding wages, work conditions and safety. In additi on to this, the ILO says that the standards are better in export processing zones as opposed to other areas.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The World Bank has also identified that people in the informal sector make about half of what people in the formal sector earn, and that the working conditions in the factories are more insecure and hazardous when compared to the formal sector (Maitland 161). Inequality Critics have argued that international sweatshops have led to increased poverty and inequality, which is not necessarily true. Some laborers have acquired the skills to make more technical and expensive items which have better pay (Maitland 162). Repression International sweatshops have been observed to benefit from repression, though the economic development in those countries reduces the impact. The organizations benefit by the assistance of governments, which repress workers unions, while they pay the labourers more than other people in the local factories earn (Maitland 162). Collusion with repressive regimes Repression in china and Indonesia has increased due to their government’s bid to encourage foreign investments. These countries have declined to execute the minimal labor laws. In addition to this, they break up any strikes and stifle independent unions as well as political opposition. Nike moved their suppliers from Taiwan and Korea because they encouraged workers unions, to china and Thailand where the regime suppressed unions (Maitland 159). Standards in international trade-offs The price for increased wages and better work conditions is reduced foreign investment, since the advantages of cheap labor would no longer apply. Workers in international sweatshops in Indonesia are usually paid about half of what people in the formal sector of developing countries earn, which places them in the top half of income earners in their country. According to the economists, increased wages in the formal sector translate to reduced employment in the same sector, and reduce the income of the informal sector (Maitland 163). Raising the minimum wages for the informal sector has been challenged , since increased income is supposed to result in saving and investment, in order to create new job opportunities. The World Bank also supports that minimum wages are capable of helping poor laborers in industrial countries but not in developing countries. Raising the standards of labour is also likely to contribute negatively to investment and employment in third world countries (Maitland 163). According to a report released by World Bank, increasing safety in the workplace is expensive, and proportional to the safety level desired. The high costs would obviously be imposed on the workers, either by reduced job opportunities or decreased wages. This implies that high standards for working conditions can result in decreased worker welfare. On the other hand, high standards for working conditions would decelerate the expansion of employment opportunities in the formal sector, which would result in harsh working conditions for people in the informal sector (Maitland 164). The policies proposed by critics seem to be more advantageous to the better placed workers, as opposed to those who work in poor conditions with poor pay. This can be seen by the number of unions available for the working people in third world countries, while the informal sector remains unheard. Critics have discussed many issues but neglected the debate as to whether it is ethical for workers to compromise on their working conditions in order to create more job opportunities (Maitland 164). Conclusion Critics have been observed to attack many corporations for chasing cheap labour in developing countries, but remain silent when the increase in wages and improved working conditions result in reduced employment opportunities. Their excuse is that the changes do in work conditions and wages do not affect employment rates, but in the real sense, the changes lead to reduced job opportunities in the formal sector, reduced wages in the informal sector, reduced economic growth due to decreased investm ent, fewer exports and more inequality. As a result, the laborers cannot afford to fight for either higher wages, or better working conditions (Maitland 164). Arnold, Denis G and Keith Bustos. Business Ethics and Globbal Change. Business and Professional Ethics Journal (2005): 24(1/2), 1-17. Maitland, Ian. The Great Non-Debate Over International Sweatshops. Globalization and its Ethical Signficance 2008: 154-166.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Abigail essays

Abigail essays In this movieJerome? as he likes to be called is probably one of the hardest workers in movie history. Day in and a day outJerome? works as hard as he can so he can reach his dream. He was born as aninvalid? and was excluded from most of societies events. If you were not perfect in every way possible from your hair to your day of death, then you would not be accepted by anyone. The only thing you could do was become a janitor for instance.Jerome? wanted to change all this so he could go up to space. He constantly tried to perfect his body and mind. He eventually realized that he could not reach that goal no matter how hard he tried. He then went to a person that could help him. There was a man who was able to switch his identity with another man's identity. That other man was know as Jerome, who was a perfect specimen for the job thatJerome? wanted to pursue. While his original identity would be lost for good.Jerome? would have to constantly brush his own dead skin off so he would not be figured out. Aside from brushing his own skin, he would have to place fake skin on his thumb that had the man that he is impersonating blood so he would be able to pass the identity checks every day of his work life. AlsoJerome? needed to dye his hair the same color as the man he is impersonating.Jerome? had to basically change every last thing of himself to become his dream identity. By doing all of this hard workJerome? was finally able to go up to space like he wanted too. The role of parent and child is very clear in this movie and that is that if a man and woman would like a to have perfect child then they could get one. The parents could choose everything about the baby to their liking. The parent's could also figure out the child's diseases that he or she will get, how violent he or she is, the day of his or her death and causes. This leaves the child to have very few choices in life. ...

