Review of the imperial peace democracy, force and globalization Essay

Review of the imperial peace democracy, force and globalization - Essay Example In 1980s the focus was really placed on the state resulting in â€Å"a rigid boundary between the pacific nature of inter-liberal state relations and the warlike nature of liberal–non-liberal state relations.† (MacMillan, 1993) The view on this problem changed when more researchers started to relate it with the process of globalization. Statistical world of internal state politics was substituted by concepts in motion which highlight the dynamic nature of the relations between democracy and war. From the globalization perspective the international system is viewed as a whole divided into discrete zones with different logics of interstate relations. As the meanings of ‘democracy’ and ‘war’ cannot be really fixed, the belief that ‘democratic’ states do not start a war with one another is inadequate since the states and their political systems are subject to changes. The notions of democracy and war differ across the time and location. The relation between them is determined by historical location and social contexts in which they are embedded. As these notions are analyzed in the context of relations between sovereign territorial states in an anarchic international system, democracy and war defined in a historical and state-centric manner and globalization factor are little considered which is a serious oversight since the processes of social change related to the changing nature of democracy and war are global processes. In the majority of studies war and peace as the central problem of international relations are separated from globalization. However, the historical evolution of democracy and war is a part of broader patterns of global social change which impacts directly on the nature and meaning of democracy and war and conditions of use of the force by the states. As Barkawi & Laffey (1999) frame it â€Å"states and peoples fashion democratic claims and

Pakistan's need for economic growth focusing on solar energy and Research Paper

Pakistan's need for economic growth focusing on solar energy and working water filtration plants - Research Paper Example Energy is required to operate any institution in the modern world. On the other hand, the management of energy and its efficient use can reduce the demand of energy. Energy efficient devices and appliances save a lot of electrical units. Electrical energy is mostly generated by utilizing the fossil fuel resources. With the passage of time, the fossil fuel resources are becoming short due to the depletion in the fossil fuel reservoirs. As, the supply is becoming short the demand of the fossil fuel resources is rising and thus the value of the fuel resources is increasing. It is a general concept that fossil fuel based generated power is considered the costliest power as compared to hydro power or solar or wind. A research designed to evaluate the water shortage in the world depicts that about 1.3 billion people worldwide suffer from water shortage. People, in the underdeveloped and developing regions of the world, are more likely to catch the diseases that are transferred from contami nated water. Water contamination kills more people in underdeveloped regions than cancer, aids and other such diseases. People are less aware of water filtration and treatment. Small scale water filtration plants can solve the problem and prevent diseased water from entering the human body. Low energy consuming filtration plants based on solar distillation, RO filtration or other water purification methods can be utilized that consume less energy and still maintain the acceptable quality of water. Pakistan shows the similar conditions as other under developed countries due to the lack of the clean drinking water, lack of electrical energy, lack of heath services and lack of economic stability. A deep study depicts that the cost of electrical energy in Pakistan is 13 times the cost of electrical energy in Saudi Arabia. There is a need to develop a small or a large scale power generation units by utilizing the solar energy in Pakistan to bring economic stability. On the other hand, it is equally important o provide people with safe drinking water by utilizing the small scale water filtration plants. Research Questions Can solar energy and small working water filtration plants bring economic stability is Pakistan and how women can play their part in he economic stability of the Country? Body of the Paper The maintenance cost of the fossil fuel based power plant is considerably high. Moreover, a fossil fuel based power plant can be only 40% efficient, as the major part of the fuel converts to waste heat. Besides the environmental perspective, it is also economically less feasible to utilize coal, oil or gas for power generation. On the other hand, in future the fuel will cost more than the current price due to its short supply in the future. The need of the time is to utilize the alternate resources for the generation of energy1. Solar and wind energy have more potential than our current needs. Solar energy can be utilized to generate power directly by utilizing t he solar photovoltaic panels. It can be adopted individually or on a large scale. It is an efficient way to generate energy. Economic Evaluation of Solar energy Solar energy converts solar radiation into electrical energy. Solar energy has two contents; one is light energy and other content is thermal energy. Solar Photovoltaic cells are capable of converting solar light into electrical energy that can be stored in batteries and can be utilized in night. Solar energy can be harnessed for individual as well as industrial demand. Solar PV panels only consume sun radiations to generate energy. Solar light is free of cost and it will remain till the solar system remains2. The

