Intercultural Aspect Of Culture Essay Example for Free

Intercultural Aspect Of Culture Essay Before evolving an intercultural model of conflict resolution it is important to understand and identify aspects of culture that lead to creation of the framework of conflict. The cultural spectrum holds different shades for a person, a society and a nation, accordingly helping each of them to assimilate and adapt to a common identity that is defined and shaped by culture (Holliday, Hyde and Kullman, 2004). In the process of evolving this collective identity, culture transcends its traditional role of providing an aggregate set of beliefs, customs, norms, values, ethics, traditions, moral, social and legal codes, perceptions, and philosophy, to become the overall physical framework for the society to function. Culture is strongly related with geographical setting of a place, religion, ethnicity, and race, explaining why different countries have different cultures, and also why places on seashore share common elements of culture that is quite different from culture of mountainous places. The imprinting of culture on ways a person thinks, acts, perceives the environment and models his/her reaction is very strong and virtually indelible, determining every aspect of human behavior and giving rise to cultural identity in addition to individual and national identity. Although the classic rational choice framework says that people are independent in choice of their behavior and approach towards events, its seen that at subtle levels the structural model provided by culture acts as final determinant in predicting a person, a society and a nation. Although culture is dynamic, evolving and continuously upgrading itself, in essence, these changes occur within the context of culture’s own timeframe. One of the most important contribution of culture to human civilization is the orientation provided towards other cultures, making the culture in question receptive, tolerant, indifferent or outright hostile towards different cultures. Societies are seldom mono-cultural, displaying a range of cultural traits, achieved through generations of trades, contact, and cross cultural mixing (Holliday, Hyde and Kullman, 2004). However, although for people belonging to a particular culture, their culture would hardly seem complex, the cultural realities are hidden beneath the surface, difficult to observe and discern from outside. These improper understanding and imperfect perceptions of culture often give rise to conflict when different cultures are required to meet or come across. In the workshops I have attended I have come across people from various cultural background and my first attempt is always to know as much possible as about them; not their individual preferences, but their cultural orientation and philosophy. My this approach has helped me immensely in not only developing an understanding of other cultures, but my own adaptability and flexibility in my relation towards them Conflict and Culture Conflict is an integral part of human culture. When a number of people of interact with their own individual perspectives, view points, ideologies, cultural and social backgrounds and intellectual development then differences and debates are bound to arise as a logical and inevitable consequence of the interaction (Killian and Pammer Jr. 2003, 3). These differences, acted upon by incompatible interests of attaining personal goals, change into conflict within groups, societies and nations. (Rahim, 2001,1) The greater the diversity and richer the profile of a society, the greater is the scope and range of its embedded conflict. Therefore it is essential to educate people on understanding and handling conflict and treat as an integral component of a democratic society that is important for developing a healthy social life (Killian and Pammer Jr. 2003, 3). In every conflict, whether it is individual or at social scale, culture has always an important role to play. Depending upon the actors involved and the context of conflict, the role of culture in conflict can be direct or subtle, but it is always present as the ultimate factor in deciding the scope of conflict, its direction or its outcome. Culture even decides the existence of conflict, for people who are embedded in the culture of seeing world as a harmonious entity, may not be aware of any conflict through their life. In all the major disputes, debates and disagreement taking place around world, differences in cultural identities and perceptions are fundamental causative factors. A further evidence of the role that culture plays is evinced by peace and harmony existing among societies that have same culture, such as observed between USA and Britain, sharing same historical and cultural roots. Every conflict, whether it is trans-generational, geographical, religious, organizational, or personal, has a cultural component involved. People enshrined in their own culture often react with hostility against any cultural identity that appears contrary to their thought process and ideas. It follows therefore that any effort of conflict resolution needs to incorporate cultural understanding and acknowledge the existence and necessity of diversity (ibid). Personally I have encountered cultural difference in perspective of style of communication. Some of my colleagues, belonging to different cultural background, initially took exception to the direct and frank method of communication that is followed in US, as this, according to them constitutes a mild level of effrontery. However, as they assimilated themselves with the general surrounding, they realized that the direct nature of communication is a norm, not an aberration. Communication and Conflict Communication is important, as it is the medium of conveying message, forming the first interface in method of conflict resolution. Communication is almost always within the context of culture, and culture determines the significance of words as well as gestures and non-verbal expressions, affording people with choices of high context or low context communication, depending upon their cultural maturity and ability to handle multi-culturalism and accommodate a range of opinions and ideas other than those familiar to them (Grosse, 2002). During the initial phase of cultural familiarity, communication takes place at low context, meaning that people rely more on direct verbal communication, which is more or less literal in nature. As the cultural relationship progresses, communication interaction moves ahead on continuum to become high context, and it becomes more interpersonal and contextual, minimizing chances of misunderstanding and confusion. Effective cross cultural communication is centered upon knowledge, empathy and intercultural sensitivity (ibid). The correct approach in such cases is be flexible, adaptable and receptive to all views, no matter how contrary or incongruous they appear.. A positive and patient listening attitude is also valuable as it allows people to fathom emotions of others and makes them perceptible to alternate view points. Finally, the most important attribute in cross cultural communication is recognition that every culture is correct in its own context and each has to yield some ground to reach a harmonious consensus (ibid). In my attempts to understand and know about other cultures, I have always relied on effective communication skills, that include both hearing and communicating. Personally I have felt that people from different cultures readily share their cultural background, their beliefs, customs and traditions as I myself do in a multi-cultural environment, as we all want to be well understood and appreciated. Active listening and frank communication skills have greatly helped me in establishing quick rapport in any multi-cultured environment. Discussion on mediation and skills in conflict resolution