How convincingly do the two studies establish media influence, and why Literature review

How convincingly do the two studies establish media influence, and why they reach rather different conclusions about the media's role - Literature review Example In this study, the authors have conjectured that newspapers have a long term effect on voting patterns. It was believed by these political theorists that the data obtained from the BHPS could provide substantial insight, into the changes that transpire between elections, during pre – elections and in election years. The significant feature of the BHPS is that it gathers information about newspaper reading habits, on a daily basis. In general, many newspapers recommend to their readers the candidate to vote for, and this usually constitutes the basis for their classification. However, the BHPS adopted a markedly different categorisation, by classifying newspapers according to their long – term support to political parties (Newton and Brynin 2001, 272). The BHPS study, fails to consider the partisan attitude of newspapers, and chiefly concentrates on national daily newspapers. A significant disadvantage with the BHPS data is that its questionnaires did not query readers, regarding the amount of time dedicated by them for reading newspapers. Respondents were also not questioned about their interest in the political content of the newspapers read by them (Newton and Brynin 2001, 272). These lacunae in this study render it suspect. In the working paper Was it the Sun that won it again? the author based his study on the data obtained from the 1997 British Election Campaign Study. The latter entailed a four wave panel study, and was carried out between spring of 1996 and the weeks immediately after May 1, 1997, the Election Day. The first phase of the study involved direct interaction with the respondents. In this first phase of this study, the 1996 British Social Attitudes survey had supplied the respondents with the necessary questionnaires (Curtice 1999). The second phase of the study consisted of interviews over the telephone, and was conducted during the first two weeks of April 1997. By that time the election

Market Analysis for BzzAgent Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Market Analysis for BzzAgent - Case Study Example The following discussion aims to discuss the market situation in which BzzAgent operates using some widely established models and theories of organizational studies. BzzAgent operates in a crowded marketplace and had to adopt some innovative strategies to enter and succeed in the industry. The attractiveness of the marketplace in terms of competitiveness is analyzed below using the Five Competitive Force model presented by Michael Porter in 1980. The tools of the analysis presented in the model provide a structure that can be used to conclude the competitive strength of an industry. These tools are simple but allow having the clear and strong understanding of the importance of power within a business circumstance and help in gaining the understanding about the strength of any organization within a competitive situation. The threat of entry depends upon the extent to which there are barriers to entry in the market. The environment where BzzAgent operates is an easy to access marketpla ce. There are little barriers to entry in the field of WOM marketing and the agencies generally have the wide range of options to start their operations depending upon their financial base and workforce. The failure of the traditional means of marketing has already opened up the doors for innovative marketing ideas. Moreover, the rapidly increasing trend of online, telephonic and text messages’ interactions have broadened the prospects for new ways of WOM marketing. The companies operating in different industries and sectors fervently look towards the different and unique ideas to promote their brands and the WOM strategy seems attractive to many of them due to the growing importance of the internet, email and SMS as a marketing tool. It implies that there are the greater scope and little entry barriers in the field of WOM marketing.

Hp Compaq Merger Essay Example for Free

Hp Compaq Merger Essay The world’s largest corporate Information Technology merger began in September 2001 when HP announced that they would acquire Compaq in an all stock purchase valued at $25 billion. Over an 8 month period ending in May 2002, the merger passed shareholder and regulatory approval with the end result being one company. The new HP has annual sales of approximately $90 billion which is comparable to IBM, and an operating income of almost $4 billion. The merger was led by Carly Fiorina, the chairwoman and CEO of HP.   The president of the new HP was Michael Capellas who was the former chairman and CEO of the old HP and who has recently resigned and is now the CEO of World Com. Overall, many analysts were critical of the merger from the beginning since both Compaq and HP were struggling companies before the merger. The common question that has been raised by analysts is: Do two struggling companies make a better merged company? Some analysts have indicated that the merger is a gamble and that it is difficult to see any focused logic behind the merge considering that most I.T acquisitions are not successful. Prior to the merger, Compaq has been unable to grow despite previously buying Digital, while HP was trying to grow internally, without much success. Both companies were still adjusting to acquisitions they have made in the past and both were adjusting to new leadership (Fiorina and Capellas). The merger deal also means that there are many overlaps in products, technologies, distribution channels, services, facilities and jobs. Employee morale is a threat to a successful merger as there have been numerous layoffs -15,000 employees. The claimed annual cost savings of about $2.5 billion dollars by the year 2004 amounts to only 3 % of the combined costs of both companies. Gartner Group research has indicated that the merged company has failed to do a good enough job of presenting the benefits of an acquisition of this scale to justify the deal’s risk as it is generally known that technology mergers rarely work. In addition, both companies in the past have struggled to resolve conflicts between direct and indirect sales channels. The cultural background of both companies is quite different and integration will take a long time. The culture at HP is based on consensus; Compaq’s culture on the other hand is based on rapid decision making. From a positive perspective, most botched tech mergers involved companies that were trying to buy their way into new businesses they knew little about, this is not the case with the HP/Compaq merger. Apart from servers and PC’s, they have several areas where their products overlap e.g.: they are both are involved in making data -storage equipment and both make hand held computing devices. In addition, both companies also bring different strengths to the table. Compaq has done a better job in regard to engineering an entire line and HP has been strong in consumer products. The justification provided by HP senior management suggests that a merger will enable them to compete with two of their biggest competitors, IBM and Dell.  