Long Term Effects of Colonization :: essays research papers

Even in today’s complex society, the effects of past colonization can still be felt. The most obvious of these effects on society is a change in the culture of any colonized area or group of people. This is a direct result from the forceful tactics used during historical colonization. Colonization has occurred throughout history. In Europe, three of the most influential colonizers were the Spanish, the French, and the British. These three countries were driven by three very basic motives: a desire for material gain, a desire to spread religion, and a desire to expand territory. Britain conquered Burma over a period of 62 years (1824-1886). Burma wasn’t administered as a province of India until 1937, when it became a separate, self-governing colony. This is the arrangement of details surrounding George Orwell’s story of â€Å"Shooting An Elephant†. The reader finds oneself in the midst of a colonization struggle between the British and the Burmese. On one hand there is a â€Å"Burmese† elephant that needs to be contained, while on the other hand there is a growing number of people joining a crowd that seems to be an obstacle for an imperialist guard’s ability to take control of the situation. The very tension of the crowd following the imperialist guard is the â€Å"colonization effect† is felt. This crowd of Burmese civilians expect the guard to shoot and kill this elephant, hence the reason they followed him. The guard finds himself being pressured by the crowd to take care of shooting the elephant. It is this pres sure that almost forces the guard to make a hasty, not necessarily the right decision about handling these circumstances. If the guard were to make an error in judgment in direct result from this pressure from the crowd, he would find himself caught in a very bad position. A guard, who is part of a coalition colonizing an area, in the middle (literally) of an angry mob of local civilians unwilling to accept the colonization brought on by this guard’s imperialistic philosophies. The effects of eighteenth and nineteenth century colonization can still be felt today. When Britain colonized Burma, the English language quickly spread, and the indigenous languages of the natives began to be wiped out.

Best Practices in Managing the Human Factors of HR Management Literature Review Essay

Human Resource Management is one of the most significant functions in an enterprise. However, there are different factors that are impacting on HRM. Human Factors has its origins in the Industrial Revolution and emerged as a full-fledged discipline during World War II. It was recognized that aircraft cockpit design needed to consider the human interface for controls and displays. Design Engineers were focused on the technology while Industrial Psychologists worked to optimize the interface. In some cases, Human Factors design can affect bottom-line profitability or can be a life and death matter, e. g. , you don’t want to push the wrong button or mistake meters for kilometers in a spacecraft. Companies came to realize that a products success is dependent upon good Human Factors design. Human Factors are very important for the successful operation of the company. The term â€Å"human factors† is to a large extent synonymous with the term â€Å"ergonomics† Human Factors Integration Research with Defense Technology Center is Human Factors Integration is the process adopted by a number of key industries (notably defense like United Defense and hazardous industries like oil & gas like Shell) in Europe to integrate human factors elements into the systems engineering process. Although each industry has a slightly different domain the underlying approach is the same. HFI undertakes this by conducting a formal process that identifies and reconciles human related issues. These issues are split for convenience into domains. Manpower – The number of military and civilian personnel required and potentially available to operate, maintain, sustain and provide training for systems Page 2 Personnel – The cognitive and physical capabilities required to be able to train for, operate, maintain and sustain systems. Training – The instruction or education, and on-the-job or unit training required to provide personnel their essential job skills, knowledge, values and attributes. Human Factors Engineering – The integration of human characteristics into system definition, design, development, and evaluation to optimize human-machine performance under operational conditions. Health Hazard Assessment – Short or long term hazards to health occurring as a result of normal operation of the system. System Safety – Safety risks occurring when the