Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Comparative Business Social Responsibility †Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Comparative Business Social Responsibility? Answer: Introducation The present report aims to analyze and examine the key issues involved in the given case study of Insider Trading at the Galleon Group. The insider trading at Galleon represents the biggest case of fraud and conspiracy that lead to the conviction of its co-founder, Rajaratnam along-with requiring him to pay heavy penalty and fines. The Galleon Group was privately owned hedge fund firm involved in providing services to the investors through managing their portfolios consisting of stocks, bonds and other financial instruments. However, the firm was found guilty of involved in insider trading activities for improving its profitability position through gaining insider information about the company stocks. As a result, Rajaratnam was founded guilty on 14 counts in the year 2011 along with the executives of big companies such as Intel, McKinsey, IBM and Goldman Sachs by the SEC (Securities Exchange Commission) and the U.S federal law. In this context, the present report demonstrates a crit ical evaluation if the case through examining the information gathering techniques used by Rajaratnams on Wall Street and implications of sharing confidential materialistic information by insiders to outside parties. Also, it evaluates the necessity of deterring the fund managers involved in insider trading for securing the confidential information of the business entities. Evaluating whether the information-gathering techniques used by Rajaratnams common on Wall Street and the ways for reducing such practices As analyzed from the case study, the Galleon Group collapsed due to insider trading activities used by its co-founder Mr. Rajaratnams. The insider trading activities refer to accessing the non-public information from the insider groups of a business entity and using it illegally for making profits through trading its stocks and securities. The Galleon Group is involved in managing the investors funds and providing them superior returns. However, the collapse of the entity in the year 2011 due to insider trading activities and thus violating the accounting principles of protecting the investors interest by gaining an undue advantage in the marketplace by trading on non-public information. On the basis of this case, it can be said that information-gathering techniques used by Rajaratnams such as using illegally the contacts made in the financial markets for achieving the non-public information for personal profit motives (Ferrell, Fraedrich and Ferrell, 2016). These activities of excha nging the non-public information is common on the Wall Street as financial analysts and top executives of the companies sometimes involve themselves in illegal conduct for monetary benefits. The technique of insider trading will be a continuous problem as the people involved will find more innovative ways of accessing the confidential information about the stocks and securities (Lyon and Plessis, 2005). As evident from the case study, Rajaratnams posses sound knowledge of the financial markets as he has worked previously as a financial analyst and also has done extensive research on stock markets. The extensive contacts made by Rajaratnams with the financial analysts and top executives of the company have enabled him to conduct insider trading activities successfully with realizing of heavy profits. As such, it can be said that investors, analysts, fund manager and top executives who possess sound knowledge of stock markets can utilize such information for illegal trading of stocks (Ferrell, Fraedrich and Ferrell, 2016). In this context, it is required that regulators, investors and executives can only restrict the occurrence of these activities by monitoring the companys accounting operations continuously. In this context, regulators are required to have a close watch on the activities of the stock market and any unusual stock market occurrence should be analyzed in detail. The regulators are recommended to incorporate the use of powerful data analysis tools for identifying any fraudulent activities occurring on the stock market (Ferrell, Fraedrich and Ferrell, 2016). The investors should evaluate the past, present and estimated future profitability position of a company before making decisions regarding its investment strategy for a particular stock. This would help the investors to assess in advance any suspicious financial activities prevalent in a companys accounts and thus securing the hard-earned money of investors (Bainbridge, 2013). The investors are recommended to adopt long-term investment plan as short-term investments are risky due to their higher volatility. As such, these investments become more prone to fraudulent activities and therefore lack reliability and confidentiality. The investors should devise a long-term strategy before investing in a business entity for securing their investments. The executives need to have organizational commitment and this can be imbibed in them by providing them job satisfaction. Also, the companys board of directors should insist on employees to sign a non-disclosure agreement that provides guiltiness to them about the punishment likely to be imposed n them for leaking the confidential information to the outside parties. This will help in restricting the sharing of inside information by the company executives to the stock traders (Salinger, 2005). Implications of Sharing Confidential Material Information The confidential material information about a company refers to all its trade secrets, financial information and other proprietary information that should not be released in the market without the consent of the board of directors. The confidential information includes all the protected information of a business entity that includes all the matters related to board or specific information consisting of technical or financial data. The information is said to be confidential in the