Comparative Study Of The Electoral Systems Politics Essay

Comparative Study Of The Electoral Systems Politics Essay A democracy cannot exist without elections which represent the will of the people, and elections cannot function without an electoral system that sets fair and transparent rules that govern the structures of elections. The study of electoral systems is a field of research that aims at analyzing the different electoral systems used in the world and how they put democracy into practice by making the different voters of the country represented in the parliament. A voting system can simply be defined as the procedures by which we cast votes and elect our public officials,  [1]  or that part of the electoral law and regulations which determine how parties and candidates are elected to a body as representative.  [2]  However, the importance of the electoral system lies in its consequences on the political scene of the country especially when choosing one type of electoral system over another, because electoral systems are, according to Sartori, the most speci ¬Ã‚ c manipulative instrument of politics.  [3]   In general there are twelve electoral systems that fall under three categories: majority, proportional representation and mixed systems. First, the voting systems that fall under the majority system are: first past the post, block vote, party block vote, alternative vote, and the two round systems. Second, under the proportional representation lie two systems: list proportional representation (List PR) and single transferable vote (STV). Third, the mixed system includes two systems: mixed member proportional and parallel systems. Finally, three other voting systems cannot be classified into one of the three systems mentioned above, there are: single non-transferable vote (SNTV), limited vote and borda count.  [4]  The main concern [of electoral systems] is [the] balance between decisiveness of government and representation of various minority views.  [5]  And sometimes, if not always, governments have to choose either one of these because of the difficulty of encompassing bot h those strong government and full representation in one type of electoral system. Regarding my thesis the two electoral systems that are important for my study are: list PR which is used in both Morocco and Algeria and SNTV which is used in Jordan. According to Samuel Huntington, the world has experienced three waves of democracy, the first one on the eve of the twentieth century until 1926; the second one emerged with the end of World War II until 1962 and the third one started in 1974.  [6]  The region of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) seems to be one of the few areas of the world where democratic waves did not arrive, or to be more accurate did not flourish, as there are few countries who are ranked by the Democracy Index of the Economist as either hybrid systems and many as authoritarian regimes. In the MENA region, few countries hold free and fair elections, among them are Morocco where proportional representation is used to elect the members of the parliament, Jordan, where the Single Non-Transferable Vote (SNTV) system is used and Algeria where proportional representation is used in parliamentary elections. However, in all these three countries the elections were characterized by low turnouts, invalid votes and boycott in addition to producing fragmented governments. The choice of those three MENA countries has to do with their similarities in terms of geography, culture, religion, language and their relative free and fair elections, according to international observers. On top of that, Having two kingdoms and one republic makes my comparison more interesting with Morocco at the focal point sharing similarity with Jordan in terms of the regime type and with Algeria in terms of the voting system. The objective of my thesis is to test two hypotheses: a) electoral systems in the MENA region are manipulated to produce fragmented governments and b) the geographical concentration of the vote for pro-regime parties in rural areas in contrast to the opposition base in urban areas. My thesis will compare the components of the electoral systems of the three countries and come up with patterns regarding the political party structure, the electoral reforms requested by the political parties and the elections results. Literature Review According to Andreas Schedler in his article The Nested Game of Democratization by Elections, electoral law can be used to prevent an eventual loss of votes from translating into a loss of power.  [7]  The major aim of the manipulation of the electoral system is the containment of its uncertain outcomes, therefore fair and free elections are allowed as long as the results can be predicted or controlled. In his book Rethinking Arab democratization: Elections without Democracy, Larbi Sadiki invented the terms electoral fetishism  [8]  and routinization  [9]  to describe the elections in the Middle East because their outcomes do not translate into major changes in society. However, even the manipulation of the voting system is not enough to guarantee an unsurprising outcome from the ballots as exemplified by the elections of 1991 in Algeria and 1989 in Jordan. The two cases of Algeria and Jordan show the autonomy of institutions exemplified by the electoral system that produ ces results that can either empower or weaken the candidates. So if the election results cannot be controlled they can at least be maneuvered to prevent a landslide victory of the opposition. Refraining from cancelling the result of elections is explained by the need of the regimes to obtain foreign aid and avoid international criticism. According to the author electoralism, being the creation of regimes, has become another state resource that the ruling elites use for legitimation purposes within and without.  [10]  The term electoralism refers here only to one of the three requirement of democracy; therefore having election is not enough for democracy to emerge. Therefore, the election`s main goal is to legitimate the regime and provide a way for the opposition to participate in the political life of the country but of course after guaranteeing its fragmentation. Moreover, According to Lise storm, a democracy is based on three core elements: holding free and fair elections, re specting civil liberties and strengthening the power of the elected government to govern. The aim of my study deals with the first core of the democratic principles, the free and fair elections which are instituted by the electoral law. Lise Storm stated that a country that provides for one of the three principles can still be deemed to be a democratic country, however if none of the principles is available then the country is authoritarian. Concerning the literature on the comparison of electoral systems in MENA, Ellen Lust-Okar and Amaney Ahmad Jamal analyzed the electoral systems in MENA, in their article Rulers and Rules: Reassessing the Influence of Regime Type on Electoral Law Formation. by differentiating between monarchies that prefer PR system in order to balance the strength of parties and republics that opted for plurality system in order to prevent the opposition from being elected. I will add the regime typology and election mode to make a pattern on the MENA that monarchies prefer proportional system while republics passed laws to enable the pro-regime parties to win a landslide victory. The article`s findings do not explain the use of PR in Morocco with more laws being passed to raise the threshold that will hinder small parties or the Jordanian change from a proportional