Understanding the Pros and Cons of Protectionism

Protectionism is a type of trade policy by which governments attempt to prevent or limit competition from other countries. While it may provide some short-term benefit, particularly in poor or developing nations, unlimited protectionism eventually harms the country’s ability to compete in international trade. This article examines the tools of protectionism, how they are applied in the real world, and the advantages and disadvantages of limiting free trade. Key Takeaways: Protectionism Protectionism is a government-imposed trade policy by which countries attempt to protect their industries and workers from foreign competition. Protectionism is commonly implemented by the imposition of tariffs, quotas on import and exports, product standard, and government subsidies. While it may be of temporary benefit in developing countries, total protectionism typically harms the country’s economy, industries, workers, and consumers. Protectionism Definition Protectionism is a defensive, often politically-motivated, policy intended to shield a country’s businesses, industries, and workers from foreign competition through the imposition of trade barriers such as tariffs and quotas on imported goods and services, along with other government regulations. Protectionism is considered to be the opposite of free trade, which is the total absence of government restrictions on trade.   Historically, strict protectionism has been used mainly by newly developing countries as they build the industries necessary to compete internationally. While this so-called â€Å"infant industry† argument may promise brief, limited protection to the businesses and workers involved, it ultimately harms consumers by increasing the costs of imported essential goods, and workers by reducing trade overall.  Ã‚   Protectionism Methods Traditionally, governments employ four main methods of implementing protectionist policies: import tariffs, import quotas, product standards, and subsidies. Tariffs The most commonly applied protectionist practices, tariffs, also called â€Å"duties,† are taxes charged on specific imported goods. Since tariffs are paid by the importers, the price of imported goods in local markets is increased. The idea of tariffs is to make the imported product less attractive to consumers than the same locally produced product, thus protecting the local business and its workers. One of the most famous tariffs is the Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930. Initially intended to protect American farmers from the post-World War II influx of European agricultural imports, the bill eventually approved by Congress added high tariffs on many other imports. When European countries retaliated, the resulting trade war restricted global trade, harming the economies of all countries involved. In the United States, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff was considered an overly-protectionist measure that worsened the severity of the Great Depression. Import Quotas Trade quotas are â€Å"non-tariff† trade barriers that limit the number of a specific product that can be imported over a set period of time. Limiting the supply of a certain imported product, while increasing prices paid by consumers, allows local producers a chance to improve their position in the market by filling the unmet demand. Historically, industries like autos, steel, and consumer electronics have used trade quotas to protect domestic producers from foreign competition. For example, since the early 1980s, the United States has imposed a quota on imported raw sugar and sugar-containing products. Since then, the world price of sugar has averaged from 5 to 13 cents per pound, while the price within the U.S. has ranged from 20 to 24 cents. In contrast to import quotas, â€Å"production quotas† occur when governments limit the supply of a certain product in order to maintain a certain price point for that product. For example, the nations of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) imposes a production quota on crude oil in order to maintain a favorable price for oil in the world market. When the OPEC nations reduce production, U.S. consumers see higher gasoline prices. The most drastic and potentially inflammatory form of import quota, the â€Å"embargo† is a total prohibition against importing a certain product into a country. Historically, embargoes have had drastic impacts on consumers. For example, when OPEC proclaimed an oil embargo against nations it perceived as supporting Israel, the resulting 1973 oil crisis saw the average price of gasoline in the U.S. jump from 38.5 cents per gallon in May 1973 to 55.1 cents in June 1974. Some lawmakers called for nationwide gas rationing and President Richard Nixon asked gasoline stations not to sell gas on Saturday nights or Sundays.