stock trading if it can impact the buying or sell decision of the investors and its materiality is determined by the fact that someone can trade on the stock market through its use for generating higher returns. The materialistic information includes financial facts, estimated future profitability, pending acquisition or investment proposals, future product development, changes in management people, equity or debt structure changes and change in dividend policy. The use of all these materialistic confidentia l information can help a trader to realize heavy profit margins (Lyon and Plessis, 2005). The release of such information in the market without its public disclosure would cause the breach of confidentiality providing unfair advantage to some participants in the market over the others. The investors, creditors, analysts, fund managers can use such non-public information for their personal monetary gains. Thus, as such it can be said that confidential information has high value and its sharing without the consent of the involved parties can result in running their private lives. The implications of sharing such confidential information causes monetary issues such as heavy penalties on the parties involved, job loss or wastage in the judicial processes. The company and the people involved in such fraudulent activities besides monetary losses also are likely to loose their goodwill and dignity in the market in future context. The disclosure of non-public information on the part of company executives or any other insider parties can provide an undue advantage to some investor s who can immediately buy or sale stocks after receiving prior information and boosting their profits (Ferrara, Thomas and Nagy, 2017). The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the NASDAQ and the Department of Justice have imposed strict rules and regulations for the matters concerning insider trading. These rules and regulations can impose heavy fines and imprisonment to the people who are involved in breach of confidentiality. The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 has devised strict penalties for the persons involved in providing confidential information for their personal gains to the third parties. As such, the people involved in insider trading are liable to incur a penalty of about three times the profit gained by them through such fraudulent activities. Also, they can face a fine of $5 million and up to 20 years sentencing in jail for their illegal trading activities. Besides this, a person involved in such criminal activities can loose their potential job opportunities with the dismissal from their current company. Thus, these all are the possible implications of sharing the confidential information on the parties involved (US Insider Trading Laws, 2009). The company executives or employees must make sure that in situation they should use material, non-public information for their own personal benefits. They should not realize any such information in the marketplace that can directly or indirectly affect the securities of a company. In this context, the employees should sign a non-disclosure form before joining a company that restricts their involvement in any activities that involves a breach of code of conduct developed by them. As such, it can be said that the possible legal implications of insider trading can be faced by any individual who directly or indirectly tries to manipulate the companys materialistic information for the personal benefits. The corporate insiders can only conduct the trading of stocks as per the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission but these trades should not contain nay material information. The implementation of strict rules and regulations for preventing insider trading would help in deterring the dire ctors, executives, analysts, investors, creditors or any person involved with a business corporation to trade in illegal ways (Ferrara, Thomas and Nagy, 2017). The case study of Gallon Group has revealed that no person can avoid the punishments involved in insider trading activities irrespective of their job status or position in the market. The U.S. government has imposed harsh punishments on Rajaratnam along with the top executives of other companies who are involved with him in illegal trading of stocks. As such, it can be said that people involved in stock trading should strictly draw a line between the right or wrong and restrict themselves from any such activities that is unethical and not permissible by the law. This is essential otherwise the people who posses good knowledge of the stock market can use their capabilities unfairly resulting in the loss of many potential investors. In this context, the utilitarian theory of ethics states that achieving the greatest good for the society should be the ultimate objective of an individual or an institution. As such, the insider trading is referred to as unethical as it leads to inequality in the information possession about the performance of a particular stock and thus causing market inefficiency in the long-term. The theory of behavioral finance states that any economic action that results in the development of unequal or unethical behavior should be market as unethical and illegal (Peck, 2010). Therefore, the various laws and legislations are imposed by the government and SEC on the parties involved in insider trading for promoting transparency in business operations and securing the interests of its overall stakeholders (Insider Trading and Confidentiality Policy, 2016). Impact of Convictions of Rajaratnam and other people in Galleon Case on Fund Mangers and Investors The secret conviction of Rajaratnam and other top executives of big companies such as Goldman Sachs, McKinney and Intel involved in insider trading can emphasize son the need of adopting ethical and fair practices in stock market. The heavy punishments given to all the parties involved in the insider trading for profit maximization in the Galleon case have drawn the attention of regulators. The regulators as such are now