Making decisions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Making decisions - Essay Example aineà ­s† (Iris Kempe) Most of the decisions political decisions taken in Ukraine seems to be like the decisions of an emperor rather than a democratic country. â€Å"In November 2004, fraudulent presidential elections in Ukraine touched off seventeen days of mass protests whose goal was to overturn the official result† (Regina Smyth) Though the elections were held in an appropriate manner, the agitations started to began against the legally elected prime minister which is extra ordinary when we compare the elections of a democratic country. Since the Ukrainian people were unaware of the principles of democracy, because of the extended communist rule before, the public began to start agitations against even an elected government. lections on March 26, 2006. International observers noted that conduct of the Rada election was in line with international standards for democratic elections, making this the most free and fair in Ukraines history On April 3, 2007, On April 3, 2007; President Yushchenko dissolved the Supreme Rada and called for preterm elections. Months of political stalemate followed, with the Anti-Crisis Coalition continuing to hold Rada sessions, even after opposition parties Our Ukraine and BYuT resigned their seats and deprived the parliament of a constitutional quorum. On May 27, Yushchenko, Yanukovych, and Rada Speaker Moroz reached a political agreement on new elections, which were held September 30, 2007. (Ukraine) Even though the elections were conducted in an appropriate manner, President has got other ideas which are still unknown to the public. In a democratic setup mostly only after the prime minister loses the confidence of the parliament, the president will dissolve the parliament if no other options are available. But in Ukraine’s case the political observers looking suspiciously over the motives of president in dissolving the parliament. Reports showed that the president and the parliament (Rada) speaker have taken the decisions of

Political ecnomony of japan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Political ecnomony of japan - Essay Example er the Second World War where Japan not only needed rebuilding but the people in Japan were so completely defeated that there was essentially no resistance to the occupation. The American army was certainly not welcomed as a heroic force but was largely seen with a sense of resignation. The Japanese were weary of the war and were more than willing to start over again under the guidance of the American political agenda which supported democratic ideals. The civilian casualties suffered by Japan had put them at such a low point that they might have accepted anything to end the war and return to normalcy. On the other hand, after a short war which was thought to have ended the whole drama, the Iraqi people fought against the occupation as well as against each other (Al-Khabbaz, 2009). Most importantly, the American occupation of Japan after the Second World War came with support. Support from the American public, support from the regional countries and even support for the person leading the occupation who had an excellent understanding of the culture and the people. In Iraq, America has none of these things mentioned above. The American public may have supported the occupation initially but as the death toll rose and sentiments of the public changed, the American public largely does not seem to support the Iraq occupation. The region is becoming increasingly anti-American as the radical elements continue to use Iraq as a symbol of American dominance and cruelty while the American leaders in Iraq appear to have little understanding of what is actually going on in the country (Schwartz, 2004). All these factors show that the Japanese and the Iraqi occupations are considerably different from each other. Schwartz, F. 2004, ‘Forced to be Free: Democratizing Occupations in Japan, Germany, and Iraq’, [Online] Available at:

Relative ethics Essay Example for Free

Relative ethics Essay Relative ethics is where decisions are made with the circumstances in mind. For instance the culture and traditions of the place, the individuals, and society. Examples of relative ethics is utilitarianism and situation ethics. Relative ethics can be seen to be a fair approach to decision making because it is tolerant of different values, it is more realistic that nothing is right or wrong, it is more open to atheists, and is considers emotions as important. However it is more complex and makes decisions harder, it can be used as an excuse to act in an immoral way, it implies that we should not have laws and it does not protect worldwide human rights. Relative ethics is tolerant of different cultures. For example just because in one place it is considered wrong for women to have an education in one country e.g. Islamic countries, it doesn’t mean that in the UK women should not have an education. The UK is not morally superior and should not try to implement its own morals on any other country. This may seem fair in one way but it actually means that any act can be acceptable and doesn’t protect our human rights, sexism is wrong and women should never be discriminated against no matter their religion. Some laws need to be absolute. Someone in a different country may claim that for example kidnap and torture are part of their culture, but we know this is wrong. Relative ethics can be seen as fair because in it there are no absolute objective rights or wrongs. The right thing to do depends on the situation. For example, if a woman stole food out of greed then it would be wrong. However if she stole food to feed her starving children then this is right. It is fairer than absolute ethics because an absolutist would say that the woman shouldn’t steal even if he children are dying of starvation. Obviously, this is wrong and so the relativist view if a fairer approach to decision making The idea that there are no objective rights or wrongs can make relative decision making a slow process. In Utilitarianism, the consequences of each option have to be predicted and consequences. When each individual situation has to be considered, it can cause complications and ensuring every person gets a good result is difficult. Some may argue that the time it takes to make a decision about the morality of an act is causes those involved more suffering and is unjust. In conclusion I think that relative ethics is the best approach to making fair ethical decisions. However, I believe that some actions are wrong no matter the culture or time or individual. For example, discrimination is always wrong and torture of innocents and kidnapping is wrong. Despite this, relative ethics is tolerant of all cultures and does not believe that in any situations that one persons or country’s morals are superior to anothers.