system is functioning in an abnormal manner. Strengths: Indentifying the Problem, Evaluation and solving issues Weakness: Psychological Human Factors are not treated. Motorola’s Human Factors Engineering One of the best Practice in Managing Human Resource is HFE, Firstly implemented by Motorola, USA in 1984 is considered as the best for employees. In Research with HFE, Motorola is commonly thought of as how companies design tasks and work areas to maximize the efficiency and quality of their employees work. However, Motorola HFE comes into everything which involves people. Work systems, sports and leisure, health and safety should all embody Human Factors principles if well designed. Strengths: Employee Determination at work, Safety & Health and Low Stress methods. Weakness: More importance to Leisure time and found some Low Production. Page 3 Encourage Employee Development Growth of a company is closely linked to employee development within the organization where each employee plays a vital role in the success of the company. Employee growth has direct and indirect benefits. More knowledgeable, skilled and capable employees directly impact your company’s ability to satisfy customers, resolve problems and crises, and adapt to changing market conditions. Paying for an employee’s continuing professional education, for example, can help your company gain expertise in new technologies and markets, which can save you money in the long run. This type of practice is found in Coco Cola, where are often send to Trainings on different process. Strengths: Motivational to Employee and Long Retention periods. Weakness: Cost effective and Time Taking Process. Work Life Balance The term â€Å"work life balance† was coined in 1986 in response to the rising trend Human Factors in Development of the Company. The employee Psychological benefits are taken into consideration with many instructions like Stay positive, stay in control, Stay healthy, Divide and de-clutter, Keep stress under control and other safety measures. This helps the companies to maintain good relations with the employees and make them as the best factor of production. In Research with General Electric which follows Work Life Balance as a practice to develop Human Factors. Strengths: High Production Facility, Long Retention and Safe Employee and Company Relations. Weakness: Only limited to Companies with Large Scale of Production Facilities. Page 4 Corporate Mentoring Programs Corporate Mentoring Programs are like teaching classes where employees are motivated to the work and work environment, making employee coordinated towards work. Therefore, companies have started to place greater emphasis on personal attributes while selecting and developing staff. This brings a number of benefits to the business, not the least of which is a cohesive team. On going development of employee potential is critical for business success. Corporate mentoring programs are effective in quickly ramping up employee performance because they facilitate the transfer of business knowledge in a way that is not quite possible in regular training. Strengths: Every Effective Approach in Developing Human Factors, Human Psychological Advantage and Growth Oriented. Weakness: Very Systematic Approach. Metrics to Evaluate the Practices Human Factors Integration (HFI) implemented by Defense sectors is only related to Large Scale industries although it has all the factors of Human Factors. Key Performance Indicator of Human Factor Integration(HFI) is the Objective oriented and Specific Tasking. Motorola’s Human Factors Engineering is also related to tasking and other relations, not dealing with the Psychological factors of the Employees. Encourage Employee Development is training method to make them work in stress and problems, No personal and physical importance is not given to the employees. During this Research we found that the best Practice that develops the Human Factors in the company is Corporate Mentoring Programs, where the employees are motivated on the work and provide various benefits including safety and stress free work Page 5 environment. Research with Minnesota University, I found that more than 80% of the companies in United States uses this Corporate Mentoring Programs. References †¢ Creating a Mentoring Culture: The Organization’s Guide, 2007 †¢ A Strategic Approach To Corporate Mentoring Programs, CEO World Magazine, 2006 †¢ Human Factors & Methods – Robert Stanley – Edition 2, 2006 †¢ Ergonomics Society, UK †¢ Human Resource Management Programs at Human Factors and Ergonomics Society †¢ Research Center for Work Safety and Human Engineering, Technion, Israel. †¢ Motorola HR Practices, www. motorola. com