Effective communication strategies are keys to resolve conflict by providing channels that provide expression of grievances and bring conflicting parties together. In the field of conflict management, communication strategies help through the channels of 1. Negotiation: Negotiation has emerged as an important form of conflict management within organizational and social setups. As such research in communication theory in conflict management has started to pay close attention to communication behaviors, types and strategies towards successful negotiation. Negotiation, as a part of managing conflict, requires interested parties to trade proposals for settlement that include, out of court settlements, business contracts, collective bargaining contract etc (Womack, 1990, 32). As Womack further elaborates, generally the process of negotiation proceeds through motives that are both competitive and cooperative. The approach of communication in the entire process of negotiation is concerned with the messages that are transferred among negotiators and the concerned parties. Communication intervenes in the process of negotiation through its both verbal and nonverbal forms and constitutes the entire base on which the goals and terms of the bargain are negotiated. Communication plays the central role in not only developing the relationship among the parties in conflict, but also in determining its direction. It is also central in every form of bargaining process, whether the bargaining is done for organizational form of conflict management, involves conflict resolution, negotiation on legal agreements or for negotiation in inter-group an intra group conflict. The entire role of communication in negotiation processes and strategies is quite vast and it ranges from defining the conflict issues, selection and implementation of strategies to presenting and defending the viable alternatives and finally helping in reaching on a solution (Womack, 1990, 35). 2. Third party intervention: Third party intervention in conflict situation is a tricky and challenging situation. It is considered as one of those areas that offers real test to the communication skills of the intervening person. Although mediation requires a neutral and third party to bring the disputants on the resolving chairs and solve the conflict, the mediator per se, has no authority and commanding power to force the parties into acquiescing to an agreement. At the best, the mediator can use persuasive and convincing dialogues through which the involved parties voluntarily agree to reach at accord through advises, admonishments, ideas, and views of the mediator and break into meaningful dialogue with each other (Burrel, 1990, 54). Its easy to see that this entire procedure requires very high level of communication skills on the part of the mediator to successfully negotiate agreement among the conflicting parties. I have had the opportunity to mediate in certain cases of cultural misunderstanding in the workshop. I tried to resolve the dispute by completely understanding the issue of contention, and the respective approaches that each party had taken on the issue. Thereafter I clarified the entire situation to them, explaining in the process that their respective approaches where natural consequences of their cultural training and application of that training on the issue in hand. In the process I encouraged them to understand and appreciate each other’s cultural understanding and orientation, they were successful in settling the conflict. Designing a process of Intercultural aspects of conflict resolution In the course to evolve a systematic cultural response to conflict, the first step is to breed familiarity among cultures that adds plurality and multicultural dimension to broaden existing views. In the process of evolving cultural familiarity communication, approaches towards conflict, cultural interpretation of life and identities and roles are identified as essential parameters (Carbaugh, 1990). Out of these, role and range of communication has already been discussed. Now it is time to look at rest of three factors. Responses towards a conflict situation are largely culture dependent, guided by the ways each culture has systemized itself towards conflict. Direct and straightforward ways of approaching conflict, generally acceptable in western society, may seem threatening and offensive in eastern cultures accustomed to third party negotiations. Similarly, cultures that follow calm and reasonable response to conflict, may feel intimidated by emotional and passionate response to conflict situation (Carbaugh, 1990). Cultural interpretation of life sets the starting point for people that forms basis of their thinking, values and philosophy, eventually deciding the role they would play in every conflict and their outcome they come across. It is the cultural orientation that makes societies disciplined or diffused, generalized or specific, value oriented or bohemian, and cooperative or isolated (Carbaugh, 1990). Hence cultural conflict resolution ultimately depends on the depth of understanding attained through interaction. Intercultural differences are very real forces in an environment where multiple cultures are interacting and coordinating on day to day basis. From my learning and observation the nature intercultural differences and their consequences on organizational and group efficiency, these differences can be resolved by taking a more comprehensive, collective and adaptive view of situation, that includes our own cultural vulnerabilities when placed in an unfamiliar social structure. As the workshop trainings and experience has demonstrated, it is very important to know the cultural background of people with whom we interact, fully understand the points where our mutual cultural understanding differ and recognize where they converge. Finally we should also develop a mutual sense of regard and appreciation for our combined cultural diversity. One of the revealing experiences that I have undergone relates to issue of timeliness. While in western culture, schedules are strictly followed and meetings start exactly on designated time, it is normal in many cultures to digress in time by a limited margin. Thus, in a multi-cultured environment, cultural ignorance can lead to conflict on such simple issue of scheduled arrival, while cultural knowledge and understanding would help in ‘looking’ at from other person’s cultural lens. Given the range and depth of cultural impact on overall personal behavior and communication style of people, there are numerous situations where cultural ignorance can directly put people against each other. Hence we should always strive to learn as much about other cultures as possible and continue to update our knowledge. References Burrel, N. A, 1990. Theory and Research in Conflict Management. edit M. Afzalur Rahim editor. Praeger Publishers. :New York Rahim, M. A (2001), Managing Conflict in Organizations. Contributors: M. Afzalur: Quorum Books. Westport, CT Handbook of Conflict Management. (2003) . Jerri Killian ,William J. Pammer Jr. (edits): Marcel Dekker. New York. Womack, D. F, 1990. Theory and Research in Conflict Management. edit M. Afzalur Rahim editor. Praeger Publishers. :New York. Leborn, M. 2003. Culture and Conflict. Accessed online on 17. 11. 2007. http://www. beyondintractability. org/essay/culture_conflict/ Grosse, C. U. 2002. Managing Communication within Virtual Intercultural Teams Business Communication Quarterly, Vol. 65, 2002. Holliday, A. , Hyde, M. ,, Kullman, J. 2004. Intercultural Communication: An Advanced Resource Book; Routledge, Carbaugh, D. 1990 Cultural Communication and Intercultural Contact; Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Liberal Concepts to Promote Peace

