Manifest Destiny Concept Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Manifest Destiny Concept - Essay Example The Manifest Destiny concept tremendously influenced the United States policy. This enhanced the American expansion to the West. The idea was largely put forward by posters, newspapers and other avenues. Despite the fact that it was not a formal policy of the government, it facilitated the passing of legislation like the Homestead Act, which promoted colonization and acquisition of areas in the West (Robinson 2010, 21). Additionally, the idea was a factor in the thought of America. Movement into the West regions provided a prospect for self-development. To be familiar with the concept of Manifest Destiny, it is essential to comprehend the desire and need of the United States to expand. This paper will look at how issues around it affected the U.S, how the views of Americans on the issue changed over the period, and will also mention some events as examples. How the Issues Affected the U.S John O'Sullivan, a U.S newspaper editor writing on the planned occupation of Texas, was the firs t to use the term in 1845. He asserted that it was America’s â€Å"manifest destiny to spread to the whole continent.† The newspaper issue recommended that through expanding, America could turn out to be a renowned superpower. According to O'Sullivan, the United States had been exclusively selected for the mission of Westward expansion. This would push out the wilderness and bring civilization. Between independence and 1920, the government passed land laws that were favorable for people to migrate. The federal government also persuaded people from Europe to come and inhabit. It used the military to protect the settlers from natives. It further put money into explorations, such as that of Clark and Lewis. Wherever there was sufficient water, homesteading was practiced by people from the Midwest to the Pacific regions. Cheap and available land, high birth rates and immense population formed the basis of the expansion. Imperialism was used to facilitate the Manifest Desti ny. There was a perception that mission and God was the path to Manifest Destiny.  Ã‚  

Legal-business auto accidents Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Legal-business auto accidents - Term Paper Example Honda Motor Company, â€Å"where the court ruled that the regulation foreclosed the filing of injury suits under the state law by the people contending that manufacturers had made the wrong choice† (Liptak). II. Facts of the Case: Petitioner, Alexis Geier, was driving a 1987 Honda Accord, which collided in a tree and caused the petitioner serious physical injuries, despite the fact that the shoulder and lap belts were fastened at the time the accident happened. The car was not also equipped with airbags. Petitioner, together with her parents, sued American Honda Motor Company, Inc. before the District of Columbia tort law, on the ground that Honda negligently was remiss in its obligation as a car manufacturer for failure to set an airbag at the driver’s side. The Court dismissed the case on the ground that it was the discretion of Honda to whether or not install an airbag in its car models. Hence, this ruling concluded that it was not mandatory for the automakers to ins tall a passenger-side airbag, and shall not be liable for a personal injury case based on such ground. The Court of Appeals reaffirmed the decision of the District Court which resulted to a dismissal of the case. Thus, an appeal to the Supreme Court was filed by the petitioners. ... s in conflict with the existing provisions of FMVS 208 Act, particularly on the express pre-emption provision Ruling: The Supreme Court ruled that: With regard to the first issue, the court held that the ordinary principles of pre-emption shall not apply in the case of the petitioners. The provision contained in the Act states that the federal safety standard does not relieve a person from any liability on the basis of the common law. Hence, the petitioners are not precluded from setting up a claim against American Honda. The language of the provision clause enacted by Congress does not prohibit common-law actions. The spirit of the law must be followed and not its literal meaning of the law. In case of doubt, the intention of the law must prevail over the strict context of the law. Thus, â€Å"express pre-emption provision that excludes common-law tort actions gives actual meaning to the saving clause’s literal language, while leaving adequate room for state tort law to oper ate† (Cornell). For the second issue, the Court held that ordinary pre-emption principles apply in the case of the petitioners. In its decision, the Court anchored its conclusion on the basis of â€Å"the express pre-emption and saving provisions when taken together, shall create a â€Å"special burden,† which a court must impose â€Å"on a party† who claims conflict pre-emption under those principles. A â€Å"special burden† would also promise practical difficulty by further complicating well-established pre-emption principles that already are difficult to apply† (Cornell). In one of the dissent of the justices, one justice commented that if the â€Å"special burden† would be made applicable in such a case, where the state law penalizes the requirement of the federal law which is an absolute