A Cultural Lens On Interpersonal Conflict And Creativity Essays

A Cultural Lens On Interpersonal Conflict And Creativity Essays A Cultural Lens On Interpersonal Conflict And Creativity Essay A Cultural Lens On Interpersonal Conflict And Creativity Essay Over the past 20 years, research on workplace demography, including demographic and cultural value diversity, has multiplied, revealing mixed and complex findings for the effects of diversity on team performance, creativity, and conflict (e. G. , Chatham, People, Barded, Neal, 1998; Early Moisakos, 2000; Conceal Star, 2006; Josh ROR, 2009; Josh, Lila, ROR, 2011; Palette, Penn Reek, Mascara, 2004 stall, Mezzanines Voice, Jensen, 2010). Multicultural experiences and interactions may increase individuals creativity (e. G. , A. K. -Y. Lung Chic, 2010; A. K. -Y. Lung Maddox, Gallingly, Chic, 2008; Maddox, Adam, callings, 2010; Maddox Gallingly, 2009), but multicultural settings are more likely to increase interpersonal conflict (Baby Jean, 201 0; Stall et al. , 2010). Despite its importance to growing workplace diversity, research on conflict and creativity in multicultural environments is scarce, with many researchers pointing out gaps in our knowledge in the broader domains of culture and creativity (e. G. , Palette Penn, 2008; Shelley, Chou, Lolled, 2004; Chou Us, 2010). Indeed, existing research on the effect of conflict on individual reiterative has yielded inconsistent findings. On the one hand, conflict in- To compete in the global market, address a growing need for innovation and creativity, and solve worldwide problems, many organizations are increasingly becoming international, integrating diverse knowledge and a multicultural workforce (e. G. , Sidewalk Longboats, 1998). This growing trend has given rise to multicultural environments, which occur when individuals from multiple cultures interact. In the United States, 17% of science and engineering workers report collaborating with individuals located in other entries during a specific week (National Science Board, This article was published Online First April 7, 2014. Susann B. F. Palette, Center for Advanced Study of Language, University of Maryland; Ella Moron-Speaker, William Davidson Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management, Techno Israel Institute of Technology, Hafiz, Israel; Chunk-Chi Line, Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. This research was supported in part by the Lignite States National Science Foundation Grant #SUB-1064083 through the Science of Science and Innovation Policy program to the first author when she was at he Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh. We are grateful to Joel Chain and Matt Crooning for comments on previous versions of this model. An earlier version of this article was presented at the 201 2 conference of the Interdisciplinary Network of Group Research (Ingrown) in Chicago, Illinois; the authors are also grateful to the audience for their comments. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Susann B. F. Palette, Center for Advanced Study of Language, University of Maryland, 7005 52nd Avenue, college park, MD 20742. E-mail: [emailprotected] Com 237 PALETTE, MORON-SPEAKER, AND LINE This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. 238 nature, involve interaction, and so the existing literature is informative to our model. The literature on team diversity has focused, perhaps too exclusively, on two theoretical traditions: information processing and social categorization (van Innkeeper Chippers, 2007; Williams Reilly, 1998). The inappropriatenesss approaches focus on the cognitive benefits of perversity. These approaches assume that backgrounds of almost any type (e. G. , ethnic, age, disciplines) bring with them a variety of experiential information (van Innkeeper Chippers, 2006). Cultural diversity can go beyond simple surface diversity to deeper, attitudinal, value, and schema differences (e. G Harrison, price, Bell, 1998). This deeper diversity (e. G. , Harrison et al. , 1998) of background information may, under certain circumstances, lead to greater task conflict as well (e. G. , Jean, Northeast, Neal, 1 999; Neal, 2005; peeled, Eisenhower, Kin, 1999). However, his diversity also carries the potential for greater creativity, as a broader knowledge base can result in more creative combinations (Insisted Strobe, 2006; Palette Chunk, 2010). In contrast, social categorization approaches assume that the differences between individuals ethnicities and other characteristics will spark interrupt processes, such as suborning, generally to the detriment of team outcomes such as social cohesion (Manning Neal, 2005; Williams Reilly, 1998). This theory focuses on the negative