system of plurality (bloc vote) to SNTV, which means one man one vote, which is supposed to reduce gerrymandering but did not. Many authors used the new institutionalism framework to analyze electoral systems. The theory is advanced by J. G. March and J. P. Olsen in their article The New Institutionalism: Organized Factors in Political Life. The theory is used in the field social science such as sociology and political science to account for the crucial rules of institutions in influencing the behavior of individuals based on norms, prohibitions or simply because an alternative does not exist. The basic aim of the theory is to prove that the organization of political life makes a difference,  [11]  which entails that those institutions are endogenous entities that benefit from an autonomy to exert its influence on individuals either by empowering them or confining their power. The institutions can be reinforced by third parties to exert actions that protect their interest without being in power. Andreas Shedler applied the theory of new institutionalism on the authoritarian regimes so that instead of ruling with coercive and undemocratic means; authoritarian rulers can use institutions to survive. The new institutionalism can be observed in four major ways: imperatives, landscape, containment, ambivalence. Regarding my study I will focus on the containment area regarding the electoral system and political parties. According to Shedler the electoral system can be manipulated by disempowerment or excluding sensitive areas from the hands of the elected officials; supply restriction which limits the choice available to the voter by banning, subverting or fragmenting certain parties; demand restriction by restricting the opposition access to the media; suffrage restriction by controlling the voting age ; preference distortion through the use of both violence such as intimidation and money such as vote buying; and vote distortion and rigging under the supervision of biased institu tions.  [12]  Regarding the legislative the manipulation includes disempowerment, agent control by directly appointing members of legislature and fragmentation.  [13]   My study will include the categorization made by the author and apply them to the three countries. The theory of new institutionalism will be useful to analyzing the electoral system in all the three countries and how the system influences the behavior of both the voters and candidates. The electoral system and constitution are institutions that have an immense influence on individuals. Who decides the winner from the loser in elections is not the regime nor the elections but rather the electoral system which has autonomy but it still can be manipulated. In the case of Morocco, George Joffe, in his article Moroccos Reform Process: Wider Implications, argued that the aims of the political reforms introduced by the regime were not due to external pressure or the triumph of the opposition to insert them, but rather to ensure the survival of the dynastic rule of the ruling family. As a result, the multiparty political system was adopted since the first constitution of 1962 to induce the political fragmentation in the country culminating in the hegemony of the palace over the political process of the country. Another interesting view of the Moroccan electoral system is by Andrew Barwig who argued, in his article How Electoral Rules Matter: Voter Turnout in Moroccos 2007 Parliamentary Elections, that the lower voter turnout in the election of 2007 was not only due to sociological factors but also to the electoral system as it produced an artificial and highly fragmented political landscape regardless of who wins the largest share of the na tional vote.  [14]  He pointed also to the aim of a multiparty system for the regime to divide and rule by preventing the emergence of a strong opposition, in addition to the role of the Ministry of Interior in controlling the electoral process since 1958 instead of assigning it to an independent commission. Third, John Grumm, the author of the article Theories of Electoral Systems, stated that the electoral system used in Morocco prevents a landslide victory of any party. The author indentified that the combination of largest remainder formula and gerrymandering induced a fragmented government and a situation whereby parties ended up with fewer seats compared to their amassed votes especially the major parties, In the case of Jordan, Glenn E. Robinson stated, in his article Can Islamists Be Democrats? The Case of Jordan, that the fear of the opposition, mainly the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, had motivated the king to have an electoral system that favors tribal affiliation rather than partisan one. Moreover, the same scholar in another article Defensive Democratization in Jordan, affirmed that the new electoral system adopted in 1993 benefited the tribal areas, mainly Eastern and Southern Jordan at the expense of urban areas, mainly the region of Amman-Zarqa which is Palestinian-dominanted. The authors conclusion is that electoral systems can be managed and controlled to prevent undesirable outcomes. In the case of Algeria, Ayln Guney and Aslihan Celenk, in their article The European Unions Democracy Promotion Policies in Algeria: Success or Failure?, stated that the Algerian regime passed a new electoral system before the election of 1991 by increasing the number of seats and districts in rural areas. The basic aim of the changes was to allow the pro-regime party, FLN, to win the elections but ironically the electoral system benefited the Islamist party of FIS instead. Mohand Salah Tahi, in his article Algerias legislative and local elections: Democracy denied (1997), indentified the Algerian military as the institution in control of the political life exemplified by the creation of parties such as RND and introducing changes to the constitution and electoral system that would not challenge its authority. For instance, to pass an amendment to the constitution the opposition needs the vote of three quarters of the upper house, in which one third directly appointed by the preside nt. These laws exemplify the fear of the regime from creating the same outcome of 1991, therefore passing some amendments both to the electoral system and the constitution allowed the regime to be in a position to control and manage the outcomes of elections without the need to annul them. What emerges from the literature review concerns the criteria that define the fairness and freedom of election, having international observers and abiding by the electoral law make is it apparent that the elections are transparent but what if the issues that undermine the fairness of the elections relate to the electoral system itself. The literature reviewed above shows that Jordan and Algeria introduced two electoral systems in the early 1990s believing that they would be suitable for making the pro- regime party the obvious winner in the case of Algeria and tribal candidates in the case of Jordan. However, the outcome of the elections persuaded the two countries to adopt different electoral system: PR in Algeria and SNTV in Jordan. Regarding the case of Morocco the shift from Plurality into PR in 1997 did not produce surprising results therefore the electoral system was kept. So the question here is why did three countries diverge in terms of the electoral system used, especially regarding Jordan and Morocco? There is huge body of literature written about electoral systems arguing about the list PR as the most propositional system in terms of allowing smaller parties to be represented in the