Effective leadership and its impact on organization performance Research Paper - 1

Effective leadership and its impact on organization performance - Research Paper Example An effective leader should be aware when to act and when not to act. An effective leader should have good knowledge as it gives the leaders the ability to evaluate the causes and outcomes of their actions. For the existence of an effective leadership, a leader has to acquire from a mentor who can inculcate values that outshine the leader himself. If no guides or mentors are available, a leader can learn the direction and meaning through intercession. Further, an effective leader will have a real good faith for the common good of their subordinates or followers. An effective leader is not only advising his followers or subordinates to follow some path but also will be ready to learn things that require to be inculcated. During their communication process, effective leaders will always communicate with fairness and will exhibit respect to others. An effective leader will always exhibit as an example to other by adhering politeness, gentleness, calmness and quietness. Following these qu alities will make them as effective observers, spectators and thinkers. An effective leader will involve in meaning, thinking and careful observations. An effective leader will have the right virtue for the desired goals and vision of their organizations. Leaders should strive hard without any expectations for the outcomes since the results of effective leadership should derive advantage from the organizations and people instead of the leaders itself. Effective leaders will involve themselves in sattvic charity with a real sense of offering without any anticipating anything in return (Avolio & Gardner 2005, p.320). This thesis will analyze how â€Å"effective leadership contributes towards the achievement of organization success and improvement in the performance level of an organization†. Leadership connotes many characteristics and variables influencing the manner in which it is evaluated so as to be regarded to be effective. Leadership connotes intellectual drive,

Legal-business auto accidents Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Legal-business auto accidents - Term Paper Example Honda Motor Company, â€Å"where the court ruled that the regulation foreclosed the filing of injury suits under the state law by the people contending that manufacturers had made the wrong choice† (Liptak). II. Facts of the Case: Petitioner, Alexis Geier, was driving a 1987 Honda Accord, which collided in a tree and caused the petitioner serious physical injuries, despite the fact that the shoulder and lap belts were fastened at the time the accident happened. The car was not also equipped with airbags. Petitioner, together with her parents, sued American Honda Motor Company, Inc. before the District of Columbia tort law, on the ground that Honda negligently was remiss in its obligation as a car manufacturer for failure to set an airbag at the driver’s side. The Court dismissed the case on the ground that it was the discretion of Honda to whether or not install an airbag in its car models. Hence, this ruling concluded that it was not mandatory for the automakers to ins tall a passenger-side airbag, and shall not be liable for a personal injury case based on such ground. The Court of Appeals reaffirmed the decision of the District Court which resulted to a dismissal of the case. Thus, an appeal to the Supreme Court was filed by the petitioners. ... s in conflict with the existing provisions of FMVS 208 Act, particularly on the express pre-emption provision Ruling: The Supreme Court ruled that: With regard to the first issue, the court held that the ordinary principles of pre-emption shall not apply in the case of the petitioners. The provision contained in the Act states that the federal safety standard does not relieve a person from any liability on the basis of the common law. Hence, the petitioners are not precluded from setting up a claim against American Honda. The language of the provision clause enacted