Nadine Gordimer Essays - Historical Novels, Nadine Gordimer

Nadine Gordimer Gordimer (1923-) South African novelist and short-story writer, who received Nobel Prize for Literature in 1991. Gordimer's main themes are exile, loneliness and strong political opposition towards racial segregation. She was a founding member of Congress of South African Writers, and even at the height of the apartheid regime, she never considered leaving her country. Nadine Gordimer was born into a well-off family in Springs, Transvaal, an East Rand mining town outside Johannesburg. It was the setting for Gordimer's first novel, THE LYING DAYS (1953). Her father was a Jewish jeweller originally from Latvia and her mother of British descent. From her early childhood Gordimer witnessed the increase of white power at the expense of the rights of the black majority. Gordimer was educated in a convent school and she spent a year at Witwaterstrand University, Johannesburg without taking a degree. Often kept at home by a mother who imagined she had a weak heart, Gordimer began writing from the age of nine and her first story, 'Come Again Tomorrow', appeared in the Johannesburg magazine Forum when she was fifteen. By her twenties Gordimer had had stories published in many of the local magazines and in 1951 the New Yorker accepted a story, publishing her ever since. From her first collection of short stories, FACE TO FACE (1949), which is not listed in some of her biographies, Gordimer has revealed the effects of alienation of racies on society. It was followed by THE SOFT VOICE OF THE SERPENT (1952), and novel The Lying Days (1953), which exhibited Gordimer's unsentimental technique, already hallmark of her narrative. The story was based largely on the author's own life and depicted a white girl who attempts to escape the racism of a small-town life. Other works in the 1950s and 1960s include A WORLD OF STRANGERS (1958), OCCASION FOR LOVING (1963), and THE LATE BOURGEOIS WORLD (1966). In these novels Gordimer studies the master-servant relations characteristic of South African life, spiritual and sexual paranoias of colonialism, and the political responsibilities of privileged white South Africans. "A line in a statute book has more authority than the claims of one man's love or another's. All claims of natural feeling are over-ridden alike by a line in a statute book that takes no account of humanness, that recognises neither love nor respect nor jealousy nor rivalry nor compassion nor hate - nor any human attitude where there are black and white together. What Boaz felt towards Ann; what Gideon felt towards Ann, what Ann felt about Boaz, what she felt for Gideon - all this that was real and rooted in life was void before the clumsy words that reduced the delicacy and towering complexity of living to a race theory..." (from Occasion for Loving) Occasion for Loving was concerned with the 'line in a statute book' - South Africa's cruel racial law. In the story an illicit love affair between a black man and a white woman ends bitterly. Ann Davis is married to a gentle Jew called Boaz Davis, a dedicated scholar who has travelled all over the country in search of African music. Gideon Shibalo, a talented painter, is black, he has a marriage and several affairs behind. The liberal Mrs Jessie Stilwell is a reluctant hostess to the law-breaking lovers. Boaz, the cuckold, is on the side of the struggling South African black majority, and Ann plays with two men's emotions. Gordimer won early international recognition for her short stories and novels. THE CONSERVATIONIST (1974) juxtaposed wealthy white South African world with the rituals and mythology of Zulus. BURGER'S DAUGHTER (1979), written during the aftermath of Soweto uprising. In the story a daughter analyzes her relationship to her father. JULY'S PEOPLE (1981) was a futuristic novel about a white family feeing from war-torn Johannesburg into the country. Gordimer's early short story collections include SIX FEET OF THE COUNTRY (1956), NOT FOR PUBLICATION (1965) and LIVINGSTONE'S COMPANIONS (1971). Since 1948 Gordimer has lived in Johannesburg and taught in the USA in several universities during the 1960s and '70s. She has written books of non-fiction on South African subjects and made television documentaries, notably collaborating with her son Hugo Cassirer on the television film Choosing Justice: Allan Boesak. In THE HOUSE GUN (1998) Gordimer explored the problems of the violence ridden post-apartheid society through a murder trial. Two white privileged liberals, Harald and Claudia Lindgard, face the fact that their architect-son, Duncan, has killed his friend Carl Jesperson. Where does it lead, when violence becomes the common hell? For further reading: The Novels of

