Impact of the Digital Divide

Impact of the Digital Divide OECD (2001, P5) defined the digital divide as â€Å"the gap between individuals, households, businesses and geographic areas at different socio-economic levels [and other demographic levels] with regard both to their opportunities to access information and communication technologies (ICTs) and to their use of the Internet for a wide variety of activities.† When we refer digital divide, we refer not only the opportunities to access to or use of ICTs but also the ability or knowledge of using ICTs. Besides, the statement â€Å"nearly everyone has a mobile phone† is falsified, 15% adults in US didn’t have cellphone until 2011 (Zickuhr, 2011).Therefore, digital divide still is an important issue. Digital divide exists in different countries and different regional areas and social groups within countries. There are two types of digital divide: domestic digital divide and international digital divide. In this article, I will discuss domestic digital divide at first. Th en I will discuss international digital divide and how it forms. Finally, I will discuss why digital divide matters. Couldry (2007) pointed out the complexity of digital divide. He thought digital divide was complex because there were at least two situations of digital divide: domestic divide and international divide. First, it involves the gap between those who can access to ICTs and those who cannot within countries. Secondly, it involves the absolute gap of communication facilities, information transmission capacity, the amount of computers and network hosts, the amount of telephone users and such other aspects between countries. Within countries, people have different access to ICTs because of their gender, income, race and region (Rice, 2006), which splits them into information rich and information poor. In US, the poor, the old, minorities, less educated people and rural residents had less access to ICTs. Comparing racial groups, African-Americans and Latinos have less access to and worse skills of ICTs. Because of poverty caused by racism, they have limited opportunities to learn about and use ICTs. Until 2011, 82.7% Asian-Americans could assess to the Internet and computer, but only 56.9% Black and 58.3% Hispanic could. Besides, rural Native Americans possessed the fewest telephones, followed by rural Hispanics and rural Blacks. Black households possessed fewest PCs. Comparing age groups, 95% of people between 18 and 34 were cellphone users, and only 48% of people older than 75 used cellphones. 59% and 52% US citizens possessed desktop and laptop, and only 28% of people over 75 possessed desktop and 10% possessed laptop. Until 2013, 81.9% of people between 35 and 44 could assess to the Internet and computer, while 61.7% of people older than 55 could. Besides, rural young under 25 possessed fewest telephones, and rural old over 55 possessed fewest PCs. Comparing income groups, the poorest households in central cities possessed fewest telephones, followed by the rural poor and the urban poor. The rural poor possess fewest PCs. Comparing educational level groups, 89.9% of people with bachelor degree or higher could assess to the Internet and computer, but only 36.9% of people without high school degree could (File, 2013; Mossberger, Tolbert, Gilbert, 2006; NTIA, 1995; Zickuhr, 2011). Unbalanced ICTs use also can be found in Canada. The old and the poor had less access to cellphones and Internet. Only 3.5% of people from the lowest income group could access to the Internet (Sciadas, 2000). Additionally, unbalanced Internet use between different social groups and regional areas was obv ious in China. Until 2007, among Internet users, 32.3% of them were students, while only 0.4% of them were peasants. 82.9% Internet users were urban residents. The Internet penetration rate was 20.2 in urban areas and only 3.1 in rural areas. East areas had higher penetration rate than central and west areas. Until 2012, Internet users increased to 516 million. 55.9% of them were male and 44.1% were female. Besides, 29.8% of people between 20 and 29 were Internet users while only 4.8% of people older than 50 were Internet users (CNNIC, 2007, 2012). From these data, we find domestic digital divide occurs in both developed countries and developing countries. Furthermore, with the rapid development of ICT and expansion of globalization, international digital divide becomes an important issue. Nowadays, countries have more connections with each other than before, and they have more influence on each other as well. Digital divide between countries causes serious problems. Firstly, ICTs develop rapidly in both developed countries and developing countries. The UN Millennium Development Goals report: 2008 showed the number of fixed telephone and mobile users increased from 530 million in 1990 to 4 billion. From 2005, the number of new mobile users rapidly increased by more than 500 million, and until 2006, the total number of mobile users increased to more than 2.7 billion. The amount of mobile users grew faster in the areas where the amount of fixed telephone users was small. In 2006, the number of new mobile users increased by 60 million in Africa. There were more mobile users than fixed telephone users in almost every country. By the end of 2006, 22% Africans use mobiles, and 3% Africans used fixed telephone and 5% Africans used the Internet. By the end of 2006, 1.2 billion people on the earth could access to the Internet, which occupied more than 18% of the whole population (UN, 2008). Network construction improves poverty alleviation, education and employment in developing countries. With the development of technology and the widespread use of broadband, there were more opportunities for developing countries to catch up with developed countries. However, according to current spread speed and development trend, although developing countries showed faster rates of growth in network development than developed countries (Fink Kenny, 2003), the digital divide will exist for a long term and hardly be diminished in a short term because the existing gap between developed countries and developing countries was huge. The UN Millennium Development Goals report: 2008 showed Internet penetration rate was 58 in developed countries and 11 in developing countries and 1 in the