parliament, the high turnout due to the absence of the wasted vote phenomena in contrast to the plurality system, more representation for women and a higher proportionality between seats and votes. However, from the elections results in both Morocco and Algeria the PR did not produce the same results expected of the system exemplified by the low turnout, high invalid votes, a high threshold that prevents small parties from gaining seats in the parliament while the negative outcome of PR which is a fragmented government seems to be present in both cases. In the case of Jordan, the resentment of the SNTV system pushed many parties to ask for a reform debate with Islamic Front Action (IFA), an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, asking for PR system and other parties asking for a mixed system. My thesis will analyse the abnormalities of the three systems that generated much discussion about the ineffectiveness of the voting system and the need to reform it. According to Andrew Reynolds , Ben Reilly and Andrew Ellis, the electoral system is the easiest political institution to be manipulated and the choice of the electoral system determines the winners. However, the usual distinction between Plurality and Proportional systems as the former encourages two party systems while the other induces multi-parties is not always accurate as many examples contradict these findings such as Spain, Namibia, South Africa and India.  [15]  This has to do with many variables besides the electoral system used such as the socio-political context of the country. Therefore, The electoral system cannot be seen in isolation of other political institutions such as the constitution, the political parties among other socio political variables, thus a PR system can have two different outcomes in two countries .The case of the three countries of Algeria, Morocco and Jordan have quasi-similar political context so the outcome of particular voting system will have the same effect based on the elections results in 2003 and 2007. Theoretical Framework According to   Gallagher and Mitchell: Government is representative government, in which the people do not govern themselves directly but rather delegate the task of political decision-making to a smaller set of public officials. In democratic societies these representatives are elected.  [16]  In order to understand how governments are elected, we need to understand the system that allows them to be elected which is the voting system: The set of procedures that determine how people are elected to office. These procedures include how the ballot is structured, how people cast their votes, how those votes are counted, and how the winners are decided.  [17]  The electoral system does not only determine how people are elected to the office but also serves as a link between the voter`s preferences and the policies of the government; at least, theoretically speaking, the majority of the voters will have their opinion respected in terms of the parties and candidate they elected.  [18]   Based on these two quotations, the electoral systems are accurate examples to assess democracy, because electoral systems can tell more about the country. Reynolds, Reilly and Ellis divided the different aspects represented by electoral systems into four categories: geographic representation, which means that the different regions of the country are represented in the parliament; ideological representation, which implies that all the different political doctrines are represented in the parliament and at least the minor, ones, can compete in the elections; party-political situation which denotes that power is not in the hand of one party while excluding other parties from participating in the elections;  [19]  and descriptive representation, which entails that its different ethnic, linguistic, religious and gender components are represented; or, as Reynolds, Reilly and Ellis put it, serves as the mirror of the nation.  [20]  My thesis will include those four categories to anal yze electoral systems of the three countries based on the parliamentary elections held after 2000. On top of that, I will also use the theory of new institutionalism with the framework of Andreas Schedler which will be useful in identifying the reasons behind choosing a particular type of electoral system and targeting the areas that were manipulated. Aims of the Study My aim is to explain that it is possible to have free and fair elections but that does not mean that the country is democratic as the elections are based on the choice of the electoral system that produces fragmented government through the use of such policies as rising the threshold, gerrymandering and requiring difficult measures to pass an amendment to the electoral law. My thesis will analyze the electoral systems in MENA region by identifying three case studies: Morocco, Jordan and Algeria. My aim is to study the development of electoral systems in those three countries; the reason behind choosing those three countries has to do with their similarities. All of those countries are newly-formed democracies that gained their independence or emerged as a state in the second half of the twentieth century: Jordan in 1946, Morocco in 1956 and Algeria in 1962. All those three countries share geographic, linguistics and religious similarities. According to the findings of Freedom Houses Freedom in the World 2009 Survey, the only free country in the MENA is Israel, while only 6 countries are qualified as partly free: Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon and Yemen and the rest of the MENA is classified as not free. Another index that ranks countries in terms of their democracy is the Economist Index of Democracy which ranked Jordan, Morocco and Algeria a s authoritarian regimes. Based on these indexes, I chose two monarchies: Morocco and Jordan and adding one republic: Algeria. On top of that, while Morocco and Jordan share the same political regime, Morocco and Jordan share the same voting system. I want to prove that the lack of democracy in MENA is not due to cultural, religious or colonial history but rather to the manipulation of the electoral system to prevent a certain group from gaining majority, this manipulation is driven by the fear from the rise of the opposition such as the leftist and Islamist parties. My hypothesis is that the lack of democracy is not only due to the falsification of the election results but also by the manipulation of electoral systems. Therefore, even if the elections are organized in a free and fair environment with the presence of international observers, the electoral system used will prevent a group from attaining a majority. This hypothesis will back up my second hypothesis regarding the concentration of the pro-regime parties-vote in rural areas. The second aim of my thesis is to find the rationale behind the selection of a particular election mode by those three countries and the reasons behind its change, in addition to analyzing the di fferent amendments passed to the electoral system and reforms that are pressed for? Finally, my thesis will compare between the three countries to find if there are similarities in terms laws that fragment or exclude the opposition, the geographical concentration of the vote, the election results in terms of winners and losers, the turnout, the categorization of parties. The electoral system used in both Morocco and Algeria is PR (Proportional representation) while the SNTV is used in Jordan. The chart below identifies the different components of the electoral system of each country: Morocco Jordan Algeria Electoral System Plurality PR in 1997 Block Vote inherited from Britain SNTV in 1993 by a royal decree Absolute Majority Run-off in 1999 PR in 1997 Threshold 2% in 2002 6% in 2007 N/A 7% in 1997 5% in 2007 Quotas 10% women: 30 seats 6 seats for women, 9 for Christians, and 3 for the Circassian and Chechen minorities. Turnout (Latest Legislative Election) 2007 election 37% 2007 election 54% -80% in rural areas and 28% in some constituencies in the capital 2007 election 35% Invalid vote and blank vote 2007 election 19% 2007 election 15% Parliamentary System Bicameral: -The Chamber of Counselors: 270 seats. -The Chamber of Representatives: 325 seats. Bicameral: -The Assembly of Senators: 55 seats -The Chamber of Deputies: 80 seats Bicameral: -The Council of the nation: 144 members, 96 members elected by communal councils and 48 members appointed by the president. -The National Peoples Assembly: 380 seats. Political System Monarchy Monarchy Republic System of Counting the Votes Largest Remainder N/A Hare Formula Electoral Districts 2007: 95 2007: 45 districts -3 closed tribal electoral districts. 