Honesty - the Best Policy Essay Example for Free

Honesty the Best Policy Essay Honesty is the human quality of communicating and acting truthful and with fairness, as best one is able. It is related to truth as a value. This includes listening, reasoning and any action in the human repertoire — as well as speaking. Superficially, honesty means simply, stating facts and views as best one truly believes them to be. It includes both honesty to others, and to oneself (see: self-deception) and about ones own motives and inner reality. Western views on honesty  Since the quality of honesty applies to all behaviors, one cannot refuse to consider factual information, for example, in an unbiased manner and still claim that ones knowledge, belief or position is an attempt to be truthful. Such a belief is clearly a product of ones desires and simply has nothing to do with the human ability to know. Basing ones positions on what one wants — rather than unbiased evidence gathering — is dishonest even when good intentions can be cited — after all even Hitler could cite good intentions and intended glory for a select group of people. Clearly then, an unbiased approach to the truth is a requirement of honesty. Because intentions are closely related to fairness and certainly affect the degree of honesty/dishonesty, there is a wide spread confusion about honestyand a general belief that being dishonest means that one always  correctly understands if their behavior is either honest or dishonest. Self-perception of our morality is non-static and volatile. Its often at the moment we refuse to consider other perspectives that there is a clear indication we are not pursuing the truth, rather than simply and exclusively at the moment we can muster up evidence that we are right. Socrates had much to say about truth, honesty and morality, and explained that if people really understood that their behavior was wrong — then they simply wouldnt do it — by definition. Unfortunately, honesty in the western tradition has been marginalized to specific instances — perhaps because a thorough understanding of honesty collides with ideologies of all types. Ideologies and idealism often exaggerate and suppress evidence in order to support their perspectives — at the expense of the truth. This process erodes the ractice and understanding of honesty. To an ideologist the truth quite often becomes insignificant, what matters most are their ideals and what ever supports their desires to enjoy and spread those ideals. Human beings are inherently biased about what they believe to be good due to individual tastes backgrounds, but once one understands that a decidedly biased approach to what is true — is inherently dishonest, one can also understand how idealism and ideology have poorly served the quest for an honest, moral society. Both honesty and morality require that we base our opinions about what is good — upon unbiased ideas of what is TRUE — rather than vice versa (determining what is true based on what we feel is good) — the way all ideologies would have us believe. The studies of Confucius about honesty Confucius recognized several levels of honesty, fundamental to his ethics: His shallowest concept of honesty was implied in his notion of Li: all actions committed by a person to build the ideal society aiming at meeting their surface desires of a person either immediately (bad) or longer term (good). To admit that one sought immediate gratification could however make a bad act better, and to hide ones long term goals could cloud a good act. A key principle was that a gentleman must strive to convey his feelings honestly on his face, so that these could help each other coordinate for long term gain for all. So there was a visible relation between time horizon, etiquette and ones image of oneself even in the mirror. This generates self-honesty and keeps such activities as business calm, unsurprising, and aboveboard. In this conception, one is honest because it suits ones own self-interest only. Deeper than Li was Yi or righteousness. Rather than pursuing your own interests you should do what is right and moral based on reciprocity. Here too time is central, but as a time span: since your parents spent your first three years raising you, you spent three mourning them after they die. At this level one is honest about ones obligations and duty. Even with no one else to keep you honest or to relate to directly, a deeply honest person ould relate to ancestors as if they were alive and would not act in ways that would make them ashamed. This was part of the moral code that included ancestor worship, but Confucius had made it rigorous. The deepest level of honesty was Ren, out of which flowed Yi and thus Li. Confucius morality was based upon empathy and understanding others, which required understanding ones own moral core first, rather than on divinely ordained rules, which could simply be obeyed. The Confucian version of the Golden Rule was to treat your inferiors as you would want your superiors to treat you. Virtue under Confucius is based upon harmony with others and a recognition of the honest reality that eventually (say in old age) one will come under the power of others (say ones children). So this level of honesty is to actually put oneself in context of ones whole life and future generations and choose to do or say nothing that would not reflect ones familys honour and reputation for honesty and acceptance of truth, such as eventual death. Partially because of incomplete understanding of these deeper notions of honesty among Westerners, in Asian countries it is common to refer to those who do not have them as barbarians. While sometimes Asian cultures sanction an almost intolerable degree of delay and ambiguity for Western tastes, it is very often to avoid lying, or giving a positive impression where doubt exists. These would be thought dishonest by Asians. Thus pressing for a decision on a matter where it is not yet possible to give an honest commitment or answer is seen as extremely rude in effect, forcing someone to choose to be either rude or dishonest. Both being unthinkable in traditional culture, one thus delays. A Buddhist teaching on honesty Thanissaro Bhikkhu taught: â€Å"Real honesty is being honest about what your possibilities are, what your potentials are. Thats where true honesty lies. It stretches us. It’s not simply admitting where we are that’s a beginning step, it’s not the end step. So be honest about where you are but also be honest about what your possibilities are. That keeps the challenge of the path always before us. †