least developed countries. Until 2006, there was no commercial broadband service in most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, and even if there was, people cannot afford to the expensive service fees. But broadband technology stimulates the wide use of Internet in developed countries. The Global Information Technology Report 2007-2008 published by World Economic Forum (2008) ranked the Networked Readiness Index of 127 developed and developing economic entities which occup ied 95 percent of global GDP. The top 20 were: Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, the Netherlands, the United States, Singapore, Iceland, South Korea, Norway, Hong Kong, the UK, Canada, Australia, Austria, Germany, Taiwan, Israel, Japan, Estonia. Most of them were European and North American developed countries, and only a few of them were emerging economies. Most Asian, African and Latin-American countries were ranked low. Data from International Telecommunication Union showed in developed countries about 77% people could access to broadband Internet, while in developing countries only 31% could. What’s worse? There were about 4.5 billion people cannot access to Internet, which occupied 66% of the whole population on the earth (Chinn, Fairlie, 2007). In 2001, the computer penetration rate and Internet penetration rate of North America were 61.1 and 49.8 respectively. In contrast, they were only 0.5 and 0.6 respectively in South Asia (Chinn, Fairlie, 2007). In 2002, 59% US citizens used Internet, but only 4.8% Chinese used Internet (Chen Wellman, 2004). Until 2011, the Internet penetration rate of Iceland was 97.8, and the average rate of top 50 countries was 78.6, but the rate of the rest of world was only 25 (Internet Usage Stats and Population Statistics, 2011). From these data, we could find huge a digital divide between developed countries and developing countries. International digital divide continues to enlarge as the gap of economic development and education level between countries enlarges. The difference of economic development between countries is a main cause of digital divide. In the early stage of development, a large amount of fund needs to be invested in digital information industry and information communication infrastructure. Developed countries possessed more resources including but not limited to capital to innovate and apply to ICTs. They had abundant money investing in research field and ICT infrastructure construction, while many developing countries could not afford to undertake large amount of capital investment. Therefore, developed countries had more advantages in digital information industry, especially in research field. Many underdeveloped countries became digital indigent countries because of underdeveloped digital information technology and infrastructure. Lack of telephones and computers, low network transmission ca pacity and deficient telecom infrastructure increase the difficulties to start digital economy for developing countries; lack of updated software and technology and expensive Internet service fees impede the development of digital information technology in developing countries. Therefore, an increasing number of developing countries became more backward as they are isolated by digital technology and information resources; developed countries enjoy the convenience of low-cost and high-speed information. Imbalanced distribution of information is closely related to imbalanced distribution of global wealth. Additionally, the difference of education level between countries is another major contributor of international digital divide. Education level determines people’s ability to use and develop digital information technology, and people’s ability of ICT use determines the foundation of developing a digital information technology society and how much technology weighs on the economic structure of their country. Because of better education, people in developed countries are better at using new technologies than people in developing and underdeveloped countries. In developing and underdeveloped countries, the low level of ICTs education was attributed to the following reasons (Nair, Kuppusamy, Davison, 2005). Firstly, there were no sufficient ICTs facilities in the school. For instance, in Argentina, 82% private schools and 51% public schools had ICTs facilities; in Peru, only 13% public schools had ICT facilities, so students had unequal access to ICTs (Hilbert, 2011). Seco ndly, there were limited numbers of competent teachers who master ICT applications in educational institutions in these countries. Thirdly, there were short of public ICTs facilities for educational purpose in these countries. To sum up, the backward education level directly restricts the development of ICTs in developing countries. Digital divide should be attached importance to, because it negatively affects social and international stabilities. Digital divide widens the gap between rich and poor, polarizing people within countries, causing social conflicts, enlarging the gap between developed countries and developing countries, hindering the development of developing countries, and leads to digital hegemony which threats international security. Firstly, an increasing domestic digital divide leads to many social problems within countries. Now it’s information society, and information becomes more important than capital. Poverty means not only wealth shortage but also information shortage. People need unblocked and updated information to innovate or catch the opportunity to make fortune. Limited access to ICTs means limited opportunities to create fortune, and digital divide increases the polarization of the rich and the poor within countries. Wealth gap in virtual world is related to wealth gap in reality. People who are excluded by information society are isolated from mainstream political and economic life and have to suffer from long term poverty and developmental stagnation. Increasing digital divide makes people who have gotten rid of poverty become poor again. If this problem is not solved, the informatization of a country cannot be accomplished, and digital divide will split people into two worlds. One world is heaven for information rich while another world is hell for information poor, and the polarization of wealth becomes more