2010: 45 districts divided into 108 sub-districts 1997: 56 electoral districts : 48 and 8 for the Algerian Diaspora District magnitude Between 1 and 5 1 Ballot structure Nominal/categorical Nominal/categorical Reforms of the electoral law -2009: law number 9: from 110 to 120 Addition of sub-districts Constitution -1962 -1970 -1972 -1980: article 21, 43 and 95 -1992: increasing the seats of the parliament from 306 to 333 -1996: bicameral systems, 162 seats for the upper house indirectly elected, 81 by chambers of commerce and 27 by trade unions The 325 for the lower house directly elected. -1952 -1963: single party system -1976: socialism -1986: free market reforms -1989: multi party system -1996: banning parties formed under religious, regional or linguistic crtieria -12 November 2008: article 74 amendment and giving more rights to women Political parties categorization -Pro-palace: RNI, MP and UC -Conservative: PI -Leftist: USFP and PPS -Islamist: PJD -right: -Leftist: JCP -Islamist: IAF and MCP Pro-regime: FLN and NRD -Right: FNA -Leftist: PT and FFS -Islamist: MSP and MRI Voting Day Friday Tuesday Thursday Voting list closed N/A Closed Electoral reform asked for -Rising the threshold -changing the highest remainder formula -two systems: plurality in rural areas and PR in urban areas -PR -Mixed system: 2 votes one for the district and one for the bloc Number of independents -2002 -2007 -2003 -2007 -2010 -2002 -2010 Women representation in the lower house -34/10.5% (2007) -13/ 10.8% (2010) -30/ 7.7% (2007) By-elections The DesignMethods and Procedures   -Analyze the recent legislative election results of Morocco, Jordan and Algeria in 2002 and 2007. -Identify electoral systems as the independent variable while the outcomes are the dependent variables in addition to using correlation analysis to see if there is a relationship between those two variables. This will be helpful in testing the theory that PR systems produce fragmented governments and plurality systems produce strong governments. -Since my data is mostly qualitative, I will use nominal level of measurement. -do a simulation of the three recent elections using different electoral systems -count the wasted vote Hypotheses Voting systems are manipulated to produce fragmented government Votes supporting pro-regime parties are geographically concentrated in rural areas in contrast to the opposition which is based in urban areas Research Questions What are the differences and similarities between the electoral systems of Morocco, Jordan and Algeria? How representative are electoral systems in MENA? Is there a relationship between government type and electoral system? Is there a relationship between the electoral system and the turnout? Is there a relationship between the electoral system and the number of parties? Can we make some conclusions based on the case studies and apply them to all Arab countries? What is the electoral system that best suits the region of MENA? How is the dilemma of Strong and Well-represented government dealt with? Why is the lower turnout and invalid vote prominent in urban areas in contrast with rural areas? Partition of Thesis My thesis will be divided into five chapters; the first one will be about an introduction about the electoral systems and their importance in sustaining democracy. The second chapter will be devoted to the electoral systems in Morocco and the analysis of its recent legislative election in 2007. The third chapter will include the analysis of Jordans electoral system and its recent legislative election in 2007 and 2010. The fourth chapter is devoted to the electoral system in Algeria and its recent 2007 legislative election. The fifth chapter will serve to connect the three case studies by comparing their similarities and differences and making some concluding statements on the relationship between the type of electoral system, government type and democracy. Data Collection Primary Data Sources: The constitution, electoral law and the amendments passed in the three countries. The Moroccan and Algerian 2007 legislative election results and the Jordanian 2007 and 2010 legislative election results Geographical maps of the elections results Secondary Data Sources Interviews with some political parties in Morocco -analysis of interviews conducted with politi

Charles Darwin’s Theory Essay

Charles Darwin contributed to the field of evolutionary biology were: non-constancy of species, branching evolution, occurrence of gradual change in species, and natural selection. Each of his contribution became the foundation of evolutionary biology and can be seen in the wild very commonly. Non-constancy can be observed though variation in the offspring. For example, different sized beaks in finches display variation in the species and therefore, non-constancy. This can cause change in the gene pool of a species over time. Many evidence of branching evolution can be seen in the anatomy of different species like homologies and vestigial structures. In whales, the hip bones are similar to humans which indicates the common ancestry between the two species. Gradual change is displayed by the fossil records of many species. Older fossil records have some small differences from the newer fossil records which can be used to prove gradual change in species over time. These changes occur due to mutation and are picked out by the natural selection. These mutations accumulate over time and cause the species to look drastically different after many decades. Natural Selection picks out individuals better suited for the environment and allows them to reproduce and pass on their gene while unsuited individuals die without passing on their gene. Natural selection occurs every time a predator feeds on the weakest, slowest, worst camaflouged, or most un-adapted prey. This allows the gene pool of the species to evolve and shed off undesired genes. Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium assumes that the allele frequency stays constant over time. The equation presumes there is no genetic flow, no mutation, no natural selection, random mating, and a large population. Hardy-Weinberg equation is used as a null hypothesis to determine if evolution is occurring in the species. Punctuated Equilibrium shows a sudden change in a species gene pool usually due to an environmental disaster after a long period of no change in the gene pool. This idea is demonstrated by the rise of mammals and the downfall of reptiles and other organisms. References: Campbell, Neil, and Reece, Jane. AP EDITION BIOLOGY. San Francisco: Pearson, 2005.