Liberal Concepts to Promote Peace Dele-Adelodun Mobolaji Critically evaluate the claims made by Liberals regarding how we might best promote peaceful cooperation between states. INTRODUCTION Liberalism can be described roughly as the ‘freedom for the individual’ as it believes that humans are good natured beings.[1] It is often perceived as the only true â€Å"persuasive and alternative view† of International Relations.[2] The core of the liberal peace theory constitutes a definition of long-term peace and security which is based on both the values of democracy and justice. Liberals have made certain claims as to how its theories can help create peaceful cooperation among states. The concept of liberal peace was first suggested by liberal classical analyst Immanuel Kant[3] in the late 18th century. His dream was that all countries become incorporated into a web of political, commercial and organizational arrangements that are mutually reinforcing and rewarding and thus reduce, if not eliminate the probability of conflict.[4] Kant suggested that economic mutuality and trade creates favourable conditions for international cooperation among states. His s uggestion also includes the implementation of democracy functions as the basis for global peace, democracy will also check the power of leaders and states, wars are likely to become less prevalent when and if democracy flourishes throughout the world. Lastly, through the formation of international organisations for the regulation of the international interdependence, their good relationships are secure. It is not individual factors, which lead to a more peaceful world, but rather all the element working in conjunction which eliminates conflict. Where these settings are present, state liberalists believe there is peace or these conditions are ideal for building peace. Their main claims are democracy, interdependence (commerce through trade), and international organizations systematically and symbiotically enhance the absence of warfare and the creation of enduring peace. The core concepts, claims and foundations liberals came up with will be explained in this essay, how Interdependence, democracy and formation of international organisations would help attain world peace. BODY Democracy The concept of liberal peace was first suggested by liberal classical analyst Immanuel Kant and referred mainly to democratic states. This association of democracy with peace is based in Kant, who believed that lasting peace would only occur after states had a representative government with separation of powers and civil constitutions respecting private property and asserting equality before the law.[5] Leaders of democracies as well as the citizens generally benefit from avoiding conflict especially with one another because the political cost of fighting wars are higher for democratic leaders.[6] If they win a costly war, the domestic political cost may be high. Jack Levys famous assertion encapsulates the idea behind Democratic Peace Theory as well as any written, which is perhaps why it is referenced so often: The absence of war between democracies comes as close to anything we have to an empirical law in international relations.[7] Liberals suggests that democracies will rarely g o to war against one another or even threaten each other. This has almost become a statement of truth. Arguably one of the forerunners of modern liberal democracy, the United States, has an international policy based upon the principles of the democratic peace theory, President Clinton stated in his 1994 state of union address that ‘Democracies do not attack each other’ meaning that ‘ultimately the best strategy to insure our security and build a durable peace is to support the advance of democracy elsewhere’[8]. Democracies do not usually go to war with each other mainly because of institutional constrains and because of the democratic norms and cultures they have. The first institutional constraint, explains that democratic governments are reluctant to go to war because they must answer to the citizens, Michael Doyle builds on Immanuel Kant proposition.[9] The second institutional constraint include checks and balances, it looks at three specific features of a state’s domestic political structure: executive selection, political competition and the pluralism of foreign policy decision making process. States with executives answerable to section body should be more highly constrained and hence less likely to go to war.[10] The democratic norms elucidation holds that â€Å"the culture, perceptions and practices that permit compromise and the peaceful resolution of conflicts without the threat of violence within countries come to apply across national boundaries toward other democratic countries.†[11] This means that democratic states have developed a positive view of other democratic states. Many liberal theorists are of the view that it is only when there is an end of tyranny around the globe and universal liberal democracy and respect for human rights that international peace will prevail.[12] They also make claims that when democracies come into conflict with each other, they only rarely threaten to use force, because it is illegitimate to do so and believe that conflicts are to be resolved peacefully by negotiation and compromise.[13] According to Doyle â€Å"liberal democracies are uniquely willing to eschew the use of force in their relations with one another.†[14] There have been debates in International Relation about whether democracies are generally more peaceful than other types of systems. The issue of the proposition that democracies do not fight one another does not mean that democracies do not fight at all. For example the Second World War could be seen as a fight against fascism and therefore for democracy. More controversially one justification for the Vietnam War of the 1960s and the 1970s was that it was necessary in order to protect the values of the free world.[15] The argument here is that liberal democracies are much more inclined to conduct the ir relations with others on a peaceful basis. From this it follows the best way to ensure a long lasting peace in international relations through the spread of liberal democratic government on a global scale. Economic Interdependence Economic interdependence has similarly made a contribution to our understanding of peace. There have been harmony of interest between the states and people of the world, these mutual interests are rooted to mutual benefits which arise from commerce through trade. As Angell suggests, war can become obsolete if trade flourishes between countries because trade brings mutual gains to all the actors, irrespective of how powerful they are.[16] Moreover, free trade mitigates barriers and tensions between countries and propels interaction, friendship and understanding.[17] Trade is a one of the major parts of liberal tradition as well as of Kant. Other theorists like Montesquieu claim that â€Å"Commerce is the cure for the most destructive prejudices,† and â€Å"Peace is the natural effect of trade.†[18] There is evidence that trade helps to reduce interstate conflicts, The World Trade Organisation (WTO) list ten benefits of the trading system it manages, the first being that it helps to keep the peace between states because ‘sales people are usually reluctant to fight their customers’.[19] Trade depends on the expectation of peace from with the trading partner. Liberals have always argued that interdependence lowers the likelihood of war by increasing the value of trading over the alternative of aggression meaning that independent states would rather trade than evade.[20] The use of force reduces the gains from trade and imperils the flow of information necessary for the development of mutual understanding.[21]The pacific benefits of economically important bilateral trade seem well illustrated by the experience of the United States with China over the past twenty years. After the Communist government began to open its economy in the late 1970s, its political relations w ith the United States became far more peaceful than they had been during the Cold War.