Failure of Communism in Russia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Failure of Communism in Russia - Essay Example The Russian radicals, the Bolsheviks led by Lenin, shoved out the moderate Mensheviks and imposed a totalitarian, socialist political ideology that completely obliterated capitalism and tsarist authoritarianism (Cohen,1980,p.42). Lenin, with Leon Trotsky as his main Communism engineer, adopted and modified the Communism concepts of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels as contained in The Communist Manifesto. In 1918, the Communist Party of Russia was formalized and in 1919, the Comintern or the Communist International was established to export the Communist ideology throughout the whole world (Wang,1998,p.71). Afterwards, private ownership was abolished and all private properties and industries came under the control of the state. Collectivisation of agriculture, prohibition of opposition and all basic freedoms including freedom of the press and religion and propaganda were the order of the Bolshevik rule and all facets of life whether political, social, economic or cultural were under tight Communism grip. The Stalin Era worsened the people's conditions as the Great Purge was set into motion immolating millions of Russians who threatened in any way Stalin's power and domination (Daniels,1985,p.173). The Russian economy failed to soar and instead plummeted during Khruschev, Brezhnev and Andropov's totalitarian rules. Gorbachev tried to revive an ailing communist government in Russia with his perestroika or rebuilding or reconstruction and glasnost or "being open to the public" but to no avail. The Russian satellites one by one declared their independence and the Iron Curtain was completely rent. Yeltsin was left with no recourse but declare the demise of the Communist Party and the termination of the USSR on December 8, 1991 (Leonard,2006,p.702). Causes of the Failure of Communism In Russia Communism in Russia was doomed right from the start. It cannot claim any legitimacy and any illegitimate government flirts with being eradicated at the most opportune time. The Bolshevik government can never claim to be legitimate right from the outset because it wrested power from the provisional government set up by the Russian Duma by illegitimate means. The Bolsheviks were just "a small, united band of revolutionary fanatics brilliantly led by Lenin" (Rabinowitch,2007,p.ix) who subverted the will of the majority by illegally imposing their own will by "undemocratic methods .i.e. rigged elections, terror, totalitarian state, harassment and threats" (Kehoe, 1988,pp. 25,32). The peasantry, which comprised 80% of the Russian population at that time were neither communists, socialists or of any political color but were

How would you evaluate the preformance of a bank using piblished Essay

How would you evaluate the preformance of a bank using piblished accounting data . What other data would you use in this evaluation - Essay Example (Srinivasan, 2009). Financial ratio analysis is considered as one of the most important tools that are being used to evaluate the performance of any bank. It is important to note that the financial ratios for a bank are slightly different as compared to the typical ratio analysis for any manufacturing firm. Due to this basic difference, there are some additional ratios that are being computed for evaluating the basic performance of a bank. These ratios include net profit margin, provision for loan losses, loans to assets, capital adequacy etc which are computed in order to provide a deeper insight into the overall financial performance of any bank. This paper will discuss as to how the performance of a bank is evaluated and what are some of the tools including financial ratio analysis which can be used to effectively evaluate the performance of the bank and the type of data required to make such an analysis. Financial Ratio analysis is one of the leading tools that are being used to evaluate the performance of a bank. These are common sets of financial ratios that are used to compute various financial indicators and by making either trend analysis or industry comparison, the overall performance of the bank can be evaluated. These ratios are: Return on assets is computed by dividing the net income earned by the Bank with its total assets. This is an important ratio because it informs us about the overall efficiency of the bank’s assets i.e. how the total assets of the bank are used by the management in producing the desired results for its shareholders. Return on assets is also considered important ratio because it can be a better judge of the overall efficiency of the bank’s management i.e. if return on assets is low it can indicate that the overall management efficiency in utilizing the assets of the firm is not entirely up to the satisfaction and management shall improve its practices and internal

La Grande Odalisque Essay Example for Free

La Grande Odalisque Essay Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres was born on August 28th, 1780. He became one of Jacques-Louis David’s most famous and successful students. During Ingres time working with David, and eventually turning away from him, he became a part of the Neo-Classicism movement; leaving behind, but not forgetting the Romanticism methods. Neo-Classicism is the 18th century restoration of tradition principles which lead Ingres to be one of the most famous draftsmen. Ingres was an extremely precise and talented man of his time and was most famous for his portraits; especially his portraits of female nudes. In the year 1814, Ingres created one of his most famed masterpieces, La Grande Odalisque. It was created in Paris and still remains there in the museum by the name of The Musà ©e du Loure. The painting is well-known for its subject of fantasy and eroticism; she was a passive, mysterious and an unknown being to the Western world, which made her audience long for answers. Throughout Ingres life he created many pieces of work. In his well ahead years, Ingres continued to paint and surprise his faultfinders. He eventually ended up on top, being viewed as â€Å"one of the greatest living artists in France† during that time. (Rifkin 15) He left behind many fans but no apprentices to carry on the Neoclassicism heritage. Ingres painted many historical, mythological, and religious subjects; however, he is probably most respected for his portraits and female nudes. Ingress style highlights skilful formations, along with smoothly painted surfaces, and very thorough drawings. â€Å"In 1814, he created one of his many famous masterpieces, Grande Odalisque. It is 91 cm in height and 162 cm in length (35.8 Ãâ€" 63.8 in).