by Congress does not prohibit common-law actions. The spirit of the law must be followed and not its literal meaning of the law. In case of doubt, the intention of the law must prevail over the strict context of the law. Thus, â€Å"express pre-emption provision that excludes common-law tort actions gives actual meaning to the saving clause’s literal language, while leaving adequate room for state tort law to oper ate† (Cornell). For the second issue, the Court held that ordinary pre-emption principles apply in the case of the petitioners. In its decision, the Court anchored its conclusion on the basis of â€Å"the express pre-emption and saving provisions when taken together, shall create a â€Å"special burden,† which a court must impose â€Å"on a party† who claims conflict pre-emption under those principles. A â€Å"special burden† would also promise practical difficulty by further complicating well-established pre-emption principles that already are difficult to apply† (Cornell). In one of the dissent of the justices, one justice commented that if the â€Å"special burden† would be made applicable in such a case, where the state law penalizes the requirement of the federal law which is an absolute

Gender Differences in Leadership Essay Example for Free

Gender Differences in Leadership Essay 1. What are the strongest points of the paper? What do you consider are its main contributions to the field of global people management? The paper itself has a very interesting purpose with the research question of whether women leaders are â€Å"really† different from men leaders. The paper gives a very good introduction in particular giving the literature review in order to get familiar with some basic knowledge on the topic of gender differences in leadership. The review focus combination of stereotypes and cultural differences stresses out well a new viewpoint of the problem, which has not been discussed that widely in prior research. Also the introduction of the new notion â€Å"stereotype threat†, which actually might be viewed as a partly solution for women sometimes performing not as well as they possibly could is an interesting point for management issues in reality. However the strongest points of the paper are evident. The introduction of the new concept of three paradigms: gender-blind view, gender-conscious view and that perception creates reality are not only the strongest points of the paper, but in my opinion can also be considered as contributions to the field of global people management. This new paradigms could possibly change the perception of companies, maybe companies will use the tool of the three paradigms to analyse their own structures and be able to improve situations for women, giving them more possibilities. 2. What are the weakest points of the paper? (E.g. What arguments are not strong enough? What is not clear? What is missing?) Potential drawbacks are that paradigms are introduced, but not sufficiently discussed within. Also the paper gives good examples where they can be found, it could show more proof for their existence apart from summarising and drawing them together from old findings. Also the paper does not find a good way how to manage diversity and to capture it. It does not manage the combination of cost-effective coordination and senility to local cultures. Likewise the paper focuses on only two firms, â€Å"Fuel† and â€Å"Excel†, which are very different in how they â€Å"fill† out the paradigms. In my opinion two firms are not enough, more firms should be reviewed for example in a questionnaire in order to give more support for the findings. Correspondingly the paper does not include a focus on multinational firms, which is very important not to leave out in times of globalization. The last criticism is that the paper is unable to answer it’s paper purpose question à ¢â‚¬Å"what is the real difference between men and women in leadership†. 3. How could the author make the paper better? When writing the literature review the could build up the research papers and the gained knowledge chronologically and not going back and forth in the research dates. As the paper is missing some numbers, the technique of hypothesis could have been used, a bigger number of companies questioned in survey style as then a quantitative analysis would exist as evidence for whether the problem exists in real life and whether paradigms can be implied in the general management world. Also the point of view of women on this topic would be very interesting and more expedient. How do women perceive the gender different initiatives, what would they like as support? Also the paper as already mentioned should include a focus on multinational firms and include those in a study.