Effect of Urban Living on Sustainability

Effect of Urban Living on Sustainability Continued Urbanisation – Does it hold the key to sustainable living? March 25th 2010 – was a key turning point in humanity (Graph 1); it was on that day, for the first time ever, that over half of the world’s population (50.5%) were classified as living in urban areas (compared to rural), as a result of urbanisation. Graph 1, showing Urban and Rural World Population change since 1950. Causes of Urbanisation Urbanisation is the increase in the proportion of people living in towns and cities1, this results from: rural to urban migration (mostly in LEDCs and NICs) natural increase (birth rate exceeds deathrate) (mostly in LEDCs and NICs) Urbanisation rates vary temporally and spatially, indeed most MEDCs began urbanising in the 1800’s as a result of industrialisation. In the 1950s, North America and Europe were home to the world’s most urbanised regions, though Tokyo overtook New York as the world’s largest city. By the mid 60s, the world’s urban population passed 1 billion, with rates of urbanisation having become highest in Asia and Africa; and Asia having more urban dwellers than Europe. By the 80s, urbanisation rates in China were once again increasing, though had slowed globally. Worldwide urban dwellers exceeded 2 billion, with Toyko’s population having reached 30 million. During the first decade of the 21st century the urban/rural balance of the industrial countries stabilised at 70-80% mark. Analysts predict that by 2020 the world’s urban population will reach 4 billion and China will become more than 50% urbanised2. The greatest contributor to urbanisation is that of migration. Migration is controlled by a series of push and pull factors (Table 1). Table 1: Push Pull factors contributing to urbanisation Push Factors (usually negative, and repel people from the rural area) Pull Factors (usually positive, and attract people to move to the urban area) *high unemployment *low unemployment; better employment opportunities *population increase *better living standards *famines (such as in Ethiopia in the 1980s) *housing – quality and availability *flooding (such as in Bangladesh where people move to Dhaka) *essential services such as health and education are more readily available and accessible Sustainable Urban Living Global urbanisation is bringing the majority of the world’s population together in cities, making it easier to provide access to essential services, as the people are in concentrated areas. But, realistically, does continued urbanisation actually hold the key to future sustainable living, or is the rate of growth such that we cannot keep pace? For future sustainability, the lifestyle of our global population must reduce the rate of depletion of natural resources, from the earth, so that we can meet our needs, whilst not negatively impacting on the lives of future generations. Sustainable living means ‘living a lifestyle that uses as few resources as possible and causes the least amount of environmental damage for future generations to deal with’3. Figure 1 below considers some of the key elements of urban sustainability4 Essentially, to be sustainable, our system outputs should be ‘recycled or re-used’ so as not to exceed our inputs. This applies to all settlements, not just urban ones. I live in an urban area, Telford, albeit a small one. Recycling has become a prominent part of our life (2004 onwards) as we aim to reduce landfill and address CO2 issues. I enjoy living in an urban environment, I have a choice of health and education services, I have access to retail and leisure parks and our public transport system makes travelling around the town easier. On a negative note, I see a lot of expansion onto greenfield sites as more homes and retail areas are created. This is destroying the view from my window and saddens me, especially when I walk through town and see boarded up shops. Solutions: Ensuring sustainable urban living Scenarios The future landscape could look very different if urbanisation continues at an unabated rate and we take no action, some ‘what ifs’ are considered below. What if †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. What this could mean †¦ How we could avert the issue Urban areas in LEDCs/NICs continue to grow at a rapid rate Increased numbers of informal settlements (shanty towns) in urban areas, especially in LEDCs and NICs; services under pressure due to increased demand; spread of disease Provide the essential services that rural areas need eg mobile doctors and schools, to reduce the desire to move; this would help agricultural productivity too; have an entry policy – people have to apply for permission to move to the city Urbanisation becomes more popular in MEDCs Redevelopment of brownfield sites is more costly and time consuming compared to greenfield developments, so urban sprawl might extend, if green belts are non-existent or are developed Promote inner city living, including the ability to live, work and relax all in the one ‘space’; reduces commuting time and costs and makes for a healthier lifestyle Urbanisation in China Graph 2, showing change in Life Expectancy in China between 1960 and 2011 A good example of a country that has seen a rapid increase in urbanisation is China. China has been urbanising rapidly; in 1940 it had 69 cities, in 2007 it had 670 almost ten times as many after only 67 years. This has very clearly affected Chinese life expectancy dramatically, as the graph left clearly shows (Y-axis: life expectancy in China at birth, X-axis: Date of Birth). This shows very clearly that the more urban the country became, the higher the life expectancy: so urbanisation can definitely be seen to increase the lifespan of the countries inhabitants. However, in Graph 3, below, it is very clear to see that in the same timespan (1960-2010) the CO2 emissions have greatly increased, showing the negative effect urbanisation has had on air pollution, which is