† (Peirce 50) It is an oil painting on canvas, with a subject of make-believe and sexuality. The painting was commissioned by Queen Caroline Murat of Naples, Napoleon’s sister. It was painted in the Neoclassicism movement in P aris, along with many of his other works. This one in particular is of a nude female, who transpires to be an odalisque. â€Å"An odalisque was a female slave in an Ottoman seraglio, especially the Imperial Harem of the sultan.† (Peirce 54) La Grande Odalisque was formed by Ingres using some of David’s ideas and creating a female nude, in a bizarre and unfamiliar way. To the Western world she was nothing like they’d ever seen before, which caused confusion but a desire to want to know everything about her; â€Å"In the mind of an early 19th century French male viewer, the sort of person for whom this image was made, the odalisque would have conjured up not just a harem slave, itself a misconception, but a set forth fears and desires.† (Shelton 75) This was mainly because of the way in which Europe considered Islamic Asia; they viewed the people there as unique, barren and careless. To observers she was located in an almost make-believe world, much like how Western culture viewed the Eastern side o f the world; fantasized. At the time it was ignominious for its physical wrongness; in specific, â€Å"the nude female was thought to have three lumbar vertebrae too many†. (Shelton 78) It was an opinion stressed by art critics, but was never challenged or proven. When it had finally been studied, they found something out of the regular, â€Å"we measured the length of the back and of the pelvis in human models, expressed the mean values in terms of head height, and transferred them to the painting.† (Peirce 81) The falsification was found to be greater than what had been presumed originally; â€Å"La Grande Odalisque had five, rather than three, further lumbar vertebrae†(Peirce 81). Basically, she is structurally impossible; her pose is one that would be impossible to mimic. Since Ingres combined rationality and realism into his paintings some critics believe the deformation may perhaps exist on purpose and stand for an emotional motive. The way in which the woman’s head is placed and how it the distance it is away from her pelvis suggests, â€Å"the artist may have been marking the gulf between her thoughts and her social role† (Shelton 79) The face of the woman is where the observer’s eyes are drawn. Her expression is secluded, care-free and mysterious; giving her an almost secret filled feel about her. Her role as a harem is not to think of feeling; she is there only for the purpose of pleasure. â€Å"This theme is consistent with the role of women in the nineteenth-century views on female gender roles public women, i.e., prostitutes, fulfilled a vitally important social role as repositories of male sexual desire.† (Siegfried, Rifkin, Willey 34) Her gaze pulls viewers into her unknown world; captures and traps. The main reason for her existence is to wait upon a man, but not just any man; her husband. With knowing that her husband is the only man to ever see her in this state, the viewer is pulled in and knowing they will never be able to experience her, â€Å"she was part of the sultan harem, she was there to satisfy the carnal pleasures of the sultan, despise what she may feel or want. She reflects a woman ´s deep thoughts, complex emotions and feelings.†(Peirce 48) Her gaze tortures the viewer into looking and makes it difficult to look away. This piece is full of sensuality, mystery and romanticism. The woman is surrounded by a dark background; black with many different shades of blue. Her and her body are really the only aspect of the painting holding any light colours. With this, she stand out to the viewer; making her more striking than ever. Even with her imperfections she is blessed with flawless skin, shoulders, legs, arms and hands. The items nearby her, the peacock fan, the turban, and the pearls suggest an unfamiliar place; an exotic place. At her feet lies a hookah, which may come to the viewers as a shock; it’s not for tobacco but rather opium. The harem may come off to observers as irrational, passive and drugged, which creates more desire to know what she’s about. Is she offering it, or is she just high? That is a question that will never be answered, a question that keeps the viewers’ attention. La Grande Odalisque is what Western society believes a harem would look like. She is of the unknown but in a way that it becomes familiar. Since this is what the Western part of the world imagines and fantasizes about Islamic Asia, it makes them believe they are superior to what’s in front of them. Ingres conveyed his subject of wants and desires by painting La Grande Odalisque, and having the Western part of the world view it; you want what you can’t have. That is one way in looking at it, another is: â€Å"Some art historians have suggested that colonial politics also played a role.† (Shelton 81) Either way, Ingres combined what was happening to the world around him, two places so unfamiliar colliding together, with what the Western world wanted to see; what is actually happening is a completely different story than what one wants to believe is happening. La Grande Odalisque is recognized for its subject of desire for the unknown; her gaze, her pose, and the inferior, yet exotic, items surrounding her are what makes her so incredible to what people consider the norm. She has deficiencies but her overall appearance is perfect; she is nothing like her observers, which makes her that much more wanted; it’s a conflict between La Grande Odalisque and the viewer. Society, even today, is scared of the unfamiliar. We take situations, events and even the little parts in life that we are unsure of and turn it into something that can be confronted, even if it’s not reality; it’s what human beings do to feel safe from what we consider the abnormal. What makes this painting so unique is that people critique the way in which viewers see her, instead of the way she sees us; she is an unacquainted with us, as we are with her.

