What America Means To Me Essay -- essays research papers

America is a wonderful place to live, because we are free. Freedom is important, and many people in other countries do not have much freedom. I am glad I have a place like this to grow up in; where I know that I can be equal with other races and other genders. Also, I am glad I have a place like this that will respect me and I know it will be a great place to have my children grow up in. Some of our ancestors did not have the privileges we have now because they grew up in other countries, that controlled their religion, who they married, and almost everything else in their lives. That may be one of the reasons they moved to America in the first place. I am very grateful for our country, and all of the privileges I have growing up here. In many countries, I wouldn’t be able to get the ed...

Virginia Woolfs To The Lighthouse - Portrait of a Real Woman :: To The Lighthouse Essays

To The Lighthouse - Portrait of a Real Woman Until To The Lighthouse, I had never read anything that so perfectly described women: wives, mothers, daughters and artists. I felt like shouting "Eureka!" on every page. These were my thoughts, beautifully written. Virginia Woolf writes of the essential loneliness and aloneness of human beings. In the first passage I am examining Mrs. Ramsay is the heart of the group gathered around the dinner table. It is because of her that they are assembled. She is the wife, the mother. "And the whole of the effort of merging and flowing and creating rested on her." But she feels disconnected, "outside that eddy" that held the others, alone. She views her husband almost as an inanimate object. "She could not understand how she had ever felt any emotion or affection for him." The room has become shabby. Beauty has dissolved. The gathering for which she is responsible is merely a group of strangers sitting at the same table. "Nothing seemed to have merged. They all sat separate." Mrs. Ramsay understands that she must bring these people together. "Again she felt, as a fact without hostility, the sterility of men, for if she did not do it nobody would do it." So she drifts into the eddy to do her duty -- albeit reluctantly. "...she began all this business, as a sailor not without weariness sees the wind fill his sail and yet hardly wants to be off again and thinks how, had the ship sunk he would have whirled round and round and found rest on the floor of the sea." This passage is so true! In a traditional family (my family) there is a man (husband and father), a woman (wife and mother), and children. The woman is claimed by all. She is held responsible, both in the eyes of her family and in her own eyes, for the happiness and well-being of all. She is the glue, the anchor, the spark, the damper. She is lonely but never alone. The idea of drifting to the bottom of the sea can seem inviting Ð to be free and alone! This short passage aptly illustrates a real woman's very complicated feelings about the demands of family and society upon her. I think it is no less valid now then it was in the 1920s when the book was written.