[22] This thaw in relations began with a deliberate political decision to improve them, but as trade increased, both sides gained a greater stake in keeping the peaceful. This still happened considering the fact that China did not become significantly more democratic. Although there was a period in history, the period up to World War I where there was an inconsistency for the liberal theory, the Europeans reached an unprecedented level of trade, yet it did not stop them from proceeding into war. Realist argue to contradict the liberal theory claiming that the war was preceded by high interdependence level but trade levels had been high for the previous thirty years, but even if the interdependence was a necessary condition for the war, it was not sufficient.[23] Liberals also argue that economic interdependence between states reduces conflict as conflict discourages commerce. Economic interchanges favour world cooperation. Countries that are interested in benefiting from international trade and commerce necessarily need to create friendly relations with other states. On the one hand, economic interactions between two different states inevitably necessitate that those countries augment the number of their contacts for different reasons. Throughout history states have sought power by mean of military force and territorial expansion. But for high industrialized countries, economic development and foreign trade are more adequate and less costly means of achieving prominence and prosperity. That is the costs of using force have increased and the benefits have declined. For example, economically successful countries of the post-war period are the trading states such as Germany and Japan have refrained from traditional military political option of high military expenditure and economic self-sufficiency instead they have chosen the trading option of an intensified division of labour and increased interdependence.[24] Trade raises the cost of conflict and also the benefits of conflict avoidance and conflict management. The costly nature of conflict is also central to contemporary applications of the bargaining theory commercial relations increase the likelihood of peace because trade and investment make costly signals possible. This argument particularly corresponds to the idea that the risk of conflicts between states is reduced by creating a common interest in trade and cooperation for the state’s mutual benefits. An intergovernmental organisation can be defined as a formal, continuous institution established by treaty or other agreement between governments with a long –range purpose. In the contemporary world, international law is often expressed in international organizations. International Organisations are included in the Kantian peace theory. Kant believed that international law would operate most powerfully among democracies (republics), which would form a loose â€Å"federation† of sovereign states (an international organisation) to facilitate their peaceful relations and provide a framework for collective security against threats from states that were not republics.[25] The evolution of the European Common Market into the European Union required European states to restore stable democratic government to ease the flow of goods, services, capital and labour throughout Western Europe and this experience recorded great success. There has been growth in the number of internati onal organizations since the end of World War II. In 1909 there were 37 increased to 293 in 1990, there would not have been an increase if these organisations had little or no contribution to peace creation which is usually set out in their goals. International Governmental Organisations (IGOs), these organisations are usually multipurpose and they get involved in a wide range of activities which include promoting international commerce and investment, environmental concerns, health or human rights which all come back to the promotion of peace among its member states.[26] International organisations may play a role in adjudication and arbitration of disputes by mediating among conflicting parties. These activities are important because they reduce the cost of enforcing contracts, encourage their creation, and promote exchange.[27] Like in the case where the secretary general of NATO helped mediate the dispute between Greece and turkey over Cyprus in 1967 and was able to forfend the widening of the war.[28] Norms and rules developed within IGOs may facilitate arms control and delegitimize the use of force. The Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, for example helped to free the region of nuclear weapons. Shared norms create common interest helps to promote cooperation. IGOs may develop interests and preferences that are more stable than and to a degree independent of those of their member state.[29] International Governmental Organisations foster ways in which countries may peacefully resolve their conflicts while expanding the ways in which they view commonalities among their interests with wide-ranging set of potential belligerents as well as potential allies. However, it is also important to note other extremely significant institutions that assist in the making the world more peaceful by providing economic stability, cooperation and growth in the world such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and others. The most notable international organisation for the analysis is the United Nations (UN). The United Nations recorded great success in the intervention in Mozambique where there was a struggle to transit into democracy. There was a civil war which broke out in 1997 the Mozambique Resistance Movement was formed to oppose Government (Front of Liberation of Mozambique) which was in power at that time.[30] The conflict ended after the intervention of the United N ations in 1992 and a general peace was reached. During the ‘experience of Mozambique’, the United Nations managed to achieve one of its ‘rare peacekeeping successes. If not for the intervention of the UN the outcome of the civil war would have been disastrous. Liberal institutional theory argues that IGOs foster nonviolent conflict resolution and constrain the advent of disputes. This explains that IGOs resolve disputes preferably by the peaceful methods rather than the use of force. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the claims made by liberals to achieving peaceful cooperation among states are possible through the casual effects of democracy, interdependence and membership of international organisation. This three elements work best when they are applied together. The essay explains that if the Kantian elements are set at high levels, the incidence of fatal disputes will drop. Liberal analyses indicate that each of the three elements of Kantian peace does make a significant, independent contribution to peaceful interstate relations. BIBLIOGRAPHY Alec Stone Sweet and Thomas Brunell. Constructing a Supranational Constitution: Dispute Resolution and Governance in the European Community American Political Science Review 92 (1998): 63-81. Bruce Russett ‘Liberalism’ in International Relations Theories 3rd ed.Angell, Norman: ‘The Great Illusion’, London: Heinemann, 1910. Burchill, Scott et. al: Theories of International Relations. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2009 Bruce Russett and John Oneal. 