About Short-Term Homeschooling

About Short-Term Homeschooling There are many reasons a family might begin homeschooling on a temporary basis. Some are excited about the idea of home educating their children, but they arent sure homeschooling will really work for their family. So, they opt to homeschool for a trial period, knowing that they will evaluate the experience and make a permanent decision at the end of their trial.   Others know from the start that their foray into home education  is only temporary. Temporary homeschooling may be the result of illness, a bullying situation, an impending move,  an opportunity to travel for an extended time, or a myriad of other possibilities. Whatever the reason, there are some steps you can take to make your homeschool experience a positive one while ensuring that your students transition back into a traditional school setting is as seamless as possible. Complete Standardized Testing Homeschooling parents who return their children to public or private school may be asked to submit standardized test scores for grade placement. Test scores can be particularly crucial for students re-entering public or private school after 9th grade. Without these scores, they will likely have to take placement tests to determine their grade level. This may not be true for all states, particularly those who offer assessment options other than testing for homeschoolers and those  that don’t require assessments. Check your state’s homeschool laws to see what may be expected of your student. If you know or are relatively confident that your student will be returning to school, ask your school administration precisely what will be required so that you can make sure you have what you need. Stay on Target If you know that homeschooling will be temporary for your family, take steps to stay on target, particularly with concept-based subjects like math. Many curriculum publishers also sell materials for homeschooling families. You may be able to use the same curriculum your child would be using in a traditional school setting. You might also inquire about the learning benchmarks for your student’s grade level and the topics that his or her peers will cover in the upcoming year. Perhaps your family would like to touch on some of the same topics in your studies.   Have Fun Don’t be afraid to dig in and enjoy your temporary homeschool situation.  Just because your child’s public or privately schooled  classmates will be studying the Pilgrims or the water cycle doesn’t mean you have to. Those are topics that can be easily covered on a need-to-know basis when your child returns to school. If you are traveling, take advantage of the opportunity to explore first-hand the history and geography of the places you’ll be visiting, something that would be impossible if you weren’t homeschooling. Visit historical landmarks, museums, and local hot-spots. Even if you aren’t traveling, take advantage of the freedom to follow your child’s interests and customize his education during your foray into homeschooling. Go on field trips. Delve into topics that captivate your student. Consider ditching the textbooks in favor of historical fiction, biographies, and engaging non-fiction titles on topics of interest. Study the arts by incorporating visual arts into your homeschool day and by attending plays or symphony performances. Take advantage of classes for homeschoolers at places such as zoos, museums, gymnastics centers, and  art studios. If you’re moving to a new area, make the most of  learning opportunities as you travel and take time to explore your new home. Get Involved in Your Local Homeschool Community Even though you won’t be homeschooling long-term, getting involved in your local homeschooling community can be an opportunity to forge life-long friendships for parents and kids alike. If your student will be returning to the same public or private school at the end of your homeschool year, it makes sense to  maintain school friendships. However, it’s also wise to give him or her  the opportunity to foster friendships with other homeschoolers. Their shared experiences can make homeschooling feel less awkward and isolating, particularly for a child who may feel caught between two worlds in a temporary homeschooling experience. Getting involved with other homeschoolers can be especially helpful for a child who isn’t particularly excited about homeschooling and who may think homeschoolers are weird. Being around other homeschooled kids can break the stereotypes in his mind (and vice versa). Not only is getting involved in the homeschooling community a good idea for social reasons, but it can be helpful for the temporary homeschool parent, too. Other homeschooling families can be a wealth of information about educational opportunities that you may wish to explore. They can also be a source of support for the difficult days that are an inevitable part of homeschooling and a sounding board about curriculum choices. If needed, they can offer tips for tweaking your curriculum to make it work best for your family since completely changing any ill-fitting  choices probably isn’t feasible for short-term homeschoolers. Be Prepared to Make It Permanent Finally, be prepared for the possibility that your temporary homeschooling situation may become permanent. Even though your plan may be to return your student to public or private school, its okay to entertain the possibility that your family might enjoy  homeschooling so much that you decide to continue. Thats why its a good idea to enjoy the year and not be too rigid in following what your child would be learning in school. Create a learning-rich environment and explore different educational experiences than your child might have in school. Try hands-on learning activities  and look for everyday educational moments. Following these tips can help your child be prepared for his re-entry into public or private school (or not!) while making the time that you do spend homeschooling something that your whole family will remember fondly.