Virtual War Video Games

Video games are the most popular forms of entertainment among children, adolescents, and young adults. Many video games are extremely violent and expose the Young to violence on a constant basis. In particular, young men are a preferred target of advertisement from game manufacturers for war theme games. These games are either first person shooters or third person play. In a first person shooter game, the player is holding the gun whereas in third person games, the player is represented by a character within the game play.These games, especially first person shooters, are designed to give a rush to the players by stimulating their primal reactions and with more reasonable games, a need to prove their ‘manhood’. In addition, extreme exposure to video game and TV violence has a tendency to desensitize people, especially immature minds who may not be able to connect to what is really happening in front of them on the TV screen and, at the same time, clearly distinguish virt ual fiction from reality.  (King, Krzywinska, 124)The scope of this paper is to explore the idea that young men may join the Army for other reasons than to go to college. In essence, they join the Army with the idea that they will ‘kick butts’, just like in their favorite war video games without realizing that they have signed up to be in the middle of the nightmarish realities of war: suffering and death. Since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the news media have been showing images of war: explosions, soldiers running down what used to be streets while dodging bullets, showing these images to saturation.The saturation seems to come from a fascination with death and how cameras can immortalize the image. (Sontag, 59) The audience is curious to know what it is like to be there, perhaps, there is a clear morbidity in the obsession of watching violence and ‘how war works. ’ Besides, the Iraq war is ambivalent because most soldiers who are sent do not und erstand why they are really there. Back during the Vietnam War, young soldiers seemed to have been better conscious, in the sense of understanding, of the cause they were fighting for.After listening to Vietnam veterans, people may somewhat realize how traumatic their experience was but until people are in the nightmare of war, they will not fully grasp the horror because if you were in it once, you never forget for the rest of your life. Still, people get the idea that war is gruesome but they do not live it. Besides, wars are never simple even though it is portrayed that way by politicians whose primary interests may have nothing to do with the interests of the people and the soldiers, dying for their cause!Einstein his 1932 letter to Freud states: â€Å"Political leaders or governments owe their power either to the use of force or to their election by the masses. They cannot be regarded as representative of the superior moral or intellectual elements in a nation. In our time, th e intellectual elite do not exercise any direct influence on the history of the world. † Vietnam veterans will tell you the pain and the level of panic, stress, disgust, and dread there was to be there, in the middle of insanity!Grossman in his book On Killing, talks about the psychological impact of combat and how devastating it is because the soldier is forced to be in an unnatural situation in which he or she must kill the enemy and survive at the same time. (Grossman, 36) Yet, war is still portrayed as glorious and as a beautiful sacrifice of life for one’s country. This picture is probably true for a well-informed mature person who can sign up with the Army, making a conscious decision that he or she will be severely tested and that he or she may very well kill others and be killed themselves.However, nowadays with the Iraq war dragging as well as many soldiers dying, recruitment efforts have increased, particularly in poor neighborhoods. After speaking with a tota l of 15 African-American young men from different areas, it is obvious that all of them they felt especially targeted by Army recruiters. Five of them actually said that the recruiters claimed that as recruits, they could do whatever they wanted like joining their corps music band if they were inclined to play music.Two particular African-American men confirmed these statements and said that in their case, the recruiters told them how famous Black basket ball players had joined the Army. Another young man â€Å"Mike† described how two Marine recruiters tried to get him by using the fact that he was good at playing video games: â€Å"No problem, man. It’s like in the video games†¦Hey, you played ‘Call of Duty’, ‘SOCOM 3’? †¦ How about ‘Doom’? Awesome†¦ Hey, you’d be right there with the rest of us. † The remainder of the group said that they had at least one family member in the Army and that they did n ot want to join because they knew what the Army was all about.In order to enlist young men, the reality of war has been more and more hidden from the recruits to get them to sign up to go fighting in Iraq. Moreover, the Army has made a significant effort to blend reality with fiction to get young men to sign up using TV advertisements that are aired: it is a brilliant use of the psychological impact of TV and advertising; the reality is completely absent and replaced with proud looking and competent looking young people in charge of complicated ‘stuff’ coupled with computer animation worthy of â€Å"Apocalypse Now† and strangely resembling the look, style, and feel of war video games.In addition, it is not a coincidence that these ads air at the same time than popular TV action shows. For example, the Air Force has made use of the science-fiction show â€Å"Stargate-SG-1† to promote joining their corps. The main characters of the series are Air Force offic ers who have wonderful, exciting adventures on exotic planets, far, far away on the other side of the galaxy. Obviously, the basic goal is to offer young men an opportunity for 30 seconds to imagine themselves as proud competent young people playing with ‘stuff’, looking good, being well-educated and well-paid.Little do they realize what they are in for once they sign up because they just cannot walk away and say ‘I don’t want to do this anymore’ whereas in a video game, they push the off button and everything goes away. So, the psychological appeal is double. The message from these televised ads says: ‘you will be successful in the Army (‘Be All That You Can Be in the Army’) and you will if you join. Plus, the Army is about adventure and action just like the video games you like to play. ’ Video games have a very tight grip on young people, especially teenagers and young adults: you can see that clearly when you visit video games arcades.Many video games particularly target young men, especially the violent ones. Young women who play video games may prefer pure adventure or funny games. Violent games are prevalent and popular. The more violent and gory, the better is the motto. King & Krzywinska mention that the extent of obstacles to which a player is confronted to save his character from dying is correlated to the extent of violence to do so. (King, Krzywinska, 162) The resulting intensity is addictive while the violence seems to be connected to the idea of prompt retaliation for actions perceived as threatening by the character/player.Prompt retaliation is often displayed by people who have not attained an emotional maturity such as adolescents and young males. The action intensity of some games is so high that the players surrender to â€Å"frenetic paroxysm elements. †(King, Krzywinska, 162) Interestingly, assaults in the real world tend to result in a total state of primitive adrenaline-d riven fight or flight in the violent offenders, bypassing the cerebral rationality area of the brain. Grossman specifies that in a combat situation, the soldier will display â€Å"tunnel vision† meaning that the enemy soldier looks closer and more dangerous.