Friday, August 21, 2020

The Goophered Grapevine. Charles Chestnutt Essay

The Goophered Grapevine. Charles Chestnutt - Essay Example The term characterizes the manner in which African Americans consider themselves to be people and as a gathering, yet not simply through their own eyes. They see themselves through the perspective of the Other, the predominant culture. Du Bois says it is continually taking a gander at one's self through the eyes of others, of estimating one's spirit by the tape of a world that glances on in delighted disdain and pity (Du Bois). This produces what Du Bois calls a twoness,- - an American, a Negro; two spirits, two musings, two unreconciled strivings; two warring beliefs in a single dull body† (Du Bois). Justifiably, being continually mindful of others’ recognition and bewildering, abusing, and denying that view causes strife inside an individual. Once in a while activity may not be actually moral like the activities of the characters in â€Å"The Goophered Grapevine.† The contention inside African Americans happens on the grounds that the white American affronted, m ortified, and dehumanized them. â€Å"Double consciousness† portrays the African Americans’ want to contribute and take an interest in all the nation brings to the table; yet realizing that the riches denied them was picked up by the perspiration of the temple of their progenitors. African Americans need to be both dark and American, consistent with their way of life and their nation. Nonetheless, significantly after Emancipation, it required more exertion with considerably less return. Some obstacle is constantly tossed into the way of African American advancementâ€segregation, transporting, bias, joblessness. Charles Chestnutt’s story shows this twofold awareness which impacts each contact dark Americans have outside their own way of life. The story’s structure uncovers the manner in which the prevailing society sees African Americans, described by the vineyard proprietor relating Uncle Julius’s story. The vineyard proprietor imparts it to the world apparently without Uncle Julius’ authorization. Obviously, Uncle Julius asked the guilty pleasure (read: consent) of the vineyard proprietor and his significant other to impart the story to them. â€Å"I wouldn' spec' fer you ter b'lieve me 'less you know all 'session de fac's. Be that as it may, ef you en youthful miss dere doan' min' lis'n'in' ter an ole nigger run on brief er two w'ile you er restin', I family 'splain to yer how everything occur' (Chestnutt). Uncle Julius preludes his story with his uncertainty that the vineyard proprietor will trust him, an aftereffect of the twofold awareness. Uncle Julius expects his story will be treated with ridicule and skepticism. Hearing the story, perusers wonder why the slaves didn't feel compromised enough by Dugal to stay away from his vineyard, and the grapes keep on vanishing. Evidently the slaves don't fall into Dugal’s traps. They realize he can't do a lot to them in such a case that he rebuffs them too harsh ly, the slaves may not make a solid effort to reap his grapes. Not just that, since they are the ones who accomplish the work to make the grapes beneficial, unquestionably a couple of grapes are their due. Along these lines the twofold cognizance serves them well. Yet, it additionally reverse discharges in light of the fact that Dugal realizes what scares them: the slaves accept the grapes are hexed. Dugal pays Aunt Peggy to hex them despite the fact that he doesn't accept they are really charmed. Something else, Dugal would not sell the scuppernong grapes and cause the passing of anyone who ate them. He would permit individuals to bite the dust and executing off his own clients. Dugal’s reason in â€Å"goophering† the grapes was that he realized the slaves had confidence in the conjuring. On the off chance that they accepted that the grapes were reviled, they would not eat them. The spell worked aside from Henry who ate them without knowing about Aunt Peggy’s s pell, which really turned out lucky for Dugal. Dugal thinks he is astute. The $10 he paid Aunt Peggy was an astute speculation, particularly since it gives salary