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Human beings' activity with global warming Essay

Human beings' activity with global warming - Essay Example The most notable of all greenhouse gases is carbon dioxide, which has the capability to continue being in the atmosphere for a lengthy time span. It is a scientifically proven fact that this gas could bring about a noteworthy rise in the temperature. At this point, it is but obvious to raise the question â€Å"No doubt, carbon dioxide is a very potent gas; but how are human beings responsible for rise in the levels of this gas?† The subsequent paragraph would be attempting to answer this. (1) Human beings, purely for furthering their own interests, have brought about a drastic rise in the levels at which fossil fuels are combusted. This has been for the purposes of generating electricity, heating, transportation and cement manufacturing, among many others. It is being estimated that, on account of all these activities, the annual carbon dioxide emissions are approximately 22 billion tons, on a global basis. Almost as a direct result of that, the atmospheric concentration of ca rbon dioxide has risen by roughly thirty percent. As a matter of fact, these facts are more than sufficient to convince even the most skeptical that it is nothing other than human activity predominantly responsible for heightened global warming. (1) Scientists have estimated that during the course of the last century, there has been a rise in temperature of surface of Earth to the extent of one degree Fahrenheit. The fact has been highlighted that in this very duration there is also a 25 percent increase in the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere. It has been mentioned earlier in the write-up that the enhanced levels of carbon dioxide are chiefly attributable to various human activities. Extensive studies aimed at understanding the link between the above rise in temperature and increase in carbon dioxide concentration came out with a key observation: human activity is mainly responsible for the scenario where the Planet has become warmer. (2) Simultaneously, the scientist s also suggested that even some natural parameters could have played a role in global warming. In fact, with regard to the pattern of global warming, the scientists have divided the previous century into two halves. They state that, when the warming of the first half is taken into account, the natural factors must have been primarily responsible for the advent of the phenomenon. This is because; in that particular phase, various human activities resulting in carbon dioxide emissions were on the lower side. But when the second half of the century (1900-2000) is considered, it is but obvious that human beings are the chief contributors to the rise in global warming. In this period, the diverse commercial pursuits of people have led to an alarming rise in the levels of carbon dioxide emissions, and this is a fact beyond any dispute. So, it can safely be inferred that the natural parameters did not have a major role in global warming, with regard to the second part (of the century). (3) The following are some of the activities that have led to the advent of a scenario where, there is a disturbing rise in the greenhouse emissions: various agricultural practices,

Friday, November 1, 2019

Colonial America to Road to Revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Colonial America to Road to Revolution - Essay Example The slave trade was not an output of any raids by Europeans bur Africans themselves were sellers of other Africans and Europeans were purchasers. Slavery was not something new for Europe as Christians and Moslems enslaved each other in wars. However, the slaves were considered the members of society and slavery was not shifted to their children. With the passage of time, Europeans were in need of labor due to which, they moved towards Africa for black gold, a term that they used of African slaves. Africans were transported to European colonies for the labor needs. Black slaves were considered the strength of English men. Black slaves increased in number in white populations and the white population started considering that the Africans are naturally slaves. Soon, the slaves gained the status of chattels that had no rights of their own. Due to mass enslavement, the white man became more and more prejudiced racially. I like the essay as a detailed history is given about the slavery and the practices of Europeans towards African slaves. The writer has given the detailed account of the arrival of black people in a white people’s country in a persuasive