2001. Triangulating Peace: democracy, interdependence and international Organizations. Christopher Layne, ‘Kant or Cant: The Myth of the Democratic Peace’, International Security, Vol. 19, No.2 (Fall, 1994), pp. 5-49 Dale C. Copeland, â€Å"Economic Interdependence and War: A theory of Trade Expectations,† International Security, Vol. 20, no.4 (Spring 1996) Jill Steans Lloyd Pettiford, International Relations: Perspectives and themes John M. Owen, ‘How Liberalism Produces Democratic Peace’, International Security, Vol. 19, No. 2 (Fall, 1994), pp. 87-125 Kant, I.,Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch, 1975, at http://www.constitution.org/kant/perpeace.htm. Karle, Warren: Realism and Liberalism continue to shape the ways in which policy makers conceptualize international relations, Australian Public Service Center, Shedden Working Papers Series, 2003. Levy, Jack. Domestic Politics and War. In The Origin and Prevention of Major Wars. Robert Rotberg and Theodore Rabb, eds. Cambridge University Press, 1989. Michael N. Barnett and Martha Finnemore, The Politics, Power, and Pathologies of International Organizations (1999). Michael W. Doyle, ‘Kant, Liberal legacies, and Foreign Affairs’, Philosophy and Public affairs, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Summer, 1983), pp.205-235 Ray, James Lee (1998),, â€Å"Does Democracy Cause Peace?†Annual Review of Political Science, 1. pp. 27-46 Russett Bruce Martin (1993), Grasping the Democratic Peace The Cyprus conflict at http://www.cyprus-conflict.net/narrative-main-%203.html Weinstein, Jeremy M., January 2002. Mozambique: A Fading U.N. Success Story. Journal of Democracy, 13 (1), 141-156 World Trade Organisation, http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/10ben_e/10b01_e.htm 1 [1] Michael W. Doyle, ‘Kant, Liberal legacies, and Foreign Affairs’, Philosophy and Public affairs, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Summer, 1983), pp.205-235 [2] Karle, Warren: Realism and Liberalism continue to shape the ways in which policy makers conceptualize international relations, Australian Public Service Center, Shedden Working Papers Series, 2003. [3] Kant, I.,Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch, 1975, at http://www.constitution.org/kant/perpeace.htm. [4] Bruce Russett and John Oneal. 2001. Triangulating Peace: democracy, interdependence and international organizations. [5] Ray, James Lee, â€Å"Does Democracy Cause Peace?† Annual Review of Political Science, 1. (1998), pp. 27-46 [6] Bruce Russett and John Oneal. (2001) n 4 above [7] Levy, Jack. Domestic Politics and War. In The Origin and Prevention of Major Wars. Robert Rotberg and Theodore Rabb, eds. Cambridge University Press, 1989. [8] John M. Owen, ‘How Liberalism Produces Democratic Peace’, International Security, Vol. 19, No. 2 (Fall, 1994), pp. 87-125 [9] Christopher Layne, ‘Kant or Cant: The Myth of the Democratic Peace’, International Security, Vol. 19, No.2 (Fall, 1994), pp. 5-49 [10] Ibid page 9 [11] Russett, Grasping the Democratic Peace, p. 31 [12] Jill Steans Lloyd Pettiford, International Relations: Perspectives and themes [13] Bruce Russett ‘Liberalism’ in International Relations Theories 3rd ed. [14] ibid [15] Jill steans Lloyd Pettiford n 12 above [16] Angell, Norman: ‘The Great Illusion’, London: Heinemann, 1910. [17] Burchill, Scott et. al: Theories of International Relations. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2009 [18]Michael W. Doyle, n1 above Pages 205-235 [19] World Trade Organisation, http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/10ben_e/10b01_e.htm [20] Dale C. Copeland, â€Å"Economic Interdependence and War: A theory of Trade Expectations,† International Security, Vol. 20, no.4 (Spring 1996) [21] Bruce Russett and John Oneal. (2001) n 4 above [22] Ibid. [23] Dale C. Copeland n 20 above [24] Robert H. Jackson, Georg Sà ¸rensen, ‘Introduction to International Relations’ Oxford University Press, 2007 Political Science [25] Russett, Bruce John R. Oneal., (2001) n 4 above [26] ibid [27] Alec Stone Sweet and Thomas Brunell. Constructing a Supranational Constitution: Dispute Resolution and Governance in the European Community American Political Science Review 92 (1998): 63-81. [28] The Cyprus conflict at http://www.cyprus-conflict.net/narrative-main-%203.html [29] Michael N. Barnett and Martha Finnemore, The Politics, Power, and Pathologies of International Organizations (1999). [30] Weinstein, Jeremy M., January 2002. Mozambique: A Fading U.N. Success Story. Journal of Democracy, 13 (1), 141-156

Meaning of Edgar Allan Poes The Raven Essay -- Edgar Allan Poe Raven

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" employs a raven itself as a symbol of the torture, mainly the self-inflicted torture, of the narrator over his lost love, Lenore.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The raven, it can be argued, is possibly a figment of the imagination of the narrator, obviously distraught over the death of Lenore. The narrator claims in the first stanza that he is weak and weary (731). He is almost napping as he hears the rapping at the door, which could quite possibly make the sound something he heard in a near dream-like state, not an actual sound. He is terrified of being alone in the chamber he is in when the poem takes place. The "sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain thrilled me-filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before" (731). When the poem opens, he is reading over books of "forgotten lore" (731). His imagination is probably already running wild. His surroundings are conducive to the situation he finds himself in. The word "chamber" itself implies a cold, rigid feel, like the narrator has shut himself away from everything in order to be alone to brood and torture himself. The words "ghost" and "dying ember" give the reader a feeling of discomfort, like something is not quite right with the situation. The narrator opens the chamber door into darkness, deep darkness, and silence. He stands there, fearing what is before him, "dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before" (732). December is also the time of year when most plants are dead, to which extent the narrator remarks that it is a "bleak December", making for a dismal scene both outside and inside the chamber. There is also a "tempest", a storm, brewing outside, not good for calming the spirits of the narrator. Thoughts are running through his head and it is safe to say that he is frightening himself more than the situation merits at this point. He says he has to still the beating of his heart by repeating outside the door, "'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door" (731). He is literally trying to talk himself down from the frightened state he is in. The mind is the most powerful tool of one's imagination, and the narrator's is definitely working in overdrive. Given the language used by the narrator and the surroundings he has placed himself in, one could think that the whole story was a figment of the narrator's imagination. Just like when watching... ...ven sitting on the chair. As the poem comes to a close, we see that the narrator will forever be reminded of death and the fact that he, as a part of his nature, cannot understand it. And he will be forever reminded of Lenore and his loss, as the raven is sitting there above the door-"and the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting on the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door?" (734). The raven plays an important part in the poem, hence the title, "The Raven." The raven has so many meanings: death, sorrow, fear, frustration, and the self-inflicted torture of the narrator. All these things can attest to the mental state of the narrator due to the loss of Lenore. "Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door," he pleads. But the raven will not go. The raven will sit above the narrator's door every day for eternity to remind the narrator that he cannot understand death. And left under the shadow the raven casts on the floor is the soul of the narrator that shall be lifted-nevermore! Works Cited McMichael, George, et al. Anthology of American Literature, 7th ed., vol. 1. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall, 2000.