Investigating Islamophobia in the Daily Mail

Investigating Islamophobia in the Daily Mail Islamophobia is defined in the dictionary as being: hatred or fear of Muslims or of their politics or culture. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11th and the London 7/7 bombings amongst others, some say islamophobia within the media has increased significantly. This work intends to discuss the coverage of Muslims and the religion of Islam as a whole within the middle market newspaper The Daily Mail and explore whether publications such as the Mail are representing the Muslim race in a negative light. Ones interest in the subject matter involved is one that has derived from what is seen, amongst others, as bad journalism; middle market and tabloid newspapers inaccurately reporting issues concerning races such as Muslims. On a daily basis one can pick up a newspaper these days and spot numerous flaws, incorrect language or overall representation of a religion such as Islam. Also, a personal affliction or view in the area is the way in which Muslim communities within the UK are slowly being isolated and are being criticised collectively for the actions of a small population of the religion. When exploring the relationship between the modern West and the East, one should look upon the concept of Orientalism. Saids (1978) work draws on the concept of us and them: Orientalism is never far from what Denys Hay has called the idea of Europe, a collective notion identifying us Europeans as against all those non-Europeans (Said, 1978: 7). This notion refers to the historical manufacturing of Eastern beings as alien, the Other, by the West. It is the negative portrayal of extremist Islamic images within frameworks such as the Mail that progresses, as Halliday (1996)(remember reference for this!, see notebook [2]) suggests, this myth of confrontation that pardons the West of any need to excuse its enmity towards the East and religions such as Islam. Before this paper looks at effects of the theory of islamophobia, it is worth evaluating the polarity of the term itself. Whilst some could say the branding of the term can draw attention to the issue for positive means, further comprehensive literature on the subject and enquiries commissioned (e.g. 1997 Runnymede Trust, Islamophobia: A Challenge for Us All), there is a flipside. Academics have inferred that this is just another, more refined form of new racism according to many sociologists. Sociologist Professor Gerard Delanty describes the use of the term islamophobia: It is rooted in mainstream hostility to migrant workers and asylum-seekers, and is based to a considerable degree on ethnocentrism and xenophobia à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ on ignorance and fear of the other' (Delanty: Conference, see notebook for full reference[1]). Delanty is saying here that the categorisation of the idiom of islamophobia could be creating a new form of acceptable racism. The UK media industry is said by some to be institutionally racist: This racism is rooted in the countrys imperial past, with feelings of racial superiority and crude nationalism now deeply embedded in the dominant culture. (Keeble, 2009: 175) 2 per cent of the NUJ membership was black, Asian and Arab in the first media-industry wide survey in 1995 by Anthony Delano and John Henningham. Comparing this alongside the national ethnic minority population percentage of 5.26 percent at the time, and it does speak volumes. My research will include a plan to address this view and explore how far or to what extent this reflects an islamophobic nature within newspapers such as The Daily Mail. However, to discuss how deep rooted this patriotism, or national feeling of superiority over other races goes would be discursive from the intended discussion of the titles topic. The role of a national newspaper such as the Mail needs to be highlighted to display the contextualising link between islamophobia and the public. The fact that a familiar newspaper offers a sense of identity and possible security to its regular readers is an important contextualising factor when considering questions of race and ideology. (Ferguson, 1998:175) Considering middle market newspapers such as The Daily Mail and Express along with the tabloids represent more than two thirds of the national daily readership figures (1997 survey: do footnote for this), this is a first base argument for explaining the negative (potential) effect of the press on the masses. A matter to take in to consideration is the recent resignation of Daily Star journalist Richard Peppiatt, on the grounds of the papers islamophobic content. Albeit a personal letter to the Daily Stars proprietor Richard Desmond, the letter highlights a wide range of anti-Islamic features in the everyday characteristics of national newspapers such as the Star and Mail and labels the former as anti-Muslim propaganda. The letter does refer to how closely the content of the Star is to the Mails through criticism of how the newspapers editors build a newspaper from cut-and-paste-jobs off the Daily Mail website. Where he admits to stirring up a bit of light-hearted Islamophobia himself on the basis that this was in his professional duties at the Star, his disapproval of this demonization is prevalent throughout. He refers to a story the paper published concerning the condemnation of taxpayer-funded Muslim-only public toilets: I was personally tasked with writing a gloating follow-up declaring our postmodern victory in blocking the non-existent Islamic cisterns of evil (Peppiatt, 2011). This could just be seen as one individuals personal attack on a proprietor and therefore not have much worth but it does relate to, and support the theory of institutional racism within the British media. For the proposed intentions of this paper, it is worth noting the presence of Muslims within Britain. In the 2001 UK Census the population of Muslims from all ethnic groups within Britain was just short of 1.6 million (insert reference to table of figures in appendices here). The age old argument from many anti-immigration supporters is that the Muslims within Britain do not attempt to immerse themselves within British culture or our way of life, owing to increased tensions between the two cultures. Figures show that nearly half (46.4%) of all British Muslims now living in England were born in the country. It could be said that those Muslims who came to the country as adults (first generation) are grateful for the chance to live in a more open society and therefore more willing to integrate themselves within our culture. The sooner Western societies such as Britain aid this process of integration with the likes of first generation Muslims, the better. As the younger (3rd and 4th) gen eration of Muslims born in England grows, we could see Muslim communities become increasingly ostracised due to young Muslims anger towards the role of the West in Muslim lands and issues such as islamophobia within the media becoming more customary. It is also worth presenting the PCC editorial guidelines with regards to discrimination: The press must avoid prejudicial or pejorative reference to an individuals race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation or to any physical or mental illness or disability. The second part of the guideline refers to the details of those minority groups and how one should avoid inclusion (of those details) unless necessary to the story. The way in which newspapers such as the Daily Mail steer their