Turkey in the European Union

Turkey in the European Union The country of Turkey is typically considered to straddle both Europe and Asia. Turkey occupies all of the Anatolian Peninsula (also known as Asia Minor) and a small part of southeastern Europe. In October 2005 negotiations began between Turkey (population 70 million) and the European Union (EU) for Turkey to be considered as a possible member of the EU in the future. Location While most of Turkey lies geographically in Asia (the peninsula is Asian), far western Turkey lies in Europe. Turkeys largest city of Istanbul (known as Constantinople until 1930), with a population of over 9 million is located on both the east and west sides of the Bosporus strait so it straddles both what are traditionally considered Europe and Asia. However, Turkeys capital city of Ankara is fully outside of Europe and on the Asian continent. While the European Union is working with Turkey to help it move toward being able to become a member of the European Union, there are some who are concerned about Turkeys potential membership. Those opposed to Turkish membership in the EU point to several issues. Issues First, they state that Turkeys culture and values are different from those of the European Union as a whole. They point out that Turkeys 99.8% Muslim population is too different from Christian-based Europe. However, the EU makes the case that the EU is not a religion-based organization, Turkey is a secular (a non-religion-based government) state, and that 12 million Muslims currently live throughout the European Union. Nonetheless, the EU acknowledges that Turkey needs to Substantially improve respect for the rights of non-Muslim religious communities to meet European standards. Secondly, naysayers point out that since Turkey is mostly not in Europe (neither population-wise nor geographically), it should not become part of the European Union. The EU responds that, The EU is based more on values and political will than on rivers and mountains, and acknowledges that, Geographers and historians have never agreed on the physical or natural borders of Europe. Too true! A third reason Turkey might have problems is its non-recognition of Cyprus, a full-fledged member of the European Union. Turkey will have to acknowledge Cyprus to be considered a contender for membership. Additionally, many are concerned about the rights of Kurds in Turkey. The Kurdish people have limited human rights and there are accounts of genocidal activities that need to stop for Turkey to be considered for European Union membership. Finally, some are concerned that Turkeys large population would alter the balance of power in the European Union. After all, Germanys population (the largest country in the EU) is only at 82 million and declining. Turkey would be the second largest country (and perhaps eventually the largest with its much higher growth rate) in the EU and would have considerable influence in the European Union. This influence would be especially profound in the population-based European Parliament. The low per-capita income of the Turkish population is also of concern since the economy of Turkey as a new EU member might have a negative effect on the EU as a whole. Turkey is receiving considerable assistance from its European neighbors as well as from the EU. The EU has allocated billions and is expected to allocate billions of euros in funding for projects to help invest in a stronger Turkey that may one day become a member of the European Union. I was particularly moved by this EU statement on why Turkey should be part of the European Union of the future, Europe needs a stable, democratic and more prosperous Turkey which adopts our values, our rule of law, and our common policies. The accession perspective has already driven forward bold and significant reforms. If the rule of law and human rights are guaranteed throughout the country, Turkey can join the EU and thus become an even stronger bridge between civilizations as it is already today. That sounds like worthwhile goal to me.

The dangers of smoking Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The dangers of smoking - Assignment Example These are some of the reasons as to why smoking among teenagers has increased. There are many dangers arising from smoking. Some of the dangers of smoking are short while others are long-term. These dangers may include health risk, addiction, economic aspect, side effects, financial burden and psychological effects. This paper seeks to focus on the dangers of smoking. Smoking cigarettes have devastating consequences in pregnant women. The number of women engaging in smoking continues to rise in not only United States but also the rest of the world. Smoking in women affects the development of child in their body especially in their body composition and development. Cigarettes have been shown to contain chemicals that are detrimental to the human body. For example, nicotine and tar found in cigarettes may lead to reduced development of the limbs in children born of pregnant mothers. In addition, such chemicals may lead to stillbirth or premature birth. Such consequence may lead to incr eased spending as some of the corrective measures are undertaken on such children. Furthermore, women who engage in smoking find it difficult in getting pregnant. They are also likely to have ectopic pregnancies, vaginal problems, and challenges on their placenta. On the other hand, there is a clear association of significant heart disease and smoking in pregnant women. Women who engage in smoking are also most likely to give birth to small and unhealthy children. Secondly, cigarettes smoking leads to addiction. This occurs due to the presence of nicotine in c cigarette. Once it circulates within the body, it is difficult for the individuals involved disengaging from smoking. Those individual that regularly engage in smoking are faced with challenges of addiction. Moreover, addiction leads to individual engaging to unnecessary expenses. Such individual finds it difficult in controlling their resources. Addicted individuals are also likely to involve themselves in illegal activities such as stealing, and drug peddling. This may occur as they try to find necessary coin to purchase a packet of cigarette and other smoking substances. The generation of addicted individuals is to increase in the future due to the accessibility of cigarettes by teenagers. These teenagers will grow to become addicted adult. However, those teenagers that take part in smoking do not believe that once in the future they will become addicted individuals. In addition, smoking leads to health problems. Those who take part in smoking mostly are faced with health challenges. These individuals are prone to lung cancer. In fact, this has been leading in causing death in various places around the world. On the other hand, those who engage in smoking cough most in their lifetime. Once the cough perpetuates in the body it leads to severe form of lung cancer. Lung cancer has been shown to be because of tar present in the tobacco smoke. In fact, the number of mortalities because of health problem re sulting from smoking has been on the increase. Likewise, smoking leads to depression and anxiety. In fact, this affects individual who wants to disengage from smoking. In addition, smoking makes it difficult for individual to breath. Such individuals are unable to engage in recreational activities such as swimming and running. Consequently, these individuals remain dormant in the rest of their lives. Additionally,