affective outcomes associated with diversity based on differences in social identity, such as more conflicts. Although these theoretical traditions have spawned useful research (e. G. , Chatham et al. 1998), the past decade has seen creases the tendency to scrutinize and explore different alternatives, which contributes to creative thinking (e. G. , Moment, 1 986; Moment, Personnel, Personnel, Conceal, 2004). A sense of conflict and disorientation, resulting from exposure to different cultures and values, can foster creativity (e. G. , A. K. -Y. Lung Chic, 2010; Moron-Speaker, Going, Argots, 201 1). On the other hand, conflict can be threatening and lic it a motivation to avoid similar unpleasant social interactions. Threat and a prevention regulatory focus hinder individuals ability to deal with complexity and to solve creative problems, even when a conflict is only observed (R. S. Friedman Forester, 2000, 2001, 2005; Impersonator, Frat-Termites, Rafael, Schwartz-Cohen, 2011). To bridge gaps in the literature and reconcile these findings, specifically in culturally diverse settings, we present a dynamic constructivist theoretical model on the effects of interpersonal conflict on individuals creativity in multicultural environments (see Figure 1). Our model contributes to the literature on intricate conflict and creativity by detailing an important mediator of the conflict- creativity connection, threat, and several possible moderators related to culture, here defined as mental models shared across groups (not just national groups). Most of the existing intricate literature has focused on heterogeneous versus homogeneous cultural team composition (e. G. , Manning Neal, 2005; Williams Reilly, 1998), leaving unknown the broader case of multicultural environments, individual perceptions of interpersonal conflict, and individual creativity. Although our model examines this broader case, teams, by their Multicultural Environments D Cultural Meanings (e. G. , values, implicit theories of face, etc. ) more likely Perception of and Actual Conflict Bal Tolerance Conflict Perception of Threat? 82 Creativity yes Prevention Orientation, Avoidance Motivation Figure 1 . Dynamic constructivist model of culture, interpersonal conflict, and threat on individual creativity in multicultural settings (negative relationships are dotted lines). This document is copyrighted by the American psychological Association or CULTURE, INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT, AND CREATIVITY horses and variables that do not fit neatly into those two traditions (e. G. , Palette et al. , 2004; Swan, Swan, People, Milton, 2003) or examine the interaction between them (e. G. , Woman, van Innkeeper, Van Sleek, De Dreg, 2007). Multicultural environments may also lead to conflict for cultural psychological reasons that have little to do with either social categorization processes or differing background knowledge, and the effects of conflict on creativity are dependent on the interpretation of that conflict. This article thus also makes a contribution to psychological theory by reposing a broader, third model drawing on dynamic constructivist cultural theory. It helps to reconcile prior mixed findings on the impact of conflict on creativity. This model goes beyond the social categorization and information processing models, synthesizes elements from disparate topics within psychology, and explicitly blends cognitive and affective factors. This article attempts to tackle three problems with past literature. First, research on the effect of experienced conflict on individual creativity is scarce, especially in multicultural environments (e. G. , Shelley et al. 2004; Chou Us, 2010). Most research on conflict focuses on team conflict and team conflict management (De Dreg Weinberg, 2003; Lovelace, Shapiro, Weinberg, 2001 Much less is known about the effects Of cultural context and related factors on different, individual-level perceptions of conflict (De Wit, Greer, Jean, 2012). Second, the few studies that examined the effect of conflict on creativity revealed mixed findings (Zealand, Reek, Cyan, 2007; Stall et al. , 2010), suggesting that the effect of conflict on creativity can vary under different situations and conditions. We contribute to hurry by going beyond team outputs to examine individual creative cognition. As has been requested (van Innkeeper Chippers, 2007), we identify moderating and mediating conditions and factors that shape the effect of diverse environments on experienced conflict and then on individual creativity. Specifically, our dynamic constructivist model assumes that individuals in multicultural settings are more likely than those in unicellular settings to