(Grossman, 97) In addition, killing may cause an exulting effect on the combatant. The reason is that killing in war is the initiation of the power of sparing lives and killing others weaker than him. In fact, certain veterans confided that holding a gun or a machine gun was â€Å"a magic sword or even Excalibur. † (Bourke, 4) Bourke quotes the part of a letter from a soldier telling his family how he enjoys fighting exercises (Bourke, 58): â€Å"Today we had our first bayonet class – it is quite a weapon – we all left the field thirstier than hell – all of us had the same idea, likea child with a new toy, to try it. That is the way we were all growing to feel about combat in general – w e want a taste of it. † It is disturbing to realize after reading these words that the man in question is so excited by the idea of using a weapon, like a new toy. In a strange way, it parallels what war video games have become for adolescents and young men today. They can play war safely at home, enjoying the excitement that seems to exist in combat. In addition, video games can transform the player into a ‘real’ hero just like on TV or in a film.One real hero of the Vietnam War was Sgt. Benavidez who had distinguished himself jumping from a helicopter running quickly, dodging bullets until he got hit in his right leg, face, and head. Despite his injuries, he continued his mission, which was to rescue a few other comrades of arms. He carried  ½ of the team on his back to the aircraft while again dodging bullets. Since the team was involved in a secret mission, the documents had to be retrieved. Benavidez rushed back, still gravely injured, to pick up the dead b ody of the team leader and retrieve the classified documents.As he reached the body, he got hit again, this time by a bullet in his abdomen and shrapnel from a grenade in the back. Unfortunately, the pilot of the helicopter had been hit and died on the spot as the helicopter crashed to the ground. Benavidez took the documents, went crawling back to the aircraft, helped the wounded out of the wreckage, and organized them into a defense perimeter. Then, he proceeded to distribute rations and water, still under enemy fire while injured! As if that was not enough, he called and directed air strikes to dampen enemy fire and call for another rescue.Incredibly, he received another bullet in the thigh while he was administering first aid to a wounded member of his team. A second helicopter landed and Sgt. Benavidez again transported his wounded team members to the aircraft. During a second trip, an enemy soldier ran after him and clubbed him on the head. Hand to hand combat ensued with Bena videz killing the enemy after having received more wounds to the head and arms. That was not the end. Two enemy soldiers ran, approaching the aircraft from an angle that the gunner could not reach.Benavidez killed these two men as well, subsequently returning to the perimeter to make sure all the documents had been taken and to get the last wounded men out. After the war, Sgt. Benavidez received numerous medals for his bravery, which was qualified as being of the highest traditions of the military service. (Leonard, 67-69) This account is truly extraordinary and is worthy of the greatest war legends passed down in many cultures, including our own. This is the story of all the heroes in Hollywood movies that make young men dream that they could be like that, not only admired for their bravery but famous and legendary as well.In effect, Sgt. Benavidez is a bona fide model of courage and altruism. Still, are these concepts familiar to these young men involved in their video game world? Bernard et al. mentions the idea of human motivation; the motivation of sacrifice for an ideal. (Bernard, Mills, Swenson, Walsh, 40) Sacrifice for an ideal belongs to the real world, not video games; many of these young players would never be able to do what Benavidez did in the real world because of their lack of understanding of what sacrifice and altruism are.Still, they can pretend to be sacrificing and altruistic in any war video game; not only do they get a high score for their bravery in the virtual world that looks so real but they get to live another day without worrying about their health or the effects of these virtual bullets on their body. At the end of the challenge, they just swallow a few ‘magic pills’ and they are good as new! They can either continue the carnage or turn the game off and watch TV some more. Did they really experiment the reality of war?The video game only gives the player the enjoyment and excitement that soldiers may feel, the proverb ial rush that soldiers tell about when going to combat. Yet, war is more than that. For example, can they really kill another man if they were fighting as soldiers? Can they empathize with the plight of the victims, innocent men, women, and children? Could these young men stand killing innocent women and children or sustain their looks of misery? How about peer pressure about torturing and killing prisoners?How about hand-to-hand combat with someone they do not know, realizing that this is the part when the enemy is killed right there by their own hands, not by a machine gun far away? Where is the video game for that part of the war? Young men are being enlisted not knowing what is in store for them. All they know is that it will be awesome, exciting and fun to go to war and kill people. These tendencies have been especially exemplified by the Iraq war. This war comes at a time when virtual reality is so prevalent among adolescents and young men and women.The Washington Post publish ed a story back in February 2006 about video games and how they are used by the military to train soldiers. The military uses these training techniques all the time according to the article. It even has helped design video games: â€Å"Full Spectrum Warrior is one of them. The weapons used in video games are exact replicas of existing weapons. One of the interviewed soldiers in the article relates that when he had to kill a human enemy for the first time, â€Å"it did not even faze me† he said. â€Å"It felt like I was in a big video game† he added. Playstations and Xboxes were found everywhere in the soldiers’ barracks.The comments of the Pentagon computer simulation officer in charge were that video games have revolutionized the way soldiers are trained. Adding on the experience of the soldier who was mentioned above, he stated that when it came time to fire his weapon, he was ready for it, he did not hesitate in fact because he had done it so many times befo re in the video games. In addition, a high ranking officer confirmed that the soldiers are not as inhibited to kill as previous generations who did not have video games. The officer asserted that video games provide â€Å"a better foundation to work with† in order to teach killing other human beings.In fact, the U. S. Army set up a game online â€Å"America’s Army† that is used as a recruiting tool. (Vargas, 1) The young men who were interviewed in the Washington Post did not seem psychologically affected by what they did. In fact, they gave the impression that they are completely detached from the situations they encountered when they had to kill. Still, some soldiers cannot live with the fact that they killed a human being. The realization or the enormity of the act may come quickly or later, depending on the person. In previous wars, it had a tendency to come quickly.Siegried Sasson in Pat Barker’s Regeneration, was a well-known decorated war hero in B ritain. In 1917, he decided to refuse returning to the battlefield because he felt strongly that the war was a useless slaughter. His conscience was strongly affected by the war and the cruelty displayed while defending the trenches. As a result, he was so misunderstood that he was thought to be mentally ill. His ‘diagnosis’ was determined to be shell shock. The reasoning was that everyone should want to go to war and kill enemies. So, if someone did not want to, there had to be something wrong with them.Consequently, he was sent to a mental hospital where he was taken care of by Dr. Rivers whose goal was to send him back to combat. Siegfried was a poet, not a soldier. He was not ‘equipped’ emotionally to deal with killing human beings. Yet, there was so much peer pressure to conform that it took strength and resolve to stand up and refuse to go back to the field. Tragically, he was looked upon as a threat to the morale of the troops. (Barker, 4) In fact, t his is what happens to conscientious objectors who are jailed for refusing to fight.Shell shock was a very serious psychological problem for soldiers coming back from the trenches during WWI. The psychological traumatic experiences gave these men hallucinations and nightmares while causing several physical symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, and headaches. Other symptoms were materialized as muteness, inability to walk, and other strange effects. Trauma in war is also seen today and it is as shocking as before. The situation, however, is different. Before the age of the video games, soldiers had to acclimate without having ever been in the situation of killing another man.Ironically, today this is no longer the case. As admitted in the Washington Post article, the games teach to kill. Curiously, there are still young men who cannot kill, even after having done it hundreds of time in the virtual world. This was particularly evident when the young soldiers in Iraq commented on the h orror they saw: people dead, children dead, and blood everywhere. These men realized that they were forced to kill innocent men, women, children that were not mere characters of videogames. Grossman commented in his book On Killing that the Army teaches killing but does not teach their soldiers to deal with killing a man.