Cross Cultural Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Cross Cultural Literature - Essay Example It is also a way to change perception regarding one’s culture and instead of stereotyping, people should learn the beliefs of others. While going global, the diversification is much more and one gets a chance to deal with different type of dealing with various types of people who are different from them in terms of culture, religion, habits and much more. At that time it is important for one to know the aspects of dealing with the diversification. Cross Cultural literature is important because of the consistent changing of trends from West to East. Communication Challenges in Cross Culture Communication is a great challenge while moving into the different cultures because if one act is followed in one culture then it’s not necessary that the same act will also be supported in other cultures. While going global or Glocal in business, the management should have the international understanding of the cultures so that it gets easier for them to communicate with different cl asses of people. There are certain cultural variables that need to be studied while communicating with different people; Attitudes It means stereotyping. Usually people when they move from one country to another for work purpose, these types of problems arise. Managers or employees working in that environment start over generalizing those who are different from their cultures. ... Role Role means the status and level of one based on his age. Usually every individual is treated equally but within these rules people try to discriminate their companions or subordinate. Language Language is a bridge between various cultures. It create the big difference because while communication there are different meanings of different statements. Example: â€Å"COME OUT OF THE GRAVE WITH PEPSI† This statement is considered right in context of west culture but when it comes to regions or cultures like India, this statement is proved to be wrong. For India where majority is the follower of Hinduism, this statement is not effective because it’s hitting their cultural values. So while sharing any idea regarding something, one should be alert or aware of the words he/she is using to give the idea because it may or may not directly pointing their culture but indirectly it could be taken in wrong meanings. One more example is â€Å"When YES doesn’t mean YES†. It means that when Chinese, Japanese and Pakistanis say YES while talking to someone, that doesn’t means that they will follow your commands, it actually means that â€Å"YES we are listening to you†. Non-Verbal Communication Non-Verbal Communication plays a very important role in context of cultural diversification. It includes kinesics behavior (E.g., Sticking out the tongue in China); Power distances (Proximity- E.g. The corner office, Closeness when talking), Paralanguage (e.g. the sound of silence), Objective Language (E.g. Monochronic vs. Polychronic) and most importantly eye contact. Trust in conducting Business within cross cultures There are some countries that do negotiate

The Behaving Brain Essay Example for Free

The Behaving Brain Essay The Video begins by explaining what we learned in class on Thursday about how the brain is made up of and how it works. It explained that a message will travel down axon then the message travels into the dendrites that release the message into the synapse. The brain becomes the most complex thing in the universe because it controls so many different things in the human body. It regulates our metabolism, temperature and respiration. It also enables us to learn, remember and decide. The video then moved on to talking about a new breed of scientists called neuroscientists. They are guided my the assumption that everything in the brain can be explained by biological or chemical events taking place within it either through out the entire brain or a region within. It went on to explain certain parts of the brain such as the brain stem, which controls life support in the body. The cerebellum that controls body movement and the limbic system which maintains the bodies inside workings and controls emotions. Ways of approaching the study of the brain is with brain imaging, which can provide researchers with actual pictures of the brains inner workings. The best way to study the brain is to record the brains electrical activity using a EEG machine. E. Roy John practices neurometrics. A way of recorded electrical activity of a patient and comparing it with a recording of normal brain activity. It enables you to see if any certain person has a mental or emotional disease such as depression or alcoholism. Some researchers study the brain chemically. Joseph Martinez focuses on chemicals that promote learning and memory. He tries to coax the brain to remember or in some cases forget things by introducing certain chemicals into the body. This research is being practiced in search for a cure for Alzheimers disease. The last section of the video was on a study of patients with Amnesia. Mieke Vertaellie works with patients in helping them recover and build new memories of which have been forgotten . Her patients are given word to remember to the best of there ability then try to recite what words they remembered. Patients with Amnesia usually can remember memories or information 10 years back but are unable to remember anything more recent. I found the research experiment Joseph Martinez was using with rats to be very interesting. Training a rat in maze to find food by following a certain track in the maze. After the rat had been trained to find the food Martinez introducing a chemical causing the rat to forget its training and wasnt able to find the food. I thought that was a great step in finding a cure for Alzheimers disease. But understanding the brain seems to be an ongoing and maybe never ending search to understand it. Its amazing to think a brain weighing 3 lbs is capable of being able to know more than any computer is a big thought to wrap your head around. I found the most interesting research in the video to be the chemical research. So much can be controlled with the chemicals in the brain. pain, happiness, depression, motor control is all controlled by the brain. Introducing more or less of a neurotransmitter can benefit humans in hundreds of ways.

