Post Modernism and Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Post Modernism and Globalization - Essay Example While others view globalization as leading to heterogeneity through heightened hybridization, other quarters view it as something that is leading more towards the production of diversity. Globalization according to many scholars, who believe in post modernism, has caused great ripples in the cultural political and economic situation and stability of the word and has led to new dispensations (Giddens, 1990).. In spite of the existence of several descriptions of the term globalization, believers of postmodernism have come to the point of stating that globalization is a historical break from the norm; one that has been characterized by the development of transnational capitalism, the production of post –Fordism configuration or the view that globalization is a new cultural view of what has previously been termed as capitalism.Implications of GlobalizationIt is beyond doubt that globalization has upon the world fallen with its effects beyond taking for granted. The phenomenon has been associated with several benefits and limitations. The benefits of globalization include the opening of markets, greater k[prosperity for societies, freer trade, greater respect for individuals and communities and the springing of a global culture that has greater respect for human rights based on western ideologies as noted by Lipietz (1996). Conversely, the alternative side of globalization has mainly included the weakening and possible abolition of cultural and national liberties by transnational organizations.

Christianity in Japan Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Christianity in Japan - Term Paper Example Missionaries who enter the nation appear to be unaware of this reality, so many of them may continue to use similar strategies applied in non-Japanese cultures. Their failure to take into account the perspectives and inclinations of the people of Japan may explain why so few Christians exist in the country and why the church has grown by only minuscule levels in this part of the world. In the early seventeenth century, Japan underwent a unification process in which they created a politically stable system for over 200 years. This need for stabilization came after prolonged periods of civil strife starting from the 12th to the 16th century under the leadership of the shogun, which was a military governor. The shogun was a representative of the Japanese emperor and had much political power; in fact, many argue that the emperor was a mere symbol as the real ruler was the shogun. The shogun also had retainers who got property and political control for offering military services, but this arrangement would prove to be ineffective as the two parties often conflicted amongst themselves. By the 16th century, it became clear that the system was unsustainable as it led people to enter into war amongst themselves (Reader 39). This civil war led political leaders to seek unification among various states through the efforts of military representatives; the process would lead to a series of social and cultural processes as well. The remaining chieftain in 1600 to 1616 was known as Tokugawa bakufu - a temporary military government – that had shoguns. These shoguns wanted to prevent civil war using the daimyo who were strong property owners found throughout the country. Daimyo also had their own schools, judiciary and military representatives within their territories; several of them worked on expanding their economies by foreign relationships with foreigners. They acquired the skill of weapons manufacture from European travelers and purchased firearms as well

UK Government Urban Policy Agenda Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

UK Government Urban Policy Agenda - Essay Example The implication of various reports that have been projecting the growth of population in UK is increased house-building especially on undeveloped green fields. Every incoming government has been targeting to increase the number of houses in the cities in order to solve the housing problem. However, according to the Urban Task Force, these interventions are insufficient. This is because an appropriate strategy must address the increasing level of dissatisfaction among the city residents. Many of these people feel that little attention is being directed towards making city life better . Therefore, there is an argument that the policies should not only focus on accommodating people in urban areas, but also make the cities attractive for the people living in them. The last government’s urban policy agenda failed to achieve the set objectives. For instance, in 1999, the Regional Development Agencies was launched. The main aim was to transform the UK’s regions through sustainable economic development. This is through creating the right conditions for growth and bringing expertise to the task of economic regeneration and development. This is through improving the physical infrastructure and providing the necessary support to the people. In 2002-2007, the agency received a large amount of money from the government.

Healthcare Informatics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Healthcare Informatics - Essay Example One critical question that one should reflect on is whether the patients are aware of the privacy risks involved in exposing their personal health data? (Chbeir & Al Bouna, 2013). Or whether there are appropriate policies for these social sites that guarantee the safety of the information to avoid health data security breaches that may turn costly on the part of the information owners? Awareness and education of the users are of paramount importance in mitigating the privacy risks. Li (2013) observes that there policy implications of using the health social networking sites and the stakeholders and the policy makers should elaborate them to protect the privacy of online health data. The health social networking sites are left to decide what information will be kept private and what will be shared. If there existed knowledge about the privacy settings, patients would be able to restrict the health data they want to keep secret. Healthcare Informatics After reading the work by Li (2013), I strongly support the option of privacy by education for mitigating the privacy risks surrounding the health data shared on the social networking sites. It should be noted that the health data collected from the social sites attracted unlimited commercial interests that can be used as business opportunities for medical research companies and partners.