Greek and Roman Sports

Greek and Roman Sports Ancient Greek and Roman civilization have made many contributions to western civilization. Especially when it comes to politics, trade, and sports. From wrestling to javelin, ancient sports set the pace for some of the sports we have in our day and age, especially the Olympic Games. In Ancient Greek and Romans sports, athletes contested very hard and it was a public display that was a trait of the religious and social life of ancient Greece and Rome (Osborne 15). Ancient athletes trained and participated for physical exercise, competition, and to honor their gods. In this paper I will discuss the Greek and Roman attitudes toward sports. The ancient competition, physically, was relatively different from the sporting events we have now a days. There were far fewer events and only free Greek men (and sometimes boys) were allowed to compete because of the brutality. Also, there weren’t any team sports; every sport was one man against another/others, because they were more concerned about individual merit. Some of the different sports the Greek’s participated in where javelin, running (with and without armor), and discuss. Moreover, some of the more brutal sports they embarked on where wrestling, boxing, and pankration (a form of wrestling and boxing). Some of the games where brutal and you had to participate naked, but it intended on showing the beauty of the human body. The four main cycles of games were the Olympic Games, the Pythian Games, the Isthmian Games, and the Nemean Games (Kyle 48). Romans on the other hand based their sports around warlike displays, most notably the fights amongst gladiators. They included a gladiatorial combat, stage-plays, chariot races, athletic competitions, and a mock naval battle. Without a doubt, the Greek games depended for their entertainment value primarily on rivalry among athletes; while the Roman games were often describe by the staging of battles fought to the death and involved large numbers of human beings and also beasts (Kyle 184). The Roman sporting events I think were more brutal; especially when it comes to the fights amongst gladiators when most of the time they fought to their death. While on the other hand, the Greek’s were involved with the sports and the Roman’s simply watched them and cheered for the participant they wanted to win. In conclusion, the Greek and Roman sports helped create some of the sporting events we have today and definitely started athletic competition. We can clearly see the love for sports in Greek and the Romans. We learn that the ancient Greeks and Romans shaped their own idea about the meaning of life. The Roman games were radically different from the Greek games in several respects. However, their sports show the mindset of the people of that time. The Greeks were more interested in showing off the human body while the Roman’s were more inclined on massacring the human body. I think this shows that compared to the Roman’s, the Greek’s valued human life more. Without a doubt modern Americans would find much of these sports awfully violent; particularly the hundreds of gladiator fights and animal fights, with their many public deaths of both people and animals. Works Cited Osborne, Robin Studies in Ancient Greek and Roman Society. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Kyle, Donald G. Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World. New York: Blackwell Pub, 2007.