In conclusion, it is viewed by many analysts that there will be at least 2 more years of bitter infighting which will cause the new HP to lose direction and good personnel. This is great news for competitors such as IBM and Sun as both of them will be able to pick off the market while the new HP is distracted by the merger. The new HP may be a threat to IBM but not anytime soon. It could take several years to determine if the largest merger in I.T history will be a success or a complete flop. THE IT INDUSTRY PROFILE Information technology (IT) is a broad field that covers all aspects of managing and processing information. IT professionals design, develop, support, and manage computer software, hardware, and networks. From the exuberant growth of its early years to the uncertainty of recent times, the IT industry has stabilized—with job growth rates now rising steadily—and continues to change in order to meet the needs of the business world. While the wild optimism that surrounded the IT industry a few years back has been deflated, the IT industry is adapting to a changing market. New developments such as creating infrastructure for mobile technologies will continue to ensure the vitality and viability of the industry. And as the industry responds to new business needs, it will continue to evolve into a mature profession, a profession versatile enough to adapt to new demands and stable enough to support new innovations and developments. In information technology (IT), India has built up valuable brand equity in the global markets. In IT-enabled services (ITES), India has emerged as the most preferred destination for business process outsourcing (BPO), a key driver of growth for the software industry and the services sector. The IT industry is passing through a phase of mergers and consolidations in India largely in line with global trends. Companies are focusing on organic as well as inorganic growth. Indian IT companies are prowling for potential acquisitions both in the domestic as well as foreign markets. 3 Indian software companies – TCS, Infosys, and Wipro have all crossed the billion dollar mark. Competition in the Indian IT arena is increasing leaps and bounds with global giants like IBM, Accenture, and CSC etc.   Trends over the last five years tell the story of Dell’s increasing market share, at the cost of its competitors. This degree of competition prompted a  merger between HP and Compaq in 2001; IBM has refocused its priorities to lucrative corporate customers. In 2003, the PC industry grew 11 % as a whole. Despite differing focuses, all players saw an increased demand by consumers for new systems. INTRODUCTION TO THE COMPANY PROFILE HEWLETT PACKARD In 1938, two electrical engineering graduates from Stanford University called William Hewlett and David Packard started their business in a garage in Palo Alto. In a years time, the partnership called Hewlett-Packard was made and by the year 1947 HP was incorporated. It began offering stocks for public trading 10 years later. The company has been prospering ever since as its profits grew from five and half million dollars in 1951 to about 3 billion dollars in 1981. The pace of growth knew no bounds as HPs net revenue went up to 42 billion dollars in 1997. Starting with manufacturing audio oscillators, the company made its first computer in the year 1966 and it was by 1972 that it introduced the concept of personal computing by introducing the first scientific hand-held. HP introduced its first personal computer in the year 1980. The company is also known for the laser-printer which it introduced in the year 1985. HP – Product Portfolio * Laptop/Notebooks * Palmtops/PDA * Printers and Printing Consumables * Digicams * Scanners * Monitors * Mainframes Major Competitors * IBM – Servers, PCs, Storage and IT services * Dell – PCs * Canon – Printers, Fax, Copiers and Optical Equipment * Compaq – PCs, Servers and Pocket Computers COMPAQ Compaq Computer Corporation is an American personal computer company founded  in the year 1982. It had the charm of being called the largest manufacturers of personal computing devices worldwide. The company was formed by two senior managers at Texas Instruments. The name of the company had come from-Compatibility and Quality. The company introduced its first computer in the year 1983 after at a price of 2995 dollars. In spite of being portable, the problem with the computer was that it seemed to be a suitcase. Nevertheless, there were huge commercial benefits from the computer as it sold more than 53,000 units in the first year with a revenue generation of 111 million dollars. Company existed as an independent corporation until 2002, when it was acquired for $25 billion by Hewlett Packard. COMPAQ – Product Portfolio * Enterprise Computing Group * Mainframes * Servers * Workstations * Internet products * Networking Products * Commercial Products * Portables * Small and Medium Business Solutions Major Competitors * IBM – Servers, PCs, Storage and IT services * Sun Microsystems – Servers * Dell – PCs * HP – PCs, IT Services and Pocket Computers * Palm – Pocket Computers PRE – MERGER STATS FOR HP COMPAQ RELATIVE PERFORMANCE OF HP AND COMPAQ HP – COMPAQ MERGER â€Å"If HP was progressing at such a tremendous pace, what was the reason that  the company had to merge with Compaq?† Carly Fiorina, who became the CEO of HP in the year 1999, had a key role to play in the merger that took place on 3rd September, 2001. She was the first woman to have taken over as CEO of such a big company and the first outsider too. She worked very efficiently as she travelled more than 250,000 miles in the first year as a CEO. Her basic aim was to modernize the culture of operation of HP. She laid great emphasis on the profitable sides of the business. This shows that she was very extravagant in her approach as a CEO. In spite of the growth in the market value of HPs share from 54.43 to 74.48 dollars, the company was still inefficient. This was because it could not meet the targets due to a failure of both company and industry. HP was forced to cut down on jobs and also be eluded from the privilege of having Price Water House Coopers to take care of its audit. So, even the job of Fiorina was under threat. This meant that improvement in the internal strategies of the company was not going to be sufficient for the companys success. Ultimately, the company had to certainly plan out something different. So, it was decided that the company would be acquiring Compaq in a stock transaction