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Product Standards Product standards limit imports by imposing minimum safety and quality requirements for certain products. Product standards are typically based on concerns over product safety, material quality, environmental dangers, or improper labeling. For example, French cheese products made with raw, non-pasteurized milk, cannot be imported into the United States until they have been aged at least 60 days. While based on a concern for public health, the delay prevents some specialty French cheeses from being imported, thus providing local producers a better market for their own pasteurized versions. Some product standards apply to both imported and domestically-produced products. For example, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limits the content of mercury in imported and domestically harvested fish sold for human consumption to one part per million. Government Subsidies Subsidies are direct payments or low-interest loans given by governments to local producers to help them compete in the global market. In general, subsidies lower production costs enabling producers to make a profit at lower price levels. For example, U.S. agricultural subsidies help American farmers supplement their income, while helping the government manage the supply of agricultural commodities, and control the cost of American farm products internationally. Additionally, carefully applied subsidies can protect local jobs and help local companies adjust to global market demands and pricing. Protectionism vs. Free Trade Free trade—the opposite of protectionism—is a policy of completely unrestricted trade between countries. Devoid of protectionist restrictions like tariffs or quotas, free trade allows goods to move freely across borders. While both total protectionism and free trade have been tried in the past, the results were usually harmful. As a result, multilateral â€Å"free trade agreements,† or FTAs, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the 160-nation World Trade Organization (WTO) have become common. In FTAs, the participating nations mutually agree on limited protectionist practices tariffs and quotas. Today, economists agree that FTAs has averted many potentially disastrous trade wars. Protectionism Pros and Cons In poor or emerging countries, strict protectionist policies like high tariffs and embargoes on imports can help their new industries grow by protecting them from foreign competition. Protectionist policies also help create new jobs for local workers. Protected by tariffs and quotas, and bolstered by government subsidies, domestic industries are able to hire locally.  However, the effect is typically temporary, actually reducing employment as other countries retaliate by imposing their own protectionist trade barriers. On the negative side, the reality that protectionism hurts the economies of countries that employ it dates back to Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, published in 1776. Eventually, protectionism weakens domestic industries. With no foreign competition, industries see no need for innovation. Their products soon decline in quality, while becoming more expensive than higher quality foreign alternatives. In order to succeed, strict protectionism demands the unrealistic expectation that the protectionist country will be able to produce everything its people need or want. In this sense, protectionism is in direct opposition to the reality that a country’s economy will prosper only when its workers are free to specialize at what they do best rather than trying to make the country self-sufficient. Sources and Further Reading Irwin, Douglas (2017), Peddling Protectionism: Smoot-Hawley and the Great Depression, Princeton University Press.Irwin, Douglas A., Tariffs and Growth in Late Nineteenth-Century America. World Economy. (2001-01-01). ISSN 1467-9701.Hufbauer, Gary C., and Kimberly A. Elliott. Measuring the Costs of Protectionism in the United States. Institute for International Economics, 1994.C. Feenstra, Robert; M. Taylor, Alan. Globalization in an Age of Crisis: Multilateral Economic Cooperation in the Twenty-First Century. National Bureau of Economic Research. ISBN: 978-0-226-03075-3Irwin, Douglas A., Free Trade Under Fire, Princeton University Press, 2005.