UK Government Urban Policy Agenda Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

UK Government Urban Policy Agenda - Essay Example The implication of various reports that have been projecting the growth of population in UK is increased house-building especially on undeveloped green fields. Every incoming government has been targeting to increase the number of houses in the cities in order to solve the housing problem. However, according to the Urban Task Force, these interventions are insufficient. This is because an appropriate strategy must address the increasing level of dissatisfaction among the city residents. Many of these people feel that little attention is being directed towards making city life better . Therefore, there is an argument that the policies should not only focus on accommodating people in urban areas, but also make the cities attractive for the people living in them. The last government’s urban policy agenda failed to achieve the set objectives. For instance, in 1999, the Regional Development Agencies was launched. The main aim was to transform the UK’s regions through sustainable economic development. This is through creating the right conditions for growth and bringing expertise to the task of economic regeneration and development. This is through improving the physical infrastructure and providing the necessary support to the people. In 2002-2007, the agency received a large amount of money from the government.

Jews and Christians Essay Example for Free

Jews and Christians Essay Islam is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. It is the second-largest religion in the world today, with an estimated 1. 4 billion adherents, known as Muslims. Islam is considered one of the second largest religions in Europe today especially in France and the United Kingdom. In regions like the Middle East, North Africa, south and central Asia, Islam is the dominant religion. The core belief of Muslims is that God revealed himself to all mankind through his Prophet Muhammad, and he gave his holy book, the Qur’an which embodies the message, teachings and traditions of the Sunnah which is considered as the basic sources of Islam. The Prophet Muhammad is regarded by Muslims as the true and final prophet of God. Islam, like Judaism and Christianity is also an Abrahamic religion. Muslims belief that God revealed his final message to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel, and that message is the truth of salvation and shall hold true until the day a of resurrection, that the holy Qur’an is the infallible word of God and has the seal of the prophets. Muslims belief that the core message of Islam, which is the worship of one God, is the same message preached by the all messengers that God has sent before Muhammad. Muslims also belief that the coming of Muhammad was the cache in God’s revelation of himself to mankind, the end of all the messages of one God which has been preached since the time of Adam. Muslims see their religion as the original and the final message of God to mankind, and see Christianity and Judaism as a distortion of the original revelation of God to Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. There are several similarities that run through these three religions. Geographically, they all seem to have their origins in the Middle East. They all lay claim to the most prominent religious figures the world has ever known i. e. .Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, as their forebears. The Qur’an even acknowledges Jesus Christ as a major prophet who walked the face of this earth and had a distinct knowledge of God. Islam acknowledges the practitioners of Christianity and Judaism as the people of the letter, which is to say that they are people who have received divine scriptures. All these not withstanding, Muslims believe that the final and truthful revelation of God and the right way of worship came through the holy prophet Muhammad. Muslims believe that Islam is the right way of worship, of seeking God and of attaining salvation and therefore they must seek to win more peoples unto the Allah. Like the Jews, who saw a non Israelite as a gentile, any one other non-Muslim is an infidel. They also belief that Allah appreciates it very much when you die a violent death defending the faith of Islam and that automatically grants you grace favor and salvation before the lord, Infact, you go straight to heaven which is the ultimate reward of serving God here on earth just as Christians believe. In conclusion, Islam sees itself as superior to Christianity and Judaism because they believe it’s the total revelation of God of himself unto mankind.