Impact of the Digital Environment on Copyright

Impact of the Digital Environment on Copyright Critically assess the blurring of the boundaries between the expression of an idea in a material form (which is protected by copyright) and an idea itself (which is not). In your response, you will need to examine the impact of the digital environment on copyright and initiatives like open access and Creative Commons. Discuss whether protecting original works is becoming obsolete, considering the effect of a copyright-free world on individual creators, producers and distributors. Be explicit about how you respond to and extend the examples presented in the topics podcast and town meeting. Copyright can be defined as the ownership of the expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves (Bourne 2008). The issue of copyright is perhaps facing its greatest challenge. The line between the expression of ideas in a material form (which is protected by copyright) and an idea itself (which is not) is being increasingly blurred due to the increasing prevalence and penetration of digital technologies in the national (Australian) and international (global) communication environment. With the proliferation of copyright violations as digital technologies offer file sharing capacities, the development of author favouring initiatives approximating to Open Access and Creative Commons eroding the corporate power of copyright corporations, the existence of legally protected copyright protections a creator craves, corporations pursue and governments protect, is under serious threat. Traditionally the free market economy has envisioned a hierarchy from producer to consumer in the development and dissemination of cultural information. Conventionally, the mode of production had envisioned a role for creator, manufacturer, distributor and consumer. This was a centralised system. Copyright pervaded and that which was protected by copyright was difficult if not impossible to illegally obtain without paying the royalties to the creator or copyright holder. Yochai Benkler believes there has been a decentralisation of the process due to the onset of the digital revolution, particularly with Internet technologies, while technology simultaneously sustains the centralisation of cultural information. I will suggest that we call the combination of these two trends the radical decentralization of intelligence in our communications network and the centrality of information, knowledge, culture, and ideas to advanced economic activity the networked information economy (Benkler 2003, p.1252). The strength of Benklers argument is that its a fresh idea that argues somewhat from a political economy perspective, the production process. The production process has been decentralised due to digital technologies and therefore individuals who previously held no part can create their own ideas by either mimicking, disseminating, copying, plagiarising without consequence. This networked information economy (or decentralisation of production) has led to a blurring of the lines between the expression of ideas in a material form (which is protected by copyright) and an idea itself (which is not) due to the increasing mobility and creativity individuals can utilise as a result of the onset of digital technologies. Benkler believes ubiquitously available cheap processors have radically reduced the necessary capital input costs. What can be done now with a desktop computer would once have required a professional studio (Benkler 2003, p.1254). According to Benkler, a primary contributor to cultural production is pre-existing information, a publicly accessible good while others include human creativity and the physical capital necessary to generate, fix, and communicate transmissible units of information and culture like a recording studio or a television network (Benkler 2003, p.1254). The Internet and digital technologies have to an extent decimated the dominance of the capital generators, those owners and proprietors of copyright such as the television networks and publishers, and allowed consumers to edit pre-existing copyrighted material, or create their own, to the detriment of copyright holders. This leaves individual human beings closer to the economic centre of our information production system than they have been for over a century and a half (Benkler 2003, p.1254). The failing of Benklers argument is that it views digital technologies as offering endless opportunities for individual production. While this may be true, usually the product produced is usually distributed for free and those who attempt to make economic gain are wiped out by the competition that produce free and higher quality software and programs. The impact of the digital environment has led to the proliferation of copyright violations and use of materials by consumers in their own productions and ideas without regard for the intended royalties. This has been seen no better than in the rising prevalence of file sharing software on the Internet, its popularity, dominance, and targeting by corporations for law suits. The most radically new and unfamiliar element in this category is commons-based peer production of information, knowledge, and culture, whose most visible instance has been free software (Benkler 2003, p.1254). An example of these peer network systems Benkler speaks of includes file sharing systems such as Limewire, BitTorent, eMule and Gnutella. Based on peer-to-peer technology (Fattah 2002; Oram 2001), so-called filesharing systems offer the possibility to exchange any sort of digital data for free and without restriction (Quiring 2008, p.435). Considerable losses in revenues have resulted in the film, gaming