Democracy vs Dictatorship Essay

Dictatorship and democracy are two concepts with numerous views and differences. The first is not ideal for a society which seeks free press, human rights and equality. The second is, even though many facets have to be taken into account. Throughout history, scholars have laid out a range of arguments regarding the advantages and disadvantages of both systems in terms of development. Here, we will try to enumerate some of them. An authoritarian government is a form of government in which the power is centralized (single person or a group). Dictatorship have ruled in many countries and region of the world for years; Latin America, Africa, Caribbean and Asia (especially the Middle East). In all cases, it was not all evil, where genocide, assassination or corruption were common like with Saddam Hussein. Scholars agreed that some countries have seen a boost in socioeconomic development under authoritarian governments. It was the case for Dominican Republic under Trujillo, Argentina in the 60’s, Chile in the 70’s under Pinochet, Singapore or Turkey. For these leaders, their countries were not ready for democracy because â€Å" dictatorial governments could better impose rational, long-term development plans† (Handelman, 2011, 35). The father of Singapore’s authoritarian political system, Lee Kuan Yew, declared that discipline is more essential for a developed country than democracy. Lee also stated that â€Å"Democracy leads to indiscipline and disorderly conduct, which are inimical to development† (Handelman, 2011, 35). His strong statement was somewhat carried out by many LDC’s around the globe, especially in Africa where ethnic issues are common. In a dictatorship, there are no riots against the government or its affiliates, a single party is more likely in power, the ruler has unlimited power, plans are executed efficiently and in a fashion manner, most efficient during emergencies, and less room for corruption. Dictatorship also promotes obedience to the ruler, strict discipline is a MUST. There are also some advantages for an authoritarian government. The negative side of a dictatorship relates to absence of freedom of speech (the people has no say in how the system works, follow the leader blindly), no fair elections, oppression of people or member of the opposition, power to a small group, no civil rights (violation of human rights), poor governance, lack social welfare, social inequalities and the gap between rich and poor is very significant. Also, when it comes to ruthless dictatorship like Syria, atrocities and spread of war prevail. In short, dictatorship does not agree with international peace and even advocates of authoritarian governments admitted that most dictatorships have caused great damage to many countries education, economy and infrastructure systems (Handelman, 2011, 35). Dictatorship can be a burden for a country’s socioeconomic development. Democracy is the promotion of fairness, social equality, transparency, freedom and speech. Today, it is perceived the best form of government. A full definition from our book (Handelman, 2011, 31) pointed out that democracy is obvious when: most of the country’s leading government officials are elected; there is universal or near universal suffrage; elections are largely free of fraud and outside manipulation; opposition-party candidates have a realistic chance of being elected to important national offices; and civil liberties—including minority rights—are respected, with guarantees of free speech, free assembly, free press (media), and freedom of religion. Others define it in regard to fair election and governance. A democratic government will make sure that its people grasp the importance of its policies, promote fundamental rights and support a stronger middle class (Handelman, 2011, 30). Unlike dictatorship, a democracy does not use fear or force to govern its people. It is a free society where the civil society is empowered not weakened and where the rule of law prevail, not the rule of a person or a group (Geddes, 2004, 5). History has shown that most industrialize countries are democratic, perhaps because â€Å"industrialization leads to increases in wealth, education, communication and equality† (Handelman, 2011, 30). However, like dictatorship, democracy has some shortcomings. Scholars underlined that democracy can be as bad as dictatorship; unstable, promotes party interest and it can also be a waste of time and resources (enacting laws like the ban on gun currently for example). Revolt is less likely to happen in a free society because the people elected their representatives via fair elections. Some critics emphasized that democracy will not be efficient in the LDC’s if these states do not have a literacy rate of at least 50% as well as a socioeconomic modernization, which would narrow the gap between rich and the middle class (Handelman 2011, 34). Other critics insisted on the fact that democracy encourage corruption, and industrialization/globalization are western strategies to better exploit Third World countries (Handelman, 2011, 30). The paragraphs above showed several advantages of having a democratic society than an authoritarian one. They also have similarities and in some circumstances, they have to work together. Democracy is ideal because it promotes an equal society where everyone has a fair shot at success. Dictatorship does not. Thus, it might be fair to say that it is better for a society to experience another type of government (like a single-party) to consolidate a democratic development.

How Far Was the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905?

