Gangsterisum Essays - Prohibition In The United States,

Gangsterisum GANGSTERISUM In 1919 congress passed the eighteenth amendment. Which abolished alcohol and legally prohibited the manufacturing or sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Thus bringing the rise and increase of organized crime and criminal activity. This amendment would be a huge mistake for the country and the United States would suffer severely. If there is a demand for something, no mater what it is, there will always be somebody there to partake in the process of fulfilling those needs of the consumer. Many people indulged themselves in many different kinds of alcohol, in many different ways. It was a way of life. Then the government steps in and puts a band on this way of life. State and federal agents immediately closed down the bars and saloons. Only to reopen as underground speakeasies. So people started having to buy their cherished alcoholic beverages illegally. Hidden places where people could knock and speak softly at a securely locked door, a secret establishment for entrance into the underworld of illegal liquor consumption. These secret places were first created by soon to be powerful mob bosses. These bootlegging merchants that ran the speakeasies found riches and power in the illegal operations. Thus bringing the introduction into organized crime. Organized crime was soon on the rise, especially in large cities. The large bootlegging operations blossomed into many other illegal activities. These organized crime leaders had the police on their payroll working for them. They would tell them to look the other way and the crooked police were paid very generously for their injustice abuse of authority. They also had their hands in other corrupt businesses such as prostitution, illegal gambling, and the smuggling of many different kinds of narcotic drugs. Gang violence also became stronger between the rival mobs of organized crime. Street wars broke out and many demonstrations of these crime leaders powers were expressed. The increase of murders of low ranking, average citizens were becoming more and more common. With most of the police on the take, there were a lot fewer arrest and those criminals who were arrested usually got off on all their charges, depending on whom they knew or whom they worked for. Most of the mob bosses were so ruthless that they would bully honest, hard working merchants into paying, so called protection money, to the under lords in their block or that ran the racket they worked in. If these simple shop workers refused to pay them their protection money sometimes they would rough up their employees, destroy their stores, and often hospitalize the shop keepers themselves. Large corporations were not safe either. They were also affected. These racketeers would push around the large businesses promoters, organizers, and even the strong labor unions. Today the story is not so well known. Its not as bad today because people have more trust in the police to protect them. The mobsters tend to leave normal average people alone because they really have no business with them and they dont want to take the risk of getting caught by show boating their names and powers. The racketeers of today are not as publicly known even thought they still have many different holds on large corporations and large parts of the cities. Also the law is more forceful today than eighty years ago against organized crime. Today you wont find many crooked authority officials that you could just pay off to get yourself out of trouble. Not to say that these payoffs dont still occur today they are just kept quiet and people have learned many ways to not get caught. There are still many illegal casinos, prostitution rings, and racketeering run by these large secret societys., but drugs are still probably the number one money making business for organized crime uni ts in the United States today. There is too much money to be made out there illegally, that organized crime is here to stay. If its Mafia, Columbian, or Street based, in some form or another it will be organized by somebody in one way or another. American History

Dont monkey around with fonts - Emphasis

Dont monkey around with fonts Dont monkey around with fonts According to childrens literacy website Reading Rockets, when kids start to read, they like to mirror the writing they see around them. So, if they see you writing a list, they may well write one too. If youre writing in your diary, theyll probably have a pretend one too. Most parents will help their children get better at writing by practising forming letters with a variety of mediums: paper, sand, snow or even in the air. Its also good to read things which just happen to be around and might well catch the eye like cereal packets, for instance. So, how confusing is the font for Kelloggs Adopt a Monkey campaign? As a marketing idea the Adopt a Monkey campaign is a cracker. It ticks all the boxes: cuddly animals, conservation and charity. But who designed the font? With capitals D, N, H, P and G slung with gay abandon in the middle of words on both the Kelloggs and Born Free sites, theyre making reading and writing just that bit harder for a major part of its target audience. Do you baulk at, KeePiNG WiLDlife in tHe WiLD, or BorN Free, or is it just me? Do you feel this curious choice of script is designed to make a younger audience feel at ease because these are the kinds of mistakes kids make when theyre learning to write? In that case we could soon be going down the crumpled paper, smudge-infested route. Perhaps with the odd dribble or bogey on: thats common in kids efforts too. So: Adopt a Monkey great idea, guys. But rein in those designers or youre only making an already complicated system even more difficult for those just starting out.