Management Internal/External Factors Essay -- essays research papers fc

The Internal/External Factors of Management – Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In today’s world management must consider a wide variety of factors in order to establish an effective management plan. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the world’s largest company and number one retailer, with this success a company this large needs to not only to look internally for solutions to their management objectives, they must also look outside of their business for additional resources. With the increase of technology and the easy access to virtually any information, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. must be prepared to react to the multitude of demands made by consumers and suppliers. The rapid change of the retail industry from brick and mortar stores to Internet purchases Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has been able to stay attractive to the buying public. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has accomplished this through a highly sophisticated inventory tracking system that enables the stores, including the Internet, to have in stock exactly what the consumers are looking for. Ac cording to Hoover’s Online Wal-Mart Stores, Inc has expanded to about 4,700 stores including about 1,500 discount stores, 1,650 combination discount and grocery stores (Wal-Mart Supercenters in the US and ASDA in the UK) and 532 membership-only warehouse stores (Sam’s Club) (2003). With the introduction of a foreign market their management plan must encompass the rules and regulations of doing business in a foreign country. With the invention of their tracking and identification system, called Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has exerted control over their entire inventory and enables the workers to identify and locate merchandise more readily for the customers. E-Commerce has increased the ease of purchasing for consumers; Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has a web site that allows for the ease and convenience of purchasing almost every item in the store over the Internet. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has been very innovative in meeting the needs of their cl ientele, with the Supercenters, it is basically one stop shopping for all of your household and grocery needs, without the hassles of stopping at two stores when you run your errands.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As a highly respected private employer, Wal-Mart is committed to uphold diversity. Wal-Mart is fully committed to respect their employees... ...er innovation that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., has adopted is its frame delay data network. This allows for Wal-Mart stores to catalog and examine every transaction that is made so that they will be able to keep their finger on the pulse of the customers’ buying patterns. With this they can tract how much of a certain item customers buy and then relay that information on to the supplier. For example, if customers are buying four of the same item, then Wal-Mart can advise the supplier of this information and then the supplier can package the item in groups of four. Through innovation Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., has redefined the basic dimension of the retail Industry. Works Cited About Wal-Mart. â€Å"Wal-Mart International.† 8 November 2003. http://www.walmartstores.com/wmstore/wmstore/Mainabout.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@ Aisner, James E. â€Å"Rapid Response: Inside the Retailing Revolution.† Harvard Business School Working Knowledge on the Web. Winter 1999. http://www.e-proximity.com/cream/HBS%20retail.htm Biesada, A. (2003) Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Hoover’s Online. Retrieved November 8, 2003 from: http://www.hoovers.com/free/co/factsheet.xhtml Dash30. Wal-Mart Takes on The Web. 8 Oct. 2003 . Management Internal/External Factors Essay -- essays research papers fc The Internal/External Factors of Management – Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In today’s world management must consider a wide variety of factors in order to establish an effective management plan. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the world’s largest company and number one retailer, with this success a company this large needs to not only to look internally for solutions to their management objectives, they must also look outside of their business for additional resources. With the increase of technology and the easy access to virtually any information, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. must be prepared to react to the multitude of demands made by consumers and suppliers. The rapid change of the retail industry from brick and mortar stores to Internet purchases Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has been able to stay attractive to the buying public. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has accomplished this through a highly sophisticated inventory tracking system that enables the stores, including the Internet, to have in stock exactly what the consumers are looking for. Ac cording to Hoover’s Online Wal-Mart Stores, Inc has expanded to about 4,700 stores including about 1,500 discount stores, 1,650 combination discount and grocery stores (Wal-Mart Supercenters in the US and ASDA in the UK) and 532 membership-only warehouse stores (Sam’s Club) (2003). With the introduction of a foreign market their management plan must encompass the rules and regulations of doing business in a foreign country. With the invention of their tracking and identification system, called Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has exerted control over their entire inventory and enables the workers to identify and locate merchandise more readily for the customers. E-Commerce has increased the ease of purchasing for consumers; Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has a web site that allows for the ease and convenience of purchasing almost every item in the store over the Internet. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has been very innovative in meeting the needs of their cl ientele, with the Supercenters, it is basically one stop shopping for all of your household and grocery needs, without the hassles of stopping at two stores when you run your errands.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As a highly respected private employer, Wal-Mart is committed to uphold diversity. Wal-Mart is fully committed to respect their employees... ...er innovation that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., has adopted is its frame delay data network. This allows for Wal-Mart stores to catalog and examine every transaction that is made so that they will be able to keep their finger on the pulse of the customers’ buying patterns. With this they can tract how much of a certain item customers buy and then relay that information on to the supplier. For example, if customers are buying four of the same item, then Wal-Mart can advise the supplier of this information and then the supplier can package the item in groups of four. Through innovation Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., has redefined the basic dimension of the retail Industry. Works Cited About Wal-Mart. â€Å"Wal-Mart International.