Athena In Homers Odyssey The Persuasiveness Of Athena

A Father’s Daughter: The Persuasiveness of Athena in The Odyssey In Homer’s The Odyssey the reader is introduced to a number of powerful women, who, as per the social rules of the time, are expected to bend to the whim of their male counterparts. These women, while persuasive and cunning, fall victim to the patriarchal status of Greek society; Penelope, wife of Odysseus and mother of Telemachus, must obey the word of her son; the nymph Calypso must obey the command of Zeus through Hermes; Nausicaa must obey the word of her father. However, the goddess Athena does not fall as low as these women, and therefore through her status, quick wit, and strength of character is able to persuade the King of Gods himself to allow Odysseus to return†¦show more content†¦Now, how on earth could I forget Odysseus? ...No, it’s the Earth-Shaker, Poseidon, unappeased, forever fuming against him for the Cyclops whose giant eye he blinded†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (The Odyssey, 79). Imm ediately, Zeus is at the psychological mercy of his daughter; she has used his past love for Odysseus, the devout warrior who has many times before made sacrifices in Zeus’ name, against him. Her father, unaware that he is falling for her plan, states that he and his fellow gods will â€Å"work out [Odysseus’] journey home† (The Odyssey, 80). Always two steps ahead; Athena states her plan for the gods, placing herself in charge of its fruition, therefore giving herself power over the situation. While Athena is a major goddess, she is still a woman—the daughter of Zeus who must remain subservient to him. For this reason, she chooses her words carefully while speaking to him, making sure to grant him the illusion of power over the situation. Athena speaks to him with honorifics, such as â€Å"Olympian†, as well as referring to him as â€Å"†¦our high and mighty king† (The Odyssey, 80), inflating his ego enough for him to consent to her p lans. This pushes her father to the precipice of superiority, making him feel above his brother, which then allows her to coax empathy into his heart. The clever Goddess uses her powerful words to coerce Zeus without him realizing the extent to which his daughter has him wrapped around her finger, all the while making him think he has control

Community Service Project Essay Example For Students

Community Service Project Essay During my volunteering service at New Utrecht High School at 1601 80th street, Brooklyn, N. Y, 11214, I had an interesting experience. I had volunteered for at least 12. 5 hours. The person that I volunteer to help out is Sharon Li (Ms. Li). She was a delightful and caring person. I had learned many valuable lessons from volunteering at this place. I would volunteer at around 9 am during school hours and ends at 10 am. I had volunteered around 48 mins everyday from Monday to Friday. To this day I still help out and volunteer to help out when i have the time. Everyday, after I had finished second period, I would go to the science department and I would start working. I would most likely enter early so that I can help Ms. Li out with whatever she needs help with. It was very important that I make it on time early, because my responsibilities are very dependable. Everyday , at 9 Am I would have to sort paper and help out the students who needs help with the work. This department provides a quiet area to their students so they can concentrate. I would sort out her paperwork once i get in at 9 Am. Without me ,Ms. Li would be doing more of a work. At 9:15 Am the students would start to walk in to get help with there homework, and I would go over to them to see if I can be at any assist to them. This is the part when my job comes in hand. I help mostly 11th grade students with their homework and classwork because Ms. Li is a chemistry teacher. Students would raise their hands or come over to me when they have a question, and I would walk to them, and answer their questions. if I have trouble I could always refer to Ms. Li. On top of all this, i would sometimes grades homeworks and tests. This goes on everyday, students would ask me for help on their homework. Whether it is a chemistry or and other science related problems, I would have to help them to so they could pass. This is also part of my responsibility and from time to time the AP of the science would come check on the classrooms to see if everything is fine. I would continue to grade their homework and classwork while the student have no more questions to ask me. Every time Ms. Li has a test day, I would have to grade the scan the test and grade them. I would also enter their test grades into the grading booklet. Most of the students in this center would achieve to get an almost to perfect score. As 10 AM hits, the bell would dismiss the students, and I would sign out and let Ms. Li sign my time sheet. This service had affected me in a positive way. I had the opportunity to learn how to tutor other school-mates. I also learned to have better explanations on problems. This service had opened my mind into what 11th grade students are learning now compared to my experience when I was in 11th grade. My community service was a positive experience because the environment was calm. The other volunteers were generous and nice. I would recommend this idea to other people who are going to volunteer in the future. I recommend this place because, its overall a great place to be in. The students are smart and patient. I feel that I can learn a lot through the work I chose. I feel this way because not only did i refresh my memories on my previous science. An example would be a earth science question. while i was trying to teach them explanation to the question, instead I