content around these guidelines, in order to include xenophobic views will be explored later in the literature review. As this paper explores the surrounding themes of discrimination and false representation within the media and directs them towards the influence of a certain publication, it is important to draw from relevant history of the Daily Mail. Some would say the newspapers prejudice against religions such as Islam is a product of its deep-set DNA shown via the papers sympathetic views of Nazi Germany during the war period. The first joint proprietor and owner Lord Rothermere was known to be a friend and supporter of both Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler and praised the Nazi regimes accomplishments, which directed the Mails political stance and was consequently used as propaganda by them. Lord Rothermere published quotes such as: the minor misdeeds of individual Nazis would be submerged by the immense benefits the new regimes already bestowing on Germany (Rothermere, 1933), as well as printing headlines such as Hurrah for the Blackshirts (Mail, Jan 1934). The Mail was also sympathetic to Osw ald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists. The support for this group was withdrawn after violence at a BUF rally in Kensington Olympia in 1934, which displays the potential harmful influence of newspapers on the masses. Muslims within Britain have struggled with issues of integration and racism ever since there was an increased focus of attention from the media on the Iranian Revolution of 1979 (Asad 1990, see references in muslim britain book). Television screens across the world showed three million people celebrating on the streets of Tehran when Ayatollah Khomeini, known for his support of hostage takers and his calling for the death of British citizen Salman Rushdie, came out of exile; a disconcerting image for most Westerners. The Salman Rushdie affair in 1989 demonstrated the degree to which the media and British Muslims who protested against the books (The Satanic Verses) publication became emotionally unhinged (Parekh 1992, see same book + ref) over the issue. The book deeply offended Muslims and ignited debate on blasphemy laws and freedom of speech. Other historical events have all played a part in what Huntingtons (1996) thesis describes as a clash of civilisations, these being: The Gulf War (1990-1), the genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina (1993-6), the Oklahoma bombing (1995), the Taliban in Afghanistan (1997-2002), Grozny and Kosovo (1999), the recent Palestinian Intifada (since September 2000) and the War on Iraq (2003) (Abbas 2005: 14). These events have and the media , some say (Huntington 1996) widened the gulf between East and West, Islam and Christianity and amplified the theory of Orientalism. (maybe do a little on September 11 attacks here) This paper intends to explore and discuss the different factors owing to the islamophobic content displayed in the Mail and how far it is damaging the representation of Muslim communities within Britain. It would be pointless to explain how islamophobic reporting increased or decreased over the past decade or so as it would be plain to see the increases in islamophobic content around the times of terrorist activities. One will analyse contributing factors such as the origins of islamophobia, the identification of islamophobic content, how closely does that content abide by editorial guidelines and the effect on Muslim communities through critical discussion of the topic and data analysis. The reason as to why one thinks this subject is important and would be of interest to others is the increasing multi-cultured population of Britain. As more ethnic minorities such as Muslims continue to live in Britain, increasing tensions towards people of a particular race can only put more strain on an already weak relationship with Muslim communities. The purpose of the paper is to critically evaluate and characterize publications, specifically The Daily Mail and its role in reinforcing or articulating racism, and in damaging ethnic cultural identities. The ways in which these issues are to be addressed and analysed will be explained through my research and its content analysis. Literature review The aim of this chapter is to identify themes relating to the title topic from previous published literature and critically analyse those premises. The intention here is not just to identify those relating themes, but to analyse, criticise, interpret and evaluate those themes in connection with supporting or opposing the underpinning arguments of this paper. Over the past decade or so there is has been an increase in the amount of writing, due to rising concerns from Muslims worldwide, explaining how discourses such as newspapers in Western media are misrepresenting ethnic minorities such as Muslims through presenting a negative image of Islam. My research will however focus on the Daily Mail in particular, portraying negative stereotypes, and the effects those portrayals have, on Muslim communities within Britain. In summary, this chapter will draw from prior literature and examine the complex structures and strategies of news reports and how they affect the interpretations of reade rs. How much does the role of publications such as the Mail play in the reproduction of racial and ethnic inequality in British society. Some of the earliest writing relating to British newspapers such as the Mail portraying Islam as a threat to Western interests comes from Teun van Dijks: Racism and the Press. The issue of immigration within British newspapers is one that allows anti-Muslim voices to be heard, subjectively criticising the rise in the multiculturalism of Britain: The Mail specifically focuses on alleged abuses of British hospitality, and calls for stricter immigration rules. It does not hesitate to publish, with apparent approval, overtly racist statements by right-wing politicians who claim that without further curbs on immigration Britain may become the worlds dustbin. (Van Dijk, 1991: 96) What Van Dijk is inferring is that through government policies concerning issues such as immigration, any right-wing anti-immigration views from politicians or people within the public eye will be published by the Mail with the noticeable support of the paper. Whilst highlighting the political stance and nationalistic nature of the publication, a defence for the paper would revert to free press every time. The earliest and most relevant research in this topic area has also been carried out by Teun Van Dijk. His work in the collection of empirical data surrounding the press and issues of race is a starting point for anybody analysing institutional islamophobic contents effect on British Muslims. Van Dijk started this foundational research in plain content analysis of British newspapers, analysing content such as the repetition of certain words used in headlines in attempt to rouse certain meanings from them. He describes the repetitive use of certain topics of discourse such as black and race and how they are dealt with by the press as semantic macro structures. These global, overall meaning structures of a text consist of a hierarchically arranged set of macro-propositions, which are derived from the meanings (propositions) of the sentences by way of macro-rules. These rules reduce the complex information of the text to its essential gist. (Van Dijk, 1991: 72) Van Dijk is correct in some ways in saying that the prevalence of such vocabulary would suggest that