serious and leads to social tensions. What’s worse? As information technology grows so fast, the period of upgrading become shorter and new digital divide comes when old digital divide still exists. Secondly, digital divide widens the wealth gap. It is the product of wealth gap, and it widens this gap, which forms a vicious circle. From economic perspective, ICT becomes a new source of fortune, and digital divide increases the difference of ability to create fortune in information era. Large amounts of labor are idle and large amounts of labor can only work in traditional agricultural sector and traditional industrial sector because they lack relevant knowledge and cannot engage in modern economic activities which create a great deal of fortune. Besides, the difference of ability to use information technology and obtain useful information between people from different countries and different social groups leads to the Matthew Effect. Because of digital information technology, rich become richer and poor become poorer; developed countries become more developed and underdeveloped countries become more underdeveloped. Therefore, ICTs benefit people and countries on the advantage si de of digital divide and widen the development gap between those â€Å"haves† and â€Å"have nots†. Thirdly, international digital divide hinders the economic development of developing countries. In the information economy era, ICT plays a vital role in the enhancement of productivity, creativity and competitiveness of a country, and information and talented people become vital endogenous variables. In that case, the advantages of cheap labor and abundant land and resources in developing countries are weakened, and the international competitiveness of developing countries is lowered. In developing countries, most people work in primary and secondary industry, and only a few people engage in ICTs related work. In china, only 200 million Internet users engaged in E-commerce, including online shopping (CNNIC, 2012). Raven, Huang and Kim (2007) thought there were many obstacles in using the Internet and e-commerce in developing countries, such as low demand of commercial network integration caused by poverty, and lack of infrastructure to participate in network commercial activities be cause of no support from government. Inactive involvement in digital economy hinders developing countries from benefiting from increasingly growing digital economy, which increases the economic gap between developing countries and developed countries. As developing countries lagged far behind developed countries at first and disadvantaged is intensified by digital divide, developing countries suffer from serious asymmetric information and have less opportunities to create fortune. To conclude, digital divide increases the differences of economic development between countries and negatively affect the economic development of developing and underdeveloped countries. Finally, digital divide also causes digital hegemony. Some countries which have monopoly in digital technology field obstruct and suppress the freedom of using and developing information technology for other countries and impose their own values and ideologies on other countries in order to benefit themselves. Digital divide provides opportunities for those countries to carry out digital hegemony. For example, until 2002, US had 4.11 million to 4.12 million Internet hosts, which occupied more than 80% of the total amount of hosts in the world (Norris, 2000). Besides, most information on the Internet was provided by the United States. US government uses its absolute advantage on the Internet to conduct ideological and cultural infiltration into other countries. US tries to dominate other countries in digital field and control users’ computers instead of letting users control their own computers. In conclusion, the development of ICTs has greatly changed the way people live and work and become a driver of the expansion of economic globalization. Besides, it brings about opportunities for developing countries. However, there’s a huge digital divide between people with different genders, races, socio-economics status and nationalities. Digital divide causes two main problems. Firstly, digital divide intensifies unfair allocation of social wealth and other social conflicts. It turns information poor into real poor. Lack of information means lack of opportunities to make fortune, and limited money means limited access to ICTs. Those who cannot access to ICT cannot benefit from ICT. Digital divide forms a loop of poverty for the poor. Secondly, digital divide brings about challenges to developing countries. As the progress of ICT promotes social and economic development, digital divide widens the gap of national power between developed countries and developing countries as well as threats international security and stability. Therefore, problems caused by digital divide should draw attention from governments, international organizations and academia. To diminish domestic digital divide, government should narrow wealth gap nationally as well as identify people who are on the disadvantage side of digital divide and effectively support them. Diminishing domestic digital divide maintains social stability and promotes the balanced development of a country. To diminish international digital divide, developing and underdeveloped countries need to invest more in constructing of infrastructure of ICTs. Governments need to invest largely in education and skills training to cultivate a large number of information literate or qualified personnel who have the ability to innovate and master advanced technology. Besides, developed countries should break technological monopoly and support developing and underdeveloped countries financially and technologically. Furthe rmore, international organizations need to financially support developing and underdeveloped countries to construct infrastructure of ICTs and provide opportunities for technical personnel from these countries to go to developed countries to learn advanced technology and be trained. Diminishing international digital divide not only narrows the gap of national power between countries but also balances global economic development. Above all, digital divide is a vital issue which needs to be pay attention to.