(Grossman, 97) Killing is real and the trauma resulting from this act will haunt many soldiers after they return to their homes. Shell shock is equivalent to what is called PTSD today (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). In July 2004, it was reported that the number of suicides had clearly gone up among soldiers in Iraq as well as severe psychiatric disorders. The Army had not addressed this problem early enough and discovered it then. Back in 2004, seventeen percent of soldiers were assessed to be suffering traumatic stress, depression or anxiety and were deemed to be â€Å"functionally impaired.† Of that group, about three-quarters said they had received no he lp at any time in Iraq from a mental health professional, a doctor or a chaplain. (Holloway, 36) Iraq has been the latest examples of prisoner abuses and indiscriminate attacks during bombardments. Unfortunately, soldiers assaulted men and women while their houses were searched for traces of insurgents. These events clearly violated the Geneva Conventions on Human Rights during conflicts. (Protocol I, Art. 77, sec. 1; Protocol I, Art. 75; Protocol I, Art. 51, sec. 5a & 5 b; Protocol I, Art.48) It is foolish to think that soldiers in combat, with their brain stuck in primal instinct modes and having no rationality capacities left, can reflect on the fact that they should follow the Geneva Protocols of Human Rights. Only after they are done with fighting can they reflect on what they have done: there is no video game in the world that will be able to erase the committed deeds of the soldier who is ordered to kill. In the end, one can ponder over the U. S. Army and the morality of its commanders that allows the comfortable idea to use video games and entertainment as ways to teach killing.The disillusion of the soldiers after combat is that they must kill others, they must see suffering, and they cannot turn it off. The virtual reality used to portray war is false; the only grounds of these games are the weapons, uniforms, and environments as replicas of reality. However, this is just superficial whereas pain is real. Conclusion The reality of war is death and suffering. The role of video games has been hijacked to promote war, violence, and easy killing ‘skills’ promoted by the U. S. Army’s use of these games and clever ad campaigns to get recruits.Even though there may always be the ‘tough guys’ who are not bothered by killing, it is still disturbing to see that many young men are not bothered by killing based on the fact that they seem unable to make the difference between the real world and virtual reality. However, the Ã¢â‚¬Ë œsensitive types’ will always exist too. They are the ones who suffer the most since their world of illusion created by the video games is destroyed when they realize the reality of war, which is killing and destroying while causing pain and misery to innocent people. Their illusions of patriotic glory and excitement are shattered forever.

Zora Neale Hurston Quotes

Zora Neale Hurston Quotes Zora Neale Hurston was a folklorist and writer. She was part of the Harlem Renaissance, but she never quite fit into the black writer stereotype and was too black for white audiences, so her work fell into obscurity. She wrote such classics as Their Eyes Were Watching God, and How it Feels to Be Colored Me Alice Walker led a revival of Zora Neale Hurston popularity beginning in the 1970s, and Zora Neale Hurston is now considered among the classic American writers of the 20th century. Selected Zora Neale Hurston Quotations I want a busy life, a just mind, and a timely death.Through it all, I remain myself.Mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to jump at de sun. We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the ground.No man may make another free.Grab the broom of anger and drive off the beast of fear.Learning without wisdom is a load of books on a donkeys back.No matter how far a person can go the horizon is still way beyond you.If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.It is hard to apply oneself to study when there is no money to pay for food and lodging. I almost never explain these things when folks are asking me why I dont do this or that.Sometimes I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? Its beyond me.There is nothing to make you like other human beings so much as doing things for them.It seems to me that trying to live without friend s is like milking a bear to get cream for your morning coffee. It is a whole lot of trouble, and then not worth much after you get it. Happiness is nothing but everyday living seen through a veil.Life is the flower for which love is the honey.Love, I find, is like singing. Everybody can do enough to satisfy themselves, though it may not impress the neighbors as being very much.Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.There are years that ask questions and years that answer.When one is too old for love, one finds great comfort in good dinners.Ships at a distance have every mans wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing, until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men. Now, women forget all those things they dont want to remember, and remember everything they dont want to forget. The dream is the truth. They then act and do things accordingly.Those that dont got it, cant show it. Those that got it, cant hide it.I belong to no race nor time. I am the eter nal feminine with its string of beads. I am not tragically colored. There is no great sorrow dammed up in my soul, nor lurking behind my eyes. I do not mind at all.I am colored but I offer nothing in the way of extenuating circumstances except the fact that I am the only Negro in the United States whose grandfather on the mothers side was not an Indian chief.Maybe some of the details of my birth as told me might be a little inaccurate, but it is pretty well established that I really did get born.Someone is always at my elbow reminding me that I am the granddaughter of slaves. It fails to register depression with me.I feel most colored when I am thrown against a sharp white background.The present was an egg laid by the past that had the future inside its shell.Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose. It is a seeking that he who wishes may know the cosmic secrets of the world and they that dwell therein.Once you wake up thought in a man, you can never put it to sleep again.My eyes and my min d keep taking me where my old legs cant keep up. There is something about poverty that smells like death. Dead dreams dropping off the heart like leaves in a dry season and rotting around the feet.Jamaica is the land where the rooster lays an egg.I have been in Sorrows kitchen and licked out all the pots. Then I have stood on the peaky mountain wrapped in rainbows, with a harp and a sword in my hands.It is quite exciting to hold the center of the national stage, with the spectators not knowing whether to laugh or to weep.I love myself when I am laughing. And then again when I am looking mean and impressive.