implementing and adopting strict rules and penalties for the criminals of insider trading. The case of Galleon Group has also demonstrated that most powerful personalities also if involved in unethical trading cannot escape from the harsh penalties and punishment developed by the regulators. The new aggressive technique developed by the government for identification of misleading practices in the stock market can cause the fund managers or investors to pay huge penalties or long-time imprisonment for indulging in insider trading. The use of such techniques is evident from the case of Rajaratnam only where investigators have incorporated the use of wiretaps that was not previously sued in such cases. The investigators are relying on the use of digital techniques such as phone call, email and electronic surveillance that is helping the federal authorities to identify the unethical trading activities (Raj Rajaratnam and Insider Trading, 2017). The use of such techniques would deter the fund managers and investors to involve in insider trading activities as they can be easily caught. The case of Galleon also resulted in convicting about 26 people with the charges of fraud and conspiracy through the use of digital techniques by the federal authorities. Thus, with the development of new methods for identification of insider trading activities the people involved in stock trading are largely emphasizing on following the ethical codes of conduct for avoiding the occurrence of any fraudulent activities. The widespread occurrence of fraudulent activities involving manipulation of accounting information has emphasized on the development of more strict rules and regulations for overcoming the occurrence of any such events such as insider trading. The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in this regard under its different sections have defined the civil penalties and the legal liabilities of individuals involved in insider trading to ens ure that there is no breach of any confidentiality (Bainbridge, 2013). However, despite of the development of strict rules and regulations relating to insider trading there is still widespread occurrence of trade fraud activities. This is because the people involved in stock markets are finding new and clever ways of achieving non-public information that would help them to reactive huge profits. The people can achieve illicit information about the stock performances through the use of many innovative technologies such as hacking and thus can perform insider trading. As such, it cannot be said that heavy penalties and fines imposed by the government on the individuals involved in insider trading in recent years can completely restrict the occurrence of such activities in the future. This is because insider trading is regarded to be victimless crime and therefore people penalized for such activities can get free in absence of solid evidences against them (Duff, 2013). These all facts can also promote the occurrence of insider trading activities in the stock market. The Rajaratnam and other members found guilty in the case of Galleon were proved guilty on the basis of electronic surveillance. The fund managers and investors can also learn from such cases that they should not document or converse over phone calls about the matters relating to the insider trading activities. They can find new and innovative ways of communicating between themselves such as through face-to-face meetings that will result in the absence of developing solid evidences against them. Thus, it can be stated that regulators in this context need to continuously monitor the daily activities occurring on stock market for their prevention (Salinger, 2005). Conclusion It has been depicted from the analysis of the case study of Galleon Group that insider trading activities are illegal and unethical. The occurrence of such activities on the stock market results in unequal dissemination of materialistic information about a stock to the stock market participants. As such, some members can have an undue advantage that they can sue for their personal gains resulting in causing huge losses to other investors. The same has happened in the case of Galleon where Rajaratnam, the founder of the company, was illegally involved in insider trading activities for achieving personal motives of profit maximization of his company. The occurrence of this case has caused the need of developing strong rules and regulations for restricting the occurrence of such activities. The Securities Exchange Act has developed civil penalties and other punishments for the people involving in insider trading activities. Although, these legislations can deter the traders from indulgi ng in insider trading activities but cannot completely remove the existence of insider trading activities. References Bainbridge, S. 2013. Research Handbook on Insider Trading. Edward Elgar Publishing. Bainbridge, S. 2014. Insider Trading Law and Policy (Concepts and Insights Series). West Academic. Duff, T. 2013. The Buy Side: A Wall Street Trader's Tale of Spectacular Excess. Hachette UK. Ferrara, R., Thomas, H and Nagy, D. 2017. Ferrara on Insider Trading and the Wall. Law Journal Press. Ferrell, O.C., Fraedrich, J. and Ferrell. 2016. Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making Cases. Cengage Learning. Insider Trading and Confidentiality Policy. 2016. [Online]. Available at: https://newscorp.com/corporate-governance/insider-trading-and-confidentiality-policy/ [Accessed on: 14 September 2017]. Lyon, G. and Plessis, J. 2005. The Law of Insider Trading in Australia. Federation Press. Peck, S. 2010. Investment Ethics. John Wiley Sons. Raj Rajaratnam and Insider Trading. 2017. [Online]. Available at: https://sevenpillarsinstitute.org/case-studies/raj-rajaratnam-and-insider-trading-2 [Accessed on: 14 September 2017]. Salinger, L.M. 2005. Encyclopedia of White-Collar Corporate Crime. SAGE. US Insider Trading Laws. 2009. [Online]. Available at: https://insidertrading.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=001516 [Accessed on: 14 September 2017].