† 8 November 2003. http://www.walmartstores.com/wmstore/wmstore/Mainabout.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@ Aisner, James E. â€Å"Rapid Response: Inside the Retailing Revolution.† Harvard Business School Working Knowledge on the Web. Winter 1999. http://www.e-proximity.com/cream/HBS%20retail.htm Biesada, A. (2003) Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Hoover’s Online. Retrieved November 8, 2003 from: http://www.hoovers.com/free/co/factsheet.xhtml Dash30. Wal-Mart Takes on The Web. 8 Oct. 2003 . Management Internal/External Factors Essay -- essays research papers fc The Internal/External Factors of Management – Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In today’s world management must consider a wide variety of factors in order to establish an effective management plan. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the world’s largest company and number one retailer, with this success a company this large needs to not only to look internally for solutions to their management objectives, they must also look outside of their business for additional resources. With the increase of technology and the easy access to virtually any information, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. must be prepared to react to the multitude of demands made by consumers and suppliers. The rapid change of the retail industry from brick and mortar stores to Internet purchases Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has been able to stay attractive to the buying public. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has accomplished this through a highly sophisticated inventory tracking system that enables the stores, including the Internet, to have in stock exactly what the consumers are looking for. Ac cording to Hoover’s Online Wal-Mart Stores, Inc has expanded to about 4,700 stores including about 1,500 discount stores, 1,650 combination discount and grocery stores (Wal-Mart Supercenters in the US and ASDA in the UK) and 532 membership-only warehouse stores (Sam’s Club) (2003). With the introduction of a foreign market their management plan must encompass the rules and regulations of doing business in a foreign country. With the invention of their tracking and identification system, called Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has exerted control over their entire inventory and enables the workers to identify and locate merchandise more readily for the customers. E-Commerce has increased the ease of purchasing for consumers; Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has a web site that allows for the ease and convenience of purchasing almost every item in the store over the Internet. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has been very innovative in meeting the needs of their cl ientele, with the Supercenters, it is basically one stop shopping for all of your household and grocery needs, without the hassles of stopping at two stores when you run your errands.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As a highly respected private employer, Wal-Mart is committed to uphold diversity. Wal-Mart is fully committed to respect their employees... ...er innovation that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., has adopted is its frame delay data network. This allows for Wal-Mart stores to catalog and examine every transaction that is made so that they will be able to keep their finger on the pulse of the customers’ buying patterns. With this they can tract how much of a certain item customers buy and then relay that information on to the supplier. For example, if customers are buying four of the same item, then Wal-Mart can advise the supplier of this information and then the supplier can package the item in groups of four. Through innovation Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., has redefined the basic dimension of the retail Industry. Works Cited About Wal-Mart. â€Å"Wal-Mart International.† 8 November 2003. http://www.walmartstores.com/wmstore/wmstore/Mainabout.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@ Aisner, James E. â€Å"Rapid Response: Inside the Retailing Revolution.† Harvard Business School Working Knowledge on the Web. Winter 1999. http://www.e-proximity.com/cream/HBS%20retail.htm Biesada, A. (2003) Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Hoover’s Online. Retrieved November 8, 2003 from: http://www.hoovers.com/free/co/factsheet.xhtml Dash30. Wal-Mart Takes on The Web. 8 Oct. 2003 .

Essay --

1.0 INTRODUCTION This report will attempt to critically analyse and assess the internal and external factors which effected the strategic decisions made by eBay. These strategic decisions consisted of the acquisitions with Skype and PayPal coupled together with an analysis on why eBay failed may have failed in expanding their online presence in eastern parts on the globe such as China. 2.0 BACKGROUND EBay is an American internet based co-operation with its main headquarters in California. It was first set up in 1995 and has become one of the world’s most successful companies ever with ebay.com being the company’s main area of focus. Ebay.com is an online auction and shopping website where people and business have the opportunity to sell and buy goods and services worldwide. 3.0 THE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT E-marketing is a fast growing and rapid platform for any form of business. EBay has been highly successful over recent years and this is a perfect example of an online business. The internal and external environments are constantly changing and in order to keep up with these changes, businesses and organisations must make relevant changes, and generate new strategies to keep up with contemporary developments in e-marketing and to also maintain their position in their market in comparison to their competitors. The strategic decision to form an acquisition with Skype in 2005 was made and the deal was said to be worth $2.6 billion. It is argued by eBay that with Skype it is able to create an â€Å"un-paralleled e-commerce engine†. This acquisition was a follow up of purchasing PayPal in 2002. Acquiring these prominent companies has allowed eBay to forge greater links on order to dominate specific regions of the world. Thes... ...ount of untrustworthy and reliable sellers. EBay could counteract this problem by implementing a strategy where eBay would have the authority to terminate a user’s account if their rating in percentage dropped below 60%. This strategy may help the organisation to reduce the amount of unreliable seller resulting in a much more safer and reliable market platform where people would be able to purchase products at ease without any hassle. 6.0 CONCLUSION In light of the analysis made above; an attempt has been made construct a critical analysis of the internal and external environment which influenced eBay’s strategic decision to form acquisitions with Skype and PayPal along with its performance in eastern countries. These factors were supported through various forms of research and background reading in order to support the validity of the points raised in this report.