experience conflict, either as something they encounter directly or observe, compared with those who work in culturally homogeneous settings. Whether they will benefit from conflict or be stymied by it depends on the relevant cultural meanings, or the lens through which individuals make sense of the world. Cultural meanings influence both the extent to which individuals perceive specific social interactions as conflict and the degree to which individuals can tolerate conflicts. Greater tolerance of conflicts, regardless of heterogeneous versus homogeneous cultural setting, can mitigate against perceived conflicts becoming perceived threats. When a perceived conflict becomes a perceived threat, a prevention orientation (the motivation to avoid main and seek security) is Often a consequence. A prevention orientation then leads individuals to draw on their well-known reactions and avoid risks, resulting in less creativity. If, however, there is a high tolerance for conflict, perceived conflict may increase cognitive complexity and stimulate creative thinking. Like many social psychological models, ours crosses individual and interpersonal levels: It is a model of how a social context (multicultural environments) encourages interpersonal conflict (an interpersonal, social process), and how that interpersonal conflict affects individual cognition as treated and mediated by individual perceptions, culture, and assumptions. 239 In the next section, we discuss culture as meanings. We then describe our model, after which we end with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of our model. Culture as Meanings We draw upon cross-cultural psychology to define culture. The implicit theories of culture tradition, which examines culture as unspoken assumptions, has emphasized that culture exists psychologically within individuals minds (Penn, Ames, Knowles, 2001). Culture is defined as an imperfectly shared system of learned, transmitted meanings (Ironer, 1984). Although it can include explicit knowledge, we emphasize the aspects that are implicit. By this definition, cultural differences are not limited to nations or global regions but can include differences between any subgroup (e. G. , profession, ethnicity, family, organization). The dynamic constructivist theory, an extension of this approach, goes beyond descriptions of national or ethnic differences to give a cognitive account of culture as it affects social perception generally (Betterment Lopez, 1993; Hong, Morris, Chic, Bent-Martinez, 2000; Morris Zealand, 2004). Hong and colleagues (2000) asserted in their dynamic constructivist theory that culture acts, specifically, as shared mental models within the mind, serving as a lens through which the world is interpreted. A mental model is an internal representation of actions, situations, people, or objects (Johnson-Laird, 1980). Mental models include both the structure and relationship between knowledge constructs and the content of knowledge itself, such as unspoken assumptions and heuristics. Shared mental models occur when the mental representations of individuals overlap, with more overlap indicating greater similarity, and hence a more animal understanding of a situation (Kowalski Mohammed, 1994; Mohammed, Fernando, Hamilton, 2010). Rather than being a singular fixed structure within the mind, one or more cultural meanings can be internalized as loose networks of categories and assumptions. Bacterial individuals can therefore switch frames when primed by relevant elements reminding them of the applicable culture, such as national flags and other icons (Hong, Bent- Martinez, Chic, Morris, 2003; Hong et al. , 2000). These culture primes can activate goals, procedural knowledge (mind-sets), and/or declarative knowledge, so long as the cultural structure already exists in the mind (Sherman Lee, 2008). As with other mental models, cultural meanings can influence how individuals perceive the world, including social situations, and are created from learning (Ironer, 1984). Cultural meanings are thus corrected by individuals and live within the mind, being activated by relevant information and aiding in the interpretation of experiences (Hong et al. , 2000 2003; Sherman, 2011). The overlapping mental models that represent culture can be shared not only between individuals of the same ethnicity or action but also by other mutual social characteristics, such as socioeconomic class, geographic region, discipline, occupation, religion, and work organization. Past research on cultural implicit theories has demonstrated the effect of cultural meanings on social perception. For example, Anisette and colleagues (Anisette, Penn, Choc, Normandy, 2001; Penn Anisette, 