actually learn something that I couldnt understand back when I was learning earth science. If I had the power to make any changes, I would like to add more room for the students, and that there should be more student-volunteer to help out the other students who need help with classwork and homework. .u28916b8606a6395775eb0cd635968dc2 , .u28916b8606a6395775eb0cd635968dc2 .postImageUrl , .u28916b8606a6395775eb0cd635968dc2 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u28916b8606a6395775eb0cd635968dc2 , .u28916b8606a6395775eb0cd635968dc2:hover , .u28916b8606a6395775eb0cd635968dc2:visited , .u28916b8606a6395775eb0cd635968dc2:active { border:0!important; } .u28916b8606a6395775eb0cd635968dc2 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u28916b8606a6395775eb0cd635968dc2 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u28916b8606a6395775eb0cd635968dc2:active , .u28916b8606a6395775eb0cd635968dc2:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u28916b8606a6395775eb0cd635968dc2 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u28916b8606a6395775eb0cd635968dc2 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u28916b8606a6395775eb0cd635968dc2 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u28916b8606a6395775eb0cd635968dc2 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u28916b8606a6395775eb0cd635968dc2:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u28916b8606a6395775eb0cd635968dc2 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u28916b8606a6395775eb0cd635968dc2 .u28916b8606a6395775eb0cd635968dc2-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u28916b8606a6395775eb0cd635968dc2:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Essay on Intersectionality in the Criminal Justice SystemOther than that, the place is fine, because I believe that the fact that there is an area where students can go to study, do homework, and get tutoring is good enough, because this can help the student become brighter and more prepared for the classes ahead of them. In this community service project, I grew in many ways. I learned how to tutor students. I also learned to have better explanations on organization and being able to explain to the students who had difficulty with the homework. In this project, I learned how to communicate with my school mates and my boss. I had affected this center in many ways. The students had learned many useful tips from to attack their subject problems. As my last day came into place , my boss allowed me to volunteer for more hours because she was pleased with my performance. Mrs. Li had sign a letter stating my proof of volunteering at this place. She would track my hours and make sure that I was always careful in doing my work correctly and was always on my best behavior. She also said I was punctual and performed my duties well. Overall, this community service project had impacted both the students and I in many different ways.

Modern Politics free essay sample

Politics have come a long way from Niccolo Machiavelli in the late 1400’s to current political philosophers of the twentieth century. Many of those great theorists had one single thing in common: they have strived to break old concepts of political thought, being it racial and gender inequality, or ideas on how to be a leader with less opposition. In modern politics, after a long period of centralized governments, the brief trend of gaining freedom and equality has been deteriorating and the creation of an illusion of freedom has slowly replaced the true freedom of speech and thought. In the times of Machievelli, governments were centralized under the power of a prince. In his book â€Å"The Prince,† Machiavelli discussed how a prince should act in order to be fully respected and maintain full power. He suggested that a prince should do whatever was necessary to achieve his objectives and never rely only on ideals; additionally, no price was too high to pay for success, and a prince should focus more on being loved than feared if not possible to have both at the same time. We will write a custom essay sample on Modern Politics or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page On the same thought, â€Å"a prince should not worry if he incurs reproach for his cruelty so long as he keeps his subjects united and loyal† (RWH, p. 0); in other words, a prince should sometimes be cruel. Moreover, Machiavelli did not believe in individual freedom. Even the prince needed to follow rules to maintain his success and everyone else had to follow the prince’s orders and live with fear. Hobbes had a similar view of Machiavelli’s. He believed that â€Å"kings, whose power is greatest, turn their endeavor to the assuring it at home by laws or abroad by wars† (Leviathan, 83). This required a need for a centralized government with full powers to the ruler. Small changes to this political thought arose with John Locke; although still believing in a centralized government, Locke did not grant full power to the king. All government powers had to be limited by life, liberty, and property, and one should â€Å"do whatsoever he thinks fit for the preservation of himself and others within the permission of the law of Nature† (RWH, 139). Next in history we have Marx and Engels’ â€Å"The Communist Manifesto. † In this book, the authors explained the history of class struggle and suggested a very different way of how society should work. They noticed that â€Å"every form of society ha[d] been based†¦on the antagonism of the oppressing and oppressed classes,† and that the only path to form a new society was through this class struggle (CM, 64). Here, in a similar view from the Free Speech movement, the oppressed mass should fight for their rights; however, unlike the Free Speech Movement, this fight was not only to