Cash for Organs

Sheila Rivers ENG 101/MWF Oct. 29, 2012 Mr. Viquesney Cash for Organs Charity should be the only basis for organ donation. On the other hand, cash compensation for donating organs should be an option and legalized. With the overwhelming need for organs and not enough donors in the United States, an open, regulated, and legal cash-for-organs market is needed to balance the need and shortage of organs. There will always be a need for organ donations.According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), as of October 2012 there are 116,421 men, women, and children on the organ transplant waitlist to receive hearts, livers, kidneys, and other human organs. With a total of only 8,280 donors alive and deceased so far this year, the need for donated organs far exceeds the donation of organs. This need for donated organs leaves a large gap in transplants and consequently patients wait months, even years on the waiting list for donated organs. Every ten minutes another name is added to th e national organ transplant waiting list.By the time patients get on the waiting list they have been evaluated by a transplant doctor and is in end stage organ failure. According to (organdonor. gov) right now, there are more than enough people waiting for an organ to fill a football stadium twice over. On average, 18 people die every day waiting for a transplant that never happens as a direct result of the lack of organ donations. Patients that can afford it will travel to other countries to purchase organs on the black market to save their life. The National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA) passed in 1984, made the buying and selling of human organs in the United States illegal.Over all too many people die each year waiting for a donated organ that is not available to save their life. The option to sell an organ should be solely left up to the individual who wants to do so, as long as the procedure and all the risks that are involved are fully understood. If someone decides to sell and organ to who ever they want, for a momentary compensation they should have the right to do so. It will not only save the life of the recipient, but also financially compensate the donor in return. After all it is their body and the government should not have the right to tell people that selling an organ for compensation is illegal.With so many people dying and waiting for a life saving organ transplant, this would decrease the deaths and wait time for an organ. In 1988 Iran became one of the first Nations to permit and regulate payment and other incentives for living donor transplants. As a result, the number of renal transplants performed substantially increased such that in 1999, the renal transplant waitlist was completely eliminated. Currently, Iran has no renal transplant waiting list. With results such as this, proves that cash for human organs can potentially eliminate the transplant waitlist in the United States.A number of transplant experts have been convinced tat provid ing financial incentives to organ sources, as an alternative to altruistic organ donation needs careful reconsideration. By permitting an open, regulated, and legal cash-for-organs market this could save the lives of the people who suffer and die daily because of kidney failure while waiting for a donated kidney. The director of Kidney Health Australia said â€Å"if it was carefully regulated in a way that avoided any potential abuse and was organized by the government or some other process that was meaningful, a pilot would be worthwhile doing† [Mathew].If there were some kind of compensation for organ donations, more people would be interested and willing to become organ donors. The kidney is the only organ a person can sell or donate and safely continue to live without. Even though we are born with two kidneys a person can live a full and normal life with just one, in addition to living just as long as a person with two. In the case of a kidney, a love donor is capable of living successfully after a transplant surgery, because over the years surgeries have become safer and less invasive for the donor with less down time.According to the registry data from UNOS, research has shown that a kidney from a live donor is the best option for long-term transplantation. Over the years the number of living donors have steadily decreased while the deceased donors have increased, although the increase in not enough to offset the decrease. NOTA was also created to address the critical organ donation shortage and improve the organ matching and placement process. As said, â€Å"Due to the high success rate of organ transplants over the years it has made getting an organ more difficult.Improved survival rates and the expectation that organ replacement will enhance quality of life have encouraged more doctors and their patients with organ failure to opt for transplantation† [Klein]. The early organ transplants performed routinely had a high mortality rate; the major issue was the patients’ immune system rejected the foreign organ. Throughout the years with the introduction of medicine has helped lower the mortality rate due to the rejection of the foreign organ and organ transplants have become more routine and less experimental.To their surprise, donors do not understand or know how many lives are saved or can be saved simply by donating organs. There are no age requirements to being an organ donor. The fact is everyone can be an organ donor; anybody under the age of eighteen has to have a parental consent. The process of convincing individuals to be an organ donor is challenging, and some of these challenges are a lack of knowledge, fear of premature death, and the lack of trust of the medical profession. Most people do not know what the process of organ donation is and how it works to save lives.People feel that if the doctor knew they where an organ donor he/she would not put as much effort into saving their life because of thi s. If people had a better understanding and more knowledge about the process of organ donation more people would be willing to donate organs to help save lives. Charity should not be the only option for organ donation. When charity is the only option the donor do not have the right to give their organ to who they wish. With so many people on the waitlist for an organ transplant and way to few donors there needs to be another way to attract donors.The cash for organ program that has shown a success in other countries should be looked at on a more serious note. Due to the shortage sever shortage of donated organs that has led to needless death of so many people, the cash for organs seems to be a very legitimate way to save lives. Until modern medicine can completely grow fully develop human organs there will always be a need for human organs and the fastest way to obtain organs for transplant is to offer monetaury compensation.The compensation for human organs will open up a market fo r willing donors. Bibliography optn. transplant. hrsa. gov unos. org Klein, Andrew S. , MD, director of Cedar’s-Sinai Medical Center Declining Organ Donations, Causes Widening Need Gap, Life Science, 22 March 2010 Ahad, Ghods J. , Dr. ‘Iranian Model of Paid and Regulated Living-Unrelated Kidney Donation. † Cjasn. asnjournals. org N. p. , n. d. Web Page 1 www. unos. org Page 2 www. optn. transplant. hrsa. gov Page 2 Andrew S. Klein, MD, director of Cedar’s-Sinai Medical Center

Richards Story

Apart from disfigurement, other psychosocial issues Richard might face include but are not limited to sleep disorder, fear and anxiety around open flames, depression, loose of self-esteem and PTSD. Additional precaution needs to be taken to make sure Richard maintains some functions in his burnt fingers. Some of these precautions should be occupational therapy and physical therapy. Due Richard was burnt in the face, other systems may be compromised. The systems that could be affected are the respiratory system (because his nose could be burnt), the digestive system (because if his mouth is affected, then his ability to eat, chew or drink might be impeded. ) and ofcourse his nervous system as the nerves in his face will be dead. Based on the fact that Richard is losing a lot of body fluid his nutritional needs are high protein food, water, high calorie drinks, fruits and vegetable, and fatty food because fat is a readily available source of energy. Partial thickness burn is extremely painful because most of the nerve endings which detect and interpret pain and sensation are located in the dermis where partial thickness burn occurs. Partial thickness burn would heal faster because it is not as deep into the skin and therefore skin rejuvenation is more possible. Functions compromised by the burn on Richard’s skin are the ability to secret sweat, the ability to convert sun to vitamin D, ability to protect against infection, ability to regulate temperature and the ability to protect against infection. Other skin functions that should be a concern to the medical staff is that Richard’s skin will lose the ability to store blood and there will be no tissue growth. His skin will also lose the ability to maintain water and salt balance. It is unlikely for Richard to grow hair to cover the scars on his chest because his hair follicles in the burnt area are damaged and there can be no more hair growth because of this. Also the scar tissue is covering the pores from which hair sprouts. During the first phase of wound healing, inflammation takes place first. Blisters orm on the outer edges of the burns as the wounds begin to form scabs. Formation of granulation tissue will not lead to normal appearing/ formation of skin as Richard heals. This is because granulation tissue is scar tissue and scar tissue does not appear normal or allow hair growth or normal skin function. Some long term consequences include the inability to regulate temperature and feel pain because of the dead nerve endings at the site of the burn. Numbness may occur, his body will not be able to secret sweat and he might gain weight because of this.