How far was the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, responsible for the outbreak of the 1905 Revolution? The Russo- Japanese War, although an important rationale for the outbreak of the 1905 Revolution , was caused by many other problems which made a foundation for the War as well as the Revolution. Due to the War the economy suffered, adding on to the problems that Russia was already facing from a lack of preceding modernization, making this very important as the majority were affected causing them to revolt.Furthermore, Russia lost against Japan in the War portraying the Tsar as weaker compared to how he was already viewed by the population, making this another very important factor as the Russians felt they needed a stronger leader and in distress turned to extremist political parties. In addition another important factor is, the extremist parties in particular, felt that the autocratic rule of the Tsar was causing Russia to suffer, seeing that the people were not being heard resulti ng in them gaining extremist views and rebel.The Russo- Japanese War was a short term factor, which was only partly responsible for the outbreak of the Revolution. The Russian military lost miserably to the Japanese and this was a huge blow to the Russians as due to censorship, they had always conceived the Japanese to be inferior and weaker, making them certain that they would win. The defeat was seen as national humiliation, helping to cause unrest towards the Government and making the Tsar look weak, giving encouragement to the revolutionaries.In addition the overall cost of the War was very high, meaning that the already suffering Russian economy was plummeted further into trouble resulting in the tarnishing of the state finances made by Witte. However, it mainly helped to prolong the Revolution as many of the events of the war took place after the Revolution had begun. Long before the Russo-Japanese War had begun, Russia was still facing Economic turbulences and this is one of the main contributors to the outbreak of the Revolution.A revolt by the Peasants who were discontent due to only small individual plots for each family being distributed and bad harvests meant that there was massive industrial growth, resulting in an economy boom and building expectations of a better life for peasants . An industrial ‘slump’ caused social discontent of economic misfortune as Russian peasants and workers forced the uncertainty of poverty and poor living conditions. This caused major resentment to the Tsar both in industry and agriculture with his social and economic regime.In addition, due to Russia being backwards, even under Witte the Russian economy had failed to reach or exceed the output in production of goods as the other Great Powers although being the largest continuous land Empire. The low production in goods meant that Russia’s trade also suffered. The overall state of the economy meant many problems which were causing much unrest such a s poor living conditions were left unresolved and the resentment towards the Tsar continued to grow. Russia was under autocratic rule and this is also one of the main contributors to the outbreak of the 1905 Revolution.Autocratic rule was disliked by many as many people believed that under the Autocratic rule Russia was suffering and there needed to be a change in the way the country was led in order for the country to progress. This caused many political groups to gain extremist views. The extremist groups such as the Social Revolutionaries became very popular as they wanted to give political power to the peasants, who made up 80% of the total population and solving their problems would mean that the whole of Russia would benefit greatly.This shows that the groups were becoming more organized and strategic in the way they worked as they were targeting the biggest problems, in addition in order to gain publicity and get their message and views across, political groups were responsib le for over 2000 assassinations which included the Interior Minister, Plehve and the Tsars Uncle, Grand Duke Sergei, the Governor of Moscow.Furthermore, the demand for political reform continued growing as just like the Russian economy, Russian politics was also backwards and unlike other European states, Russia had elected bodies being the Zemstva, instead of an elected national parliament. This meant that the Russian population had no say in how the country was run which angered many and in turn meant that they supported extremist political groups in an attempt to force political change. Alexander ii’s reforms were also partly responsible for the outbreak of the War.Although the Emancipation of Serfs Act was passed in 1861,the peasants were still not completely free as they could not leave their villages without permission from the elders. The fact that they also had to pay redemption payments for 49 years added to their animosity towards the Tsar. In addition, landowners h ad to sell their land to the Government, meaning that they were in great debt and like the peasants their resentment towards the Tsar continued to grow. Due to Russia’s economical state many of these problems continued to grow as did the resentment.The weaknesses of Nicholas ii, although not as important as the other factors such as economic and political, also influenced the outbreak of the Revolution. As Russia was under autocratic rule, the majority needed to be under his control. This was very hard for Nicholas as he was very shy and timid, not qualities the Russians admired in their leader. His image was also affected by events such as the Russo-Japanese War as the result meant that Russia’s pride was damaged. Bloody Sunday also affected how he was viewed by his Country as he had been accused on turning against his own people.It was also said that he had no political knowledge, which many people blamed for Russia’s turbulences. Therefore people saw him unfi t to rule. Bloody Sunday was only minutely responsible for the outbreak of the Revolution as it was merely a spark. Although it was only a short term cause it had a damaging effects that angered many. Although the Tsar was not present at the time it still harmed his popularity as he was no longer the ‘Little Father’ who was on their side and would listen to them if they petitioned.He had destroyed the trust causing them to revolt. In conclusion, the Russo- Japanese War, although important as it highlighted and added to many of the issues already present in Russia, was merely a factor that prolonged the Revolution. The most important factors were the Economical and Political, as they showed Russia’s latent issues whereas the War made people more aware. The Russo- Japanese War itself was a problem that helped merely to prolong a revolution that would have occurred even without it.

Critical Legal Thinking Essay

A state doctrine is â€Å"a doctrine which states that judges of one country cannot question the validity of an act committed by another country within that other country’s borders. It is based on the principle that a country has absolute authority over what transpires within its own territory† (Cheeseman, 2013). In the case of Glen v. Club Mediteranee, S.A. this means that because the incident of Cuba’s expropriating the Glen’s beachfront property to Club Mediteranee, S. A. to build their facility and then not paying the Glen’s for the property cannot be brought to a U.S. court to be judged because the incident originated in Cuba and state doctrine states that another country cannot â€Å"question the validity of an act committed by another country† (Cheeseman, 2013, p. 543). The U.S.A. cannot just step in and tell Cuba that their standards and beliefs are wrong. Ethics No, the Cuban government and Club Mediteranee by ethical, societal, or U.S. standards act morally in the joint venture of building their facilities on the Glen’s beachfront property without establishing a contract or making payment to the Glen’s for their beachfront property. By our society standards and beliefs, in the U.S.A. this would be considered stealing. Although we might see this as immoral and illegal Cuba may not, because their country may have no compunction to take what is not theirs and use it as they see fit does not give another country the right to sit in judgment because each culture and civilization has their own ethical standards and we cannot place our standards on other countries because that would be unethical. Contemporary Business References Cheeseman, H. R. (2013). The Legal Environment of Business and Online Commerce: Business Ethics, E-Commerce, Regulatory, and International Issues. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Investment policy – OECD. (2014.). Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/investment/toolkit/policyareas/investmentpolicy/expropriationlawsandreviewprocesses.htm