whose net worth was 25 billion dollars. Initially, this merger was not planned. It started with a telephonic conversation between CEO HP, Fiorina and Chairman and CEO Compaq, Capellas. The idea behind the conversation was to discuss on a licensing agreement but it continued as a discussion on competitive strategy and finally a merger. It took two months for further studies and by September, 2001, the boards of the two companies approved of the merger. In spite of the decision coming from the CEO of HP, the merger was strongly opposed in the company. The two CEOs believed that the only way to fight the growing competition in terms of prices was to have a merger. But the investors and the other stakeholders thought that the company would never be able to have the loyalty of the Compaq customers, if products are sold with an HP logo on it. Other than this, there were questions on the synchronization of the organizations members with each other. This was because of the change in the organization culture as well. Even though these were supposed to serious problems with respect to the merger, the CEO of HP, Fiorina justified the same with the fact that the merger would remove one serious competitor in the over-supplied PC market of those days. She said  that the market share of the company is bound to increase with the merger and also the working unit would double. GROWING PROBLEMS AT HP * HP was not adapting to technological innovation fast enough * Margins were going down * IPG (HP’s Imaging and Printing Group) was the leader in its market segment but did not rank anywhere among top 3 in servers, storage or services * Printing line was facing competition from Lexmark and Epson which were selling lower-quality inexpensive printers * Needed to build strong complementary business lines HP’s POSITION BEFORE MERGER * By 2001, as the industry stumbled, meeting growth targets became difficult for HP and it was forced to cut jobs and scrap plans * As a result HP stock price dropped drastically * Turning the company around required more than just strategy from within OBJECTIVES OF THE MERGER * Increase competition with major competitors i.e. IBM, Dell * Cut costs by $3 billion annually by 2004 * Increase earnings for shareholders * Face the challenge of a shrinking market EXPECTATIONS FROM THE MERGER OF HP AND COMPAQ * The merger of HP with Compaq will create superior customer value by expanding its product range and together HP and Compaq can focus on R D in a greater extend. * The second best benefit that the merger will emerge is cost benefit by generating cost synergies reaching approximately $2.5 bn annually. * Drive a significantly improved cost structure, approximate assets of $56.4 billion, and annual revenues of $87.4 billion and annual operating earnings of $3.9 billion. * Adds up to world-class innovation and quality through the merger of two of the leading IT companies of the world. * Larger PC position resulting from the merger likely to increase risk and dilute shareholders interest. * Operations in more than 160 countries and over 1,45,000 employees. * Expand the numbers of the company’s service professionals. * Improves access to the market with Compaq’s direct capability and low cost structure. * Work force reduction by around 15,000 employees saving around $1.5 billion per year. * Improve HP’s market share. KEY POINTS THAT ENCOURAGED THE MERGER DECISION * HP’s failure to meet target (in spite of increased share value) * Merger as the way to fight the growing competition in terms of prices * Merger would eliminate one player in an oversupplied PC market * To compete with IBM and other companies * Reduce costs * 1990’s IT recessionary phase * Merger expected to yield savings projected to reach $2.5bn annually by 2004 * Advantage of more volume of sales * Development of direct distribution capability * Strengthen sales force * Improve customer base ADVANTAGES OF MERGER Merger would create a full-service technology firm capable of doing everything from selling PCs and printers to setting up complex networks. Merger would eliminate redundant product groups and costs in marketing, advertising, and shipping, while at the same time preserving much of the two companies’ revenues. MARKET BENEFITS * Merger will creates immediate end to end leadership * Compaq was a clear No.2 in the PC business and stronger on the commercial side than HP, but HP was stronger on the consumer side. Together they would be No.1 in market share in 2001 * The merger would also greatly expand the numbers of the company’s service professionals. As a result, HP would have the largest market share in all hardware market segments and become the number three in market share in services * Improves access to the market with Compaq’s direct capability and low cost structure * The much bigger company would have scale advantages: gaining bargaining power with suppliers. OPERATIONAL BENEFITS * HP and Compaq have highly complementary RD capabilities * HP was strong in mid and high-end UNIX servers, a weakness for Compaq; while Compaq was strong in low-end industry standard (Intel) servers, a weakness for HP * Top management has experience with complex organizational changes * Merger would result in work force reduction by around 15,000 employees saving around $1.5 billion per year FINANCIAL BENEFITS * Merger will result in substantial increase in profit margin and liquidity * 2.5 billion is the estimated value of annual synergies * Provides the combined entity with better ability to reinvest Even though it seemed to be advantageous to very few people in the beginning, it was the strong determination of Fiorina that she was able to stand by her decision. Wall Street and all her investors had gone against the company lampooning her ideas with the saying that she has made 1+1=1.5 by her extravagant ways of expansion. Fiorina had put it this way that after the companys merger, not only would it have a larger share in the market but also the units of production would double. This would mean that the company would grow tremendously in volume. Her dream of competing with the giants in the field, IBM would also come true. She was of the view that much of the redundancy in the two companies would decrease as the internal costs on promotion, marketing and shipping would come down with the merger. This would produce the slightest harm to the collection of revenue. She used the ideas of  competitive positioning to justify her plans of the merger. She said that the merger is based on the ideologies of consolidation and not on diversification. She could also defend allegations against the change in the HP was. She was of the view that the HP has always encouraged changes as it is about innovating and taking bold steps. She said that the company requires being consistent with creativity, improvement and modification. This merger had the capability of providing exactly the same.