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Comparing and contrasting two poems Mirror and Blackberrying by the Author Sylvia Plath Essay Example For Students

Comparing and contrasting two poems Mirror and Blackberrying by the Author Sylvia Plath Essay In this essay I shall be comparing and contrasting two poems by the author Sylvia Plath. The two poems are Blackberrying and Mirror Sylvia Plath born in Boston, Massachusetts 1932 was the wife of another famous yet complicated poet Ted Hughes. Many of Plaths poems were based on her inner pain yet also other celebratory poems about motherhood aspects of nature etcetera. In addition to writing poems she wrote one autobiographic novel The Bell Jar. Sylvia Plath had a very short and tragic life, after suffering from years of depression and mental illness from living under pressure she took her life in 1963. She is now laid to rest in a little church yard grave in Heptonstall, West Yorkshire. The first poem I am going to be describing is to be Mirror. I see Mirror as a lonely and heart filled poem. I believe that it shows Plaths unwillingness for growing old. I believe that she looks into the mirror and sees her youth dipping away uncontrollably. She sees the mirror as honest and not one to tell lies by using personification expanding that the mirror swallows the images and is ominisent in knowing everything for example like a god. The poem seems schizophrenic, she is searching for who she really is, but cannot see her value in herself. She shows this in the poem by saying; Searching for my reaches for what she really is I believe that Plath sees everything out of control from her, feeling that everything is away from her. She mentions in the poem; Now I am a lake a woman bends over me I believe that Plath can not see this person as really her. She may have been talking about her life expectancies. Although marriage was not on Plaths agenda she married Ted Hughes and had 2 children with him, she also had good qualifications behind her and a steady life. Although later on in her life her relationship with Hughes became rocky and she moved into a small flat in London. Maybe Plath is saying this is not what she expected or wanted her future life to be. In the poem she concentrates on the loneliness and emptiness in her life. it is pink with speckles. I have looked at it for so long it has become a part of my heart but it flickers I believe that Plath is describing her face and the flickering being a candle for light, as she later says; Then she turns to those liars the candles or the moon I believe that the fact that the candle flickers means that she is not lonely all the time but only human lonely as she has the candle at night there to be her company. It may have been that she feels isolated from the outside world. I also believe that the poem deteriates towards the end, just as a person would do in death. My second poem to describe is blackberrying. In the poem Blackberrying I believe that Plath is writing about a journey to the beach and walking down lanes filled with bushes of blackberries. Maybe Plath is writing about the path of life. I believe that this is a lonely yet thoughtful and happy poem. She uses a great sense of touch sound vision taste and smell, as she stretches every small detail about the blackberries. For example she uses the sense of touch by saying; fat with red juices as they squander in my fingers Plath is expressing the way the blackberries look when they are compressed by fingers, this gives the readers a great impression for them to imagine on their own how the blackberries would look. Theirs is the only voice protesting, protesting .u24930a334c374a974db0072e82e93f3f , .u24930a334c374a974db0072e82e93f3f .postImageUrl , .u24930a334c374a974db0072e82e93f3f .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u24930a334c374a974db0072e82e93f3f , .u24930a334c374a974db0072e82e93f3f:hover , .u24930a334c374a974db0072e82e93f3f:visited , .u24930a334c374a974db0072e82e93f3f:active { border:0!important; } .u24930a334c374a974db0072e82e93f3f .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u24930a334c374a974db0072e82e93f3f { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u24930a334c374a974db0072e82e93f3f:active , .u24930a334c374a974db0072e82e93f3f:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u24930a334c374a974db0072e82e93f3f .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u24930a334c374a974db0072e82e93f3f .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u24930a334c374a974db0072e82e93f3f .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u24930a334c374a974db0072e82e93f3f .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u24930a334c374a974db0072e82e93f3f:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u24930a334c374a974db0072e82e93f3f .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u24930a334c374a974db0072e82e93f3f .u24930a334c374a974db0072e82e93f3f-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u24930a334c374a974db0072e82e93f3f:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Through the looking glass EssayThis tells the readers that the author is alone in the poem and that the only sound in the poem is when Plath believes that the bits of burnt paper are wheeling around her and that maybe the wind will be making a gentle whistling sound. When Plath mentions; The only thing to come now is the sea. From between two hills a sudden wind funnels at me, slapping its phantom laundry in my face Plath is describing the feel of the wind on her face. I believe that phantom represents a ghostly figure and that it is not there although it feels like it is there. If she imagines that the laundry is wet then that may result in the fresh sea air slapping onto her face. Plath exaggerates her journey at every point. I believe that maybe she is talking about the path of life. The poem is a happy poem; maybe she feels that she is alone in this journey where everything seems to be neither good nor bad. Although once she gets to the end of that path it will seem to be a lot brighter with a different change of scenery maybe contrasting on a different lifestyle. In both poems Plath uses a great sense of extended metaphors and sets the imagery superb in both poems. So that it is as if the reader is the person themselves in each of the poems. Both poems I believe are complicated and hard to imagine yourself into but once the reader understands the poem them it is easier to accept the surrounding in the rest of the poem. Both poems seem as though they come from deep down from Plaths inner pain from the author something that has a hidden meaning, which she just can not contrast in words. So she decides to write it down. By doing this she makes both poems seem like a riddle to understand their true meanings.