Comparing The Matrix and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? :: Compare Contrast Matrix Androids Essays

Comparing The Matrix and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? For the common moviegoer and book aficionado, the movie, The Matrix and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? are bizarre and peculiar. These works are not the usual themes of normal movies and books. These works have a lot of elements in common. Both works have matrices. The movie and the book stress the idea of reality. In both works the idea of what s real and what s not is the central theme. In the movie, The Matrix there are many similarities with the book, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? One similarity is that of the matrices in both works. The movie has a matrix of dreams. According to the movie, humans are dreaming. Dreaming means that the reality humans think of, is not reality. The reality humans think of, is a dream. Confusing, isn t? An easier way of understanding this matrix is to think of human dreams. When humans experience dreams, it is not perceived as a dream until the dream ends. The movie exemplifies humans in the dream state of mind, similar to the dreaming stage. Neo is exposed to his real matrix. The matrix outside of his perceptual reality. He is able to perform with an incredible flexibility and high speed thinking. He is no longer dreaming, or as Neo called it, living. Neo has waken up. The book shares this matrix as well. In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? the androids are dreaming. The Tyrell Corporation has programmed these androids to think, feel, and act as instructed. The androids are in a dream matrix just as humans are in The Matrix. The androids don t know what s real. What s real for them is not real. For example, Rachel can play the piano. She doesn t know she can play the piano, until she actually starts playing it. It s a computer generated simulation. She didn t really learn how to play the piano. One difference in both works is the matrix of existence. In the book, Deckard doubts his existence. He starts to wonder what a human being is.

General and Application Controls in Information Technology

Information Technology has answered our many problems. It has made the life of individuals, groups and organization very easy compared to the former years where technology was something in dreams or on paper. Information Technology is referred to the various sophisticated and state of the art technology like computers that help us to manage our businesses (Senn, 2003).The most important part of the business for example is their huge amounts of data, the problem of storing them and then retrieving them for a useful purpose. Companies realize that data should never be treated as a useless collection of numbers, no matter how old they are. They also came to an appreciation that data can be used to give the companies the competitive edge they need, especially after they became conscious about the â€Å"marketing paradigm†.The Information Technology helps these companies to create, process, store, protect, transmit and retrieve data (Senft & Gallegos, 2008). Besides these, Informat ion technology has helped give impetus to the globalization process. It has reduced the world to a global village where the communication problem is no more an issue, especially after the advent of the internet. Now you can even make calls using the internet. All you need is a microphone and speakers to talk to anyone, at any time sitting anywhere in the world.The companies also realize that there processes (that take place within their organization to come up with their products) have become more cost effective (Senn, 2003). This has allowed business to efficiently utilize their resources and probably the most important one (which is usually saved at the end of the process) is the time. Through technology, companies are able to enhance the quality of their products and processes.BACKGROUNDGeneral Control of the Information Technology aids to guarantee the consistency of the data. This means that the data being produced is showing the performance of the system that you have installe d, and that it is producing the desired results. It ensures that the machine is working perfectly fine. You can then check upon your business process if there is an anomaly or inconsistency in your data. You can be sure of the right data for the wrong processes.Thus you can improve upon your business processes to correct your data. General Control of Information Technology usually encompasses the environmental control (Senft & Gallegos, 2008). This means that you understand the extent of the outside environment or the system beyond the boundary of your system and clearly out of your hands does shape your business in a certain way. But in what way does it affect you depends on the various environmental control you have at hand.USES AND IMPLICATIONSThe General Control also focuses on the different management changes that are brought within the business system or environment. Changes are a verily a very stressful task with in the organization.Information Technology helps to make sure t hat the changes brought therein is acceptable with the norms, organizational culture and the rules and regulations of the business itself (Senft & Gallegos, 2008). During the life of the business, many programs (complex or simples) are written to help businesses achieve their desired results.For example a company may find itself in the need of a Data Base Management Systems or a Data Warehouse. They may either purchase it or they may build it themselves. In both the cases, the company needs to mould the coding to suit their business requirements. It helps the source code’s reliability within the program.Businesses work on projects. For advanced business and for businesses that care to expand in the long run, find themselves in the need of developing software or systems. On the other hand, software houses whose main business is to develop and sell customer’s customized softwares goes through a complex life cycle to design, develop, test, implement and maintain the softw are.General Control helps to achieve that too. It helps to simplify the whole cycle which may extend to a number of years depending on the size and complexity of the software (Turban, Leidner, McLean, & Wetherbe, 2007).

