Monday, January 27, 2020

Does Democracy Address Insecurity?

Does Democracy Address Insecurity? Democracy effectively addresses insecurity. Do you agree, why or why not? Democracy does, and does not effectively address insecurity, in some aspects it curbs it, in others it accelerates it. Consequently, this minor essay will examine avenues in which democracy addresses and fails to effectively address insecurity. It will conclude that despite the short-term pitfalls of transitioning to democracy, and the dangers of democratic governance without a strong institutional foundation with strong checks and balances, that it has the long-term potential to effectively address insecurity both within and outside a States borders. Regardless of whether established democracies provide stability, transitional democracies often create a large amount of instability, especially when converting from a more authoritarian political system, and generally experience their worst period of instability during this juncture.[1] A lack of unity and cohesion can cause greater domestic instability for a population within the short-term, aside from an increased likelihood of war with other States, during this period large scale ethnic cleansings may occur.[2] As democracies are traditionally linked with a primary ethnicity, a purge has a likelihood of occurring before a strong institutional democratic base can form, often against ethnic groups who refuse to assimilate with society, as well as individuals linked to previous political administrations. Ironically however, whilst democracy can create much greater instability for a state in the short-term, in the long-term this political system can potentially create very strong and politically stable governance for the State.[3] This can be demonstrated in the prominent military, economic and cultural role the United States plays in contemporary society today, despite engaging in the mass extermination of Native Americans only a century prior.[4] Democracies which do manage to establish themselves and overcome their shortcoming during the transition period can effectively address instability, both domestically and internationally, however there are severe limitations which can inadvertently result in greater instability also being formed if not implemented effectively. Theoretically capitalist States are very effective at addressing insecurity, domestically they can help alleviate income inequality among their poorer citizens, and internationally they help formulate economic interdependence between States.[5] Whilst bilateral trade is not always from an equal economic standing, with one side often more dependent on the other, such as in the case between China and Taiwan, when two States are of similar economic standing it can prove a great stabilising factor in preventing conflict.[6] This is evident in the lack of open conflict between the USA and China in decades.[7] As economies of this magnitude continue to intertwine, avoiding conflict and instability between them becomes increasingly in their interests. Other theoretic models, such as the Liberal Democratic Peace Theory argue further points where even greater stability can be gained under democratic governance, considering that there is a historic precedent of democratic states not going to war with one another.[8] However, there are also aspects of this theory which highlight how democracies can result in greater instability occurring internationally, as democratic states can ironically themselves create new wars in the process of spreading democracy throughout the world, trying to force it through non-peaceful means on States who are either unwilling or unprepared for such massive political change.[9] This results in a world of democratic states seeking perpetual peace through perpetual war, leaving the world itself in a constant state of instability.[10] Domestically democracies can provide other major avenues of stability for the State, one of the most prominent being the division of the Executive, Judiciary and Legislative branches of government into separate branches independent from one another.[11] The establishment such a comprehensive system of checks and balances can ensure the moderation of power of appointed officials and their political parties, and ensure that they operate within the law.[12] The effectiveness of such a process can be seen in U.S President Donald Trump, with his controversial executive orders on implementing travel bans for foreign individuals being blocked by the judicial branch of government because they were found to be unconstitutional.[13] However, the greatest strength and weaknesses of democracies in addressing insecurity lies within having an inclusive political process, with a sense of inclusion encouraging non-violent solutions to political issues.[14] An example of this can be seen in the Provisional Irish Republican Army, the main nationalist group involved in the troubles in Northern Ireland in the 20th century, who ceased their armed campaign in large part because of the political concessions provided to them in the 1995 Good Friday Agreement, which allowed them a platform to continue their struggle for independence through non-violent channels.[15] Consequently, the ability of democracy to promote change in the government and political system without having to resort to any form of political violence is one of the greatest stabilising factors which democracy can provide a State, so long as an inclusive attitude is maintained. However, whilst democracies are meant to promote inclusion, in certain States a tyranny of the majority culture exists, wherein no attempt is made by the ruling party to govern all their citizens equally and achieve national unity for its supports and detractors, who may be ideologically polarised based around ethnicity, religion, language or self-identity.