Thursday, June 4, 2020

About Walmart Company - Free Essay Example

Walmart has disrupted many businesses since its creation. It was the store that had everything that people could want. Walmart disrupted the traditional family run stores that were prevalent before big box stores. Walmart did this by understand their own position internally and externally. Walmart also implemented strategies for their home country business and international businesses. However, recently they have become the disrupted by competition with Amazons online shopping and competition with other grocers and dollar stores with their low prices (OKeefe, 2015). These disruptions can be overcome with OODA loop and merger acquisitions. History Sam Walton was a man that always thought low prices. Sam started out in working in Ben Franklin, Arkansas. His business strategy for Ben Franklin was to sell stock at low prices and sell more to make up the difference and the idea took off. In his three years working the store he increased sells from $80,000 to $225,000. He then took his business concept and made Waltons Five and Dime under the backing of Ben Franklin. The store took Waltons low price and high volume strategy and turned it into a success. When Ben Franklin proposed to the Butler brothers, owners of Ben Franklin, that they split the margins, the brothers declined. Walton went and developed the first Walmart in 1962 in Rock, Ark. Funded by his and his wifes money he put his strategy and everything he had learned and turned Walmart into a huge success. (Goldman, 2011) Walmart is now in every state and around the world. Walmarts current CEO Doug McMillon is just the fifth CEO to run the company (OKeefe, 2011). McMillon has made many changes within the company including a new vision statement in 2017 that stated Be THE destination for customers, to save money, no matter how they want to shop (Ferguson, 2018, para 4). The mission continues to be to save people money so they can live better (Ferguson, 2017, para 3). The management team has gone from one man to a tall corporate structure. The core of this structure is Walmarts business model that has always been EDLP (Everyday Low Prices) which is part of an overall cost leadership strategy. Porters 5 Forces Walmart competes with major retailers such as Amazon, Target, Costco, eBay, and the up and coming Aldi. Our team has developed a Porters 5 Forces analysis to identify external factors that affect Walmart. Competition is very strong in the retail industry because of the amount and variety of the firms. These firms are also quite aggressive in order to stay competitive. Another strong force is the threat of new entrants. In comparison to Walmart, smaller businesses can come in and compete based in convenient location, specialty items and other factors. For smaller business comes the luxury of lower costs of doing business especially in comparison to Walmart and can keep up operations to eventually become potential threats. The last three forces are all relatively weak in comparison to the first two. Walmart customers have both high diversity and come in high volumes so this makes the bargaining power of the the consumer very weak and because of this, it does not have a strong impact on such a global firm. Next you have the bargaining power of the suppliers; because of the vast amount and strong competition among suppliers, there is very low potential impact on Walmart. Because of the high availability of supply, it is difficult for suppliers to impact Walmarts growth. The last factor is the threat of substitutes. Walmart sells a wide assortment of products and services that have little to no substitutions. Because of this low assortment of substitutes, consumers tend to lean on the readily available products that Walmart has to offer. Some substitutes can also be more expensive than goods that already available Disruptions During its early years, Walmart was a disruptive force in the industry of retail. However, today it faces competition with not only other large supercenters like Target and Costco, but with grocery stores as well. Aldi draws in customers with its unbeatable low prices. This strikes a big concern with Walmart as about 55% of its U.S. revenues are from grocery sales (OKeefe, 2015). As of 2017, Aldi represented 1.55% of the U.S. grocery market while Walmart represented 22%, however Aldis sales were expected to grow at a rate of 15% while Walmart was only expected 2%. Aldi does this by building a business model that attracts customers to its private brand which allows Aldi to price products lower. Also, Aldi displays products directly on pallets which calls for less stocking time and less training costs to stock. (Chatterjee, 2017). Similarly, Aldis market share of the grocery industry was 7.6% compared to Walmarts 26% (Morrison, 2018; Statista, 2018). However, Aldis share will continue to grow, as customers are attracted to Aldi due to its small store layout which allows for faster shopping times, clean parking lots due to locked shopping carts, and of course, low prices (Chatterjee, 2017). Further, Walmart is disrupted by Amazon. Walmarts market share of the e-commerce industry is 3.7% while Amazon holds an outstanding 49.1% (Lunden, 2018). Retail analyst Edward Jones states, Amazon and online retailing is probably the biggest disrupter of retail since Walmart itself. Shoppers enjoy the convenience of online shopping and having a sense of control. Walmart.com is said to be harder to navigate than Amazon, giving unrelated search results. Also, Amazon Prime gives shoppers the option of free shipping which is difficult to deny (OKeefe, 2015). Recommendations OODA Loop Walmart has been constantly trying to keep up with the competition and be innovative at the same time. Walmart is still behind in e-commerce; only reacting when Amazon does something. For example, when Amazon came out with Amazon Prime membership, Walmart came out with its own membership fee and then got rid of the membership fee altogether to keep up with Amazon. Walmart is going through changes to stay on top. For example, competing with Aldi by making a grocery store pickup facility (OKeefe, 2015); where customers order groceries online and park in the lot and have their groceries brought to them. Walmart needs to be able to make fast strategies and enact those strategies as quickly as possible. Walmart should implement the Observe Orient Decide Act (OODA) Loop created by John Boyd. The OODA loop will help Walmart with making and enacting strategies. The OODA loop will help Walmart have a competitive advantage by using the cycle to keep up with and come out with innovations faster (Thompson, 1995). Decentralization will help with this process (Thompson, 1995). Walmart is currently trying do this by making giving lower level managers the power to make more decisions. This will encourage managers to give faster responses to consumers and employees (OKeefe, 2015). Activity accounting will also help make the process faster (Thompson, 1995). This means controlling overhead costs, including procurement costs, product development cost, and setup and rework (Thompson, 1995, p88). Since Walmart is a big company controlling these costs will help lower prices. Merger and Acquisition Many retail companies feel pressure and threat from Amazon. The treat has increased following Amazons purchase of Whole Foods in 2017, with Sears recent bankruptcy filing as an example. Alex Monahan, a consumer products senior analyst at tax and consulting firm RSM US LLP, believes that the challenges that retailers are facing are due to lack of innovation and investment in technology, and the inability to compete with Amazon. Monahan states, Investors want to see that retailers are adjusting to consumers changing preferences and striving to provide seamless multi-channel experiences, while also investing in technology to address the tight labor markets (Diakantonis Flynn, 2018a). Many superstore retailers, including Walmart, utilize merger and acquisition strategies to help with those challenges. Walmart has recently formed a partnership with Advance Auto Parts Inc. to create a car parts section on Walmart.com. Expected in 2019, the online store will allow customers access to Advance Auto Parts inventory of aftermarket items. Orders will be available for delivery and same- day pick up in both stores. Further, Walmart strengthens its e-commerce offerings through acquisitions in order to compete with Amazon. Walmart purchased Bare Necessities, an online lingerie retailer, and Cornershop, an online delivery company of consumer products in Chile and Mexico (Diakantonis Flynn, 2018b). Researchers encourage Walmart to acquire Sears after its recent bankruptcy, as studies show that 92% of Sears shoppers also shop at Walmart and there is overlap between each companies shoppers in terms of age and income (Hanbury, 2018).