the discursive agenda of newspapers is entrenched in concerns with race. In his book Representing Race, Robert Ferguson agrees there are some uses of Van Dijks research: It would seem from this as though the media are enganged in an endless process of reproducing already existing prejudices and stereotypes. The extensive content analysis which was undertaken by Van Dijk also demonstrated that ethnic minorities and anti-racists are systematically associated with conflict, crime, intolerance and unreliability.' (Ferguson, 1998: 130) The flaws in Van Dijks research are that using empirical data, or strictly content analysis, to develop an understanding of representation can somewhat distort the power of ideology in newspapers text or framing. However, without being blatantly racist, newspapers such as the Mail through concepts of normality can still give strength to negative representations. (Maybe use this paragraph in methods) The detrimental representations of Muslim asylum seekers to Britain, in publications such as the Mail, are highlighted in Arun Kundnanis The End of Tolerance. Phrases such as we have to look after our own people first, a regular idiom in the Mail, gives strength to the inherent belief within Britain that we cannot satisfactorily provide for ourselves, never mind foreigners or them as well. Thanks to the opportunism of media and politicians, asylum seekers and migrants had been made in to potent symbols for the loss of a nation-state that once belonged to its people and afforded them certain privileges as citizens. (Kundnani, 2007: 65) This argument is stating that through newspapers persistence in covering issues of economy and well being, the Mail amongst others, tend to shift the blame of these national problems on to asylum seekers, from communities such as Muslims, for increasing the population and adding to pre-existing problems such as rises in unemployment. The only critique of this concept adding to the misrepresentation and islamophobic nature of the Mail, is that this problem spans over a huge area and is historically embedded within a nations way of thinking. My research aims to uncover the day to day anti-Islamic features of the Mail and expose the problems of intentional or institutional racism that could potentially be fixed. In some ways, previous literature has explained that events such as 9/11 and other Islam related terrorist activities give acceptance to emerging islamophobic voices or views within the media. Chris Allens chapter in Muslim Britain: Communities under pressure, highlights the enabling of publishing extreme right views on terrorists religions without backlash. In the wake of Baroness Thatchers condemnation of Muslim leaders in the Times, insisting that all Muslims as a homogeneous group should share responsibility for the attacks (4 October 2001). The Telegraph days later published an article entitled This War Is not about Terror, Its about Islam (7 October 2001). This article sought not only to praise Baroness Thatchers stance, but also confirm that Western fears were justified because some three-quarters of the worlds migrants in the last decade are said to have been Muslims (these) escapees, victims, scapegoats, malefactors and sleepers are awaiting their moment. (Allen, 2005: 61) Jonathan Birts chapter in Muslims in Britain also agrees with this post 9/11 islamophobic reaction from the press without simply analysing the textual content of a newspaper: After 9/11, the more prejudicial media comment portrayed British Muslim communities, and especially their young men, as a dangerous and unpatriotic fifth column, which were sympathetic to anti-West resistance and, indeed, the use of violent terror. Mass communications today shape and order these Islamophobic moral panics and the reactive defence to them. (Birt, 2009: 217) Here, we can see Birt is agreeing that post terrorist activities, the media is allowed to give a free press voice to racist views and opinions without fear of backlash from media regulators. The defect in analysing the islamophobic nature of publications such as the Mail surrounding terrorist actions is that it is to be expected. There is bound to be a bad press reaction to national identities and religious viewpoints, how far the negative portrayal of those identities goes without trepidation of media regulators punishment, is an issue that needs to be addressed. The British Journalism Review (March 2006) argues that the same harmful representation of Muslims within the media is the same for other terrorist groups such as the IRA. One can see similarities between views of Catholics from Ulster in the 1980s and Muslims today, that religious affiliations trumped all other affiliations: In Britain and the United States the popular line was that if you were a Catholic, you probably supported the IRA. Today, if you are a Muslim, the popular line is that you are probably anti-western or fundamentalist. This is not to say that journalism was and is responsible for these views, but rather that de-contextualised coverage did and does little to throw cold water on old stereotypes. The closest literature relating to the topic title comes from Elizabeth Pooles Reporting Islam: Media Representations of British Muslims. The book analyses the current situation regarding the image of Muslims by tracking the development of this form of new racism from earlier works. Poole says that the theme of immigration as a problem has now transferred to Muslims (van Dijk 1991), due to, as Lueg (1995) says a population explosion in the Middle East. British Muslims and their homogeny to other Muslims become the feared fifth column within (Runnymede Trust 1997). This combined with the discussion of numbers of people invading the country depicts aspirations of taking over the world, not seeking asylum. The combination of the hostile threat and movement of Islam promotes the idea that it needs to be managed in a way that allows varied prejudicial practices to continue (Poole, 2002: 47). What Poole is saying is that a plain dislike of the notion of Islam cannot be seen as the central feature of hostility towards Muslims. Attitudes to Muslims derive from a mixture of xenophobia and racism whereby newspapers such as the Mail can discuss or mainly criticise some of the practices of Islam without being seen to be unashamedly prejudice towards Muslims. Another adjoining piece of literature that many academics have drawn from when discussing this topic, is Edward Saids Covering Islam: How the media and the experts determine how we see the rest of the world (1981). Said argues that the siege of the American embassy in Iran in 1981 and its media coverage initiated an increased attention and portrayal of Islam with danger, militancy and anti-Western sentiment. The text examines the genesis and ramifications of the medias monolithic images of Islam and reveals the twisting of fact that underlies objective coverage of the Islamic world. Said says the application of a Western ideological framework or an ethnocentric way of seeing (Dahlgren and Chakrapani 1982: 45) has meant we see a domesticated Islamic world or those aspects considered to be newsworthy (Said 1981: 27). This has created a dichotomy between the West and Islam whereby the West is seen as judicious, civilized, developed and superior, and Islam as abnormal, undeveloped and in ferior. There are a small number of published journals that closely share the intentions of this paper. Diane Frosts Islamophobia: examining casual links between the media and race