[16] Such exclusion from the political process can enflame tensions between various groups within a State and result in these excluded groups emigrating, resulting in a depleted workforce, or in more extreme cases, developing a complete disenfranchisement with the political system, taking up arms against the State and plunging it into further instability.[17] Henceforth democracy possesses the potential to create stability within a States borders so long as strong institutional foundations are in place with comprehensive checks and balances and a healthy electoral system which promotes inclusion over alienation.   However, it is often not effective at addressing insecurity within other States borders when trying to spread its political model to states either unwilling or unprepared for political change through violent means. In States, which are transitioning to democracy, even if done so via peaceful means, short-term instability will likely occur within the State, however if they endure the process the potential long-term stability which the State can gain can prove timeless.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Everyday Use Analysis Essay

â€Å"Everyday Use† is a short story by â€Å"Alice Walker†, it is a disdainful short story. A story about two sisters and a mom, that the two girls are totally different. Also teaching to stand up for what you want. This story is about a mom and a girl called Maggie that they live alone because the older sibling moved out. In the story Maggie and the mother have not seen how much Dee has changed in over six years. Dee in the short story sees that her sister Maggie and her mother have not change throughout these six years not a bit. In the story Dee and Maggie are examples of foil characters. Maggie is the very shy and polite one out of her and Dee. Maggie was the character that lived with mama, during the story it says that Maggie was burned in a house fire. This character is a character that would just blend into the background because of how shy she was, she wouldn’t talk to much; so she would rather just blend in with the surroundings. Maggie was a foil character because her and mama didn’t change nothing throughout the six years that passed, while Dee did change a lot; throughout those six years. Maggie is a good hearted kid, she would rather let Dee have the quilts that were promised to her, instead of fighting over them. Dee is sisters with Maggie in this story, she is the character who is very impolite, or that does things her way. Dee is the only educated character; it says in the short story that she left so that she could be educated. Dee is noticed as a character that does whatever she wants, and have it go her way. One example is that, Dee wears a brightly colored, yellow-and-orange, ankle-length dress that is inappropriate for the warm weather. This shows that she would wear anything she wants even if its inappropriate in any way. In the story mama wouldn’t let Dee have the quilts, and she became furious. This another example that she is very stubborn, because in the end she keeps the quilts. In this story i learned that being generous and polite will get you farther in life, but if you’re stubborn, and impolite you won’t get as far in life.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Learning from Your Life Story

MGMT 614 Short Writing Assignment #1 Learning From Your Life Story Aashima Mutneja Gamma 5 Date of Submission: 22nd Jan, 2013 A. Think back over all of the leadership experiences in your lifetime. Choose the leadership experience of which you are the proudest. In this exercise, put yourself back in that time and describe it as if it were happening to you right now. Describe your proudest leadership experience, starting with the specific events. Consider the following questions in your description: What happened? What was the history or climate of the organization/group you were in?What triggered the experience? What caused you to step up and lead? What was the outcome? What changed in the people in the organization as a result? How did you feel†¦ Before stepping up to lead? When you first stepped up to lead? When facing the challenges of the situation? After the results were in? (Do not limit yourself on space for this section. ) Proudest Leadership Experience I graduated from t he University of Mumbai in 2009 with a lucrative job offer as a financial trainee for one of the leading financial software companies in India.Additionally, I was fortunate that few of my close friends were going to join the firm along with me. However, few weeks before our official start we were notified of an indefinite deferment in our joining date. Most of us were finance enthusiasts and were disheartened at this development. We faced a series of disappointments as we tried to find a financial position at the peak of the financial crisis with no prior finance experience or education. Most of us eventually joined jobs related to our major in industrial engineering. However not being able to switch to finance added a lot of dissatisfaction in our current roles.My key strength, as pointed to me by the MBA program is restorative which means to have an innate knack of solving problems quickly and efficiently. I couldn’t agree more with this analysis and true to my nature I qui ckly started gathering and analyzing information related to careers in finance. I reached out to industry professionals and understood that the most desired qualification for finance professionals was a CFA charter. This answered my question on how to break into the field of finance. A CFA certification required passing three extremely difficult examinations, which meant grueling late night studying.I understood that the process would be highly stressful and hence decided to form a study group to ensure that there was a level of discipline, focus and support as we decided to endure this demanding journey. My next challenge was to convince people to get on board. My first choice was to approach my finance oriented friends. As expected, most of them were uncertain about the time and commitment required for this examination. The