Development Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Development - Coursework Example At the 1995 women’s conference in Beijing, so many promises were made on gender mainstreaming. The most important one was to get more women into leadership positions in private and public organisations and the government, as well as involve them in scientific and industrial development initiatives. This was to be done to bring about gender equality, not at the expense of men as some people have reported (Fischer, 2012:569). The ultimate goal of gender mainstreaming was to bring gender equality at all levels of private and public sectors. The aim was to enter the millennium with significant progress having been made in terms of putting women in key positions in the society and cultivating and a better understanding of gender mainstreaming and equality among men (Razavi, 2009:146). However, this has not happened. A 2013 research cosponsored by the US department of education and various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) showed that despite the hype and hullabaloo surrounding the topic, men still dominated major positions in the government and the private sector (Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa, 2010:14) In fact, most governments created a front for gender mainstreaming and equality but their underbellies were rife with gender inequality and imbalance. The Obama Administration, for example, has made several attempts to include as many women as possible in its policymaking and leadership positions (Kantola, 2010:54). However, this is what the public and some naà ¯ve NGOs see and think that progress is being made. For example, the study showed that in departments which were headed by women, there were still more male employees working in senior and influential positions that women should have according to gender mainstreaming advocates. In addition, the findings of the study showed that men’s perception of women has still

Free Essays - Of Farctate and Roadkill :: Personal Narrative Essay Example

Of Farctate and Roadkill Being a writer and reader, I love words-not only what they mean, but also how they sound. So I rely on my trusty Webster's New Universal Unabridged. It's over four inches thick and chock-full of tens of thousands of glorious words. Some people have trouble with dictionaries because they can't spell the words they're looking for. Me, I just get lost. Whenever I set out to look up a word, I often get sidetracked by other words. For instance, the other day I was headed for "farthingale," but "farctate"stopped me in my tracks. I don't care that it's a botanical term meaning "stuffed, crammed, or full." But the word itself-farctate-what a fun word to say! Another time, while in search of "synergy," my eye fell upon "susurrate," meaning to "whisper, murmur, rustle." It almost sounds like what it means-they all do, in fact. Maybe not close enough to be true examples of onomotopoeia-but, hey, that's another great word! And let's not forget sastruga, habanera, and Zwinglianism, to pick only a few. Even without knowing what they mean, they're delicious on the palate. They almost have a taste, like exotic spices among the salt and pepper of everyday language. Great words pop up in the most unexpected places. Years ago, I was waiting in a doctor's office, my paper gown sussurating around me. Flipping through a magazine to pass the time, I came across a beautiful ad with the word "nimiety" in it. I was entranced. Lest I should forget this new treasure, I tore out the page and hid it in my purse. I checked the dictionary when I got home: What an elegant way to say "the state of being too much; excess; redundancy." Consider now the writing of business and government.