Music In World War One Music Essay

Music In World War One Music Essay Classical music is undisputedly a vast notion usually connected with the traditions of Western art, spiritual and also concert music, encompassing a large period from roughly 1000 to the present day. Classical music developed as a separate movement in the period between 1550 and 1900 especially at that time all the worked out theories were widely transformed into practice. The main goals of this paper are to write about the style of classical music during World War I, and the affect of the World War on classical music. Evaluating the notion of classical music the first that comes to my mind is the names of the Classic Mohicans. It is truly impossible to imagine classical music without Beethovens symphonies. His genius is confided in his symphonies and piano concerts, and in reality Beethovens music represents a so-called catalogue for everyone who loves classics. Beethoven personalized the stand that music was a direct outpouring of a composers personality, his individual triumphs and tragedies. It should be noted that Joseph Haydn is often considered to be the father of classical music. The works of the composer served as a strong base for the other classical works. His work during this era forms the basis of influence for others who wrote classical music. Surprisingly, but he was not as much popular as Beethoven or Mozart despite Haydn was a progenitor of the classical music. The Surprise symphony is recognized one of the most prominent works in the world. The development of the classical music in the prewar period is rather eloquent as there took place different styles and genres that had a serious impact on modern music. Starting with the Baroque à ©poque, it covers the period 1600-1750, declaration of moods and emotions appeared to be the central idea used in music. Feelings and emotions were imparted through tonality and strict melodic organization. The Middle Ages brought a revaluation of goods in the minds of composers and merging into the clerical practice gave birth to new evaluation of musical objective and functions. Music was entirely the vassal of religion. According to Busoni (1957), we see that especially for the Church servants in the Middle Ages, music was recognized good only on condition that it would open the mind to Christian teachings and disposes the soul to holy thoughts. Addressing to Baroque à ©poque, most philosophers and musicians were captured by the idea that there was a cosmic relationship between mathematics science music. We must express gratitude to Pythagoras discovery of the The Harmonic Series or overtone series numerical relationship between musical interval and string length. Resuming on the Baroque period it is worth to mention such outstanding musicians as Bach, Vivaldi especially remembered for The Four Seasons. His investment in the development of classical music refers to enriching the German classical music with contrapuntal technique. He generalized the achievements of musical art in the Baroque epoch. The composers of Baroque music were alarmed by reproduction of human emotions (namely passions and devotion) and tried to convey it with the help of music tonality. They wrote music that was close to imitate the emotions. And the succeeded in expressing the unique emotional mood through musical means. The Enlightenment period brought its affection for natural law and practical morality over fantastic religion and metaphysics. This was a major shift towards music and arts connection. At that period of time music has its main purpose to inspire simplicity and elude the complication of contrapuntal devises. Romanticism style in music was marked by suggestion, metaphor, ambiguity, allusion and symbol and as a consequence appeared instrumental music, which was escaped by the early Church. It could be noted that the discreet, flourishing world of instrumental music corresponds to the concealed non-substantial world. The credo of Schopenhauer, as the main representative of romantic epoch, concerning music was that the very image and incarnation of the innermost reality of the world, the immediate expression of the universal feelings and impulsions of life in concrete, definite form. The temp of life during the second decade of the 20-th century was becoming faster and faster. The technological progress expressed by the automobile and plane transportation was not striking news. Popular music went step by step with this speed development, forming new musical trends such as jazz and swing. Despite this fact, people were still very naÃÆ' ¯ve and simple. But by the end of the decade that simplicity and naivety was lost as the nation found itself engaged in the World War 1. Evaluating the level of popular music, it is pleasant to mark that popular music was in its golden age. That was a period when the best and the most fruitful ideas were put into practice. It may seem strange but World War 1 only supported its great creativity and vitality. Some people prove that namely music finally helped to win the war. The fact how music helped people to survive and to cope with horrors of war is of especially great importance. By May 1915, when a great number of American civilians lost their lives the war tension started to be strongly reflected in music. The first songs about war appeared to be quite romantic and full of antiwar feelings, Dont Take My Darling Boy Away by Helen Clark Joseph A. Phillips and some others Fido Is A Hot Dog Now, Missouri Waltz, Rebecca Of Sunny-Brook Farm, St. Louis Blues. Chas. K. Harris composed When Angels Weep in which the lyrics makes everyone to think that we are brothers and that it is necessary for us to pray for peace. During that time American nation was divided into two classes: those who supported neutrality and those who insisted on mutual assistance. By 1915, more songs about war appeared. Frank Hudson composed a song I Didnt Raise My Boy to Be A Soldier with his song, I Tried To Raise My Boy To Be A Hero but still he music motives