plan was to finish each level within six months as opposed to 12 months suggested by the program.I understood their apprehensions and tried to address all thei r questions and concerns patiently. To convince them to agree to give the CFA, I knew I would have to show them the benefits of holding a CFA charter. So I arranged a meeting with one of the CFA charter holders who got us excited about CFA and we started our journey towards a charter. My next challenge was to bring discipline and a routine to our studies. Exhausted after long hours of work, I kept the enthusiasm high by reminding them about the final result or simply by taking more frequent coffee breaks.Even though we finally established a routine, the frustration of studying and working together was taking a toll on all of us. Compromising on time with family and friends, missing out on our favorite activities including watching our favorite games, made us question if it was even worth it. At that time the only question I asked to myself was if not finance than what? I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else, I was confident that this was the career option that best fit my interests and skills. I felt that my nner drive and perseverance was an inspiration to my friends and we fed of each other’s energy to carry forward. After twelve months of extreme hard work, we cleared two levels of the CFA examination as planned and the final third level twelve months after that. Fortunately, after completing two level of CFA all of us were able to secure a respectable job within the financial services space. I did not receive an award for it and maybe it did not make a difference to anyone else’s life. However I had the determination and focus to make a difference to my life.I could lead change within me and those around me. It has been one of the most difficult and challenging phase of my life but I have also felt the most driven and alive in those moments of struggle. This was my first real experience with leading others and me towards a goal. B. What things did you just learn about your leadership as you told that story? 1. Accountability 2. Patience 3. Self-discipline C. What leadership qualities did you bring to that leadership experience? 1. Determination 2. Patience 3. Focus 4. Initiative 5. Passion D.How did those qualities contribute to the outcome? Link an outcome to each of the qualities you listed above. Leadership Quality| Its Effect on the Outcome| 1. Determination| It helped me to stay focused on the goal during difficult times| 2. Patience| It helped me to adjust with different personalities and try to understand their perspective while trying to achieve an outcome in a team setting. | 3. Focus| It helped me rise above a disheartening situation and start developing the action plan to achieve my goal. | 4. Initiative| It helped me take actions to change he current state of affairs for the better and encourage guide other people to do the same. | 5. Passion| It helped me be determined and focused during difficult times and also made the entire process enjoyable and the final outcome worth the effort. | E. Now , be your own mentor. Turn back to the story again and look at it from the perspective of what you know now. If you were mentoring yourself at that time, what advice would you give? Mentoring Advice In retrospect, I would advise myself to be more composed as I work towards my goals.I was focused and determined but compromised on my lifestyle, which I feel would not be sustainable in the long run. Having spent twelve months under constant stress and pressure made me lose sight of the bigger picture and made me a more paranoid person in general. I heard time and again during those trying times to â€Å"take it easy† as it was not the end of the world, while I would advise myself to stress myself too much, I would not like to have a â€Å"take it easy† attitude. I struggle to find the right balance of working and relaxation; a key component of a happy and successful life.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Analysis Of As I Lay Dying - 1497 Words

As I Lay Dying, is a novel about the death of Addie Bundren and the events that follow to her burial. The story is told through fifteen different perspectives over the course of fifty-nine narrative chapters. William Faulkner gives the reader insight into what each character is thinking and their reactions to the events taking place. Each member of the Bundren family holds their own secrets that they keep from one another. These secrets eventually distance each member from one another over the duration of the novel. As I lay Dying can at times be confusing to the read due to the language Faulkner uses, the multiple view points of the same event, and the unique personalities of each character. Motifs and themes in a novel are very†¦show more content†¦Addie confesses, â€Å"†¦my aloneness had to be violated over and over each day, but that it had never been violated until Cash came.† (Faulkner, 99) When Addie had Cash she had to take on the new and challenging responsibilities of being a mother. She was losing her freedom to be who she wanted to be and do what she wanted to do because now she is responsible for another human. Faulkner uses the characters to better portray each character on a deeper level. Without the stream of consciousness, this novel would be very hard to understand. The reader can better relate with the characters with their thoughts. The thoughts of some characters show their intelligence. Vardaman is the youngest of the Bundren family. Vardaman is about six-years-old and his ability to speak is very limited however his ability to express his thoughts through the written word displays his intelligence. Vardaman proclaims â€Å"He kilt her. He kilt her.† (Faulkner, 32) A display of the way he interacts with the people around him. However, Vardaman’s next thought is very intelligent: â€Å"The life in him runs under the skin, under my hand, running though the splotches, smelling up into my nose where the sickness is beginning to cry, vomiting the crying, and then I can breathe, vomiting it.