secure their freedom and equality, but to end a capitalist world that was being created by the oppressing class. Marx and Engels claimed that the â€Å"work of the proletarians ha[d] lost all individual character†¦[and men were becoming] an appendage of the machine† (CM, 58). As a consequence, the mass was losing their buying power exponentially and being forced to work longer hours in order to keep up with the price of the commodities. To end the injustice seen in front of their eyes, they created a new political party, the Communist party, where â€Å"capital [would be] converted into common property† to lose â€Å"its class character† (CM, 68). This form of government was installed in a few countries for a period. However, it did not benefit the oppressed class as they suggested; instead, it united the bourgeoisie and proletariats, and the only class remaining was now oppressed by the Communist party. In a different view from Marx and Engels, Ortega y Gasset examines the creation of the mass-man, not in terms of social class, but in terms of actions in society. He claims that due to â€Å"liberal democracy, scientific experiment, and industrialism,† no man was â€Å"confronted with obstacles and limitations† from birth (RM, 8); a man could change his path to becoming a noble by doing something great and simultaneously he could become a mass-man by being ordinary. An ordinary man is one that is only concerned with their well-being, â€Å"and at the same time [he] remain[s] alien to the cause of that well-being† (RM, 10). He does not realize how society merited his luxuries and he believes that those are a natural right. Therefore, the â€Å"mass-man† could be from any social background, and as a result, there were no social barriers to one’s future. According to Ortega, since the modern mass do not consider any authority external to themselves due to their selfish ways, they believe to have â€Å"complete freedom as its natural established condition† (RM, 11). On the other hand, the noble man is compelled to follow â€Å"some standard beyond himself† to better society (RM, 11). Nevertheless, these are mere illusions; the mass-man is actually oppressed, and by choice, and the noble man is not. Thus, by acting toward the greater good, one could achieve individual freedom in Ortega’s view. The first political movement for true individual freedom was the Civil Rights Movement initiated in the 1950’s. The Civil Rights Movement was a worldwide mass political movement to achieve equal legal rights. It was initiated by student political organizations from several different universities in the San Francisco area with a series of protests and riots; they aimed to abolish public and private racial discrimination and fight for equal rights. This movement was mainly African American, but it was also the beginning for women’s liberation, to stop nuclear testing, apartheid, and discriminatory employee practices, or any kind of inequality in our society. According to Martin Luther King Jr. , â€Å"Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happened to the American Negro. Something within has reminded him of his birthright of freedom, and something without has reminded him that it can be gained† (MLKJ, 6). Following the Civil Rights Movement was the Free Speech Movement. The Free Speech Movement was also done through protests and riots on the Berkeley University campus by student political organizations to ensure freedom of speech and literature. It also wanted to stop the prohibition of political activities on the university campus. An interesting connection that can be done however is the relationship between the Civil Rights movement and â€Å"On Bullshit† by Henry Frankfurt. The Civil Rights movement fought against inequality; nonetheless, women were not seen as equal by their own revolution â€Å"brothers. † When they tried to take a more active position of leadership, they encountered resistance from the part of their revolution â€Å"brothers. † This led them to begin their own fight. â€Å"On Bullshit,† Frankfurt states that â€Å"the essence of bullshit is not that is false but that is phony† (HF, 5). This is what activists were doing at that time. They claimed to want equality to all in matters of law, but in fact, they did not see women as equal. In society today, although one is believed to have total individual freedom, one has not. Racial and gender discrimination in the matter of law or freedom of speech are no longer an issue, but individuals are still discriminated in the everyday life. An example of it is white males having more chances of being promoted to a leadership position or earning a higher salary. According to Lippmann, a recent trend in modern politics is the manufacturing of consent. It has become more and more present in the political environment and politicians, officials, or organizations leaders have a better capability of creating consent by persuasion. This happens because â€Å"established leaders of any organization have great natural advantages. They are believed to have better sources of information†¦it is, therefore, easier for them to secure attention and to speak in a convincing tone. But they also have a great deal of control over the access to the facts† (Lippmann, 135). Through that control, they can limit what the mass will have knowledge on, and consequently, guide their thoughts and decisions to what they prefer; every â€Å"official finds himself deciding more and more consciously what facts, in what setting, in what guise he shall permit the public to know† and that gives them more power than anyone should have (Lippmann,135). A similar view of the same matter is discussed by Hannah Arendt. In â€Å"Lying in Politics,† Arendt exposes how the American government released false facts about the war