Economic Changes to the Welfare State

Economic Changes to the Welfare State Write a 2000 words essay describing the economic aftermath of the Welfare state in the last century I. Introduction A welfare state is broadly defined as a state in which the government/the public sector undertakes key roles in the production and distribution of economic activities with the objective of protecting and promoting the economic and social well-being of its citizens. A welfare state is essentially a mixed economy type of economic system where the government undertakes a greater proportion of economic activities. This essay describes the economic aftermath of the welfare state in the last century. The essay is organised as follows. Section II focuses on the theoretical foundations of the welfare state, while Section III concentrates on the economic aftermath of the welfare state. Section IV finally concludes the essay. II. Theoretical Foundations of the Welfare State The theoretical foundations described in this essay are from; (a) classical economics, (b) Keynesian economics, (c) Suzumura (1999), (d) Barr (1992), and (e) Heath (2011) Classical economics The classical economists including Adam Smith favoured a minimal role for the public sector. Their preference was for a limited role for the government in the provision of essential public works, the maintenance of law and order, and the defence of the country. They believe that the government’s role is to provide these core activities to provide an enabling environment for the market/private sector to undertake economic activities for economic growth. Keynesian economics Keynesian economics was used to justify an expansion in the economic role of the public sector. Keynesian economics created pressures on the government to stabilise the economy by helping to sustain the disposable income of individuals during cyclical fluctuations. Suzumura (1999) argues that welfare economics plays critical roles in enhancing human well-being and in the design and implementation of welfare state policies. Welfare economics is a normative concept and in general takes account of both efficiency and equity. On equity grounds, society may prefer an inefficient resource allocation for reasons for equity justice and this provides a justification for government intervention in the economy. Suzumura argues that the enlarged concept of welfare economics to incorporate equity justice has also extended the concept of well-being to incorporate/capture the basic considerations as liberty, opportunity and procedural justice and that this widening of the concept of well-being should reflect itself properly in the concept and agenda of the welfare state. Based on this conceptual framework, Suzumura then employs Amartya Sen’s concepts of functions and capabilities as vehicles to examine an individual’s advantages in the welfare s tate. To Suzumura the welfare state consists of one main system of competitive mechanism and three subsystems of (i) the competitive policy subsystem, (ii) the co-ordination policy subsystem, and (iii) the social security subsystem. Suzumura concludes that the task of the welfare economics in the welfare state is to deliberately design the main system and the three subsystems of the welfare state so that the whole system becomes incentive compatible to make it work effectively to maximise the well-being of the individuals in the society in terms of liberty, opportunity and procedural justice. Barr (1992) provides another theoretical foundation of the welfare state. Barr’s thesis and his contribution is on information problems for an efficiency case for various types of state intervention. He identifies two broad types of imperfect information problems leading to market failure in dealing with risks as adverse selection and moral hazard. The insurance industry was the focus of Barr’s analysis. Adverse selection results from asymmetric information between buyers and sellers of insurance, with buyers having more information than sellers and thus making it difficult to establish the ideal price for each individual. These characteristics of adverse selection cause the problems of (i) unstable pooling equilibrium because low risks drop out or because of competitive behaviour by insurers, and (ii) inefficient separating equilibrium, if it exists. Thus, in the face of adverse selection, the market is inefficient, or fails entirely and the state intervenes by making membership compulsory with social insurance as a typical example. Heath (2011) identifies the three normative models as redistributive, communitarian and public economics. The redistributive model describes the redistribution of resources to ensure that the outcomes produced by the market economy are less unequal.. The underlying assumption under the redistributive model is that the market is to maximise efficiency while the state promotes equity through redistribution by allocating initial endowments and adjusting final outcomes. The communitarian model considers the imposition of moral limits on the scope of the market so as to resist the commodification of certain domain of interaction. It is argued under this model that basic human needs should be satisfied through communal provision in which everyone is guaranteed a share rather than through commodification. The public economics model regards the state as correcting market failure, either through regulation, subsidisation and taxation, or the direct provision of goods and services. This model is referred to as the economic model because of the emphasis put on Pareto efficiency and the narrow conception of public goods based on Samuelson’s definition. Under the public economics model, market failure allows for the intervention of the state in economic activities. III. Economic Aftermath of the Welfare State The economic measure of welfare state activities is given by the proportion of public expenditure/spending to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), that is, as a share of GDP. Gwartney, Holcombe and Lawson (1998) argue that even after providing for a generous definition of the concept of core functions to include (i) the protection of persons and property, (ii) expenditures on national security, (iii) expenditure on education, (iv) expenditure on physical infrastructure, and (v) the operational costs of the central bank to maintain a stable monetary regime; the share of the expenditures on core functions for most developed countries did not exceed 15% of GDP up to 1996. Meanwhile as at 1996, the share of government expenditure as a percentage of GDP was above 45% in most developed countries. The authors argue that this higher percentage above the required percentage for the core functions exerted a negative impact on the economy in terms of slower economic growth. Their findings indicate that a 10% increase in government expenditure as a share of GDP results in approximately 1% reduction in GDP growth. The authors assigned the following reasons for this ou tcome; (i) higher taxes/and or additional borrowing to finance government expenditures impose excess burden on the economy, (ii) as government grows, its productivity declines. This is characterised by the following trajectory – expenditure on core functions increases productivity but expenditure exceeding the core functions leads to diminishing returns and more and more expenditure eventually produces negative returns which leads to productivity declines, (iii) the political process accompanying increased public expenditure inhibits the entrepreneurship that drives economic growth through the discovery process. It is argued that as entrepreneurs discover new and improved technologies, better methods of production and opportunities that were previously overlooked, they are able to combine resources into goods and services that create wealth and economic growth, and (iv) the growth in government expenditure was characterised by heavy involvement in redistribution of income and regulatory activities