my ride on a speedboat in the Atlantic Ocean. Essays

my ride on a speedboat in the Atlantic Ocean. Essays my ride on a speedboat in the Atlantic Ocean. Essay my ride on a speedboat in the Atlantic Ocean. Essay Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Description A descriptive essay is one that provides extensive details on the described subject helping the reader to create a mental picture of it. In this descriptive essay, I will describe my ride on a speedboat in the Atlantic Ocean. The trip was spectacular, and land seemed much more beautiful and green from the distance on the speedboat in comparison with the blue ocean. The sky was clear and bright making the ocean even more beautiful. The speedboat, which was white in color, was moving at a high speed leaving a rough water trail on the smooth surface of the ocean. It left waves that would disappear into the distance as we sped. I could feel the boat tilt at the front due to the resistance of the water mass to its high velocity. The breeze blowing on my face was cool despite the hot air at the beach. I had to wear my sunglasses to cover my eyes due to the high speed that caused turbulence in the air. It was, however, welcome as the smell of the breeze was fresh and different from the smell of polluted air on land. The trip made me realize that there were many wonders to be experienced as I felt like I was in a completely different place, and realized how little I appreciated the joys that the world had to offer. The difference between the smooth ocean and the turbulence created by the speedboat made me think of how people go through their lives at a fast pace, failing to appreciate the joys that life has to offer. Narration A narrative gives an account of connected events, which may be in written or spoken form. Narratives can be differentiated into categories such as non-fictional and fictional accounts of real historical events such as myths and legends. The following narrative falls under the fictional category of legends. It is an account of the legend Robin Hood. Robin Hood is a character who is part of the English folklore and is famous for his reputation of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor in accompaniment to his group of â€Å"Merry Men† (Lee et al. 2009). He was a great swordsman, archer and had exceptional skills in combat. Folklore portrays him and his gang as those living in Sherwood Forest where most of the early form of poetry took place, while other versions of literature claim that he hailed from Yorkshire. Most versions of this folklore present him as an individual who was neither a knight nor a peasant, but his character was in between the two personalities. He was famous for fearlessly fighting injustices against the poor. His life is shown as that full of adventure. In the woods of Sherwood Forest, he would poach the king’s deer, which was an illegal act. The legend of Robin Hood has been told for over six hundred years and has undergone different variations according to the location and the culture of the people telling the story. This can be attributed to the fact that during his time little was documented about his escapades leaving his story open for speculation. It is, therefore, difficult to determine the parts of the folklore that are true and which are fiction. Most of what is known of Robin Hood is from ballads such as Robin and the Knight, Robin and the Potter, Robin Hood and the Monk, Robin and the Curtal Friar, Robin and the Silver Arrow and The Death of Robin Hood (Lee et al. 2009). Exemplification An exemplification essay is one where one tries to explain something that is generalized to the reader by providing many examples to support his/her argument. In my exemplification essay, I will show that contrary to popular belief, the best cheap things in life end up being expensive in the long run. Most people in life love freebies, and previously, I would agree that there is more joy in using something that one has not paid for or worked hard to obtain. However, I came to learn the hard way that free things end up being far more expensive than earlier anticipated. For instance, there was an occasion in which my computer antivirus expired, and I decided to go the cheap way and download a free antivirus from the Internet. The antivirus software was supposed to protect my computer from viruses and intrusion for at least six months. However, within two weeks my computer had crashed, shutting down completely. I had to take it to a computer specialist to fix the problem. Clearly, the antivirus had not done its work and fixing the problem cost me a greater amount than purchasing a trusted antivirus would have. Most goods of higher quality are usually more expensive than other low quality goods. For example, when it comes to shoes, those made of leather are much more expensive than the rest. Due to their high quality they last longer than the others, proving to be more efficient in the end. This also applies to engine oil. Using higher quality engine oil will ensure that the vehicle’s engine requires less check-up, as a result, saving on maintenance costs. It is, therefore, true that cheap is expensive. Process A process essay is one that provides a step-by-step explanation of a task or an event. By following a process, the reader should be able to complete the task by following the steps indicated. In this essay, I will describe the process of growing radish. Radishes are fast maturing vegetables and are used in soups and salads (Planet Natural). The steps followed in growing them are as follows: The first step should be deciding the variety that one intends to plant The second step is the selection of a suitable site and land preparation. The third step will be to schedule the planting season as they flourish well in cool weathers. The planting depth should be determined and the seeds planted at the appropriate depth. The fifth step will be constantly watering the radish to ensure that grow fast and do not dry up. The sixth step is harvesting the radish, observing the correct procedure to prevent any damage. The last step cleaning and storing the radish after harvest. Work Cited Lee, Tony; Hart, Sam and Fujita, Artur, â€Å"Outlaw: the Legend of Robin Hood†, Candlewick, 2009. Print. Planet Natural, â€Å"Growing Radish†. 2012. Web. 29 May 2013.

LEADING CHANGE Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

LEADING CHANGE - Case Study Example It takes time, but once people have been convinced, the objective of unfreezing has been attained. In the stage of change, the manager/leader reduces the restraining forces, and increases the forces supporting the change. This may include reducing the employees’ fears of economic or personal loss as well as getting rid of the opponents while there is a simultaneous process of increasing the support for change that may include increasing the incentives for change. When restraining forces are sufficiently low, increasing just the driving forces may suffice. But increasing the driving forces without lowering the restraining forces when they are significant may instigate retaliation and resistance. The stage of refreezing is also time-consuming like the unfreezing stage. The stage of freezing consists of four sub-phases of defiance, rage, bereavement and adaptation. Immediately after the change, people deny that it was altogether necessary. When this does not work, they become out raged but lack of power to alter the managerial decision puts them into bereavement, and finally, they become used to the change and adapt themselves according to it. Change is a time-consuming process and the managers/leaders must give it due time to implement effectively.

Company is on Marriott International and how they market to consumers Term Paper

Company is on Marriott International and how they market to consumers on the internet - Term Paper Example Marriott International website has been professionally designed. The web site has been decorated beautiful pictures of tourists enjoying themselves at the hotel. Customers can immediately identify the destination that suit their tastes and preferences by looking at the pictures displayed. The website links and menus have been well organized into Marriot hotel brands, careers, travel agents, group partners, shopMarriot, affiliates and mobile and many more colorful and attractive links. In addition, the writings on the website are visible, they have been written using visible fonts and designs that are attractive to customers (Marriot, 2012). Customers can access the website through the facebook sign up and login link. Marriott International is also available through twitter. Customers can email or ask a question to the Marriott International customer service through the website. Further, the website gives opportunity to customers to book accommodation online. Customers can by book accommodation through PayPal, MasterCard and visa by placing their orders online; they can also view the status of their order by entering their email and a confirmation number (Marriot, 2012). Marriot international has recently unveiled internet distribution and growth strategies aimed at reaching several tourists as possible. The company has put in place measures to ensure that customers get the best room price when they use their website for reservations. Internet marketing is instrumental to the company because it ensures that 8 percent of the total room nights are sold (Maandag, 2008). The site creates a positive customer experience since they can get attractive discounts. Tourists are able to get 40% off fall travel when they book early. Tourists can also locate hotels in various cities around the world; this is possible through the â€Å"find hotel† interface in the website. Further, the company has introduced