in order to protect the reputation of our country and the image that its citizens had of it. This exemplifies Lippmann’s arguments perfectly. Leaders have the power to choose what facts to be released to the public in order to influence their thoughts. Besides choosing what facts will be released to the public and when to release them, politicians â€Å"take, if not the whole mass, then the subordinates of the hierarchy sufficiently into their confidence to prepare them for what might happen, and to make them feel that they have freely willed the result† (Lippmann, 134). This method is genius; being able to convince someone that your idea is their idea is the best way for secretly controlling others and succeeding in achieving your goals; â€Å"persuasion has become a self-conscious art and a regular organ of popular government† (Lippmann,136). In â€Å"Truth and Politics,† again by Arendt, there is a similar thinking: opinions will be formed in regards to an issue after arduous analysis of several different perspectives (Truth and Politics, 238); this will make â€Å"present to†¦mind[s] the standpoints of those who are absent† and in that way, their ideas will be expressed (Truth and Politics, 241). Nevertheless, when representing others point of view, one is not fully adopting that point of view; thus, that idea is being â€Å"look[ed] upon the world from a different perspective† (Truth and Politics, 241). Consequently, this act mimics as if one is thinking for themselves and changing the idea according to one’s personality and beliefs, when it actually does not; hence, there is an illusion of an original thinking. Adding this process to the power leader have of what facts to expose, the manufacturing of consent becomes an easy task to do and is a powerful weapon for politicians to have.

s Influence On American Youth

The 1950’s were a time of social change in the American youth. This change was a result of the Rock and Roll music that originated in the 1950’s. Rock and Roll gave teenagers the freedom to develop independent ideas from those of the older generation, and it allowed for conformity among members of the younger generation. After World War II and the depression, American citizens had an abundance of money to spend. The yearly income for the average suburban family at this time was six thousand five hundred dollars, which was a lot in the 1950’s. People had the money for nice property, homes, cars, and entertainment. This created a very pleasurable atmosphere for Americans, especially after the gloomy years of war and an horrible depression. Before this period of prosperity among Americans, society’s values were based upon adult ideas and adult oriented music. Popular music in the early forty’s consisted of jazz, swing, bebop, country, honky-tonk, gospel, classical, and waltzes. This music was very boring to the younger audience. Until rock and roll music came about, white teenagers had no exciting music in which they could express themselves with dancing. Rhythm and blues was popular among the African-American population of America, but until the early 1950’s, white people had little interest in rhythm and blues. Two men, wanting to make a profit and expand the growing music business even more, exposed rhythm and blues to white teenagers. In 1951, Allen Freed, a disc jockey in Cleveland, Ohio teamed up with Leo Mintz, one of Cleveland’s largest record store owners, to introduce traditionally African American music to the white population. Once the music aired, a large number of teens, regardless of their race requested the rhythm and blues music written and sung by black artists. Once white teenagers discovered this â€Å"new† style of music to which they could easily dance, the record industry started to in... 's Influence On American Youth Free Essays on Rock And Roll\'s Influence On American Youth The 1950’s were a time of social change in the American youth. This change was a result of the Rock and Roll music that originated in the 1950’s. Rock and Roll gave teenagers the freedom to develop independent ideas from those of the older generation, and it allowed for conformity among members of the younger generation. After World War II and the depression, American citizens had an abundance of money to spend. The yearly income for the average suburban family at this time was six thousand five hundred dollars, which was a lot in the 1950’s. People had the money for nice property, homes, cars, and entertainment. This created a very pleasurable atmosphere for Americans, especially after the gloomy years of war and an horrible depression. Before this period of prosperity among Americans, society’s values were based upon adult ideas and adult oriented music. Popular music in the early forty’s consisted of jazz, swing, bebop, country, honky-tonk, gospel, classical, and waltzes. This music was very boring to the younger audience. Until rock and roll music came about, white teenagers had no exciting music in which they could express themselves with dancing. Rhythm and blues was popular among the African-American population of America, but until the early 1950’s, white people had little interest in rhythm and blues. Two men, wanting to make a profit and expand the growing music business even more, exposed rhythm and blues to white teenagers. In 1951, Allen Freed, a disc jockey in Cleveland, Ohio teamed up with Leo Mintz, one of Cleveland’s largest record store owners, to introduce traditionally African American music to the white population. Once the music aired, a large number of teens, regardless of their race requested the rhythm and blues music written and sung by black artists. Once white teenagers discovered this â€Å"new† style of music to which they could easily dance, the record industry started to in...