that encouraged individuals to seek personal income via government favours rather than through production in exchange for income. Eventually resources are shifted from wealth creating activities toward the pursuit of wealth transfer which retards economic growth and generate income levels well below the economy’s potential. Tanzi and Schuknecht (1998) argue that from the late 19th century to early 20th century total government expenditure was less than 12% of GDP with expenditure covering the core functions. In the 1920s, the average total expenditure increased to nearly 20% of GDP. In 1937 public spending went up to an average of 23% of GDP resulting from the effects of the Great Depression. Between 1960 and 1980, there was a rapid increase in public spending from around 28% of GDP around 1960 to 43% of GDP in 1980. They further argue that the increased public expenditure/spending reflecting welfare state activities produced the following effects; (i) growing public spending and debt, (ii) rising real interest, (iii) slower growth, (iv) less attractive investment destination by international investors, even under growing globalisation, growing competition and capital mobility, (v) disincentive effects caused by higher taxation, and (vi) large-scale redistributive expenditures with negative impact on gr owth, employment and welfare. The authors’ table 6 (page 83) provides a comparative analysis on the size of government and economic performance as at 1990 between big governments and small governments. Big governments are equated to states with higher government expenditure, that is, with GDP shares exceeding 40% while small governments show government expenditures of less than 40% of GDP. The main findings were based on the following indicators of economic performance; (i) real GDP growth, (ii) Gross fixed capital formation (in percent of GDP), (iii) inflation (1986-1994), (iv) public debt (in percent of GDP), (v) economic freedom indicator, (vi) size of shadow economy (in percent of GDP), (vii) PPP-based per capita GNP (in US$), and (viii) standard deviation of GDP growth. The summary findings were as follows; (a) real GDP growth over a longer period lower in big government countries and that could account for growing unemployment experienced in welfare states with big gove rnments, (b) GDP per capita based on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) much higher in countries with small governments, (c) based on the ratio of the standard deviation and the average growth rate (the coefficient of variation), there was no evidence that higher public spending leads to more stable growth (i.e no evidence that welfare states exhibited more stable growth rates). This indicator was to provide evidence on one of the main justifications of Keynesian economics that growing public spending is needed for a stabilisation policy to reduce fluctuations in growth over the business cycle, (d) gross fixed capital formation and inflation did not show much difference across groups of countries (i.e both big and small governments recorded almost the same rates), (e) public debt averages almost 80% of GDP in countries with big governments in 1990 – leading to the payment of considerable risk premiums on public debt obligations (higher real interest rates), (f) economic freedom in countries with big governments worse than countries with small governments, and (g) a strong correlation between spending by governments (and corresponding taxes) and the size of the shadow economy (almost 18% of GDP for big governments compared with 9.4% foe small governments in 1996). The authors recommend that fiscal reforms and lower public spending are needed in many countries with big governments in order to increase economic growth without sacrificing much social and economic well-being. IV. Conclusion In the current globalised world where technology is making major strides, the role of the state should be significantly different from the role played to the end of last century. The economic aftermath of the welfare state in the last century indicates that to increase economic growth, the state should now play a more significant and intelligent regulatory role of providing a level playing field which allows the private sector to expand to areas traditionally undertaken by the state. The role of the state in income redistribution and in providing safety nets is very important but needs reassessment by policymakers. Targeted coverage and not universal coverage is what is needed and with the concept of redistribution narrowly defined to avoid many inefficient policies pursued under the justification of redistributing income. REFERENCES Barr, Nicholas, â€Å"Economic Theory and the Welfare State: A Survey and Interpretation†, Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Jun. 1992); pp 741-803 Gwartney, James, Holcombe, Randell, and Lawson, Robert, â€Å"The Scope of Government and the Wealth of Nations†, Cato Journal Vol. 18, No. 2 (Fall 1998); pp 163-190 Heath, Joseph, â€Å"Three Normative Models of the Welfare State†, Public Reason, 3 (2), 2011; pp 13-43 Suzumura, Kotaro, â€Å"Welfare Economics and the Welfare State†, Review of Population and Social Policy, No. 8, (1999); pp 119-138 Tanzi, Vito and Schuknecht, Ludger, â€Å"Can Small Governments Secure Economic and Social Well-being?† Fraser Institute, 1998 YAW BEDIAKO

Theodor Geisel Essay -- Literary Analysis, Dr. Seuss

THESIS Theodor Geisel’s political activism during World War II, especially in the form of his political cartoons, heavily influenced his work as a children’s author, and impacted the messages of Horton Hears a Who and Yertle the Turtle. INTRODUCTION Dr. Seuss is known for his phenomenal creatures, invented words, and rhymes that surpassed absurdity and became something beautiful. Before that, though, Theodor Geisel was nationally noted for his political cartoons during World War II that enticed the mind to do more than think, but to ask questions and crave knowledge and justice. Dr. Seuss was not just a whimsical alter-ego of Mr. Geisel by any means, however. Dr. Seuss allowed Geisel to communicate his message to a new audience, in a unique way. Before his death, he left the world with a simple plea- â€Å"We need to do better† (Nell 294). The legacy he left behind paves the trail for society to do just that. THE BIRTH OF MR. GEISEL, THE CREATION OF DR. SEUSS On March 2nd, 1904, the world got its first glimpse of the man who would forever change the world of children’s literature. Theodor Seuss Geisel was born to Henrietta and Theodor Robert Geisel on this day in Springfield, Massachusetts. He had one older sister, Marnie, who was his hero and best friend. She was the basis of many of his stories. Later, his parents would have another daughter, Henrietta, but the family was struck by tragedy when she died of pneumonia. Henrietta Sr. and Theodor Robert reacted to this disaster by investing all of their love and focus into their remaining two children (Levine, 9). The Geisels, though they were not wealthy, lived a comfortable life. They were of German descent, and took great pride in their heritage until th... ...course, are the turtles are free, as turtles, and maybe all creatures, should be† (10). CONCLUSION Theodor Seuss Geisel died a hero among children and adults alike. He accomplished a task that would be impossible to most- he was able to incorporate not only the simple difference between good and bad, but the realities of social injustice and the power of the oppressed, into children’s books. Clifton Fadiman, writer for The New Yorker, may have most accurately described Dr. Seuss in an article following his death- â€Å"[He is] the most useful children’s author of our time. He has helped dispel a lot of the nonsense that children are taught and†¦ his books always maintained their universal cry for wonder, fairness, and love (Morgan 291).† Geisel used his political knowledge and passion to open the eyes of all people, no matter how young, and no matter how small.