hate from below (2007) analyses the media reporting on recent and ongoing terrorist attacks in Britain and the effect on Muslim communities. The paper discusses islamophobic tendencies within British tabloids and their connections with government policies and violence that concerns religion. Whilst it highlights the medias promotion of moral panics such as problems of asylum and race, it is saying British tabloids breed on these moral panics, going further than the threat that is actually presented. Thus, the media have represented Muslims as a collective problem who threaten the very fabric of British society as supporters of al-Qaida and potential suicide bombers. They are the folk devils of the twenty first century (Diane Frost 2008 find out how to reference journal). It is worth noting that there are strong links between increased anti-terror legislation and other government measures and the way in which publications such as the Mail criminalise Muslim communities when reporting on such measures and legislation. This type of research will be considered in the methods section of the paper. Ian Hargreaves writes a piece in the New Statesman that demonstrates the negative coverage of immigration from the Mail in relation to fuelling racist attitudes. He says: It is not that I view with cynicism the Daily Mails efforts to achieve balance in its reporting of racial issues. Rather, I think the paper is misguided in discounting the encouragement its asylum coverage gives to racist sentiments (Hargreaves 2000). Reverting back to the theory that newspapers such as the Daily Mail have colonial instincts and an anti-foreigner viewpoint established within its DNA, Hargreaves is trying to say that these publications are not intending to be racist; they simply believe the types of stories concerning Islam being published are due to the public-interest factor. Christopher Allens journal discusses the dangerousness of the concept of Islamophobia in analytical relation with the findings of the Runnymede Trust Report (1997). The reports findings concluded that Islam is inherently seen as other to the West, reinforcing the them and us dualism. Taking this in to consideration, Allen says we should not be surprised to see such headlines as The Daily Mails offering, Fanatics with a death wish: I was born in Britain but I am a Muslim first. Here the Mail is merely reiterating those beliefs that are lodged at the heart of Islamophobia (Allen 2008: 4). The intention of this chapter was to identify underpinning theories, themes and issues published in previous literature in order for readers to understand the intentions of the research and findings that will be developed in the methods and data analysis. Methods and methodology This chapter will discuss the research that this paper will be carrying out, the reasons for using those methods and what results are to be expected. The most appropriate methods will be discussed along with their advantages and limitations, with ethical considerations ensured so that the data is collected in an ethical way. Previous research philosophy approaches to the medias role in the reproduction of racism are mainly content analytical; quantitative studies picking out the use of stereotypical words, phrases or images used when representing ethnic minorities (see, for example, Van Dijk 1991, 1997). This discourse analytical method systematically describes different structures and tactics of text in relation to a social or political framework. The method enables for the identification of focus on certain topics in a semantic analysis form as well as allowing examination of the overall organisation of news reports. Essentially this means discourse may thus be studied as the crucial interface between the social and cognitive dimensions of racism (Cottle 2000). So, publications such as the Mail as a discourse in the social practice of racism can be seen as a main source for peoples racist views/beliefs. According to Berger (1998: 23) content analysts assume that behavioural patterns, values and attitud es found in this material reflect and affect the behaviour, attitudes and values of the people who create the material. The advantages and reason as to why this paper will be adopting a similar style of research is there is no technology or major funds necessary and it has been known to lead to fundamental changes in the practices of an institution, profession and society as a whole. Another method of research that will be employed is that of conducting surveys to gauge the attitudes and opinions of Daily Mail readers on the subject of Islamic and Muslim issues. This will be cross referenced with readers of other newspapers to see if there is differing attitudes toward issues concerning Muslims, and of the role of The Daily Mail in these perceptions from people who read different newspapers. This intends to highlight the negative effect a newspaper has on readers views of a religion such as Islam and the race of Muslim. One could condemn this research method data saying the views of readers are only the views of the reader and not the publication, how far those views are affected by the discourse would be research that is virtually impossible, or not possible within the means of this author. (Explain the inductive approach to research with reference here) For the content analysis of the Daily Mails inciting of racial hatred, the content that will be analysed will be the amount of articles within a time period of 6 months the issue of Islam and Muslims is reported on in a negative manner. Albeit a personal opinion, a list of examples of this negative portrayal type of article is provided in the appendices. These are articles presenting Muslims and the religion of Islam as a problem and their difficulties with conflicting issues within British society. The research will compare the amount of times within a 6 month period these types of articles concerning Islam are presented in the Mail against how many times an article concerning the neo-Nazi anti-Muslim group The English Defence League (EDL) is shown. This will hope to demonstrate a correlation between increased amounts of Islamic coverage at a certain time with articles on/activities of the EDL. With regards to the questionnaires that will be collected, the scope and design need to be established. The scope or amount of participants that the research intends to gather are as follows; 150 readers of The Daily Mail and double that amount, 300 of readers of all other newspapers. As the research method employed to gather this amount of data means standing outside a busy newsagents (W H Smiths in Lime Street Station, Liverpool) and asking people who have bought newspapers to answer a short survey, to attempt to gather any more than that provided would be take a considerable amount of time and effort. As people are normally quite reluctant to take part in surveys due to time constraints the survey will not ask for some of the standard demographic information such as age; gender; nationality; ethnicity; religion etc. The questionnaire will ask what newspaper the participant reads, usually a quick and easy question to answer when the people who I will be asking have just recently bo ught a newspaper from the newsagents and will realise this is what my questionnaire is concerning. The questions will then be presented by me reading the statement and asking their opinion on that statement from a spectrum of answers, these being: strongly agree; agree; neutral; disagree and strongly disagree. This method does not force a yes or no answer that some participants may be reluctant to give considering the invasive nature of the questions. At the same time it could be considered to be avoiding leading questions. Where the participant may realise the questions are intended to produce certain types of generalisations so they would answer accordingly for the purposes of the research, they have some form of choice in which to express their opinions. These two forms of quantitative and qualitative research are used in order to arrive at a degree of triangulation when forming the findings and conclusions of the data collected. The two types of research methods that this paper will be employing will be that of content analysis within a theoretical framework and surveys conducted. The aim is to achieve a form of triangulation in which to infer meanings from when analysing and evaluating the collected data. Data, analysis and discussion Conclusion