now a major problem in China. Graph 3, showing Carbon Dioxide emission levels, per capita, between 1960 and 2010 The most fundamental requirements for sustaining human life are: shelter, food and water. Urbanisation, due to the creation of apartment buildings and streets in cities, usually has a positive impact on housing requirements. However, availability of food and water may be hindered by the accelerating speed of global urbanisation as high population densities can put local water plants under extreme pressure, due to such high demand, so in the long term urbanisation can have a negative effect in this context. Urbanisation can also mean bad news for food supply; the migration of people from rural areas into cities means that long term, agricultural operations can suffer due to insufficient, capable rural workers being available and, in some cases, destruction of farming sites for construction of new urban sites is also a big problem. Due to these factors the production of food may slow down and supplies even become depleted. Graph 4, showing Population Increase in China between 1961 and 2005. Another, negative, effect urbanisation can have is over population. Returning to the earlier example of China since China has been becoming a large urban country, its population has increased substantially; the population of China in 2012 was approximately 1,344,130,000 (over 1/6 of the earth’s total population of 7.129 billion). China is widely considered to be one of the most over-populated countries in the world, and over-population can really hinder the goal of sustainable living. Looking at the three, aforementioned, basic requirements to sustain human life shelter, food and water, we can see how overpopulation can have a negative impact on all of these. If there are too many people living in a country, it becomes very difficult to provide housing for all of them, and even harder to supply all of them with a job, so they can afford the upkeep of their accommodation. Overpopulation also places a high demand for constant provision of food and water; this, added to the ear lier mentioned effects that urbanisation has on the food and water supplies, means supply of both of these commodities, essential for human life, will be put under extreme pressure as a result of urbanisation and overpopulation. These factors really challenge the theory that global urbanisation could be the answer to sustainable living and, to address this further, we need to compare an international rural living area with an urban one. Rural living in Ethiopia compared to Urban living in the U.K. Ethiopia, which had a rural population of 82.4% in 2010, provides a brilliant example of rural living and the United Kingdom, which had an urban population of 90.1% in 2010, provides a good example of an urban area. UK (urban) Ethiopia (rural) Life Expectancy 80 years (2011) 59 years (2011) Adult Literacy Rate ^^99% (2003) 39% (2007-2011) Internet Users 82% (2011) 1% (2011) Use of Improved Water Sources 100% (2010) 44% (2010) Adult HIV Prevalence 0.3% (2011) 1.4% (2011) (Data source ^^ CIA World Factbook, all other data from UNICEF ) Looking at these indicators, it seems that urbanisation is advantageous in many areas. I included the adult literacy rate and internet use to show the quality of education; the use of improved water sources and HIV prevalence to show the quality of health and related services. As the table shows, UK, a highly urbanised area, has a much better quality of life than Ethiopia, an extremely rural area: UK life expectancy is significantly higher than Ethiopia’s (by 35%); the literacy rate in Ethiopia is 60% lower than that of the UK; internet use in the UK is substantially higher that in Ethiopia (81%); all UK citizens use improved water sources, whereas only 44% of Ethiopians do and the HIV prevalence rate in Ethiopia is almost 5 times higher than that in the UK. All of these indicators clearly point towards the fact that urbanisation does contribute to life quality and longevity. In conclusion I think that the true key to sustainable living is to find a perfect balance between populating urban and rural areas, as both are incredibly important. Without urban areas we may not be as technologically advanced as we are today (many of our technology looks towards a future sustainable life, like electric powered cars), and if towns and cities weren’t being built, the present risk of over population would be even more severe; and without rural areas, agricultural industries would suffer greatly which are incredibly important to human life, and loss of large forests and/or grasslands could mean a large increase of Carbon Dioxide in the air as well as destroying many historical location. To improve urban areas governments can focus on improving public transportation systems, which have proved very successful and eco-friendly in the past (for example the London Underground and the new York Subway) and continue to develop more ways to be economically friendly like finding a better way to dispose of our waste or developing more means of transportation that don’t affect the environment as heavily as current transport does. In order to protect rural areas Green Belts and/or UGBs (Urban growth boundaries) can be put into place more frequently, which limit where cities can expand in order to protect and maintain rural and semi-rural areas. If we continue to expand our urban areas whilst making sure we maintain enough rural locations then I think that we can easily accomplish sustainable living. I would suggest that a good percentage for the world’s population living in urban areas is around 80% in order to achieve this goal. Bibliography/Resource List www.internetgeography.net http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16606619 www.regenerative.com http://beta.futurecities.ethz.ch/assets/FCL_web_circular_metabolism1.jpg www.onlinegeography.co.uk www.wikispaces.com www.inhabitat.com www.cat.org.uk www.dawleyheritage.co.uk