Negative Effects of Media on Youth: Causal Effect Analysis

Negative Effects of Media on Youth: Causal Effect Analysis Natasha Nguyen Why is it difficult to show that media causes harm to young people? Introduction The impact of the media on young people has long been an issue, with concern that younger audiences are negatively influenced by media. Effects research has been used to determine whether media causes harm on young people. However, media effects research has its difficulties in generating viable results. This paper will outline why it is difficult to show a direct causal effect from media resulting in negative outcomes and behaviours from young audiences. No media effects researchers believe in direct effects and a cohort of media scholars make valid claims supporting this statement. Barrie Gunter effectively explains the validity problems with media effects research, with Albert Bandura’s famous ‘Bobo Doll’ experiment as an example. David Gauntlett’s views on the flaws of the effects model are also relevant to the discussion and McQuail makes very constructive points on how audiences can choose how they let media affect them. To further justify that it is difficult to show that media causes harm to people, the ideas discussed will be related to the case study of the murder of 2 year old James Bulger. Validity of Effects Research Early media effects experiments, such as the Payne Fund Studies, consisted of children participants being placed in artificial environments (Gunter 2008,p.1085). They were fed dosages of media violence controlled by researchers who then exposed them to environments where they could behave in aggressive ways if they choose to (Gunter 2008,p.1085). However, these studies have been criticized by scholars for lacking validity (Sparks, Sparks Sparks 2009,p.272). The experiments were too far-fetched to produce any feasible results about media effects as they were artificial; taking users out of their natural habitats, feeding them media they would not usually consume and using unrealistic representatives for real-life violence (Ruddock 2013,p.27). Gunter (2008) is especially adequate at explaining the problems with validity in effects studies. He outlines the issues with conducting experiments in artificial settings. Participants are aware of researchers and act accordingly, doing what th ey thought the researcher wanted (Gunter 2008,p.1088). Gunter (2008,p.1102) reports how the selection of media extracts fed to participants were devoid of their original context and could be interpreted differently when embedded in their original source. Media effects research cannot be discussed without referencing Bandura’s (1963) Bobo Doll experiment (Sparks, Sparks Sparks 2009,p.272). The study illustrated that when watching a televised model commit aggressive actions, children were more likely to imitate the actions if the model was rewarded instead of punished (Sparks, Sparks Sparks 2009,p.272). This suggests an association between aggressive media influences on the children to mimic the aggressive acts but Gunter (2008) cautioned against mistaking association for causation. There were many flaws to that experimentation, with even Bandura (2009,p.110) himself discussing the severe constraints tied to controlled experimentation. Flaws in the â€Å"Effects Model† In response to traditional media effects studies, Gauntlett (1998) discusses the flaws of media effects studies, outlining why it cannot be used to prove that media causes direct harm to young people. Firstly, he discredits effects research for coming to social problems backwards. Researchers start with violent media and attempt to find ways to connect it to social problems, such as aggression, instead of beginning with social problems to find their causes (Gauntlett 1998,p.214). Gauntlett (1998,p.216) also criticizes the effects model for treating children as inadequate and more manipulable than adults, being influenced into behavior adults wouldn’t be. He questions the validity of effects research by discussing the use of artificial studies, claiming that they are selective and based on the belief that the subjects will not change their behavior as a result of being observed (Gauntlett 1998,p.219). In examining some of the flaws that Gauntlett presents, it is clear that it i s difficult to research media effects to show a direct causal effect as the methods traditionally used undermine the validity of the results. Audience’s Choices on Effects The influence media has commonly depends on audience motivations, as information conveyed is not what influences audiences but rather people’s self-determined reaction to this information (Petty, Brinol Priester 2009,p.126). Pieslack (2007) delves into this concept through his studies of music and war. He states that people voluntarily expose themselves to the effects of media, citing soldiers at war as an example who become aggressive after listening to rap music because they want to become aggressive (Pieslack 2007,p.134). McQuail (1997,p.205) explains how typical effects models were perceived as a one-way process of causality, from media to consumer, where the audience was viewed as a passive recipient of media content. However, individuals have unique tastes in media, with some more inclined to expose themselves to media violence (McQuail 1997,p.206). This destroys the notion of media messages being forced upon individuals unwillingly, evidencing that young audiences know ingly visit effects upon themselves (Ruddock 2013,p.28). Young people often learn from media because they choose to (Bandura 2009,p.97). This