† (Faulkner 32) If the reader was just exposed to Vardaman’s spoken word they would see a regular six-year-old boy, but when the readerShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of As I Lay Dying 1528 Words   |  7 Pagesfirst-person, second-person, and third-person point of views. Either of the foregoing points of views have different effect on the understanding and believability of the characters or the story being told, as is evident from O Pioneers! and As I Lay Dying novels. As I lay dying is a narrative by William Faulkner who uses multiple narrators and different techniques to convey a message from different points of view. Through the narratives of the fifteen different characters in the novel, it is important to understandRead MoreAnalysis Of As I Lay Dying 1682 Words   |  7 PagesProfession of Poverty As Robert Kennedy once said, â€Å"I believe that, as long as there is plenty, poverty is evil† (Kennedy). Money and wealth contribute to the image a person presents. In a world based on standards such as those, the wealthy will seem to be superior to the poor and that almost never ends in a positive way. William Faulkner, author of As I Lay Dying, was aware of the effects of poverty and took the opportunity to use his characters to depict poverty s effects. The novel takes placeRead MoreAnalysis Of As I Lay Dying 1204 Words   |  5 PagesBlake Huston Kelly Hoffer Interpretation of Literature October 19th, 2015 Dewey Dell’s Uncontrollable Fate In William Faulkner’s novel, As I Lay Dying, the reader is encouraged to sympathize with Dewey Dell on account of her quickly waning life. We are given multiple circumstances in the book where Dewey Dell’s life is noticeably described in a negative way, not as a person, but rather how bad of a situation she is in. She is an impregnated seventeen-year-old girl who is unable to find proper treatmentRead MoreAnalysis Of As I Lay Dying1599 Words   |  7 Pages by William Faulkner, As I lay Dying, the Bundren family suffers the loss of Addie Bundren a beloved wife and mother. In honoring Addie’s last wish, the Bundrens make the trip to Jefferson to bury her with her relatives. During the trip every thing that could go wrong does. This story is told from plentiful points of view and reveals the completely unstable psychological state of the Bundren family. Through a psychoanalytical approach of William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, readers will see that FaulknerR ead MoreAnalysis Of As I Lay Dying 1086 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam Faulkner’s novel As I Lay Dying follows the Bundren family on their trek along the countryside to bury Addie, the matriarch of the family. Through Faulkner’s usage of internal monologue, each character reveals a different aspect of their personality. One of the most noticeably erratic viewpoints in the novel is that of the youngest Bundren, Vardaman, whose stream-of-consciousness is so volatile that it raises debates on whether or not he is suffering from psychological illnesses. Some argueRead MoreAnalysis Of As I Lay Dying 1738 Words   |  7 PagesThe Impact of Silence As I Lay Dying, is a novel written by William Cuthbert Faulkner, where a poor southern family named the Burdens set off on a journey through 1920’s Mississippi to bury their recently deceased mother Addie Bundren. Before, Addie Bundren passes away she makes her husband Anse promise to bury her in her hometown of Jefferson, Mississippi. This is a large task as the Burden family is located in Yoknapatawhpha County, Mississippi and they must make the rough journey to give theirRead MoreAnalysis Of As I Lay Dying 944 Words   |  4 PagesFaulkner’s Description of Dewey Dell in As I Lay Dying William Faulkner’s phrasing, point of view, and grammar in his polyphonic novel, As I Lay Dying, strategically employs the miserably pessimistic yet juvenile voice of Dewey Dell to characterize her as the novel’s naà ¯ve victim. The only surviving female in the Bundren family, Faulkner presents the hardships that Dewey Dell must endure. In addition, as an uneducated gi rl with no guidance, Dewey Dell experiences an uncertainty in many issues thatRead MoreAnalysis Of Faulkner s As I Lay Dying 1441 Words   |  6 Pages In As I Lay Dying, with his unique and modern writing style, Faulkner and portrays the Bundrens’ struggle to deal with a death in the family. He shows how this dysfunctional family, caged in by societal norms and their individual emotional battle, ultimately falls into an abyss of unending hopelessness and despair. Throughout the Bundrens’ journey, Faulkner uses common archetypes in order to challenge his readers’ and society’s ingrained perceptions of families and suffering and to demonstrate howRead MoreAnalysis Of William Faulkners As I Lay Dying1840 Words   |  8 Pages â€Å"If you cannot find peace within yourself, you will never find it anywhere else.† The psychology of humans can be expressed in two groups, stable or not. These two groups can be applied to a psychoanalytical approach of William Faulkner’s, As I lay Dying. In this story, the Bundren family suffers the loss of Addie Bundren a loved wife and mother. Anse and the rest of the family, honoring her last wish, make the trip to Jefferson to bury her with her relatives. During the trip every thing that couldRead MoreAnalysis Of William Faulkner s I Lay Dying 1486 Words   |  6 PagesOn the back of my edition of As I Lay Dying there is a quote from William Faulkner on the subject of his novel. The quote says: I set out deliberately to write a tour-de-force. Before I even put pen to paper and set down the first word I knew what the last word would be and almost where the last period would fall. The end result is a work of precision and care. Each word has been carefully chosen and carefully ordered to create his â€Å"tour-de-force†. This can be both a comfort and a frustration to