Sunday, May 17, 2020

A Privacy Policy With Explanations - 1473 Words

A Privacy Policy with Explanations Vail Trappings provides custom upholstery, draperies and blinds to the mountain community surrounding the Vail and Beaver Creek ski resorts from their retail fabric store in Edwards, Colorado. The website at www.VailTrappingsco.com educates visitors about their services and collects contact information for scheduling free estimates. A privacy policy on the Vail Trappings website serves three purposes: building trust with visitors, complying with applicable laws and minimizing liability. It tells visitors about what information Vail Trappings gathers from them and when, how they protect it, what cookies are used and how, third- party considerations, what laws apply to online privacy, and how to contact†¦show more content†¦Please read our privacy policy carefully to get a clear understanding of how we collect, use, protect or otherwise handle your Personally Identifiable Information in accordance with our website. When requesting more information or requesting a free estimate we ask you to enter your name, email address, mailing address, and phone number. We may use the information we collect from you for customer satisfaction surveys or marketing communications. Explanation Vail Trappings wants to earn your trust by being transparent about collecting PII. This is why we explain what PII is and specify the information we collect. Our goal is to build a relationship with you, so please expect future communications from us. Your initial website visit is only the first step and Vail Trappings appreciates the privilege of contacting you again. Section 2: Security †¢ We contain your personal information behind secured networks and only a limited number of persons have special access rights to such systems. †¢ We scan our website on a regular basis for security holes and known vulnerabilities in order to make your visit to our site as safe as possible. †¢ We regularly scan for Malware. †¢ We implement a variety of security measures when a user enters, submits, or accesses their information to maintain the safety of your personal information. Explanation We want to earn your trust and are

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Pride And Prejudice By Jane Austen - 1061 Words