Ethics Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Ethics - Case Study Example The issues ethics for these accountants’ suits maintaining accurate details of company resources, liabilities and also profits without succumbing to the demands placed on them by managing department or officers in a corporate, disreputable accountant may possibly and easily alter a company’s’ financial report and change numbers to paint bogus picture of the company’s successes. This may result to short term prosperity, but altered reports ultimately bring the downfall of any companies whenever the Exchange Commission and Securities discovers the fraud. The effect of greed in the finance world and any business leads to shaving ethical limitations and stepping in safeguards in the name of generating money. An account might never permit the desire to make a better living and obtain more wealth get in the way by ensuring that he/she follows ethical procedures or guidelines for financial reporting (Moore 23). An executive or other corporate officer may request an accountant to skip or leave out certain monetary figures from a balance sheet so that they may paint the business in an awful light to despite the industry investors and public. Bill should report this to the client and instruct the client to refuse the presented work papers presented to him for they do not give a true and fair view of the discrepancy that bill had come across (Moore 33). In accordance with AICPA the performance of any expert service, a member shall uphold integrity and objectivity, shall always be liberated from conflict of interest, and shall not intentionally misrepresent information or share his or her judgment to anyone. Any member shall always be thought to have deliberately misrepresented particulars in infringement rule 102 of the code of conduct of AICPA, when he/she consciously permit, make or directs another member to make, substantially untrue and misleading

The strengths and limitations of Pro Tools HD as a music production Essay

The strengths and limitations of Pro Tools HD as a music production system - Essay Example The major benefit Pro Tools is that it can be run alone, and can also operate very well using a large assortment of external A/D converters and/or internal Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) (Webopedia) or Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) audio cards with onboard digital signal processor DSP (Dyer and Harms). In essence, Pro Tools similar to most other softwares of Digital Audio Workstation is very much like a tape recorder that is multi-track and has a mixer. There are several other added features that can perform their function only in the digital domain. Pro tools supports all of 16-bit, 24-bit and the 32-bit float audio at several different sample rates of which the maximum is 192 kHz. Pro tools can also well handle Waveform Audio File Format (WAV) ( IBM Corporation and Microsoft Corporation), Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF), AIFC, WMA, mp3 and SDII audio files as well as the QuickTime video files. A prominent feature of Pro tools is its time code, elast ic audio, tempo maps, automation and the surround sound capabilities. Pro Tools was initially developed by Peter Gotcher and Evan Brooks, both graduates of UC Berkeley. Majors of computer sciences and electrical engineering, Pro Tools began in 1984 as just a sound designer whose original purpose was to tidy up sounds for the E-MU keyboard (emulator archive). Both Brooks and Gotcher tried merging Pro Tools with E-MU. This proposition was rejected and lead to the invent of Digidesign (Brooks) now known as Avid technology. Sound Tools originally began on the 20th of January in the year 1989 at the National Association of Music Merchandisers (NAMM). Initially, it was just a simple tool that was computer based and was uses as a stereo audio editor. The software had tremendous amount of potential which was limited by the technology of hard drives (NAMM.org). The first album which was recorded and edited as well as mixed entirely with the aid of Pro Tools was The Beach Boys ‘summer i n Paradise’ in the year 1991. The album was released 1992. "Livin la Vida Loca" a song by Ricky Martin was released in the year 1999 and was the first ever song edited and mixed on Pro Tools to reach the stature of the No. 1 single. Version 2.0 of garbage was the first ever Pro Tool edited album to win a nomination for Grammy awards in the category of ‘Album of the Year’. The entire album was solely edited and mixed with the help of Pro Tools. Eventual successes as these go on to prove the success and usefulness of Pro Tools. There are several recording artists that now prefer to record their songs without the help of Pro Tools. A prominent such name is Jack White belonging to The White Stripes who argued that this tool was not highly appropriate for the purposes of recording music. He was perhaps right in saying that tools such as these were destroying the true essence of recorded music. It made fixing of the mistakes too easy recording artist and the end result or the recorded song was more of a Pro Tool fix up then the artistic effort by the recording artist. He was also right to say that Pro Tools produced the end result so perfect that music instead of sounding like it was sung by someone sounds all the same because of the near to perfect qualities added into it. He was of the opinion that this was not what music was about and it shouldn’t be what people have to hear. They had a right to know music in