a lesson before dying Essay -- essays research papers

Lesson Before Dying The Right to Be Free In the novel A Lesson Before Dying, although Grant is an educated black man in the era of a racist society he has struggles greater than most men of his decent. I feel sorry for him because of his limitations, even though I view him as a coward. He cannot break free of his background and family. The three main female characters in the novel, Tante Lou, Miss Emma, and Vivian, restrict and limit Grant's choices. Grant realizes that freedom means leaving his small town and creating a new life, yet each woman holds a chain that keeps him from his destiny and the right to be free. First, Tante Lou, his aunt holds Grant from his dreams by refusing to let him go his own way. Tante Lou wants Grant to stay at home with her and take care of her. But, in the time the novel takes place, it wasn't common for young men stay with their elders and help out, especially when Grant has a college degree and can accomplish so much. Tante Lou took advantage of this in any means necess ary, using the fact that Grant is family and in essence owes it to her to stay and help out. We can see this on page 14 when Tante Lou forces Grant to talk to Mr. Henri about seeing Jefferson. You are going up there with us Grant, or you will not sleep in this house tonight. Tante Lou denies Knodt 2 Grant choices that men his age have. Next, Miss Emma, who doesn't have a family relation to Grant, also restricts his choices in life. Miss Emma plays an important role in the nov...