Throughout Pride and Prejudice (1813) the character of Elizabeth â€Å"Lizzie† comparatively differs from that of her mother, Mrs. Bennet and her younger sister, Lydia. Elizabeth Bennet, Jane Austen’s protagonist was depicted as an intelligent, rebellious and nonconforming woman of the early nineteenth century; a likely prototype of the women’s libber before it became fashionable one hundred years later when women started demanding the right to vote. Intelligent in her own right, Elizabeth had her own thoughts and values and felt she should express herself when the occasion arose, when in fact it was not a socially acceptable trait for women to have in the early nineteenth century. Women, like children were to be seen and not heard. Despite the independent attitude she bore which gave off a disconcertment for her own or her family’s financial wellbeing, â€Å"Lizzie†, ended up conforming to the role expected of her as a woman of her time by agre eing to marry the one man she swore she would never dance with, Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth’s mother Mrs. Bennet was the humorous epitome of a stereotypical middle class woman of the late eighteen hundreds England. She was considered by those in higher statuses as lower class; her loud boisterous behavior lacked a certain ladylike refinement of the upper classes that Mrs. Bennet herself strived for her daughters to attain through marriage. The character of Mrs. Bennet reflected the adherence to the expected roles of women in her time.Show MoreRelatedPride And Prejudice By Jane Austen Essay1724 Words   |  7 PagesThe 18th century novel, Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, is a fascinating book about a young woman’s struggle with family and love. 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However, during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, marriage was often one of the few choices for a woman’s occupation. Reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen from the twenty-first century perspective might make some matters that are stressed in the book seem dated or trivial. As Pride and Prejudice was set sometime during the Napoleonic Wars, it is only fitting that finding a proper marriage is on the minds of many of the women in the book. Marriage and marrying

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Distribution Agreements and EU Competition Law

Question: Discuss the distribution agreements and EU competition law. Answer: To: Jayne From: Subject: Suggestion regarding the Swedish business Date: Jayne, Issues In Concern: How the ban of the E-mailing potential customers who are outside Sweden will effect over the active and passive sales? Can Karlstad's Ability to e-mail the customers be banned but Fliodex without the effect of compliance over VRBE? How can the ban on the internet can affect the active-passive sales? Type of the restriction with relation to the internet selling the commission that regarded as the hardcore. Discussion: The answer to the first question will be that there is the various risk of the wrong companies spreading outside on a worldwide scale distributing the products in EU, and that gave rise to the interest to be vested on the review of the existing rules (Cruz 2014). The new regulations thus made significant changes in the regulations extending the scope of the safe harbor. The introduction of the laws made a threshold test on the new market and blocked the exemption for the same. So the article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) needed some clarification for the online sales within the scope of agreement distribution. So the newly introduced law had some hardcore restrictions upon the exemptions on the economic grounds (Harbord 2014). So, the effect of the new law would be such that there will be an effect on the vertical agreements in such manner that will restrict the competition. Article 101 also provides some legal framework to the that assesses the ve rtical trade and the distinction between the anti-competitive mode with the economic mode are taken into account. So concerning the article 101, there is an introduction to Article 101(1) that brings the restriction over the existing law. The new introduction prevented some outweigh practice, and this is the main reason why the ban on your online business to the outside of Sweden. The next question that comes here is whether your ban on the email will affect Flionex in any or not since he is the commercial partner in your ongoing business. So, in this scope, it is essential for you to understand that there is scope for the agreement of better distribution negotiation (Ahlert and Schefer 2013). It is quite obvious that there will be an effect over Flionex, so to prevent it is better that come for a negotiation with Andrew. Since, there is a mention of the agreement which they will be a part of, so they want that there will be all ban on the scope of poaching their customers. So, when the distributors court with each other, it is obvious that there is a long-lasting beneficial from the part of profit making, expanding sales, market share and lot more (Macnab 2013). It is wise to understand Andrew so that there will