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

The Importance of a Sample Personal Admissions Essay For Foreign Students

The Importance of a Sample Personal Admissions Essay For Foreign StudentsIf you are a foreigner wishing to study in the UK, then the key to success is to have a sample personal admissions essay for foreign students prepared. A proper English writing sample essay will not only show your ability to present ideas clearly, but also be a basis for your own work. This is especially so if you are a first time writer.When an essay is necessary, it is the best option to have it prepared by someone who has first hand experience of what to expect. Ideally, this should be someone who is highly experienced in teaching English as a Foreign Language and has given academic courses in that subject. Most UK universities will be pleased to provide samples of their own student essays, so do not hesitate to ask them for help. These samples will be invaluable, and you could learn a lot from them.If your institution does not have copies of its student essays, there are plenty of UK universities who special ize in English as a foreign language. They will be able to provide you with a copy of your sample essay for foreign students and will be happy to discuss your requirements with you. It is always good to consider the views of others who have worked with the same student.Of course, in most cases, your requirements will be determined by the university's syllabus and there may be no other requirement. However, many universities provide information on their websites and in academic journals about what their expectations are. Of course, it is preferable to get this information before you start work, but it is worth checking regularly and trying to keep up to date.Another important aspect of the admissions process is that it should be clearly noted down. Most universities require that all essays must be submitted by the deadline. This should be no later than six weeks before the event you are attending, so try to keep this in mind. You will need to bring a copy of your written work to the interview or event. In some cases, a decision will be made at this stage that is not communicated verbally. This means that the writing sample essay for foreign students is not required, but it is good to have one ready anyway.Knowing that your essays are required, is something that you and your future employers will appreciate. You will be applying for jobs that would otherwise be filled by a more qualified candidate. These essays will also be used as your CV by your prospective employers, so they will take note of your academic achievements.Now that you know the importance of having a sample personal admissions essay for foreign students, you can start looking for the right essay. There are many good resources available online to help you. You can also look for examples of student essays online or ask for help from others who have already completed an application for a university abroad.