Bad Grades Essay

I am writing to offer an explanation for a change in academic performance that is noticeable on my high school transcript. From the start of my freshman year until the end of my junior year, it is evident through analysis of my transcript that I have been an above average student consistently throughout my high school career. However, starting at around August 2010, problems arose in my family of which I believe made it impossible for me to continue my 100% focus on school. Halfway into my senior year, my father was laid off from his job. Since he was the only source of income at that time, our family of five was forced to move from our comfortable lives at our four bedroom house into our grandmother’s two bedroom house. This was a drastic change for all of us, as we have never shared a house with anyone, especially one of this size. I no longer had a room in which I was able to do my schoolwork in silence. This drastic change, I believe, interrupted my focus on school because of the attention it required from me. During my first semester I was often required to miss school by my parents, reason being that I had to help out in the movement process and had to visit an ill uncle out of town. I take full responsibility of my underperformance during the first semester of my senior year and am not look to make excuses. My main goal in making this letter is just to offer insight on what it is I believe influenced my underperformance. I sincerely ask you to consider me as an applicant and to not let this recent semester define me as a student. I greatly appreciate your time in reading this letter.

Understanding States Rights and the 10th Amendment

Understanding States' Rights and the 10th Amendment In American government, states’ rights are the rights and powers reserved by the state governments rather than the national government according to the U.S. Constitution. From the Constitutional Convention in 1787 to the Civil War in 1861 to the civil rights movement of the 1960s, to today’s marijuana legalization movement, the question of the rights of the states to govern themselves has been the focus of the American political landscape for well over two centuries. Key Takeaways: States' Rights States’ rights refer to the political rights and powers granted to the states of the United States by the U.S. Constitution.Under the doctrine of states’ rights, the federal government is not allowed to interfere with the powers of the states reserved or implied to them by the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.In issues such as slavery, civil rights, gun control, and marijuana legalization, conflicts between states’ rights and the powers of the federal government have been a part of civic debate for over two centuries. The doctrine of states’ rights holds that the federal government is barred from interfering with certain rights â€Å"reserved† to the individual states by the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The 10th Amendment The debate over states’ rights started with the writing of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. During the Constitutional Convention, the Federalists, led by John Adams, argued for a powerful federal government, while the Anti-federalists, led by Patrick Henry, opposed the Constitution unless it contained a set of amendments specifically listing and ensuring certain rights of the people and the states. Fearing that the states would fail to ratify the Constitution without it, the Federalists agreed to include the Bill of Rights. In establishing American government’s power-sharing system of federalism, the Bill of Rights 10th Amendment holds that all rights and powers not specifically reserved to Congress by Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution or to be shared concurrently by the federal and state governments are reserved by either the states or by the people. In order to prevent the states from claiming too much power, the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause (Article VI, Clause 2) holds that all laws enacted by the state governments must comply with the Constitution, and that whenever a law enacted by a state conflicts with a federal law, the federal law must be applied. The Alien and Sedition Acts The issue of states’ rights versus the Supremacy Clause was first tested in 1798 when the Federalist-controlled Congress enacted the Alien and Sedition Acts. Anti-federalists Thomas Jefferson and James Madison believed the Acts’ restrictions on freedom of speech and freedom of the press violated the Constitution. Together, they secretly wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions supporting states’ rights and calling on the state legislatures to nullify federal laws they considered unconstitutional. Madison, however, would later come to fear that such unchecked applications of states’ rights could weaken the union, and argued that in ratifying the Constitution, the states had yielded their sovereignty rights to the federal government. The Issue of States’ Rights in the Civil War While slavery and its abolition are the most visible, the question of states’ rights was the underlying cause of the Civil War. Despite the overarching reach of the Supremacy Clause, proponents of states’ rights like Thomas Jefferson continued to believe the states should have the right to nullify federal acts within their boundaries. In 1828 and again in 1832, Congress enacted protective trade tariffs, which while helping the industrial northern states, hurt the agricultural southern states. Outraged by what it called the â€Å"Tariff of Abominations,† the South Carolina legislature, on November 24, 1832, enacted an Ordinance of Nullification declaring the federal tariffs of 1828 and 1832 â€Å"null, void, and no law, nor binding upon this State, its officers or citizens.