Compare how visual images are used in Blessing and one other poem Essay

Compare how visual images are used in Blessing and one other poem (Vultures) to highlight political issues. The poet of Blessing Imtiaz Dharker and the poet of Vultures Chinua Achebe both use visual images to highlight the political issues in both poems. However both poems are very different from each other and contrast from of the poets’ views. The poem Blessing is about a water pipe bursting and how that is a blessing, as in the country they live in water is very limited and it doesn’t rain much in the country. The poem Vultures is about the evil of war and how evil always has good and good always has evil. The contrast in the two poems is Blessing is about Poverty and lack of water, whereas Vultures is about war and ethnic dying. In the poem Blessing the poet discusses the theme of third world poverty and the lack of water through using different language feature. For example line one â€Å"The skin cracks like a pod.† Using like in the sentence it shows that the poet is comparing dry skin to a pod, a pod dries out till it crack. There is also onomatopoeia used in this poem, â€Å"sliver crashes to the ground† crash is normally a negative onomatopoeia as the first thing that may come to our head may be car crash; however it is used as a positive as it is used with silver. Silver is a value metal and is precious, this shows how precious the water was to them. In the poem Vultures the poet discusses the theme of war and ethnic dying by using different language features. For example in Vultures the poet has used repetition of death and negative vocabulary a number of different times. â€Å"perching high on broken bone of a dead tree† in the phrase there are tow negative words. These negative words show that the Vul... ...g and Vultures to show the different political issues. In the poem Blessing visual images are portrayed about third world poverty, and in the poem Vultures it more about war a more political issue. Even though poverty is a political issue it could be easily stopped but would take a long time. War alternatively would take a long time and could also easily be. In contrast poverty could only be created by other countries it could also be created by the country it’s self. For example in the poem Vultures the commandment could stop imposing rules for others to follow, this would bring a stop to evil. However gathering the money to bring poverty to end would take a number of months. The in poem Blessing I thought the country may have been living in poverty for a number of years and didn’t have water for a number weeks. This could have lead to a number of deaths.

The Tower Pig Essay -- essays research papers

What happens when in spite of all odds, foe becomes friend? What happens, when an infinite and unending chasm between individuals is filled, and a void of mistrust, hatred and prejudice is replaced with more noble values, such as understanding and a sense of mutual respect? These are among the themes in the American short story, â€Å"The Tower Pig.† The story is set behind, and outside, the walls of the Thomaston Penitentiary in present day America. The story essentially revolves around a young man who suffers the hardships of imprisonment in an American correctional facility. The protagonist is throughout the tale addressed only by his surname, Caine. Caine expresses incomprehensible anger he feels for one of the wardens, an outcast despised by colleagues and inmates alike, and who is commonly known as â€Å"The Tower Pig† by all the prisoners at the facility. â€Å"Pain, joy, worry, are shielded away until the cell doors slam and we’re alone in our solitude. For ten days in the hole, I had nothing to do but hate Strazinsky, the Tower Pig, for putting me there, and to mourn my grandmother, finally to sick to visit.† When we are first introduced to Caine, he has just come out of â€Å"The Hole.† The Hole is presumably a slang expression for a non-corporal punishment, which implies the use of isolation for the involved offender. This sort of punishment is usually deployed as a reaction to a disciplinary offense; this is also the case with Caine. Caine put in the hole because of a verbal fight with Strazinsky. While Caine undoubtedly finds Strazinsky to be responsible for his punishment, it seems, looking back in retrospective, that he is fully aware that he himself was to blame; yet all Caine’s inner turmoil and anger is channelled into his hate for Strazinsky, and the fury towards his arch-enemy continues to blaze. Imprisonment tends to have a debilitating effect on both mind and body alike. Therefore in order to counter a mental breaking, one must deploy facades, facades that show strength and vitality, since any behaviour expressing the slightest trait of weakness will be preyed upon by both inmates and wardens. Caine seems fully aware of this, and prudently manages to keep all his fears and doubts to himself. Caine is greatly disturbed upon learning about the death of his beloved grandmother, the one person who, despite him being imprisoned, still managed to show him both... ... desired intimacy of mind is what we call friendship. But sadly, in this present world ruled by the divisive spirit of greed and corruption, it is not possible to achieve this intimacy of mind to any worth-while depth with just anyone. The minds of potential friends must from the outset already possess a mutual sense of affinity, not based on anything but an inexplicable sense of compatibillity. Although Strazinsky and Caine hardly fit the common definition of friendship, it seems that the two share more thoughts than either would care to admit, honest exposure of the inner self to another is not easy, yet this is exactly what Strazinsky does. Strazinsky opens himself in a sincere manner to a man, whom he knows despises him with all of his heart. This courageous act initially only serves to confuse Caine. It is, however, my impression that Caine, although reluctant to start a conversation with Strazinsky, suddenly begins to look at the warden in a different way. The gap between p risoner and warden is as self-evident as can be; nonetheless, it is my distinct belief that the chances of a friendship arising from the ashes of a past enmity, could in this case be very realistic indeed.

Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions Analysis Essay

Geert Hofstede is a social psycologist, originally from the Netherlands. Hofstede is well known globally for his revolutionary research of multicultural organisations and groups. Perhaps his most important work was developing the theory of cultural dimensions. There are 5 dimensions that Hofstede explains in his framework- these are; Power distance index (PDI), Individualism versus Collectivism (IDV), Masculinity versus Femininity (MAS), Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI), and Long term Orientation versus Short term normative orientation (LTO). Power distance index is the dimension in which a society can understand and accept inequalities that occur in their culture. It is all about the less dominant members of that culture understanding that imbalances politically, financially and racially for example, occur in their world- and the key issue Hofstede focuses on is how these disparities are handles. For a country to yield a large degree of PDI, then the people must recognise that thes e inequalities will occur and accept a hierarchical order. Therefore societies with a low PDI, make every effort to rid of the differences in status or importance and strive to level the distribution of, for example, wealth or power. The example that Hofstede recently gave to illustrate the impact of PDI is the reaction of Chinese authorities to the fact that a Chinese author won the Nobel Prize for peace, explaining that he is a man that the western part of the world would only perceive as a good, virtuous winner of the prize. Due to the authorities reaction he describes them as feeling threatened by the possible share of power, therefore being a place of high PDI. The second dimension that Hofstede describes is Individualism. This can be explained as a preference of a society that only believes they need to look after themselves and their immediate family. The flipside of this, which Hofstede refers to as Collectivism, represents a preference for a tightly-knit framework in society in which individuals can expect their relatives or members of a particular in-group to look after them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. A society’s position on this dimension is reflected in whether people’s self-image is defined in terms of â€Å"I† or â€Å"we.† The next aspect of his framework is the Masculinity versus Femininity factor. The masculinity feature is where society in whole is very competitive. It is about achievement, success, and prevailing more than others and gaining material rewards for success. The opposite of this that is illustrated is femininity,  which is a society which is more focused on cooperating, caring for the weak and the general concern for quality of life. In the business context Masculinity versus Femininity is sometimes also related to as â€Å"tough versus gender† cultures. The fourth point that Hofstede portrays in his work is Uncertainty avoidance index. This is explained as being the degree to which the members of a society feel uncomfortable with doubt and ambiguity. Hofstede explains the key issue here is how a society can deal with or accept the uncertainty of the future and how it cannot be known- it is a question of whether society attempts to control what will happen in the future or just simply let it happen. A country with a low uncertainty avoidance index is the latter; the part of society with more of a laid back and relaxed approach to how the future develops, whereas a country with strong UAI has firm beliefs on codes of conduct and behaviour, in order to be able to influence the future as much as possible. The final dimension that Hofstede uses is the Long term orientation versus short term normative orientation. Societies who score low on this dimension, for example, prefer to maintain time-honoured traditions and norms while viewing societal change with suspicion. Those with a culture which scores high, on the other hand, take a more pragmatic approach: they encourage thrift and efforts in modern education as a way to prepare for the future. To conclude this exploration of Geert Hofstede’s framework, I believe that all of the points he makes and focuses on are relevant in societies internationally, regardless of specific cultures. For example, the Power Distance index dimension is an issue that occurs all over the globe. There are individuals in every society that have superior power to others, be it financially, politically or just have a greater status in the social order. However the acceptance of these issues can vary from country to country. For example, I would say that North Korea have a very high PDI, as they are governed by a dictatorship where certain individuals have enormous power over the rest of society, and they just get along with it and accept that fact. However in more democratic states; i.e. the UK and the USA the PDI is much lower as society believes much more in equality.