Monday, April 13, 2020

Death Of A Salesman - Character Of Ben Essays -

Death of a Salesman - Character of Ben The character of Ben in Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman functions towards the development of his main character, Willy. Miller uses him as the guiding light for Willie's character; he provides the backbone for what Willy strives for throughout life. Ben functions as Willies idol, and through exploration into which Ben is, we see who Willy is. By viewing Ben's morals, and actions, we are able to see what Willy himself wishes for and believes in. By allowing for our understanding of who Willy is, Ben is also used to contribute to our understanding of the theme of the novel, that you can't allow yourself to get lost in the ?American dream.? Ben appears but three times throughout, first in a flashback, second in a quasi-flashback where Willy has inserted him into a scenario that actually happened, and finally in a complete hallucination. Through the comparison and understanding of each of these occurrences, we are able to gain a vast wealth of knowledge of who Willy Loman actually wa s. For this is Miller's purpose for Ben in this novel, as a device to allow us to understand what is actually going on inside Willy Loman's head. The first time Ben appears is in a flashback within Willies mind. Miller uses this flashback to interrupt the action of Willies feeling inadequate about his present situation. Willy has returned home from a selling trip, unable to concentrate, and unable to keep his mind in the present. Ben appears as an out for Willy from this situation, a way for him to forget about his present condition and feelings. The flashback with Ben provides us with a large amount of information about himself, and thus about Willy. We learn first that Ben is a lot wealthier then Willy, and that while they are brothers, they did not grow up together. The first main thing we find out is that Willy quite idolizes him, although they have never been close ?Ben! I've been waiting for you so long! What's the answer? How did you do it Obviously, Ben has achieved what Willy wishes for. We find out that Ben has made a fortune by ?walking into Africa.? He has prospered by essentially using other people for what they c an give him. ?When I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked out. And by god he was rich.? We learn a lot about the character of Willy, because he completely believes that this is an excellent way to make money. He obviously does not believe that one need put in hard work to achieve success, and that in fact preferably this is the way to go. The other main thing that Ben shows us occurs during his fight with Biff. He says, ?Never fight fair with a stranger.? This shows us his morals and values, that you cannot trust people, and that you should always take advantage of people you don't know. This demonstrates the essence of the character Ben, that you should take advantage of which you can and use it for your own good in any way possible. Since Willy believes that Ben is a good example of a success, he essentially believes in what he says, and believes that his boys should follow this. We have prior evidence that Willy does believe that you should t ake advantage of people when he tells Biff not to worry about his math, that Bernard will let him cheat off him. This flashback also provides more then just basic character traits. It reinforces our view of Willy as someone who tends to stretch the truth. He has prior told us that Ben pleaded with him to go to Alaska with him, yet we soon see that this is not at all the case, in fact rather the opposite. The second quasi-flashback has Ben placed into a scene in Willies mind, when he was never there. Miller leads us to believe before the original flashback that Ben actually only came just once, as evidenced in Charlie's line ?You never heard from him again, heh? Since that time However, suddenly he is appearing in another

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

The Struggle of the Superpowers essays

The Struggle of the Superpowers essays The origins of the Cold War were, some say, a battle of ideological governments (communism vs capitalism). However, I believe the origins of the Cold war are set between two superpowers, both struggling for control of the world. During WW2, the U.S.A. and Russia were teamed together to fight against Facisim and Nazism. Once the enemy had been defeated, all that was left was two Superpowers. Of course, being human and sinners, they could not work together as one but instead, they turned against each other. The fact that Russian was communist was coincidental. In 1835 (13 years before communism was introduced) Alexis de Tocqueville wrote There are at the present time two great nations in the world, which started from different points, but seem to tend towards the same end. I allude to the Russians and Americans....Their starting point is different, and their courses are not the same, yet each of them seems marked out by the will of heaven to sway the destinies of half the globe. If we today look at the modern country of America, we will see a world superpower, mainly concerned about its self. Before the Cold War the U.S.A. used communism to its own advantage. They told the non-communist world how bad the communists were in a bid to sway the rest of the world against communism. Both of the countries were trying to take over the world. LaFeber says, The two powers did not initially come into conflict because one was communist and the other capitalist. Rather, they first confronted one another on the plains of Asia in the late nineteenth century. That meeting climaxed a century in which American had expanded westward over half the globe and Russia had moved eastward across Asia. Therefore, the Americans were not fighting against communism, but fighting against a fellow superpower. After Russian became communist in 1917, they did not change one bit in its worldview. Even though the country was no ...