1999) examined cognitive differences in what they termed analytic versus holistic thinking. Analytic cognitive styles involve a greater focus On objects rather than the context (field independence), and the tendency to attribute others behavior 40 to internal traits rather than the situation (Morris Penn, 1994). The holistic cognitive style, held more on average by East Asians, involves a greater focus on the context (field dependence) and a greater inclination, when compared with Caucasian Americans, to attribute the causes of behavior to the situation rather than the actor (l. Choc, Dalai, Kim-Priest, Park, 2003). For example, Morris and Penn (1994) found that participants differently anthropomorphic the behavior of an individual animated fish swimming separately from a school of fish in line with their different cultural lenses. Chinese participants were more likely to attribute the fishs behavior to external forces, whereas Americans were more likely to make internal attributions. Culture can also influence individuals ability to solve problems. Conceal and Star (2006) demonstrated how the activation of collectivist or individualistic orientations can affect whether generated solutions to a given problem are creative or practical. Individualism and collectivism are cultural dimensions that reflect differences in the tendency to focus on in-groups and the power of social context. People from individualistic cultures, on average, are more likely to emphasize self- termination and autonomy, conceptualize people as independent individuals, and prioritize ones own importance over the groups interests when the two are in conflict. On the other hand, members of collectivist cultures are more likely to conceptualize individuals as inherently part of collectives and prioritize groups interests over their own (e. G. , Hefted, 1980, 1 983; Markus Stamina, 1991; Transit, 1989, 1990; Transit Zealand, 1998). When asked to be creative, teams of participants primed with an individualistic mental model generated a greater number of ideas, more unique ideas, and more creative ideas than artisans primed with a collectivist mental model (Conceal Star, 2006). Thus, cross-cultural psychological theories offer many ways in which individuals will hold different types of cultural meanings within their minds, which may then impact their cognition. When people who hold different, unshared sets of cultural meanings come together, the relevant social context is diverse teams or, more broadly, multicultural work and leisure environments. Our model examines culture from these two different perspectives: multicultural environments as a social context and as the differing cultural meanings encapsulated therein. Dynamic Constructivist Model In this section, we describe the theoretical model and suggested propositions (also see Table 1). The relationships, as illustrated in Figure 1, are drawn in part as a decision tree and not simply as a model of proposed relationships. Multicultural Environments and Perceived Conflict (Path A) Conflict is inherent to interaction, collaboration, and teamwork (De Dreg Zealand, 2008). The construct of conflict has been used at different levels of analysis to mean many things, from disagreement to bullying to riots and war (e. G. , De Dreg Zealand, 2008; Jean Benders, 2003). For the purposes of his model, we focus on conflict as interpersonal disagreement, which exists when parties think that a divergence of values, needs, interests, opinions, goals, or objectives exists (Bark Warwick, Table 1 Summary of Model Propositions Proposition 1: Interpersonal conflict will be more common in multicultural environments, particularly if the mental model gaps are large and about relevant issues. Proposition 2: Interpersonal conflict may be interpreted as a threat, depending on exacerbated features of the situation and the conflict itself (e. G. Negative affect, relationship conflict, relationship conflict confounded with ask conflict, rude communication), and minimizing features of the conflict and situation (e. G. , psychological safety, trust, team emotional regulation processes). Proposition 3: If a conflict is perceived as a threat, a prevention focus and avoidance motivation will result. Proposition 4: A prevention focus will hinder creativity. Proposition 5: Entertaining interpersonal conflict will enhance creativity, mediated by a promotion focus. Proposition 6: Culture will moderate whether a social interaction or exchange in a multicultural setting is perceived as a conflict, such that cultural norms grading implicit theories of conflict and the appropriate expression and manner of conflict will enable individuals to perceive an encounter as a conflict or not.