remained neutral. By 1916, most Americans came out in support of war and infused Congress to declare the war. The greatest hits were still neutral songs and brought some the greatest hits such as Nola, What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For, Have A Heart (Jerome Kern) and Poor Butterfly. By the April 1917, when America finally declared the war, the nation was fully engaged in it as well. Fuld and Lichtenwanger (1966) stated that composers started to invent music primarily related to war and the role of America in it. The music industry was running at full blast and we can observe the notes of patriotism in these short musical messages. Leo. Feist was one publisher that focused a great deal of attention on the role of music in the war, even declared that Music Will Win the War. The central idea of his article is A Nation that sings can never be beaten. And definitely those words are reasonable. During that time American songs started to widespread all over the world. Songs worked as a motive power of soldiers spirit. According to Albright (2004), it became obvious that the only thing that had a chance to inspire soldiers for victory was a kind, catchy melody. Later, the musical direction shifted to the appeal of population to join in the war and to help its countrymen. Joseph W. Stern, a famous music publisher, usually printed slogans and patriotic ideas on covers, for instance Food will win the war, Dont waste it! Another Sterns contribution was that he divided World war music into 6 categories, such as: ballad type, cheer-up type, stirring march type, comic type, appealing for support type, victory type. Whether music influenced the war outcome or not will remain a rhetoric question, but without any doubt the war had an enduring effect on music. Right after the First World War and after the experienced gamut of the emotions, many composers came back to past centuries achievements in search of inspiration and composed their works implementing the outgoing elements (it concerns structure, melodic tonality and form) from that works. The new trend claimed of itself. The name of this trend was neoclassicism. The main representatives of neoclassicism are Igor Stravinsky (famous for his Pulcinella and Symphony of Psalms), Sergei Prokofiev (for Classical Symphony), Ravel (for Le Tombeau de Couperin) and Hindemith (for Mathis der Maler). Neoclassicism was a new formed 20-th century trend, running in the period between the two World Wars. Musicians mostly returned to aesthetic concepts associated with classicism, namely order, balance, clarity, economy, and emotional restraint. Neoclassicism can be called a reaction against emotional outbreaks and realized lack of form. The main point of neoclassical trend was oriented on rhythm, harmonic tonality and centrality on absolutist tendencies in music which worked as a complete antithesis to romanticism period. By its thematic organization, neoclassical music works recalled the early classical music trends. Neoclassical music developed in two directions: German and French. The brightest representative of French neoclassicism was Igor Stravinsky. He is widely known for his ballet Pulcinella. Addressing to German neoclassicism, the outstanding role belongs to Paul Hindemith. This composer worked in the development of chamber music, orchestration and contrapuntal operas. Neoclassicism was quite popular in America and found its supporters there. It was the school of Nadia Boulanger that proclaimed the ideas about music based on her understanding of Stravinskys music. To crown it all together, classical music has overpassed great changes during the World War 1. There formed new trends in music such as patriotic, marching, victory and others which gave people the hope and support in the most challenging moments. The World War music left a remarkable imprint in the history of many nations.

Catching Cold :: Personal Narrative Health Essays

Catching Cold I am afraid to sneeze around my mother. I avoid coughing in front of her, even if just to prevent a wayward piece of spinach from wiggling down the wrong tube. I never blow my nose in her presence or scratch any part of my body for more than a few seconds. No, my mother does not have an unusually weak immune system. Nor is she very elderly or recovering from a chronic illness. In fact, my mom is one of the healthiest people I know. It’s not her own health that she’s paranoid about. It’s mine. On one particularly cold day about fifteen years ago, my mom laid out five shirts on my bed: a camisole, a short sleeve shirt, a turtleneck, a long sleeve shirt, and a sweater. After a few minutes of wrestling the clothes over my four-year-old body, she said, â€Å"There, now you won’t get frostbitten,† and with a satisfied smile patted my marshmallow-like exterior off to kindergarten. Thirty minutes later, as I silently sweated my way through making a Santa Claus out of red construction paper and white cotton balls, my teacher exclaimed, â€Å"It’s cold in here! How many of you feel cold right now?† Small hands shot up around the room and Miss Johnson agreed, â€Å"It certainly is! Now I wish I had worn more layers. When it is very cold outside, you can stay warm by adding extra layers of clothing. Today I am only wearing two layers,† she told us, pulling the edge of her white blouse out from under her red cardigan sweater. â€Å"Is anyone wearing three layers today?† A brief moment of contemplation and counting followed. A few of my classmates raised their hands, beaming as Miss Johnson smiled at them each in turn, saying, â€Å"That is very smart of you. You must be very warm right now!† I was wearing more than three layers. I quietly re-counted my shirts under the table. All of a sudden, Thomas, an annoying bully of a boy who seemed to pay more attention to my affairs than his own, shot up from his seat. â€Å"Deborah’s wearing five layers, Miss Johnson,† he crowed, â€Å"I saw her counting them.† I looked down at the ground, trying to avoid the laughter and teasing of my classmates.