Sunday, February 23, 2020

Robot Dreams Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Robot Dreams - Movie Review Example Here we encounter a faulty situation of a robot given to dreaming. Again in the movie "I, Robot"2 there is a probability of a Robot getting away with murder. Ironically the movie brings back the same phobia that separates the notion of the human and inhuman (and evil) that Asimov so fiercely detested in the earlier science-fiction stories about technological inventions turning out to be uncontrollable monsters. But the question posed is different - are the three laws quite enough to control something that is given so much power Asimov's intent was to devise a set of rules that would provide reliable control over semi-autonomous machines that were well-engineered, non-threatening, and in 1940, in conjunction with science fiction author and editor John W. Campbell, he formulated the Laws of Robotics. He subjected all of his fictional robots to these laws by having them incorporated within the architecture of their platinum-iridium positronic brains. Thus the robots physically were incapable to devise or think beyond their architectural scope. The movie faithfully quotes Asimov's three laws of robotics3 but the main thrust of the movie becomes morality/ethics. As the short story challenges our popular notion of robots since it refuses to reiterate another Frankenstein horror, the movie successfully brings that question back: murder of its creator- the humans. Asimov's original laws (see above) provide that robots are to be slaves to humans (the second law). However, this role is overridden by the higher-order first law, which precludes robots from injuring a human, either by their own autonomous action or by following a human's instructions. This precludes their continuing with a programmed activity when doing so would result in human injury. It also prevents their being used as a tool or accomplice in battery, murder, self- mutilation, or suicide. The transgression offered by Asimov in the story "Robot Dreams" whether ideas enter the mind of the Robot who, in a Freudian manner starts displaying symptoms of self-consciousness and worse his being - his position in reality relative to the humans and questions why so. Susan Calvin, chief robopsychologist at US Robots, in "Robot Dreams" is disturbed by a robot's dreaming-and by the dreams. The metaphors constantly question the nature of the Laws of Robotics and what it means to be human It questions the mechanical slavery of the superior robots. Susan Calvin discovers that the robot's brain was designed with a fractal design. The robot's dr eam came to reveal Freudian truth about his desire to be human. It had also seen other robots working hard, and unwillingly. Dr. Calvin has the robot destroyed after the dreams seem to threaten his conformity to the given (man-made) reality that has been granted by man. The fears of the automata, posing an irrational, dead, cold and soul-less threat to humans, calling into question their identity, sexuality, the basis of creation, and powers of domination revolves within the film. It illustrates crucial aspects of the human encounter with the mechanical "other." It somewhat resembles the idea of the golem in the legends, who is supposedly man's servant and exists to protect his maker but almost always threatens its master-running out of control, of its evolving skills or latent skills. The film incorporates some elements of the robot stories that appeared in Asimov's 1950 (as a definite mixture and is never true to one single

Friday, February 7, 2020

Published opinion of Rosa Brooks from Los Angeles Times analysis Personal Statement

Published opinion of Rosa Brooks from Los Angeles Times analysis - Personal Statement Example Because as economists put it, when US cough, the world catches cold. The recent years have seen the stronger and tighter relations among nations as they open up their borders for freer trade through the formation of trade blocs and regional partnership. Aside from local produce, most of the consumers' income in US is spent in cheaper imported goods coming from Asian trading partners like China, Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand. These nations have long been the biggest trading partners of US and have long benefited from the strong demand in our country. With the technological development, services have also been imported from these nations as well through business process outsourcing. So, with these nations heavily dependent on US partnership, it is irrefutable that the economic recession in our country will also bring about slowdown in other smaller and less stable economies. On the other hand, the collapse of Lehman Brothers is also expected to sabotage growth in the Eurozone. So, it's not just the US which should be given with this letter and th e much needed economic assistance from IMF and WB.