Brown vs. Board of Education Art Exhibit :: Art Museum Exhibit Race Segregation

One of Art’s Messages When I first walked into the Krannert Art Museum, I had no idea where to begin seeing that this was my first visit to the museum. So I asked a man who worked there to point me in the general direction of the exhibit known as â€Å"Eight Artists Address Brown v. Board of Education.† The man gave me directions, and showed me into the section for the exhibit. I walked into two small rooms, which I thought was a little small for the work of eight artists. Despite the size, I had no idea where to start. So I took a quick look around the exhibit, which was empty except for the security guard who, upon my arrival, jumped up from his seat. Throughout my time at the museum, this guard was constantly checking me, like a hawk waiting for its prey to make a move before coming in for the kill, as if I were going to do anything other than look at the exhibits. His evil gaze was a little unnerving, however, I persisted in my work. In order to decide where to start, I spun around in a circle, coming to a stop at Pamel Vander Zwan’s and Carrie Mae Weems’ work on Plessy v. Ferguson. This was a series of five photographs in black and white featuring Zwan and Weems, one black and the other white, fighting over a chair in the middle of a checkered black and white room. It did not matter which picture started the series, because the two on the ends were the same picture. If going in a linear order, depending on where you started, the second and fourth pictures showed the two women struggling for the chair with the white women having the upper-hand, and the black women trying to take the chair away. Which ever direction you took, the pictures always ended the same way, with each women back where they started. It was at this point that I found a little book that describes each exhibit, which helped me to understand the pictures. Not knowing the background behind Plessy v. Ferguson, the struggle for the seat didn’t make much sense. The history is written saying that Homer Plessy was a black man who sat in the â€Å"white man only† car of a train, quite a rebellious feat for his time.