A Respectable Actress Does Not Have a Blind Side Essay

A Respectable Actress Does Not Have a Blind Side - Essay Example Soundtracks for The Blind Side were written by Alan Wilson and performed by Canned Heat. The Blind Side features Michael Other, a homeless teenager who is adopted by a wealthy and conservative family in the suburbs of Memphis, Tennessee. Michael is positioned as one of the most promising prospects in college football due to his natural athletic skills and the perseverant and unconditional support of his new family (IMDb). Michael Other (Quinton Aaron), a homeless teenager who has been running away from different host families in Memphis, Tennessee, is staying temporarily at one of his friend’s father sofas. Fascinated by Michael’s athletic skills and corporal features, and despite his academic insufficiencies, Burt Cotton (Ray McKinnon) helps Michael to get admitted to Wingate Christian School where he coaches. A friendly and smart little boy called Sean Jr. ‘SJ’ (Jae Head) approaches Michael at school while waiting for his mother to pick him up. Although t his is their first encounter, they meet once more when SJ’s father Sean Tuohy (Tim McGraw) is driving the family home. Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) is moved by the image of ‘big Mike’ shivering in the cold while walking in direction to the school gym to spend the night, therefore, she asks him to stay at their comfortable house in the suburbs of Memphis. Gradually the Tuohy family becomes Michael’s new family. Leigh Anne is a multitasking, persuasive and strong-minded professional and house-wife, working from home as an interior designer. She is very inquisitive woman and when seeking to become Michael’s legal guardian, she finds out he was cruelly separated from his drug-addicted mother when he was seven years old. The brutal separation from his mother caused a strong impression on Michael, who eventually developed resilient ‘protective instincts’. The protective nature of Michael gives him the opportunity to become one of the mos t highly prospects in college football. Michael is a leader on the field. The only problem is that in order to be accepted at NCAA Division I scholarship, Michael should improve his GPA which he does with the help of some teachers and a personal tutor, Miss Sue (Kathy Bates), hired by the Tuohy. Leigh Anne makes it clear that she prefers the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) because she and Sean are alumni of this university; and, in a rather indirect and persuasive way, she convinces Michael to commit to Ole Miss. As a result both Michael and the family Tuohy become the subject of an investigation of the NCAA. During the interview to find out Michael’s reasons to choose Ole Miss, Michael understands the game played by Leigh Anne to influence him; he gets angry at her and decides to return to his mother. Michael comes back to the Tuohy family after Leigh Anne approaches him and asks to forgive her. The inquiry conducted by the NCAA does not progress because Michael is rela xed and able to overcome all the questions from the investigator. The Blind Side makes a stereotypical portrayal of American families and society. A white, middle-class family becomes the worthy protector of a poor, huge, illiterate black teenager. Both, Leigh Anne and Sean (a prosperous businessman) are the parents of a beautiful teenager Collins and

Rational Frame Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Rational Frame Theory - Essay Example This paper looks at the concept of relational frame theory based on the tutorial developed by Dr Eric J. Fox, Ph.D, in his website. It will be based on the explanation of a hierarchical representation (given below) of Dr Fox’s views on this area. According to Dr Fox, language can create both problems and solutions. Any situation, whether it is positive or negative, is directly related to the language and emotion used. It can be used to instruct, to give praise or heap insults. It can be used to judge people and it can be used to make laws. It can be used to educate people and can be used to dictate actions. Words used in a certain context can even result in violence and wars. On the other extreme, it has the ability to bring about peace among nations. These few examples of the power of language show how much it can influence a society and its individuals. It should be stated here that language studies can help in understanding human behavior and actions to a large extent. It can help psychologists to provide solutions to problems faced by individuals. Traditional theories on the field believe that words used in language have symbolism and generativity. Symbolism refers to the power of a word to signify other meanings or thin gs even though a particular word has a specific meaning. For example the word fire may evoke different emotions in people. For one person fire can mean warmth, for another it can mean pain, and for a third person it can mean food. This power of the word can have diverse effects on people in the context they are used. A combination of words, in other words a sentence, has generativity. According to Dr Fox, â€Å"generativity means that we can create and understand an infinite number of meaningful sentences or utterances† (Fox, 2002).The sentence ‘An apple is a blue fruit that is found in the North Pole’ may be absurd and incorrect, but it has meaning. In