not be ban since that may cause in shrink of the geographical extension. So, it is expected that both the parties maintain a balance with due diligen ce, and there must be the reference for the comparison that proved success in such industry agreements. There is scope of the legal skirmish on the when there is termination, and that diminishes significantly (Nyman et al. 2014). So, keeping in mind the convenience and to not bring any effect over Flionex, the negotiation is advisable. The third discussion concerns about the effect that will fall upon the sales when there is a ban on the vertical or email the customers. We must agree on one fact, that email has a big effect on the business, and it is gets banned then the huge sector of the business gets its effect. The sending mail communication to the people is a huge advantage nowadays. It is quite obvious that there will be some effect on the business or even some critical effect over the procedure when there is a ban on the email servicing. The online business includes the long chain in the service. So with the practice of the competition regime under the article 101, there can be some scope for the company to go for the commercial agreements (Nagy 2013). Hence, it is advised to you to approach Mr. Andrew on the fact for the reconsideration of the agreement. Although there are some restrictions on the part of the article to go for the agreement, it is advisable to highlight certain facts. The facts must include the disadvantages that your online business might face and the assurance of the reason so that he may convince upon the ground that there will be no poaching over the new customers. For the discussion held here, there are some restrictions that Mr. Andrew can put forward concerning the act of Commission Regulation (EU) No330/2010 for the application of Article 101(3) (Korah 2014). The vertical mode of the business has affected the hardcore competitions giving rise to many negative outcomes. Hence, concerning the requirements, there is an introduction of the Block Exemption Regulation (hereafter known as the BER). The hardcore restrictions consist of the maintenance of the resale price value with the concern in territory restriction along with some selective distribution (Buccirossi 2015). Some selective distributors get the allowance to continue with the business upon the choice of the present distributors who feels that there will be no risk from the part of that business holder (Eberhardt 2015). There is a restriction of the market share which cannot exceed the limit of 30% when the regulations of BER cover the market. Conclusion: So, the conclusion from my place will be it is best advisable to go for a negotiation with Mr. Andrew so that the vertical system of business can be carried off well with the acceptance of the regulations along with the negotiation. It is advisable concerning the third as well as the fourth hardcore restriction to make your business an appointed distributor within the geographical territory of their business. The advice so made is also with the concern that Flionex is related to the business. Hence, by giving the assurance from your part that there will be no hindrance from your part of business, you can use carry on with the activity (Nurski and Verboven 2016). Also, it is important to show that there is a valid license of the business maintained from your end which might restrict the application of BER hardcore restrictions. Regards: References: Ahlert, D. and Schefer, B., 2013. The Risks of Resale Price Maintenance Prohibition for the Effectiveness of Inter-Brand Competition. InVertical Price Coordination and Brand Care(pp. 19-32). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Buccirossi, P., 2015. VERTICAL RESTRAINTS ON E-COMMERCE AND SELECTIVE DISTRIBUTION.Journal of Competition Law and Economics,11(3), pp.747-773. Cruz, J., 2014. The Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Regulation 330/2010: An exemption from certainty,pp-57-70. Eberhardt, A., 2015. Why the discriminatory application of criteria in selective distribution systems is block exempted under Regulation 330/2010.European Competition Journal,11(1), pp.168-192. Korah, V., 2014. The EU Law of Competition, 3rd edn, by Jonathan Faull Ali Nikpay.(Oxford University Press, 2014).World Competition,37(3), pp.391-392. Macnab, A. ed., 2013.European Community law of competition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Nagy, C., 2013. Resale price fixing after the revision of the EU vertical regimea comparative perspective.Acta Juridica Hungarica,54(4), pp.349-366. Nurski, L. and Verboven, F., 2016. Exclusive dealing as a barrier to entry? Evidence from automobiles*.The Review of Economic Studies, p.rdw002. Nyman-Metcalf, K., Dutt, P.K. and Chochia, A., 2014. The Freedom to Conduct Business and the Right to Property: The EU Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation and the Relationship Between Intellectual Property and Competition Law. InProtecting Human Rights in the EU(pp. 37-70). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. von der Fehr, N.H. and Harbord, D., 2014. The Law and Economics of Vertical Restraints An Overview,(pp. 33-41).