John Proctor change during the course of the play Essay

How does John Proctor change during the course of the play? How might this change be communicated on stage? In Act one we first see John Proctor. He appears to be a very sharp and nasty man. We can see this in the way he talks to his servant, Mary Warren: â€Å"Be you foolish Mary Warren? Be you deaf? I am looking for you more than I am looking for my cows!! † If I were producing this play on the stage I would have Mary warren cowering away from John Proctor. This would give the audience an impression that he is quite a nasty man. But this all changes when he meets Abigail as she realises that he is still a powerful man even though he committed adultery with her: â€Å"Gah, I’d almost forgot how powerful you were John Proctor! † In the same conversation he shows he has feelings for Abigail and that he is a deceitful person: â€Å"Oh, how you sweated like a stallion whenever I come near. † This language creates a sense of a passionate relationship. If I were producing this on stage I would have Abigail trying to hold John while he is looking away and checking no one is around. Even though he has committed lechery he is still protective over is wife as he tells Abigail that she ‘will not speak anything of Elizabeth’ to him. He also shows that he is in denial and a liar as he denies anything ever happening between him and Abigail: â€Å"Aye but we did not† The language from the conversation with Abigail creates a sense of confusion with John’s personality as he does one thing and says another. Although he is a well-respected member of the community, as the audience we don’t really know whether to trust him or not. He has a high expectation of Hale before he meets him and when he first meets him he is shocked by him: † Why, Mr. Hale! Good evening to you, sir. Come in Come in. † If I were producing this play then I would have John looking quite flabbergasted. This would show that Mr. Hale impresses him and that he respects him. He is also respectful to him: â€Å"I’ve heard you be a sensible man, Mr. Hale† This concludes how John is respectful to his fellow villagers. He is well respected in the community and this may be why. In Act 2 we see the relationship between him and his wife, Elizabeth. The relationship in their marriage seems to be quite distant as john arrives late home. This could suggest that he stayed away longer because he wanted to avoid Elizabeth due to the fact that he has a guilty conscience: â€Å"What keeps you so late its almost dark† In a production of this play I would have the room very dark with just a few candles on the table. There would be food on the table but it would not look appetising, as it would have gone cold. There would be family pictures on a dresser at the side. This indicates that john is a family man, or so Elizabeth thinks. Even though there are pictures of their family presented in the kitchen, this is due to their appearance in Salem. They are well respected so if they tell people that John has been unfaithful then the village will look down on them. As readers it seems that Elizabeth knows about John’s affair as they had an argument about ‘forgiving and forgetting’ but John is nasty to Elizabeth and shouts at her: â€Å"Oh, Elizabeth, your justice would freeze beer! † Although he is irate with her he still wants ‘to please her’ as he was unfaithful to her. He does this by complimenting her cooking even though he changed it so it would taste better. John’s temper also increases when he has arguments with Elizabeth. He constantly takes his anger out on Mary Warren even though she hasn’t actually done anything wrong: I’ll whip you if you dare leave this house again! † This language creates a sense of him being a bully. Mary Warren always seems to be the victim. Proctor shows he is bossy also when he orders Mary Warren to ‘go to bed’. This is what adults say to young children not to 18 year olds. This gives us a sense that he is treating her like a child and is disrespectful to her. Mary Warren is also more than John’s servant in the house as he tries to get her, along with himself, to overthrow the court to free Elizabeth. This also enables him to get revenge on Abigail for accusing his wife. If I were producing this play then I would have Mary trying to run away shouting that she ‘won’t do it’. This would indicate that she is scared of John and doesn’t feel safe near him. His anger also is shown in this Act as he ‘rips the deputy governors warrant’ up. This is very disrespectful and rude to Mr. Hale, Mr. Danforth and Cheever as they are the people giving out warrants, leaving Mr. Danforth to sign them. John has destroyed legal documents that have been given out by these 3 men. John also shows that he is religious and is part of the belief of Christianity as he shouts at Mr. Hale: â€Å"Pontius Pilate! God will not let you wash your hands of this! † If I were producing this play on stage I would have John with lots of anger shown on his face looking like he was going to hit Mr. Hale. Mr. Hale would turn around and start to run towards Cheever. This would indicate that John is a scary man and that getting away from him is probably the best thing to do. His emotions suddenly change when Elizabeth appears. He turns into a caring man when they are taking her away: â€Å"I will bring you home, I will bring you home soon† This language shows that John can be caring, as he has forgotten about Mr. Hale and Cheever and is now concentrating on his wife. Proctor has faith that his wife ‘never lies’. She confessed that she doesn’t believe in witches even though her religion says she should believe in them. At the end of act 2 John feels quite scared as he is trying to make Mary overthrow the court and she doesn’t want to do it: † My wife will never die for me! I will bring your guts into your mouth but that goodness will not die for me! † John character has gone from being angry to being scared in Act 2. In Act 3 John’s attitude changes, as he becomes quite a false man. This is shown when he is in the court introducing his case to Danforth: â€Å"She has signed a deposition† The language indicates that he is playing a court game as he has written a legal statement. When he is presenting himself he is very polite to Mr. Danforth, this is probably in his attempt to overthrow the court. He responds to questions very politely and doesn’t appear violent: â€Å"John Proctor, sir, Elizabeth Proctor is my wife† Even though John stays calm, Danforth constantly tries to interrogate him. This slowly increases his temper; he keeps to his words without erupting with anger, as he knows this will do him more harm than good. When John speaks Danforth is constantly interrupting him, this is frustrating for him, as he cannot finish what he is saying: â€Å"I come not to hurt the court, I only-†¦ † The technique that Danforth uses to interrogate John suggests by John’s reaction that it is annoying and could start an argument. If I were producing this play then I would have John dressed smartly so he looks professional and Danforth sat higher up than John so he looks more important. John would try to avoid looking Danforth in the eyes. This would indicate to the audience that John is a little fearful of Danforth, as he knows that he could sentence himself and his wife to death at any time. When Elizabeth Proctor was accused of witchcraft due to the poppet that was found and Abigail’s accusation this made John angry. In court John is sarcastic about this and tries to change the subject and make it funny: â€Å"There might also be a dragon with five legs in my house but no one has ever seen it! † This language also shows that John is biding time with the court. If I where producing this play then I would have John laughing, looking around the court but no one else would be laughing. This could indicate that he is scared and is trying to laugh it of or this could be so he can think of more negatives about Abigail and prove that she is lying. John is also indiscreet as he tells Danforth about how Abigail laughed during Prayer: â€Å"†¦ she were twice this year put out of this meetin’ house for laughter during prayer! † John also shows that he is nasty as he calls Abigail a ‘whore’. Consequently this proves that John Proctor wants to seek revenge on Abigail. Even though this makes Abigail sound like the victim she is not as she is the one who is making false allegations against honest, well respected members of the community. When John is presenting his own case to save his life he is like a hero and he is very brave. He tells Danforth what he actually thinks of him: â€Å"I see the boot of Lucifer, I see his dirty face, and it is my face and yours Danforth! â€Å"