The Imperative Programming Paradigm Philosophy Essay

The Imperative Programming Paradigm Philosophy Essay The imperative programming paradigm is the oldest and the most traditional one. It has grown from machine and assembler languages, whose main features reflect the John von Neumanns principle of computer architecture. An imperative program consists of explicit commands and calls of procedures to be consequently executed; they carry out operations on data and modify the value of program variables, as well as external environment. Within this paradigm variables are considered as containers for data similar to memory cells of computer memory. In the imperative paradigms we can think of a program as an active agent that manipulates passive objects. We encounter many passive objects in our daily life: a stone, a book, a lamp, and so on. A passive object cannot initiate an action by itself, but it can receive actions from active agents. A program in a procedural paradigm is an active agent that uses passive objects that we refer to as data or data items. To manipulate a piece of data, the active agent issues an action, referred to as a procedure. For example, think of a program that prints the contents of a file. The file is a passive object. To print the file, the program uses a procedure, which we call print. The concept of the imperative paradigm Imperative Paradigms is made up of three parts: a part for object creation, a set of procedure calls and a set of code for each procedure. Some procedures have already been defined in the language itself. By combining this code, the programmer can create new procedures. Characteristics: Discipline and idea Digital hardware technology and ideas of Von Neumann Incremental change of the program it state as a function of time. Execution of computational steps in an order governed by control structures We call the steps for command Straightforward abstractions of the way a traditional Von Neumann computer works Similar to descriptions of everyday routines, such as food recipes and car repairs Typical commands offered by imperative languages Assignment, IO, procedure calls The natural abstraction is the procedure Abstracts one or more actions to a procedure, which can be called as a single command. Procedural programming OBJECT-ORIENTED PARADIGM: Object-Oriented Paradigm, a program describes the structure and behaviour of so called objects and classes of objects. An object encapsulates passive data and active operations on these data: it has a storage fixing its state and a set of methods describing behaviour of the object. Classes compose an inheritance hierarchy including polymorphism of operation. Execution of an object-oriented program is regarded as exchange of message between objects, modifying states. Object-oriented paradigm deals with active objects instead of passive objects. We encounter many active objects in our daily life. The actions to be performed on these objects are included in the object: the objects need only to receive the appropriate stimulus from outside to perform one of the actions. A file in an object-oriented paradigm can be packed with all the procedures called methods in the object-oriented paradigm to be performed by the file: printing, copying, deleting and so on. The program in this paradigm just sends the corresponding request to the object. In object-oriented paradigm, objects of the same type (files, for example) need a set of methods that show how an object of this type reacts to stimuli from outside the objects territories. To create these methods, a unit called a class is used Characteristics: Discipline and idea The theory of concepts, and models of human interaction with real world phenomena Data as well as operations are encapsulated in objects Information hiding is used to protect internal properties of an object Objects interact by means of message passing A metaphor for applying an operation on an object In most object-oriented languages objects are grouped in classes Objects in classes are similar enough to allow programming of the classes, as opposed to programming of the individual objects Classes represent concepts whereas objects represents phenomena Classes are organized in inheritance hierarchies Provides for class extension or specialization Real-World Example using Imperative and Object-oriented Paradigms: Lets say that you are working for a vehicle parts manufacturer that needs to update its online inventory system. Your boss tells you to program two similar but separate forms for a website, one form that processes information about cars and one that does the same for trucks. For cars, we will need to record the following information: Colour, engine size, transmission type, number of doors For bus, the information will be similar, but slightly different, we need: Colour, engine size, transmission type, number of passengers In Imperative programming, you would write the code first to process the car form and then the code for the truck form, but In Object-Oriented programming, you would write a base class called vehicle that would record the common characteristics what we need from both trucks and cars. In this case, the vehicle class will record: Colour, engine size, transmission type Well make each one of those characteristics into a separate method. The colour method, for example, could take the colour of the vehicle as a parameter and do something with it, like storing it in a database. Next, we will create two more classes: truck and car, both of which will inherit all of the methods of the vehicle class and extend it with methods that are unique to them. The car class will have a method called numberofdoors and the truck class will have the methods numberofpassengers. As you seen from above example , employing an object-oriented programming style has significant advantages over Imperative programming, especially as your scale increases, doesnt mean that you should never use Imperative programming, if youre doing a mock-up or a proof-of-concept app, you might not have time to make everything object-oriented and so I think it might would be better to use Imperative programming for a prototypes, but it would be best to make the production product in an Object-Oriented manner. Conclusion: Object-Oriented programming is the brain-child of imperative programming and would not exist without its parent. On that note, we would not have the large-scale, highly modular, highly powerful programming abilities that we have today without the growth of imperative procedural programming into what is now object-oriented programming.