Team Project Narrative: The Midtown Perspective Essay -- Urban Develop

For many decades, the midtown inner city area has been the most focused essential location for future economic prosperity, residential and business growth, inner-city vitality and vibrancy, and city wide expansion. The reason is that Rochester, New York was most known for being a key Rust Belt city which specialized in large scale production in transportation, electricity, and industrial processes. In the last 2 decades it has been universally known that with the new generation of emerging technology and the decreased use of old traditional factories, our foundation to economic uphold would soon decease. This example is shown simply by the presence of many huge vacant buildings located within the downtown city of Rochester. Not only does this harshly affect our industrial businesses and the city’s economic growth, but it also affects the entire community downtown, residents, visitors, and also changes the perception of what Rochester’s downtown area used to be. Every bu siness, retail shop, market, or educational facility in the area has been severely struck by this ripple effect. Rochester was also very popular among the U.S being the first to implement a downtown enclosed shopping center called Midtown Plaza in the heart of the city. This place was a prime source for highly concentrated economic success and population increase. When suburban malls were then built in neighboring towns, the Midtown Plaza also suffered a great loss. From being one of the most prosperous places during the 1960’s – 1970’s era, to this day of April 26th, 2012, the Midtown Plaza no longer standing resulting in nine acres of shovel ready development property; desperately awaiting offers. In the mist of the mess, remained the presence of the Monroe Comm... ...t/article.asp?aID=190595 Cooper, C. (2012). Mcc statement on efforts to negotiate a lease at the sibley building. MCC News, Retrieved from http://www.monroecc.edu/etsdbs/pubaff.nsf/HomePageNews_Include/58897C9EA54C116985257983006DBA02?OpenDocument Kress, A. (2011). An open letter on mcc's proposed downtown campus at kodak. Manuscript submitted for publication, Monroe Community College, Monroe Community College, Rochester, New York. Retrieved from http://www.monroecc.edu/downtown/docs/OpenLetterfromDrKress.pdf Richards, T. S. (2011). Mcc student focus group: What they said. 13Wham Blogs, Retrieved from http://www.13wham.com/content/blogs/story/MCC-Student-Focus-Group-What-They-Said/TC377v9_3kaZ8QHgHRr3ng.cspx Stewart, J. S. (2012). Mcc extends lease at sibley building, for now. Education, Retrieved from http://wxxinews.org/post/mcc-extends-lease-sibley-building-now

Women and Religion in the Middle East

Religion and Women in the Middle East Religion goes hand in hand with culture, and in the Muslim countries this is very apparent. The cultural importance of men over women may have stemmed from religion, however it was further recognized when imperialist countries introduced capitalism and class divides. â€Å"Islam must combat the wrenching impact of alien forces whose influence in economic, political, and cultural permutations continues to prevail† (Stowasser 1994, 5).Now, instead of an agrarian state where both men and women had their place, difficulties have formed due to the rise in education and awareness that women can and do have a place in society beyond domestic living Though women are not equal to men anywhere around the world, the differences between men and women are greater possibly in the Muslim world, partially due to religion and culture. â€Å"Fewer women are educated in the Muslim world than in other culture areas†¦The percentage of women working other than agriculture is probably the smallest in the world, the birth rate the highest, and the laws regarding marriage and related matters most unequal† (Stowasser 1994, 5). Though, of recent years inequality has been blamed on the Islamic religion, gender inequalities were in the Middle East before Islam. However, by radical groups and male elite, women are being discriminated because of their gender due to religious connotations amongst other things. The male bias, like in most religions, has been enforced within society like in the text of the Qur’an.Keddie and Beck asserts that, â€Å"In Islamic law women have male guardians; woman’s testimony is worth half that of a man; women are considered to have less reason than men† (Beck and Keddie 1978, 25-26). So the Qur’an in many of the Middle Eastern countries has been taken and formed in ‘Islamic Law’ which may not entirely reflect what is said in the Holy Book, but has been used to discr iminate and divide, not only gender, but class and status. What will be discussed is the divide between men and women due to religion, and why that is in certain countries in the Middle East and not others.It is not necessarily the Qur’an that has brought about the discrimination of women. There is male dominance in most every religious book. However it is how it has been translated, either by modernists, conservatives, and fundamentalists and how this has altered the treatment of women in society. In addition to this, it is also important to consider the country and how it is run. In the Middle East, regime is varied and eclectic; it would seem that the countries that are run by elite monarchists such as Saudi Arabia, have stricter laws on women and are more conservative or fundamental Islamists.On the other hand, countries that have a more lenient approach have better education and rights for women (though still not as forward as some Western countries). These thoughts by f undamentalists or conservatives relate to Muhammed’s spouses and how they are discussed in the Qur’an as there are no female prophets. According to Stowasser, the main components