What kept the American Colonists together essays

What kept the American Colonists together essays America declared independence on July 4th 1776, although America was not united when it begun, it soon became united through common hard-times and great leaders. America was discovered and settled by many different cultures and all of the cultures clashed from the start. After studying the colonies I have come to the conclusion that the "glue" that held them together was made up of: religious bonding, leadership abilities, their economic situations, the lack of communication with England, and philosophy. The colonies spread from New York to Georgia and had several ethnic groups that had nothing in common except the belief of freedom to, practice religious beliefs and political views. No one realized this until it was brought to the table by major events and leaders. Although there are hundreds of events that took place there are four major ones in particular: the Great Awakening, the Enlightenment, Revenue Acts, and the Albany Plan. There were also many great leaders such as John Locke, Thomas Paine and Ben In 1773 the emotional, spiritual, and evangelical movement labeled the Great Awakening was lead by George Witefield, Jonathan Edwards and Elija Weelock. These three leaders helped many colonist by preaching in traveling revivals spreading the word of God to the colonist. The word of god they preached was calvinism and predestination. People feared predestination and grew closer in fear of God and become more spiritual. The 18th century was an Age of Reason were the ideas of the Great Awakening were reversed. This Enlightenment was the result for the people's thirst for knowledge, the focus was the search for human knowledge, ideas, and inventions. Practical experimentation became the method of understanding. Ben Franklin was a father of the Enlightenment and a great leader because he promoted the spread of reason through out the colonies. He was...

Cold War Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cold War - Research Paper Example Communist world except China polarised with Soviet Union whereas the most of the democratic countries tied up with United States during this period. Most of the Eastern European countries were under communist administration during cold war and Soviet Union succeeded in bringing all of them under their umbrella, forming an Eastern Bloc whereas the Western European countries were mostly democratic in nature and hence they joined hand in hand with America during the cold war era. Even though, the militaries of these superpowers never clashed directly each other, there were too many proxy wars, espionage, propaganda, conventional and nuclear arms races, appeals to neutral nations, rivalry at sports events, and technological competitions such as the Space Race etc between these superpowers during the cold war era. This paper briefly analyses different dimensions of cold war. The term â€Å"Cold War† was first used in 1947 by Bernard Baruch, senior advisor to Harry Truman, the 33rd president of the United States, in reference to the frequently occurring and exacerbating crises between the United States and the former Soviet Union, despite having fought side-by-side against Nazi Germany in the Second World War. ... Nuclear arms race and the struggle for domination in the space missions were too much during the cold war era. â€Å"In 1992, a Soviet defector revealed to Western intelligence that he had overseen an extensive, illegal programme to develop smallpox into a highly effective biological weapon† (Flight). Moreover, the secret agencies in these countries also played their role effectively to strengthen the cold war. During the cold war era â€Å"the KGB, the 'sword and the shield' of the USSR, pitted its wits against its principal adversaries - the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States (CIA) and the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS)† (Knightley) Even though, Germany, Britain and France were major forces prior to Second World War, after the Second World War, only America and Soviet Union did emerge as the world’s superpowers. The friendship between America and Soviet Union during the Second World War was only to destroy their common enemy Nazi German y. â€Å"In fact, one of America’s leading generals, Patton, stated that he felt that the Allied army should unite with what was left of the Wehrmacht in 1945, utilize the military genius and fight the oncoming Soviet Red Army† (What was the Cold War?). In short, even though America and Soviet Union cooperated in the fight against Nazi Germany, they never wasted any opportunities to blame each other. It was difficult for other countries to stay alone without seeking help from any of these superpowers at that time. Some countries like India, Yugoslavia, Egypt etc were tried to form another political bloc in the name of Non Aligned Movement (NAM), in order to keep equal distance with the two major superpowers. NAM started its

The illegal Diamond Trade of Sierra Leone Case Study