Sunday, April 19, 2020

Mao and the Cultural Revolution Essay Example

Mao and the Cultural Revolution Paper China in the Cultural Revolution The historically unprecedented great peoples proletarian cultural revolution was a struggle for supremacy within the Chinese communist party which manifested into a wide scale social and political upheaval which brought china in 1966 to the brink of all out civil war. Although millions of people were murdered and tortured during its bloody course the cultural revolution is a chapter of china’s history rarely talked about, its just bad business to bring it up with someone who’s buying 26 percent of the world’s oil and 42% of all concrete produced globally. The Cultural Revolution was a period of vast upheaval and organized vandalism the likes of which had never occurred before, and through historical analysis it is reasonable to conclude that the great Cultural Revolution of 1966-67 was merely a means for Mao Zedong to purge the Chinese Communist Party and consolidate his own personal power. A period of calm and stable economic conservatism had settled over china after the upheaval and fervor of the great leap forward, and with its spectacular failure the moderates inside the CCP gained more power as Mao and his fiercely socialist policies lost considerable support. In this environment of political moderation and conservatism the ailing Mao felt capitalist and elitist ideology was infiltrating the party and the main goals of the 1949 revolution were being abandoned, and that to ensure the future of the communist party and china as a socialist state a reinvigoration of revolutionary spirit among the youths and children of china was necessary. It was from this small struggle to regain control over the party apparatus that a great public movement among students and the urban youth took hold all throughout china, and its destructive effects touched the lives of almost every Chinese person, from its epicenter in Beijing to the furthest provinces in Xiamen. For a little while, Mao disappeared from the centre of Chinese politics, and after his resignation as party secretary he retreated to his own devices to plan his next move against his growing enemies Deng Xiaoping and Zhou Enlai. We will write a custom essay sample on Mao and the Cultural Revolution specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Mao and the Cultural Revolution specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Mao and the Cultural Revolution specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer On August 8, 1966 Mao returned to Beijing in a flurry of energy and revolutionary spirit and published a manifesto of 16 points in which he outlined his intentions for the future of china. Coinciding with this move was a great call to all workers and students to rededicate themselves to unwavering class struggle and eliminate bourgeoisie and upper class thinking and ideals and focus on promoting the virtues of the agrarian proletariat. This opportunity to escape work and indulge in blind ideological hysteria proved very tempting for most Chinese students and by the 16th of October millions of Red Guards, as they were dubbed, flocked to mass rallies in Tiananmen Square, where Mao and Lin Biao made frequent appearances to over 11 million adoring youths. With this call to arms throughout all major institutions Mao enlisted the impressionable and easily led youth of china as his instrument for reimposing his will upon the nation and reshaping it. The revolutionary fervor and blind fanaticism of the red guards was matched by no other in Chinese society, and indoctrinated teenagers all over china rushed to do his bidding and destroy the 4 Olds, the 4 enemies of the continuing revolution as outlined by Mao, old culture, old thoughts, old customs and old habits. In a practical sense Mao had ordained the destruction of religious sites and relics as well as the torture and imprisonment of anyone seen to be an â€Å"enemy of the revolution†. It was in this way that the Cultural Revolution broadened from an internal communist party purge to a mass public movement in line with the self preserving aims of Mao. Giant posters in universities and schools encouraged students to join the struggle against all those who had diverted from the revolutionary path, and in July in a carefully orchestrated propaganda event Mao was seen swimming in the Yangtze River, a move which served to rally further support for the revolution. This specific event touched the hearts of many Chinese and led to serious momentum behind the revolution, in modern terms it is the equivalent of Queen Elizabeth swimming the English channel, and it is easy to see why this great symbolic gesture excited all of china and inspired loyalty and devotion among the Chinese for their appearingly strong and wise leader. Mao took the opportunity of revolution to finally dispose of his political enemies, and it was his newly formed and wildly devoted red guards he used to publicly ridicule and intimidate his opponents both in Beijing and the outer provinces. After a rally held specifically against them and their actions, Mao’s two main rivals Deng Xiaoping and Lui Shaoqui were both purged, Lui beaten and imprisoned in foul conditions until his death in 1973, and