and treatment of women are set in the Qur’an, which is ‘segregation and quiet domesticity; modest comportment, indeed, invisibility through veiling; ascetic frugality; devout obedience to God and His Prophet.Insofar as the latter was these women’s husband, special emphasis is also placed on wifely obedience (Beck and Keddie 1978, 118). ’ This is seen as a very conservative view and parts of the Qur’an have been used to determine this, which is said to be harmful to women. Modern interpretations of the Qur’an suggest that manipulation of texts has led to foreign intervention due to human rights issues on gender. However, the modernists do not believe in segregation, and though religion is important to have, you should not be discriminated on how devout y ou are.They use the Qur’an not in a literal sense, but in a way which fits into modern society and works with both genders. The teachings in the Qur’an can be twisted either way. Practices of fundamental Islamists vary when it comes to marital rights, education, and behavior and punishment of women according to the Qur’an. In some societies, women in the judicial process have very few rights that are the same as men, and their punishment seems to be much greater. Treatment by the Taliban in Afghanistan, and by other groups such as the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood all contribute to how women are treated legally.Zohreh Arshadi asserts that in countries such as Iran, â€Å"The Islamic punishments have encouraged a culture of violence against women†¦ The fact that men receive a lighter punishment if they commit a violence against women undoubtedly encourages such violence. We saw how women could be killed with impunity during alleged adultery. Stoning t o death for adultery, although technically admissible for both sexes, has also been carried out mainly against women† (Arshadi 2012).It is in countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and some non-Middle Eastern countries where the Qur’an is taken as a literal word and law, and there is constituted into actual state law. This means that certain texts from the Qur’an are used to treat women violently. For example a passage in the Qur’an states: Hadith Muslim (4:1982)   The Prophet said, â€Å"I saw Hell also. No such (abominable) sight have I ever seen as that which I saw today; and I observed that most of its inhabitants were women. They said: Messenger of Allah, on what account is it so?He said: For their ingratitude or disbelief (bi-kufraihinna). It was said: Do they disbelieve in Allah? He said: (Not for their disbelief in God) but for their ingratitude to their husbands. † Again, the inferiority of women to men that is listed in the Q ur’an has meant that fundamentalist groups put pressures on women that is not apparent for the men. The repetition of how ‘unholy’ and disobedient women are means that is the way they are treated, which infringes on their rights. This was apparent in Kuwait, where a monarch (Sheikhs) and the elite ruled with heavy Islamic laws until the 1980s.There were no schools for girls; it was compulsory for women to be covered in only black by puberty, where then they would soon be married; and Polygamy was common place where not only could a man have up to four wives (condoned by Islamic Law) but could also keep female slaves (Beck and Keddie 1987, 174). This is a typical scene in fundamental countries; women with no education, little rights that match the men, and severe punishment if thought to be misbehaving. Though this has changed since the 1980s, it will still haunt their history.Though there are very few states that are run by this ancient Islamic way, there are sti ll groups that carry this out in modern Middle Eastern countries. For instance the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt have carried out ritual beatings and stoning of women, and it has been made clear they use the Qur’an as a way of putting women in a domestic place only. Asserted by a female blogger in Egypt ‘It is abundantly clear that the Muslim Brotherhood do not see women rights as natural and inalienable. Their rights must be restricted by Sharia and their duties in society; duties which are in themselves dictated by Sharia. (2011. On Coptic Nationalism; The Position of the Muslim Brotherhood on Women and Children – Analysis and Critique of the FJP’s Parliamentary Election Program. ) Another example is the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Revolutionary Women of Afghanistan have claimed that there is whipping, beating, and verbal abuse of women not clothed in accordance with Taliban rules. For instance not having their ankles covered, adultery, and with the ban of cosmetics even painted nails could result with their fingers being cut off. (2012.Punishment of Muslim Women. ) This punishment and treatment is said to be within Islamic teachings, however it is conservative and fundamentalist groups that read the Qur’an literally that enforce such rulings. When we talk of fundamentalist countries in the Middle East in association with religion, Saudi Arabia comes to mind. It is, so to speak, the heartland of religious and holy land. Mecca and Medina, the place where billions take holy migration to, is situated here and therefore Saudi Arabia has strong religious ties and feelings within.It is ruled by the Saud family, who are said to be direct descendants of the prophet Muhammed. The Saud family uses this as a determinant of power. George Lipsky claims that, ‘[Saud’s] used this deeply conservative and puritanical Sunnite orthodoxy as a basic instrument for gaining and wielding power. The result was the creation of a political order in which paramount authority is in the hands of an executive who fills three traditional roles, that of the tribal leader, religious leader, and king. ’ (Lipsky, George A. 1959. Saudi Arabia; its people, its society, its culture.New Haven: Hraff Press. Pg 5) This should assert that the Saudi Kingdom rules by very traditional and conservative ways, including religion. ‘The public practice of any form of religion other than Islam is prohibited in Saudi Arabia. Severe punishment (imprisonment and deportation) can result should such activities come to the attention of the authorities. ’ (British Embassy Riyadh. 