Assignment: Quiet American and the Vietnam War

Dilemmas of Democracy and the responsibilities of the West; he was determined†¦ O do good, not to any individual but to a country' (Greene, 18). He believed preventing the spread of communism would be beneficial for all. Based in the mysterious Asian country as a secret agent, his Job was to import weapons and set up attacks throughout the country. One incident describes: â€Å"that day all over Saigon innocent bicycle pumps had proved to contain bombs which had gone off at the stroke of eleven†¦. It was better from their point of view to let people assume that the bombs were communist† (Greene, 18-135). To stir up anti-communism the U. S. Litany put the blame for civilian casualties on the rebellious Viet Congo, giving a impelling reason to the American people for why they must be stopped. Bloods states how the United States went to Just about any extent â€Å"to prevent the Domino Theory†¦ The Communists taking South Vietnam and then the Philippines and march ing across to Hawaii and then on the shores of California† (Terry, 156). Consequently, government officials promoted fear with the Second Red Scare to incite their citizens to take a stand against the further spread of communism. American troops were placed in Vietnam up until spring 1975.Between that time American troops were let loose in this foreign country. Not only was there a huge culture shock, but also language played as a barrier. Little efforts to understand the Vietnamese culture became an issue in the war. One of the soldiers said, † this old man was running like back towards his crib†¦ I think people said halt† but we didn't know no Vietnamese words† and so they shot him (Terry, 7). Another case of miscommunication was when a soldier told a girl to did did AMA and her lack of effort to to why she remained on the road; she couldn't get through traffic or could not understand his Vietnamese.America showed no mercy and was brutal to anything ND anyone that stood in the way. With their endless supplies of artilleries â€Å"if something moved in front of you†¦. You fired at it† (Terry, 157). Lots of the poorly trained solders were blind in the Jungles of Vietnam, especially at night, aimlessly shooting to any noise. Americans treated the people of Vietnam poorly as well, women especially. Some of the captives were women and while being integrated they were abused. One of the African American hospital corpsman from the Navy was explaining how he saw a Vietnamese woman get a lit flare shoved in her during questioning (Terry).Pyle never hectically harassed a female, but saw Phonon (his Vietnamese lover) as an object. Disregarding her input, he was going to bring her to America as his wife (Greene). Poor interactions with the Vietnamese people, a negative ambiance was left behind by the Americans. Americans believed they were sincerely helping the Vietnamese. When in reality the people of Vietnam did not see the nee d for their intervention. A soldier explained, † I spent a great deal of time discussing the problem of Vietnam with the Vietnamese people, and what they thought about America's involvement.I learned right away the AR was not the right thing to from the people's point of view' (Terry, 67). The people of Vietnam could have cared less if they were getting military support from America. In fact they did not like the war that was happening on their homeland. â€Å"They want one day to be much the same as another. They don't want our white skins around telling them what they want† (Greene, 86). They want to go back to their daily simple lives before any war began. Their way of life is agriculture of rice patties not whether they have a communist or democratic government.Pyle was getting lectured about hat the Vietnamese people wanted, † do you think peasants sit and think of God and Democracy†¦ We've brought them up in our ideas† (Greene, 87). Before interve ne from America, people of Vietnam were not thinking of which government is suitable for them. Neutral Vietnamese said, â€Å"However win is the one we go with. The Americans are the ones that are crazy; cause they not gain anything. They lose their lives and their money here†(Terry, 67). America did not gain anything directly from this war. There were no significant natural resources and hundreds were dying everyday.As he war got dragged even Americans began to question their intentions of being in the war. While men were fighting for a better government, there was trouble back at the home front. Racism was a big factor still in the United States and that custom was brought overseas. Men of color were grouped together and were mainly put on the front end. An African American war veteran said, † more blacks were dying in combat than whites, proportionately, mainly because more blacks were in combat- oriented units, proportionately, than whites† (Terry, 167). White folks were still seen inferior to lacks.There were times were the whole squad would be of black men (Terry). This prevented white Americans from getting hurt during the war. Even though there was inequality, African-Americans were still treated better then in the States. While enlisted, they could hold some kind of power. â€Å"There weren't many opportunities for Where else could a black go and get that label Just like that? † (Terry, 221). African- Americans enlisted as an escape of racism and segregation because in the war zone they are all fighting together under one cause, democracy for the Vietnamese.One big issue in both books for the reason why they lost the war to the Viet Congo was the inability to establish who the enemy was. It was Vietnamese fighting Vietnamese- like the civil war. White folks could not identify whom to shoot, â€Å"It wasn't suppose to be nobody out at night but the marines. Any Vietnamese out at night was the enemy†¦ It was easy to get k illed by an American† (Terry, 7). The soldiers were trained to take down Vietnamese enemy. Everyone looked like the enemy to them. This became problematic of many innocent lives being killed. For this reason,Americans are seen as mechanical beasts across the globe and will strike at ease in order to win. Americans played different roles in the two books due to the time frame, but had the same goal of fighting for democracy. In The Quiet American being European or white was favorable. â€Å"An advantage of this war was that a European face proved in itself a passport on the field: a European could not be suspected of being an enemy agent† (Greene, 42). This is why Pyle was able to sneak around Vietnam with bombs. No one suspected Americans (whites) behind the attacks. Things were a lot more useful for Americans before they sent troops over.Once the military got involved, it was non-stop gunshots after gunshot. It got to the point where soldiers did not know why they were shooting, they were Just told to. Around this time, university students also began to question the government along with the upraising of segregation. Congress had a hard time dealing with upset citizens over the dead of Martin Luther King and the questioning of when the war will end. In the efforts to help Vietnam have a better life under Democracy, America suffered from the high death toll, expenses on weapons and supplies, and the extended years spent overseas.

The Ideal American Vision Benjamin Franklin Vs. John...

Olena Nikitska Professor Petterson–Tutschka Gov 113, Section 2 14 May 2015 The Ideal American Vision: Benjamin Franklin vs. John Winthrop Billions of people all over the nation and world have heard of the ideal American vision to be defined as a perfect set of rules and regulations that provide the ideal conditions for living life. Though many people to this day may still argue their understanding of these idealistic views, there is an ideniable truth that it was two most influential figures in history from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Benjamin Franklin and John Winthrop, who helped shape this vision through their strong and very different opinionated perspectives. God’ role and form of government, social classes gradation, nature and moral laws, individualism or collectivism and virtues of success are all important aspects that have helped shape the American vision, in which also the opinions of Franklin and Winthrop stand divided between the leaders. Franklin emphasized the importance of the science and reason, which explains the struc ture of the world its affect of life on every nation. Winthrop presented his â€Å"a City on a hill† model, where everything depends on God’s will.† (The Puritan Vision Altered, John Winthrop, â€Å"A Model of Christian Charity†, 1630, pp. 6-7). Unlike Franklin’s democracy and liberty, he believed in state of brotherhood. However, Winthrop shares Franklins’ nature norms in relationship between people, but Winthrop also builds his vision