But you are not jeffmute? Irelands Image Abroad :: Essays Papers

'But you are not jeffmute?' Ireland's Image Abroad In "Ireland at the Bar" James Joyce is concerned with the image of Ireland in the eyes of the Britain and the role of the English media in Imperialism. The essay recounts the details of the trial for murder of Myles Joyce, accused of killing John Joyce [not a relation of his], his wife, mother and children on the 17th of August 1882 in Maamtrasna in Connemara. Myles Joyce was one of four or five peasants, "all of them members of the ancient tribe of the Joyces", arrested for the murder of their neighbour. Myles was the eldest of them, at sixty years of age, and belonged to a generation of Irish people who only spoke Irish. The patriarch was tried in English, a language he didn’t understand, and "Myles Joyce was convicted after the jury met for six minutes." (Flood, 883) and hanged in December 1882 at Galway jail. Myles Joyce was given the services of an interpreter as Joyce describes. "On the one hand there was the officious interpreter, on the other the patriarch of the miserable tribe who, unused to civic customs, seemed quite bewildered by all the legal ceremonies."(145) The Magistrate instructed the interpreter to ask the accused if he saw the woman on the morning in question, "the old man broke out into intricate explanations, gesticulating, appealing to the other accused, to heaven. Then, exhausted by the effort, he fell silent."(145) The interpreter answered to the magistrate "He says no, your worship."(145) The interpreter does an injustice to Myles Joyce by rendering the passionate protestations of the accused into monosyllabic answers. For Joyce, however, the case of Myles Joyce represents a greater issue concerning Irish Identity. He points out: The figure of the bewildered old man, left over from a culture which is not ours, a deaf-mute before his judge, is a symbol of the Irish nation at the bar of public opinion. Like him, Ireland cannot appeal to the modern conscience of England or abroad. The English newspapers act as interpreters between Ireland and the English electorate. (146) After he had been executed, Myles Joyce was considered to have been wrongfully accused of the murders. In fact, his co-accused admitted their part and exonerated Myles of any wrongdoing. But respective governments in Britain who refused to ever have a proper enquiry into this miscarriage of justice overlooked this.

The Impact of Destruction Essay -- Japanese Internment Camps, Pearl H

Some tremendous features in the history of mankind have been when one group of people were forcibly relocated to satisfy the needs of a more powerful one. This would encompass the Japanese internment camps in America during the World War II. The Japanese internment camps were overcrowded and provided poor living conditions. Likewise, every person had a unique story to this event, â€Å"A true story, involving an extraordinary episode in American history† (Houston x). In the novel Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston, is a traumatizing story Jeanne experienced and wrote down, to be remembered in the future of a historical context. Manzanar represented different areas of Ko Wakatsuki (Papa) and Jeanne Wakatsuki's unique personalities to bring about both destruction and growth, and simultaneously offer influence in each other's characters. The impact of destruction affected the Wakatsuki family's perspective of life and Manzanar itself, b ecause Papa was separated from the Wakatsuki family, arrived home as a changed man, and tore his family members apart. Papa has lived his life with achievement, until the day he was separated from his family after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Papa was falsely charged by the FBI men and was sent to Fort Lincoln with suspicions of supplying oil to Japanese submarines offshore. Because of Papa's destruction, he burned all remaining items such as documents, papers and the Japanese flag that reminded him of the attack. The narrator describes Papa as a â€Å"dark, bitter, brooding presence† (Houston 65). Prior to the internment, Papa's self-esteem was not destroyed. Papa was very enthusiastic and proud for his dignity and attitude. He was seventeen years old when he move... ... would get us past the heat, and the rattlers, and a great deal more† (Houston 202). With confidence, Jeanne took a last look, left Manzanar behind forever, and continued her precious life. Living in the internment camp slowly ended the closeness of the Wakatsuki family; mainly Jeanne's since she was a seven year old girl, who now is an adult. The internment camp and Papa's capture destroyed the unique personalities of Papa and Jeanne. Throughout Farewell to Manzanar, Papa's identity diminished with his family and it was hard for him to live with happiness. Jeanne made a final decision to start a new beginning of her life, after she had visited the old camp with her new family. It was to convince herself that there is a life outside of the camp that Papa created for the Wakatsuki family and that she had to eventually leave her past and begin a new stable life.