2012. UK in Saudi Arabia. http://ukinsaudiarabia. fco. gov. uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/living-in-saudi-arabia/) All laws in Saudi are based from the Qur’an, and the law is sharia.This means that as an extremely religious country, it has had problems facing gender equality and human rights. The penalty for any misconduct, be it adultery to dr essing ‘inappropriately’ is punishable by public beheading or death by stoning. To enforce religious law, the Mutawwa or religious police have been put in place. Mutawwa police have the right to cut off women’s left hand if misbehaving. It is this large enforcement of extreme religion which has gained attention from the Western countries, but little else due to their huge amounts of oil.Lipsky reiterates that, ‘Women, the vast majority of whom live in seclusion and are almost totally without education. ’(Lipsky, George A. 1959. Saudi Arabia; its people, its society, its culture. New Haven: Hraff Press. pg 131) There have been countless claims and acts of violence towards women due to ‘religion. ’ However, it is more of a way for the Saud regime to stay in power, religion is used as a means of quieting the masses. Though the country is forever modernizing, and women’s groups funded by the West are starting to show, the punishment f or speaking out is far too dangerous and risky.Modernization of the Middle East has had it’s implications, good and bad. The treatment of women and their rights in most countries have improved. The countries that were colonized have modernized much more than the Middle Eastern areas that were ignored by imperialist. Politically, economically, and socially these countries have improved their human rights with the course of industrialization. The gap between women and men has not gotten worse, but instead have been brought to the attention of international human rights advocators.Countries such as Iraq, Egypt, Syria, and other revolutionary countries has seen the rise in female activists of the Islamic religion. This may be due to these countries more lenient state approach to having Islam as a main feature of their political system. As these states have seen the rise in social demands for political reform, it means their policies are more liberal than that of a monarchical run state with heavy religious influence. Stowasser asserts that, â€Å"Modernists have long opposed the notion that women’s segregation is a necessary aspect of moral Muslim society† (Stowasser 1994, 132).She goes onto agree with modernists who maintain that, â€Å"the Qur’an established women’s equality with men in all essential respects, a fact misunderstood by Medieval Muslim lawyers† (Stowasser 1994, 132). ’ Modernists believe that many fundamentalist groups manipulate what the text of the Qur’an says in order to fit their social rule. With the study of Kuwait, modernization of the country brought much social reform and change. Instead of the state being run by heavy Islamic law and religious lineage, Beck and Keddie say that, â€Å"the community and education of women [in Kuwait] had been the entry of women into government service†¦Hundreds of Kuwaiti women [are] working in schools and offices alongside men† (Beck and K eddie 1978, 175). Though there are still problems facing women in Kuwait, due to modernization, religion has less of a restrictive connotations, and more of a liberating one. When speaking of modernization versus fundamentalism, in terms of religious rule, the dress code and especially the Hijab and veiling is a topic that determines how liberal a state is on religion and gender. Initially, the dress code of women, particularly the Hijab, was mainly a garment of status.In the Qur’an, it says that women must be dressed modestly and cover in accordance so. Again, it is how groups and states interpret the Qur’an and how extreme and literal they take this to mean. Still today the way a woman dresses reveals status and wealth, though punishment for covering that is not in accordance to law or is seen as provoking can be punished with death. Though the veiling of women has initial religious meanings, it has become more of a political gesture and stance. To not be seen with a veil or appropriate dress has ‘Western’ connotations, which has negative implications.Leila Ahmed agrees that, â€Å"it is a discourse on women and the veil in which another history is also inscribed, the history of colonial domination and the struggle against it and the class divisions around that struggle† (Ahmed 1992, 130). ’ It has little to do with religion; however, the veil has been used as a way to enforce religion in fundamentalist areas. It is more of a way to speak against imperialists and the Western world, not necessarily religion. Haddad and Esposito assert that, ‘The veil and Islamic dress are the outward obvious signs of women’s adherence to the new Islamic trends.However, the veil and formal compliance with tradition do not necessarily mean commitment to all the ideological baggage associated with it† (Haddad 1998, 182). They agree that is mainly a conservative way of approaching Islam and anti-imperialist feelings. Tho ugh the discourse on the Hijab and dress has been battered with human rights issues, it is not religion to blame, only the extreme use of it in states. Due to modernization, the human rights of women in the Middle East and the