demonstrates the difficulty in showing that media causes harm to young people as there may be a correlation between aggression but there is no proof of direct causation, with certain individuals choosing to let media influence them (Gunter 2008,p.1095). Audiences Backgrounds Media aggression does not have the same effects on everyone and some may be more susceptible than others to effects of media violence (Gunter 2008,p.1095). Individual media audiences have different psychological makeups that influence the way they respond to aggressive media (Gunter 2008,p.1112). The consumption of violence and aggression from media is complex and must account for the audience’s differing psychological profiles (Gunter 2008,p.1097). Media violence can produce aggression when paired with troubled social conditions (Ruddock 2013,p.35). We cannot assume that violence from media consumers is directly linked back to the media as there are many other influences which can cause aggression in individuals. Peer influences, family conflicts and other factors may all influence aggressive behaviour (Sparks, Sparks Sparks 2009,p.273). It has also been reviewed that negative effects of media violence were mostly visible among the poor, less educated and socially disenfranc hised (Ruddock 2013,p.35). This proves that violent media effects are mostly a risk for individuals whom already had difficult lives and as a result, it is difficult to prove a direct causal effect from violent media. The James Bulger Murder In 1993, controversy over media effects on children surfaced following the murder of two-year-old James Bulger by two ten-year-old boys, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson. Bulger’s body was found mutilated on a railway line two days after his murder. Though no evidence of it was brought to trial, violence in videos was considered a possible stimulus. There were many links made by the press between the crime and events in a film called Childs Play 3 (Bignell 2002,p.134). Venable’s father had rented the film however, Venables did not live with his father and had never seen the film (Bignell 2002,p.134). There was no way to connect the crime to the film and direct effects were never proven and authorities concluded that the crime was the case of two disturbed individuals acting on dark impulses, rather than on the influence of violent media. Thompson grew up in a brutal environment, being assaulted by five older brothers and an alcoholic mother. His tough upbringings may ha ve produced aggression when paired with violent media. He could have chosen to let aggressive media influence him voluntarily, wanting to become more aggressive to deal with his surroundings. This underlines Pieslack’s (2007) point about audiences voluntarily exposing themselves to media effects. The boys’ psychological makeup could account for their actions and their responses to aggressive media. Venables came from troubled family conditions, exhibited low self esteem and was temperamentally fragile. His difficult circumstances made him more vulnerable to the effects of media content, as discussed by Gunter (2008). It would be wrong to assume that violent media directly caused the boys to commit the crime as there was no direct proof and a range of other factors clearly had influence on the pair. Concluding Remarks It is difficult to show that media causes harm to young people and that a direct causal effect resulting in negative outcomes exists. The view that media has direct and powerful effects on audiences is more accepted by the general public than media effects scholars (Oliver Krakowiak 2009,p.517). Some researchers acknowledge that media violence can influence viewers but not in all circumstances, all audiences and not directly (Gunter 2008,p.1063). Media effects scholars such as Gunter, Gauntlett, Pieslack and McQuail disagree with direct causal effects. In researching media effects through experimentation, results compiled are questioned for their validity as research conducted in artificial environment can encourage unnatural participant responses. Aggressive behaviour cannot be solely blamed on violent media content as there are many other factors which influence an individual’s motives for being violent. As seen through the James Blumer case study, an individual’s mo tives, psychological makeup and social background can influence the level of power media has over them and disproves the idea of direct effects. Reference List Gauntlett, D 1998, ‘Ten Things Wrong with the Effects Model’, in R Dickinson, R Harindranath O Linne (ed.), Approaches to Audiences: A Reader, Arnold Publishers, London, pp.120-130 Gunter, B 2008, ‘Media Violence: Is There a Case for Causality?’, American Behavioural Scientist, vol. 51, no. 8, pp. 1061-1122 McQuail, Oliver, M Krakowiak, K 2009, ‘Individual Differences in Media Effects’, in J Bryant M Oliver (ed.), Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research, Routledge, New York, pp. 517-531 Petty, R, Brinol, P Priester, J 2009, ‘Mass Media Attitude Change: Implications of the Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion’, in J Bryant M Oliver (ed.), Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research, Routledge, New York, pp. 517-531 Pieslack, J 2007, ‘Sound Targets: Music and the War in Iraq’, Journal of Musicological Research, vol.26, no. 2, pp. 129-149 Ruddock, A 2013, Youth and Media, SAGE Publications, London Sparks, G, Sparks, C Sparks, E 2009, ‘Media Violence’, in J Bryant M Oliver (ed.), Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research, Routledge, New York, pp. 269-286