† On December 10, 1832, President Andrew Jackson responded by issuing a â€Å"Proclamation to the People of South Carolina,† demanding that the state observe the Supremacy Clause and threatening to send federal troops to enforce the tariffs. After Congress passed a compromise bill reducing the tariffs in the southern states, the South Carolina legislature rescinded its Ordinance of Nullification on March 15, 1832. While it made President Jackson a hero to nationalists, the so-called Nullification Crisis of 1832 reinforced the growing feeling among Southerners that they would continue to be vulnerable to the Northern majority as long as their states remained a part of the union. Over the next three decades, the main battle over states’ rights shifted from economics to slavery. Did the southern states, whose largely agricultural economy depended on slave labor, have the right to maintain the slave trade in defiance of federal laws abolishing it? By 1860, that question, along with the election of anti-slavery President Abraham Lincoln, drove 11 southern states to secede from the union. Though secession was not intended to create an independent nation, Lincoln viewed it as an act of treason conducted in violation of both the Supremacy Clause and federal law.   Civil Rights Movement From the day in 1866, when the U.S. Congress passed America’s first civil rights law, public and legal opinions have been divided on whether the federal government overrides states’ rights in attempting to ban racial discrimination nationwide. Indeed, key provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment dealing with racial equality were largely ignored in the South until the 1950s. During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, southern politicians who supported the continuation of racial segregation and enforcement of state-level â€Å"Jim Crow† laws denounced anti-discrimination laws like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as federal interference with states’ rights. Even after passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, several southern states passed â€Å"Interposition Resolutions† contending that the states retained the right to nullify the federal laws. Current States Rights Issues As an inherent byproduct of federalism, questions of states’ rights will undoubtedly continue to be a part of American civic debate for years to come. Two highly visible examples of current states’ rights issues include marijuana legalization and gun control. Marijuana Legalization While at least 10 states have enacted laws allowing their residents to possess, grow, and sell marijuana for recreational and medical use, the possession, production, and sale of marijuana continues to be a violation of federal drug laws. Despite previously rolling back an Obama-era hands-off approach to prosecuting violations of federal marijuana laws in pot-legal states, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions clarified on March 8, 2018 that federal law enforcement officers would go after dealers and drug gangs, rather than casual users. Gun Control Both the federal and state governments have been enacting gun control laws for over 180 years. Due to an increase in incidents of gun violence and mass shootings, state gun control laws are now often more restrictive than federal laws. In these cases, gun rights advocates often argue that the states have actually exceeded their rights by ignoring both the Second Amendment and the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution. In the 2008 case of District of Columbia v. Heller, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a District of Columbia law completely banning its citizens from possessing handguns violated the Second Amendment. Two years later, the Supreme Court ruled that its Heller decision applied to all U.S. states and territories. Other current states’ rights issues include same-sex marriage, the death penalty, and assisted suicide. Sources and Further Reference Drake, Frederick D., and Lynn R. Nelson. 1999. States Rights and American Federalism: A Documentary History. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-30573-3.Mason, Alpheus Thomas. 1972. The States Rights Debate: Antifederalism and the Constitution. New York: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN-13; 978-0195015539McDonald, Forrest. 2000. States Rights and the Union: Imperium in Imperio, 1776-1876. Lawrence: Univ. Press of Kansas.Interposition. Center for the Study of Federalism.