and particularly communications industries due to the illegal copying and sharing of their products. According to the communications industry, it misses out on considerable revenues each year due to the illegal exchange of communications data (Quiring, von Walter Atterer 2008, p.435). Similarly there has been propagation in the amount of quality free programmes on the Internet that supplant those supplied by corporations and have no copyright protections of their own. The networked information economy opens for radically decentralized collaborative production peer production† a process by which many individuals, whose actions are coordinated neither by managers nor by price signals, contribute to a joint effort that effectively produces a unit of information or culture (Benkler 2003, p.1254). Free software has become the quintessential instance of peer production in the past few years. Over 85 percent of emails are routed using the sendmail software that was produced and updated in this way (Benkler 2003, p.1254). Over 60% of Australians use msn, yahoo, Google or other free E-mail providers as their primary E-Mail account and the development of free virus scanning software such as AVG, free communications composing and artistic programs have gradually eroded communications corporations copyright power and grip on the consumer market. However here, within these filesharing and producing communities the lines between the expression of ideas in a material form and an idea itself are more deeply blurred as the providers of free programmes and those who illegally copy and distribute software, programmes and cultural files (such as communications), known as warez have developed their own codes of production and consumption. An academic of Southern California University, D. Thomas alludes to this in his article Innovation, Piracy and the Ethos of New Media identifies three key fundamentals in the warez ethos (Thomas 2002, p.87). Firstly, keeping information free and open in the face of corporate control, an act which they see as embodying the spirit of the Internet; communications or game lovers right to redistribute goods they have purchased providing they do not profit financially. Secondly the sense of an entitlement to digital content, as after buying a computer and internet access they see the content as already paid for (Thomas 2002, p.87). It can therefore be seen that the digital environment erodes copyright protection and the benefits copyright brings to its owners and distributors. Due to the erosion of copyright protections, debate has arisen as to whether the erosion of copyright is desirable. According to Spinello, while they are evermore protected by government legislation, property rights are often dismissed or disparaged in academic circles. Post-modern critics, for example, find it hard, to accept that creative works have a single author, so the assignment of a property right loses intelligibility (Spinello 2003, p.2). It has therefore been argued by many academics, including Lessig that innovation and creativity depend upon free, uncontrolled resources and more precisely, according to Lessig the Internet forms an innovation commons,† that is, a space where innovation and creative expression can flourish (Spinello 2003, p.3). In an effort to protect themselves from the increasing breaches of copyright brought about by these kind of principles and digital technologies that facilitate these breaches of copyright, copyright owners have lobbied governments to extend copyright protection to lifetime plus seventy years and are attempting to override exceptions granted to institutions such as universities and parliaments along with removing the copyright ownership from creators to themselves. This has facilitated the rise of movements against this trend known as Open Access and Creative Commons in order to protect creators and consumers. Open Access and Creative Commons are two organisations that espouse opposing, yet fundamentally similar goals to deal with the blurring of the boundaries between the expression of ideas in a material form and ideas themselves. On the one hand Creative Commons argues for the protection of creators through the benefits of minimal copyright protections known as moral rights by issuing their own legally recognised copyright licenses. The moral rights extend the rights of creators to the basic entitlements of attribution and integrity that have adopted in the developed world, including Europe and Australia (excluding USA). While attribution is the right of the creator to have his work recognised by attribution, integrity is the right of the creator not to have his work falsely portrayed or misused. Creative Commons aims to promote better identification, negotiation and reutilization of content for the purposes of creativity and innovation. It aims to make copyright content more active† by ensuring that content can be reutilized with a minimum of transactional effort (Fitzgerald Oi 2004, p.1). Alternately, Open Access seeks to minimize copyright in its entirety. Open Access† means access to the full text of a scientific publication on the internet, with no other limitations than possibly a requirement to register, for statistical or other purposes (Bjà ¶rk, Roos, Lauri 2008, p.1). The purpose of this initiative is to accredit creators with their copyright and offer access to materials at minimum or no cost so as not to stifle creativity due to excessive copyright protections under the law. However one must consider the implications of the erosion of copyright as discussed above and whether protecting old works is becoming obsolete. Some scholars and economists believe that copyright is crucial to the