Deng sent to corrective labor in Jiangxi province after witnessing the crippling of his son Pufang at the hands of the Red guards. As the existing student movement was elevated to a mass national campaign, attacks on religious and historical institutions intensified and many churches and temples were looted and destroyed. From the centers of the movement, the universities and schools, red guards took control of towns and cities and were allowed free reign by the police and government to hold ‘great debates’ and rallies and persecute all those with which they didn’t agree. At this time Red guards were also encouraged to travel to Beijing with free transport and food provided by the government and many took the opportunity to make a pilgrimage to Tiananmen Square to catch a glimpse of their beloved leader. By the end of 1966 Mao had a giant, easily manipulated, blindly devoted and violent army with which he consolidated his rule over the communist party with an iron fist, and at the same time elevated his personal following to almost cult status. In 1967 china Mao’s word was law, and involvement in some sort of revolutionary activity was the only way to avoid being purged. When analyzing this period of Chinese history many agree that the Cultural Revolution was carefully orchestrated by Mao Zedong himself and that the Red Guard movement grew out of prepared soil. Alongside great cruelty and egotistic mania Mao showed an astute grasp of mass psychology, he knew that the students were the most suggestible and easily manipulated group in Chinese society, and he appealed directly to them to create a vast political instrument with which he could forcefully impose his will upon the whole of china. The Cultural Revolution began to finally wind down in 1969, although many historians argue that it didn’t finally end until the arrest and subsequent execution of the â€Å"Gang of Four† in 1979. The effects of the Cultural Revolution directly or indirectly touched every facet of Chinese society, and the 10 years of organized vandalism and civil unrest brought the education system and economy to a grinding halt. Perhaps never before in human history has a political leader unleashed such massive forces against the system that he created, and it was the Cultural Revolution’s aim to ultimately alter the ideological nature and soul of the people which made its effects so chilling. From mid-1973 until Maos death in September 1976, Chinese politics shifted back and forth between Jiang Qing and those who supported her (notably Wang Hongwen, Zhang Chunqiao, and Yao Wenyuan, who with Jiang Qing were later dubbed the Gang of Four,) and the Zhou-Deng group. The former favored ideology, political mobilization, class struggle, anti intellectualism, egalitarianism, and xenophobia, while the latter promoted economic growth, stability, educational progress, and a pragmatic foreign policy. In recent years china has taken steps to rehabilitate the millions of Chinese displaced and formally recognized the full extent of the damage caused by the Cultural Revolution, although any expressions tracing blame back to the CCP are fiercely censored. By conducting unbiased historical analysis and with the benefit of hindsight it is reasonable to conclude that the cultural revolution was nothing more than a vast political and ideological purge which was aimed at eliminating every semblance of tradition, decency and intellectualism, in due course leaving only the divine chairman Mao and a clean slate upon which for him to propound his ideology and political agenda. The Red Guards were not only officially sanctioned but directed by the government, as police were ordered not to interfere in red guard activities and even give them information on ‘class enemies’. As John K Fairbank observed, â€Å"The idealistic youngsters who appeared to lead the Cultural Revolution were in fact nothing more than pawns in the power struggle within the CCP†. The cultural revolution was nothing more than a desperate purge by an ailing and meglomaniacal leader whose terrible effects are still felt today, and as I mentioned before, is a chapter of history the Chinese would rather forget ‘ Bibliography Lynch, M. 1998, The Peoples Republic of China Since 1949. 1st edition. London, Hodder and Stoughton. Dures, A. 1988. China since 1949. 1st edition. London, Batsford. Tsou, T. 1986. The Cultural Revolution and post-Mao reforms: a historical perspective. 2nd edition. US, University of Chicago Press. Chen, J. 1975. Inside the Cultural Revolution. 1st edition. University of California, Macmillan books ltd. Esmein, J. 1973. The Chinese Cultural Revolution (translated). La Revolution Culturelle Chinoise. California, Anchor Press. Wikipedia, Wikimedia foundation. 2007. Cultural Revolution (China). Accessed 3 nov 2007. Availble : http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Cultural_Revolution Galduroz, M. 2007 The Cultural Revolution. Available: http://library. thinkquest. org/26469/cultural-revolution/ Various, 2007. The People’s Republic of China: III . University of Maryland electronic resource. Available http://www-chaos. umd. edu/history/prc3. html Victorian, R. The Cultural Revolution Available: http://www. fortunecity. com/victorian/riley/787//China/Cultural/Cultural. html