Andrew Grove

They have tied up with search engine Google for the wireless application as an example. Basically, Intel operations are divided into two sections: the communications group, known as ICG or Intel Communications Group; and the other section consists of the Intel Architectural business. The architectural section is responsible for the production of â€Å"platform† boards that consists of chipsets and microchips, which are used in desktop processors; including the Intel Pentium 4 processor and the Celeron. On the other hand, the communications section deal mostly with the production and development of wireless technology. They are mostly concerned with flash memory and cellular base-band technology. Intel is also known for large-scale tie-ups with other firms. Example of such is their tie-up with search engine Google for development of wireless technologies. They are also know to be connected with other firms like Microsoft and Dell. However, competition has been seen to catch up on the leadership oh Intel. Recently, a lot of clamors have been heard in the recent decision of present CEO Paul Otellini unveiled his plan to ship the micro-chip corporation to another industry. While the rest had their problems with it, former CEO Andrew Grove is all praises for it. The present CEO’s vision is to generally change the image of Intel starting from what Andrew Grove practically built. Starting from the scrapping of the famous â€Å"e† trademark of the logo, the company motto and even the brand, the company has been envisioned to undergo a transformation. A lot of managers seem to be against the changing of such things that made Intel a household name. Even the logo has been widely known in all parts of the globe. Meanwhile, Andrew Grove has been vocal about his approval of the said changes. In his opinion, they are of the same line of thinking that the present CEO has, that the company really has to undergo these changes in order for the to tell the world that even Intel is adjusting to the fast-paced growth of the industry and that they, as a company, should be at equal footing with the rest of the companies in the same industry.   He further stresses that it is a imperative for the company to show that the company exhibits a show of risk-taking and result orientation, accompanied also by the value of discipline. Before, under Grove’s supervision and Craig Barrett (Grove’s successor), the company focused on the production of microprocessors and took the lead in that industry for years. They helped give birth to the Information Age by producing more microchips and therefore, producing faster computers and ending in the development of micro processing. However, what Otellini had in mind is far from the former image of Intel, considering that he even wanted to change the logo and company symbol. He wanted to venture into uncharted regions of digital health industry and that of â€Å"platform† inventions. Despite the negative views about Otellini’s decision, Analysts from outside the company have cited other views about the subject, stating the fact that sometimes, change is needed for a big company to maintain solid advantage. They also added that other companies that survived the changes maintained industry leadership, just like what happened to Texas Instruments. However, the other side notes that it is not really that advisable to change their target industry and find a niche in other markets, although they have leadership in the industry they would leave. Adding firepower to the firepower of the critics, Intel’s competitor, AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) Inc., have scored a major point against Intel as it topped the company in terms of consumption as AMD Inc rose to a higher percentage in 2003 and analysts view that it would continue to rise against Intel unless Intel releases a new competitive line of processors in the future.. In the wireless communications field, Texas Instruments and Qualcomm Inc are still standing their own ground against Intel’s advances. Also, the two companies are planning to release their own versions of the platform that they assured, would gain more shares of the market than the new Intel is trying to build a niche on. On the other hand, many people are applauding Otellini’s vision of the new Intel, stating that they have never seen so much innovation in technology with respect to their fields, especially that of medicine. Also, people have actually seen the growth of the company, showing promise for a whole variety of new plans that are underway. Not only did the plans boost company ties with other companies, but also made their partner companies believe in the new flexibility of Intel. They promoted closer ties with cellular phone conglomerates Nokia and Samsung; had present tie-ups with Google; ties with Sony and Philips; and with those ties, Intel was able to produce and release different types of innovative products. There different developments have different market reactions. Some producing great results, others not. However, analysts are right in pointing out that other companies that are industry leaders also experienced changes that looked like they are headed nowhere, although in the end, they have proven that their change would actually pay off. And now, Intel took their lead and eventually took some changes in themselves as well. The problem would be, if they can maintain the positive effects and eliminate the negative effects of the changes. As for their decision of making the company over, It is. The industry’s reaction to it seemed to treat the decision as a smart move as well. Rival AMD Inc made some deals with ATI, and this showed that Intel produced a bigger threat than before. Also, the result of other marketing strategies in the release of the new products proved that Intel can really hold its own against the rivals in the industries that they have entered. They also showed that they can maintain the leadership in their industry, and even remodeled themselves into a more serious threat than that of before. However, not all decisions solely produce good effects. The negative effects therefore should be dealt with accordingly. Otellini did not make a bad move and he assured that he would produce good results which he did, although in the process nearly humiliating the company as he suffered near losses and continue to be behind Texas Instrument in the other fields. Intel not only made a good decision externally but also made breakthrough decisions internally, taking care of their employees better and giving chances to other fields like medicine to be at the same level as that of the engineers, the firepower of Intel before. May be this was a factor in Otellini’s equation that he devised for company growth. All in all, Intel has made a remarkable shift from the way it was thirty seven years ago. It also departed from the household figure that we recognized. Although this a bold move in there part and a rather risky one considering the old model is one of the main reasons why Intel made it to the top. In Otellini’s, and now Intel’s belief, It is one risky move that was designed to maintain leadership and gain advantages in other fields that they would pursue in the future. The market and business world would have to look out as Intel’s new look is bound to stay, and so is their new outlook in the business battles. BIBLIOGRAPHIES Intel Corp. Company Profile. Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved October 26, 2006. (http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/13/13787.html) Intel Corporation. Computer Business Review Online. Retrieved October 26, 2006. (http://www.cbronline.com/companyprofile.asp?guid=E82C088A-0488-4DB5-8953-9E316C2B44D1CType=Background)

Internet marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Internet marketing - Essay Example ating a good and long term relationship with the customers which helps the company in getting many innovative and creative ideas from the customers to better its service (Bailey, 2011, pp. 56-64). Starbucks website and social media pages are interactive and clients can ask questions and get answers to their enquiries in company products, locations and prices. They can also have their complaints addressed. Among the all the categories of marketing mix, the one which varies in case of internet marketing is the promotional activities as the product, place and price remains the same. Thus in this case Starbucks looks to promote its product using various social media websites by conducting events and attracting more number of customers. It also attracts the young generation by communicating the exact message across the customers regarding the value that the company creates for its customers. The price related to internet marketing is reduced compared to the marketing activities that have been done using other platforms. Starbucks is already using blogs and social media websites as tools for internet marketing. The company has always looked to use latest marketing techniques to reach the customers in better way. In future it can look to use other tools in internet marketing like SpyFu to know about the competitors’ strategies. Hub Spot internet application allows the company to track leads and maintain direct communication with clients. This sort of communication also allows for segmentation of the market into different sections so as to ease marketing (Chaffey, 2009, pp. 34-42). As of now, Starbucks most effective means of reaching their clients has been facebook, twitter and the company website. This could be because these sites have the highest number of users in the country and in the world. Starbucks uses the latest and available technology in its operational processes so as to provide good and high quality service to the customer. The customers have special