Dionysus- some ideas :: essays research papers

Within all the text in the â€Å"Dionysus† section the universal theme I found is that the characters were punished by fate for no apparent reason. In one pivotal moment in each story, the innocent character loses free will and henceforth is steered by merciless fate. In the myth of Diana and Actaeon, Actaeon has committed no crime but is punished as if he had. His seeing Diana bathing was the work of fate. As a matter of fact, Hughes reinforces this belief in the first paragraph of the story when he states, â€Å"Destiny, not guilt, was enough for Actaeon. It is no crime to lose your way in the dark wood† (Hughes 97). It is perfectly clear that it was purely fate guiding this story. Actaeon was â€Å"Steered by pitiless fate- whose nudgings he felt only as surges of curiosity† (Hughes 99). At this point one can see that Actaeon has completely lost his free will. It is no longer his decision whether to not go further in the cave. From here on, fate takes control of his life. The only character that has gained a form of justice from this encounter is Diana. By disposing of Actaeon, she won back her purity- the essence of her virginity. This purity she had lost when Actaeon saw her exposed. Her only means of regaining her chastity is by ridding herself of Actaeon. In comparison, there is no justice in this tale for Actaeon. He was simply a victim of fate, which put him in the wrong place at wrong time. The strongest moral of the myth of Diana and Actaeon is that fate carries no preferences. Actaeon committed no crime; he did nothing to anger the gods. Fate catches up to all people regardless of the manner in which they chose to live their lives. Ovid could have used this myth as a basis for explaining to his people why even the innocents suffer in life. However, I found that the morals of this myth are as beauty is to the eyes of a beholder. For example, another one of the possible morals I came up with is that the hunter became the hunted. Diana, being the goddess of the hunt had the power to show Actaeon what it was like to be the hunted. This is brutally demonstrated when Actaeon’s own dogs, which were so peculiarly described (practically all of page 101 is dedicated to the description of these dogs), hunt Actaeon down and ravenously tear him to pieces.

Affirmative Action Essay -- essays papers

Affirmative Action Few social policy issues have served as a better gauge of racial and ethnic divisions among the American people than affirmative action. Affirmative action is a term referring to laws and social policies intended to alleviate discrimination that limits opportunities for a variety of groups in various social institutions. Supporters and opponents of affirmative action are passionate about their beliefs, and attack the opposing viewpoints relentlessly. Advocates believe it overcomes discrimination, gives qualified minorities a chance to compete on equal footing with whites, and provides them with the same opportunities. Opponents charge that affirmative action places unskilled minorities in positions they are not qualified for and violates the Fourteenth Amendment. Since its inception, the definition of affirmative action has been ever-changing. Prohibiting discrimination in hiring, expanding the applicant pool to include more minorities, compensating for past grievances, and s etting quotas have all been part of the definition. In theory affirmative action helps integrate minorities better into society and puts them on equal footing with whites; however, in reality affirmative action is widening the racial gap in America and therefore should be discontinued. When the Civil Rights Law passed, minorities, especially African-Americans, believed that they should receive retribution for the years of discrimination that they endured. The government responded by passing laws to aide them in attaining better employment as reprieve for the previous two hundred years of suffering. To many, these laws made sense. After all, the white race was partly responsible for their enslavement. However, the individual w... ... Am I being picked for my writing ability, or to fulfill a quota† (Chinea-Varela 342). Minorities like Migdia want to be treated as equals, not incompetents. Affirmative Action was an essential part of the desegregation that occurred thirty years ago, but it has become outdated and is no longer part of the solution. It was a temporary plan to improve the conditions for minorities, but it is now more of a hindrance than a help to them. Affirmative action lowers standards, causes unqualified workers to be hired, places a stigma on minorities, lowers their confidence, and gives them the opportunity and encouragement to idle. Affirmative action has not fulfilled its goal of assisting lower income minorities with a history of discrimination, but instead has been exploited by middle-class minorities, the lower income groups still remaining uneducated and unsuccessful.