Sunday, March 15, 2020

Occupational Injuries in the Construction Industry

Occupational Injuries in the Construction Industry Although occupational injuries and fatalities are common in the construction industry, a number of factors mediate their occurrence. Richardson, Loomis, Bena, and Bailer (2004) assert that empirical evidence continues to support the notion that division of labor across the United States remains grounded on ethnicity and race, as minority groups experience discrimination (Richardson et al.,2004).Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Occupational Injuries in the Construction Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Research about occupational injuries and accidents indicates that the construction industry in the United States is the most hazardous; however, it is a low-paying industry that utilizes human resources from ethnic minorities (Menzel Gutierrez, 2010). Generally, the construction industry in the United States is among the largest industries, the largest employer, and the most hazardous industries, which contrib ute to approximately 20% of the annual occupational fatalities reported across the United States (Brunette, 2004). The Latino community is one of the immigrant communities in the United States that provide essential labor to the construction industry but often considered vulnerable to injuries and fatalities than other ethnicities. A body of evidence indicates that Latino men, who work in the construction industry, continue to experience higher rates of occupational injuries and related fatalities than other workers do in the United States. In a specific contemporary study, Roelofs et al. (2011) undertook a qualitative investigation about the perspectives of Hispanic workers in the construction industry regarding factors influencing occupational hazards and safety. Consecutively, using two focus group interviews with Hispanic construction workers, Roelofs et al. . (2011) reveal that Hispanic workers usually have higher risks of occupational injuries than other ethnicities, as 3.7, 3.4, and 3.0 are incidents of injuries per 100,000 workers among the Hispanics, the Whites, and the Blacks respectively. Moreover, according to Brunette (2014), the Hispanics generally constitute the highest population of the workforce in the construction, which is estimated at 18% of workforce with evidence indicating that Hispanic constructors are steadily rising disproportionately when compared to other ethnicities in the construction industry. Similar investigations have persisted in several studies to justify the claims of vulnerability of Hispanic construction workers to injuries and fatalities. By using the national census surveillance system to determine workforce fatalities, Richardson et al. (2004, p. 1756) â€Å"investigated fatal occupational injury rates in the United States by race and Hispanic ethnicity during the period 1990-1996.† In the Southern parts of the United States, 7.9 cases of fatal injuries in every 100,000 worker-years associated with the Hispanic construction workers, while only 6.9 cases of fatal injuries in every 100,000 worker-years associated with the White construction workers.Advertising Looking for report on engineering? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Hispanic construction workers do not choose to engage in risky activities of the construction industry as research has investigated the predisposing factors that expose these constructors to such conditions. According to Roelofs et al. (2011), several interrelated factors contribute to a predisposition of Hispanic construction workers to injuries and fatalities in the construction industry. As the immigrant community in the United States, Hispanics are among the marginalized communities. Researchers have established numerous factors that predispose the Latino male constructors to occupational injuries and accidents. Roelofs et al. (2011) postulate that â€Å"language barriers, cultural differences, lac k of safety training, economic disadvantage, lack of construction experience, and relegated to the most dangerous jobs within construction are major predisposing factors† (p. 1). Concerning language barrier as a predisposing factor to occupational injuries and fatalities, Latino men akin to other immigrant communities have little linguistic skills in the use of English (Ochsner et al., 2012). Due to their inability to communicate fluently in English and master safety workplace precautions, their chances of incurring injuries remain relatively high. Menzel and Gutierrez (2010) confirm such notions in an investigation of 30 Latino constructors. Even though companies sometimes provide employees with safety training and some required materials, the translation of language is ordinarily poor and thus Latino constructors hardly comprehend instructions (Menzel Gutierrez, 2010). Out of the 30 participants, seven mentioned that they felt ashamed of their accent. Culturally, Latino wor kers are very industrious, an attribute that make employers in the construction industry to target them. The notion that Latino workers value and embrace hard work puts them in an intolerable environment in the construction industry that is prone to accidents (Ochsner et al., 2012). Traditional values of Latinos embrace hard work and thus predispose Latinos to hazardous work, which is the economic activity of supporting their families. Apart from language barriers and cultural differences, construction industries have little concern for the welfare of the Latino constructors. According to Brunette (2004), low education and lack of appropriate and effective safety training are significant issues that dispose Latino male constructors to occupational injuries and fatalities. Socioeconomic inequalities are among the significant factors that force the Latino male constructors to engage in risky undertakings solely to provide for their families (Richardson et al., 2004). Competence and sk ills determine the effectiveness and alertness of workers in the construction industry. Since Latino workers lack expertise in the construction industry, their chances of causing accidents are relatively high. Latino men rarely hold top management positions in the construction industry and therefore compel them to perform menial jobs, which are not only hazardous but also unproductive. References Brunette, M. (2004). Construction safety research in the United States: targeting the Hispanic workforce. Injury Prevention, 10(4), 244–248.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Occupational Injuries in the Construction Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Menzel, N., Gutierrez, A. (2010). Latino Worker Perceptions of Construction Risks. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 53(2), 179–187. Ochsner, M., Marshall, E., Martino, C., Pabelon, M., Kimmel, L., Rostran, D. (2012). Beyond the classroom-a case st udy of immigrant safety liaisons in residential construction. New Solutions, 22(3), 365-386. Richardson, D., Loomis, D., Bena, J., Bailer, J. (2004). Fatal Occupational Injury Rates in Southern and Non-Southern States, by Race and Hispanic Ethnicity. American Journal of Public Health, 94(10), 1756-1761. Roelofs, C., Martinez, L., Brunette, M., Azaroff, L. (2011). A qualitative investigation of Hispanic construction worker perspectives on factors impacting worksite safety and risk. Environmental Health, 10(84), 1-9.