The illegal Diamond Trade of Sierra Leone - Case Study Example Charles Taylor, the leader of insurgents in Liberia, runs a non-state entity known as "greater Liberia".3 He does not have any official identity, but he maintained trapping of gold, diamond and hardwood. He has support from port city of Buchanan and a strong tie with several other trading partners. This insurgence has given rise to criminal activities which are being referred as "crime disguised as war". 4 The insurgency got integrated and has resulted to complex criminal networking.5 Along with exploitation of natural resource, other criminal activities such as drugs, money laundering and many other illegal activities are growing at a faster rate. The war state in Sierra Leone made the life of civilian people disastrous. This leads to humiliation for people who get caught in between the warring parties and as a result human residential areas get deserted. On the other hand the town and cities are getting flooded with Internally Displaced People (IDPs) who are living in overcrowded o utskirts. The resource based conflict in Sierra Leone is non-ending because some of the people involved in such conflicts are getting benefitted. Such situations create easy access for resource smuggling. If someone undergoes an in-depth research for the factors which were actually responsible for the present conflict in Sierra Leone, the following three main reasons will emerge out: These are: The main cause behind the war was closely associated with the competition for resource (mainly diamond). This strengthened with the passage of time. The conflict was directly linked with collapse of the state and emergence of non-state criminals with small arms. The war was never restricted to a single state, rather it was a regional problem and no state boundaries could actually restricted illegal trading of these resources.6 Different non government organizations are coming up to provide help to those people who are suffering the most from such resource conflict. They are also campaigning against trade conflict that is getting worst day by day in Sierra Leone. The innocent civilians are the one who suffered most from such a war state. For example on 19th and on 20th December, 2001 in Kono District situated to the eastern part of Sierra Leone, a clash emerged out between Civil Defense Force (CDF) and RUF that resulted into killing of 13 people while 40

Issues of Freedom and Power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Issues of Freedom and Power - Essay Example Economic freedom- Knights of labor Knights of labor, a major labor union during the 1860 hold a significant role in the evolution of economic rights in the United States. The formation of Knights of labor was the first efforts in the national labor organization because it was among the first labor unions to rally its members behind a goal. Nonetheless, the Knights of labor were a secret union characterized with less political pressure on its members. Uriah Stevens was the founder of the Knights of Labor, with many of his followers being Irish immigrant who were mainly Catholics. As a labor union, the Knights of labors enrolled members in various states to champion for improved rights of workers. Formed at a time when the United States repressed freedom of expression, the Knights of Labor worked in secrecy often recruiting its members using oaths and rituals. The main thrust of Knights of labor was to advocate for better economic reforms in their industries. At a time, when most of the immigrant received little pay and poor working conditions, the Knight of Labor became the ultimate vehicle to push for meaningful economic reforms. While the Knights of Labor avoided using industrial action, some of its members in states like Chicago were ready to strike. In 1886, about 80,000 people marched through Chicago supporting an eight-hour work shift. The long working hours were one of the main reasons that prompted the demonstration by members of Knight of Labor. This ignited confrontations between the Knights of Labor and the police who wanted to maintain law and order. In a social perspective, the Knight of Labor represented a growing awareness of rights among the workers. For instance, the call for an eight-hour work shift displayed a growing interest in social welfare among the workers.ii Most important, the meeting and demonstration among the workers guild indicated that rising level of social empowerment among the workers. Largely, the Knight of Labor has achieved many social gains because of its transformation from a secret labor to expressing its interest in various cities. Knight of Labor also championed for an end to child labor, a phenomenon that had characterized the American Labor environment. The political manifestation of 1960 would be incomplete without mention Knight of labor. Within the Knight Labor, there were some groups with interest to take control of the union. After leading a series of strikes, the government sentenced Albert Parson to death. This event made Lucy Parson seek ways of saving men that the government had convicted for deaths during strike. After visiting Europe in 1888, Lucy returned back American expressing new optimism in labor movements as she addressed workers and pressurized the state to create more projects in order to employ people. Political freedom (Progressivism- muckrakers and reform) The political freedom in the United States is a product of struggles that defined and helped create meaningful political reforms. With growing interest for political reforms, a group of Journalist joined hands to highlight on the wrongs of government through the literary works, which they published in magazines such as The Saturday Evening post McClure’