Risk Management (article Critique) Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Risk Management (article Critique) - Case Study Example CITS worked towards two different options of achieving the MIS system - procuring a ready to deploy software and in-house development of the MIS software from scratch. After assessment of pros & cons and the cost benefit analysis CITS decided to develop the MIS system in-house. However, this decision caused trouble times due to attrition of key people and lack of specialists. The project was finally completed with the help of final year students and an internal mentor who took the responsibility as part time assignment. The article finally claims that the MIS system was deployed successfully. The fundamental problem in this case study was lack of appropriate Risk Management. The analysis of the two modes of MIS deployment presented on pages 45 & 46 (Rodrigues. and Govinda. 2003. 45-46) is not promising because it doesn't take into account any risk analysis. The decision of developing in-house was taken purely on financial benefits which again may not have considered the enormous hidden costs in the in-house development process. Field & Keller (1998: 117) presented that after the risks are assessed and identified, the actions that can be taken are risk avoidance, risk reduction, risk transference, contingency planning and risk acceptance. The project plan of CITS largely ignored these aspects of risk mitigation and hence faced serious obstructions to the project due to attrition of key people and reluctance of end users in the data entry process. The documentation by CITS doesn't even include the project risk management part of the overall planning (Rodrigues. and Govinda. 2003. 46). Hence, the CITS was greeted with multiple surprises especially due to the people specific issues. The attrition of the system analyst at a time when the decision of developing the MIS in-house was taken recently must have left the CITS with only the high level design documents. At this stage a lecturer was engaged to take the project further who later on utilized his final year students to carry out the coding. The author hereb y argues that it is very unlikely that the low level designs and coding standards were established effectively for the project and hence the students might have used ready to compile codes that are available on the Internet. From the author's perspective, a project managed in this mode might have lived with high risks related to bugs, quality, data security, etc. (although not mentioned specifically in the case study). Hence, the Project Manager might have taken the route of risk acceptance given that he was able to develop & execute a contingency plan that largely worked for him. Comparing with the IS checklist by Cadle & Yeates (2004: 257-261), it appears that many aspects of the checklist were not planned by CITS. For example, the acceptance criteria, developer's skills, architecture aspects, testing methodologies, staffing requirements, etc, were not analyzed effectively in the MIS strategic plan documented by CITS. The entire plan

Moral Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Moral Philosophy - Essay Example Brock sees no difference between theses two, and I would say I have to agree. Does it really matter who is doing the killing if in fact there is killing taking place Either way the outcome is the same, I don't think it really matters who is holding the needle or who is administering the dosage. There is plenty of relevance in this debate as well to the other debate over the distinction between killing and letting die. Is there really a difference between killing somebody or simply standing by and watching or letting them die I like to think it depend on the scenario, for if you try to help them out then you are really not letting them die so to speak. But people will often try to use their belief that there is a distinction between them to try to work against the legislation of these types of programs. People will use the argument that there is a huge difference between them and that killing somebody is ethically wrong compared to letting their natural time come and letting them die. They will try to use this to block any measures to give people the choice of these types of death methods, and there may be some merit in their ideas. On t