development of society and its advancement due to the protections of copyright and their benefits owners of copyright aspire to. A particular point raised in the town meeting was the relevance of copyright if individuals can merely download audio, visual and software files from file sharing programs on the Internet for no-charge. However a report commissioned by the Australian government in 1998 raised the interesting point that copyright is crucial to the capitalist system of innovation and development. These industries form a significant and, to date, growing part of the Australian economy in 1992-93, the net contribution of copyright based industries to the total economy was an estimated $11 billion in constant prices, or 2.9% of the total GDP and the report concluded Copyright is the glue in the various transactions between creators and investors the legal mechanism which ensures that the value of creative effort or investment is not undermined and devalued by others taking a free ride on that effort or investment (McDonald 1999, p.2). It can be affirmed then, that a system of copyright, limited even, is desirable, if not to protect creators, then to at least achieve a balance between the rights of creators and copyright producers and distributors for revenue and moral accreditation, while allowing access to the public for consumption. A system of limited intellectual property protection is justified both as an inducement for future creative activity and as a reward for the intellectual labor associated with that socially valuable activity (Spinello 2003, p.2). It has been argued by many academics that the complete erosion of copyright protections may dislodge the profitability of many industries such as the gaming, communications and film, to the detriment of future production as creators see no purpose in creation without economic gain (McDonald 1999; Lee 2005). For example Illegal file sharing on the internet leads to considerable financial losses for artists and copyright owners as well as producers and sellers of communications (Quiring, von Walter Atterer 2008, p.434). It can therefore be strongly stated that while at times, when applied without distinction, copyright can be an encumbrance if argued from n Open Access perspective. However one must consider copyright as the glue that McDonald describes it as when considering the incentive effect copyright has in relation to the development and dissemination of cultural information (McDonald 1999, p.2). In conclusion it can be seen that the blurring of the boundaries between the expression of ideas in a material form (which is protected by copyright) and an idea itself (which is not) has led to the development of what Benkler has named the networked information economy (Benkler 2003, p.1245). The networked information economy makes it possible for nonmarket and decentralized models of production to increase their presence alongside the more traditional models, causing some displacement, but increasing the diversity of ways of organizing production rather than replacing one with the other (Benkler 2003, p.1247). This has led to the decentralisation of the process of cultural production files (mp3s, film, communications, etc) and is what has ultimately led to the blurring between ideas in material form and ideas themselves as seen with the development of filesharing and peer-to-peer production networks against the backdrop of the digital environment. This has gradually led to the erosion of copyright and the strengthening of legislation in reponse, in turn leading to the development of movements such as Creative Commons and Open Access. The ensuing debate over whether copyright is desirable to retain in the digital environment has led me to conclude that while copyright can act as encumbrance to creativity and learning, by removing its protection the incentive it generates for innovation and cultural production, have necessitated the need for a balance of the two. References: Thomas, D. (2002) Innovation, Piracy and the Ethos of New Media, pp. 82-91 in D. Harries (ed.) The New Media Book. London: British Film Institute.

Fantasy In Cairo Essay example -- essays research papers

Fantasy in Cairo   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the film Purple Rose of Cairo, by Woody Allen, fantasy and reality are two very poignant themes. However, through discussion, the class brought up points regarding fantasy being Tom Baxter, and reality being Gill Shepherd; my perspective was different. Tom Baxter portrays the main theme of reality while Gill Shepherd demonstrates the role of fantasy. Also, the characteristic strength demonstrated by Cecilia as well as by Tom Baxter is pertinent to the story line. The remainder of this essay will entail why I have seen this film from a twisted view by using examples from the film.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the beginning of the film Cecilia is lonely and weak due to the fact that her husband shamelessly gambles away their money as well as hits her. Cecilia hopelessly goes to the movies to find solace and peace away from her miserable world. While at the movie, Purple Rose of Cairo, she is enchanted by the thought of running away with the lead character. Tom Baxter, one of the main characters in the film, catches Cecilia looking at him with adoration and strongly decides to leave the film and run off with the lonely Cecilia. Tom is a wholesome, naà ¯ve, and sensitive man, who is everything that Cecilia's current husband, is not. Although Tom jumping out of the screen and into Cecilia's arms may seem more like fantasy than reality, it is Tom himself who represents reality to Cecilia. By Cecilia being lonely and abused by...