Mastering Teacher Leadership Business Research Essay

This case presents a situation that is quite common in the education field and addresses the responses by institutions to new legislation imposed upon them. As is often the case, the legislators do not address the impacts to organizations, leaving the actual implementation to the end user (i.e., public and private schools). In this particular case, Wittenburg University (WU) is faced with the decision of whether to develop and deliver a Master of Arts degree in classroom leadership. 1.) Build the management-research question hierarchy for this opportunity. The initial step in the research is the creation of a management-research question hierarchy, to formalize the process. For this case study, the management-research hierarchy is presented in Appendix A. The purpose of this hierarchy is to examine the various stages of the research question and present a logical sequence of increasing focus that will allow the development of a survey instrument that can be delivered to potential pro gram applicants. The initial stage is to identify and state the management dilemma, which in this case is the impending new legislation. The State of Ohio intends to require all licenced teachers to have, or complete, a master’s degree before obtaining their second licensure to teach. Given that this is new legislation and WU is not obligated to offer a program, the â€Å"management dilemma† actually presents an opportunity for WU to develop a new degree program, thereby increasing revenue for the university. The second stage of the process is to identify the management questions. In this case, WU needs to decide what purpose would the new program serve?; would this program duplicate teacher development courses?; what format should the new program utilize (e.g., part-time, distance)? The third stage addresses the particular research questions: Does WU have the faculty/administrative capacity to offer the full program?; is there sufficient return on investment to offer the program?; and if all is positive, should WU develop and offer the program. Investigative questions, as part of a survey instrument should examine the demand for the program, what is the potential market, what other competition exists, and what would the program-costing model look like. One other variable that should be explored is the potential of Ohio teachers moving to  another state to avoid the legislation. On a similar scale, movement within the policing industry is often impacted by similar factors, so this question should be examined. The final stage of the process is that actual measurement component, whereby researchers will examine the demographic information, correlate and analyze the data collected from the surveys. In order to increase the confidence level of the analysis, survey questions should utilize appropriate ranking/rating scales, and ensure open-ended questions are avoided. Once the data has been analyzed, researchers will be able to provide WU administrators with sufficient information upon which to base a decision on whether to pro ceed with the program. 2. Evaluate the appropriateness of the exploratory stage of the research design. As noted earlier, the new State of Ohio legislation presents an opportunity for WU to implement a new graduate study program, and increase their enrollments. Before proceeding to the program development stage, however, WU needs to conduct exploratory research to guide their decision making process. An initial step in the process is to conduct secondary research, utilizing available resources, to identify similar programs (i.e., competition) and responses to similar legislation in other states. Given that the majority of this secondary data will be discovered via internet searches, the researchers should conduct a source evaluation. The course text identifies five factors to evaluate secondary data: â€Å"Purpose – the explicit or hidden agenda of the information source Scope – the breadth and depth of topic coverage, including time period, geographical limitations, and the criteria for information inclusion. Authority – the level of data (primary, secondary, tertiary) and the credentials of the source author(s) Audience – the characteristics and background of the people or groups for whom the source was created Format – how the information is presented and the degree of ease of locating specific information within the source.† (Cooper & Schindler, 2008, p. 109) Sources of appropriate data could include alumni surveys from WU, State of Ohio statistics related to post secondary institutions, national data bases, and a study of existing Master of Education (MEd) programs. By utilizing the above noted filters to secondary information, the researchers will be able to ensure they have considered all variables and factors in making a  decision. 3. Evaluate the sampling strategy. In this case study, WU mailed the survey to all of the 1,600 identified teachers residing in Clark County, which is the home county of WU; essentially this is not a sample, but rather a census. The remaining 400 surveys were then mailed to â€Å"systematic sampling† to teachers in the surrounding counties. I see an issue with this, as the parameters of the systematic sampling are not detailed; for example, were teachers who already completed a MEd degree included in the sample? I would suggest that the 400 surveys were mailed to a convenience sampling rather than a proper probability sample. Factors such as these may have contributed to the low response rate from the survey. Given the implementation time line of the new legislation, it would have been valuable to survey potential teachers (i.e., those currently in an undergraduate program), as they would likely form the WU MEd cohort. This would give a clearer picture of the market potential of the program. 4. Prepare a preliminary analysis plan for this study. Which variables do you want frequencies on? Why? The initial stage of the data correlation and analysis would be the proper coding of the data and entry into an appropriate software database. For this case study, the data was presented as an Excel file, so the exploratory data analysis would include a complete descriptive statistical calculations and frequencies for applicable questions. I would suggest questions that create nominal or ordinal data are the most appropriate for frequency tables, and provide a clearer picture of the survey respondents. The data sets may be utilized to confirm if the teacher sample is representative of the overall population, and cross tabulations conducted to draw correlations between categories. I would suggest that data specifically addressing respondents who require a master’s degree, or those contemplating pursuing higher education would be of particular interest, as they represent the p otential student market. Researchers will also need to account for non-response errors and missing data within the coding and analysis stages 5. Which variables do you want to cross-tabulate? Why? Given the nature of the research questions, it would be beneficial to identity, through crosstabulations, those teachers who have not yet applied for their second licensure to teach and what level of education those teachers currently have. This would clarify the potential  market for the WU program. In addition, cross-tabulations to identify potential teachers relative to their home counties would give a clearer picture of those teachers who could/would realistically attend the WU program over another program closer to their homes. A final cross tabulation that may prove beneficial is the number of teachers who currently are not impacted by the new legislation, but may look to the WU MEd. program for professional development courses. As noted earlier, the new legislation presents an opportunity for to expand upon their graduate level programs, but given the costs to initiate a new program, the decision to proceed  must be based upon valid and credible research data. Therefore, the exploratory research undertaken is critical, as it will form the foundation for any decisions made by the university administration. References Cooper, D. R., & Schindler, P. S. (2008). Business research methods. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Leedy, P. D., & Ormrod, J. E. (2010). Practical research planning and design. Upper Saddle River, NY: Pearson Education Inc. 6

Representation of Indigenous Cultures Essay

Since the European settlement of Australia, the Indigenous people have been represented in a myriad of ways. The Rabbits (1998), an allegorical picture book by John Marsden (writer) and Shaun Tan (illustrator) and Rabbit Proof Fence (2002), a film directed by Phillip Noyce, are just two examples of this. Techniques such as music, changing camera angles and symbolism are utilised in Rabbit Proof Fence to represent the Aboriginal people as strong-willed and spiritual and in The Rabbits, exaggeration, different colour themes and perspective are used to portray the Aborigines as technologically inferior and overwhelmed against the Europeans. In both texts, the Indigenous people are represented as oppressed by the Europeans. The Rabbit Proof Fence uses techniques such as slow motion close-ups, quick transition camera shots and intense music to show the strong-willed nature of the Aboriginals, which are be used in the scene where the three girls are taken by constable Riggs. Just before constable Riggs, we already hear the music building up the tension with some soft, yet ominous music and as they see the car, there is a slight silence before the intense music slams suddenly to support and symbolise the chaos and confusion of this part of the scene. This brief respite in music and the slow motion close-up shots of the horrified expressions on the faces of all of them emphasises the chaos that was about to happen when constable Riggs chases and captures the girls. Even after the girls were obstructed by the car and constable Riggs was taking the girls one by one, they continued to resist, especially Molly, who screamed and kicked the door shut as Riggs attempted to shove her inside the back seat. The quick transition camera shots that accompany this section of the scene from one character to another, exemplifies the franticness of it. During this scene, we clearly see the considerable amount will of resistance the Aborigines have because of the fact that, although they were powerless against the Europeans, they resisted to the bitter end. On the other hand, in The Rabbits, the Aboriginals (the Numbats) are represented as technologically inferior by the use of techniques such as: colour schemes, exaggeration and vanishing points. Colour schemes in this book are used effectively to emphasise the Indigenous population’s simplicity in life as the Aboriginal colour schemes consist of hues that blend well and warmly with its surroundings so the general overview of the texture of the painting in smooth. However, when analysing the Europeans (the Rabbits’) settlement in panels such as four and five, the colours are very sharp and more suited to the use of creating hard edges, which has been done as seen from the geometric construction of the objects within these two panels. In the tenth panel, the exaggeration of the wheat collectors is used to show the Europeans’ superior knowledge in machinery, in not only size, but also the quantity of objects that are attached like the taps. In the eighth panel, another representation of the Aboriginal’s inferiority in equipment is portrayed in the bottom right hand corner by an absolute domination in manpower and weapons. This is also epitomized by the vanishing point in that particular frame, which basically shows the reader that the army of soldiers is close to infinite. The spirituality of the Aboriginal people towards their land is portrayed in Rabbit Proof Fence by using symbolism, music and camera shifts, when Molly and Daisy on the verge of losing hope in the desert. In this scene, the very slow, lamenting music gives an audio representation of the two girls’ fatigue and hopelessness, using small accents to do so at every step. When the girls do collapse onto the ground, Molly sees an eagle soaring in the sky above them. This eagle, as explained by Molly’s mother in opening scene, was a symbol of protection and safety in Aboriginal culture. The appearance of this eagle in their time of need emphasises how the Aboriginals are truly bonded, psychologically and physically, to their land and culture. In this scene, the camera shifts back and forth between their elders back at Jigalong and the girls in the desert. This constant transition conveys the relationship between the girls (protected by the eagle) and the elders praying in an Aboriginal dialect for the girl’s safety. With these few examples, we can see how the Indigenous people have a special bond with their land through their cultural religion, which, in return, assists them when it is needed. Powerlessness of the Numbats (Aboriginals) against the Rabbits (Europeans) in The Rabbits is shown through the use of words within the mise en scene. Within this picture book, Marsden contributes to the meaning of the story to the readers through very short, but powerful sentences such as: â€Å"Sometimes we had fights/But there were too many rabbits/We lost the fights. † The way these sentences are structured so that it places emphasise the appropriate scenario that is occurring in each panel. With Shaun Tan, he conveys the powerless nature of the Indigenous by placing the Europeans in the foreground and the Aboriginal’s away from the focal point. For example, in panel eleven, the rabbits (Europeans) arjplaced in the foreground of the scene, holding up the words, â€Å"and they stole our children† and the tiny numbats (Aboriginals) are off into the far distance, holding up their hands in a fruitless gesture whilst their children are being taken away from them. This representation of the numbats in the background shows how the Europeans have gained most of the control in their land, causing a massive imbalance in power. The Rabbits and Rabbit Proof Fence provide audiences with different representations of the Indigenous culture by presenting various ideas by using visual and literary techniques to support them with: music, changing camera angles, exaggeration and perspective being a few that were discussed.