Effects of Film on Driving Behaviour

Effects of Film on Driving Behaviour Mass Media Society Jeremy Philip Monteiro      Imbert Narumanan Sebastian Lim Jit Shern Contents page (Jump to) Introduction We conducted a study on college students here in Tunku Abdul Rahman University-College Penang to see if a movie could affect their driving behavior. We selected the movie, The Fast The Furious. The choice of movie is selected because the movie itself is involves high-speed chases and racing with vehicles that are modified to push itself to the limits. The movie itself is an action and also a thriller; it was released in 2001 and directed by Rob Cohen and distributed by Universal Pictures. The main cast of the movie are Vin Diesel and Paul Walker; Walker plays as an undercover cop who must stop a team of hijackers who are led by Diesel. Brian gets involve with the hijackers and falls in love with Diesel’s sister and must choose to be an accomplice in Diesel’s plan or blow it all over by arresting him and his crew. Throughout the movie there will be conflict, some family oriented scenes but its main focus are on the adrenaline-rushing fast cars. This research was done on college students, specifically in TARUC Penang. There were about 30 students who were asked to be interviewed using a prepared set of questions. The interview was conducted informally as it would make the interviewee more comfortable as well as to stimulate open ended answers rather than close ended. The idea is to see if these college students who have watched the movie affected in anyway in terms of driving. The title of our research is â€Å"Do movies affect students’ driving? A review on The Fast The Furious. Literature Review The theory that is used in this research is the Media Effects theory. Media Effect theory explains as how the media can affect the society and how the society can affect the media. The concept of this theory relies on both the media as well as the society. However there are several implications that are negative made of this theory which is saying that people try to follow exactly as to what they see. For instance, â€Å"copycat murder† that took place in 2004 when a boy was murdered by his best friend and the game ‘Manhunt’ was instantly banned due the style of murder was assume to be similar to the game. The theory defines moral panic in relation to representations of sex, violence and deviant behavior and its supposed effects on youth. Moral panic is the feeling that the situation is out of control in some way, and therefore represents a threat to the moral order. The media effects theory was firstly proposed by the Frankfurt School of social researchers in the 1920’s from people’s reaction to Nazi propaganda. The hypodermic model explains that the media is like a drug that society may be addicted to, stating that the audience are helpless to defend themselves against the media and just behave passively. This theory is quite similar to the Social Learning theory by Bandura where a studied made on 2 groups of children who are exposed to the violent content on television and the other group is exposed to the positive content. Later, both groups were given a doll and the group who were exposed to the violent content reacted violently towards the doll. This helps determine that children may behave according to what they see or exposed to. Research The purpose of this research is to find out if a movie such as The Fast The Furious may or may not be an affect or influence the driving in any way. In order to ensure that the information we use in this research is accurate and reliable, we decided to use a primary research method to obtain our results. Which is to interview our respondents face to face and gather their feedback. The idea of an interview is to obtain a qualitative research which is in hope to receive in-depth answers to the questions. The target audience were selected at random in college and most of them were from the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities. Based on the nature of the movie, we could assume that the producers of the franchise were targeting teenagers and young adults. Therefore we have decided to interview our fellow college-mates for this research. Moreover, most the students in TARUC have just gotten their driving license and are experiencing unsupervised driving for the first time. Our team has chosen 30 individuals within the campus grounds and approached them in the canteen, the library and the foyer. Below are the ten questions that were prepared for the interview: Have you watched The Fast and the Furious? Where did you watch the movie? What do you think of the movie? How many times have you watched the movie? Do you think the movie influences your driving style? In what way? After watching the movie, do you see yourself attempting to replicate the stunts you have seen? Which scene in the movie would you say made an impact on your driving? Do you think it is dangerous or safe to be mimicking the driving from the movie? After watching the movie would you say that your driving abilities have improved? Do you feel that the movie can play a role in how you drive? These ten questions are made specifically to understand how the student thinks or feel after watching the movie, especially to see if the movie has made a change on their driving abilities and if they are aware of it. We took note of what the 30 individuals had answered and evaluated them. Findings Based on the questions above, we have found that all 30 respondents have answered that they have watched the movie before. Since it being an old movie that was released in 2001, majority of students answered that they have watch the movie on television. However there were a minority that had answered cinema. Majority of students had answered that they think that the movie is a good and entertaining movie which falls as a positive review. However a minority of them had also answered that the movie comes off as an unrealistic and bad movie which implies as a negative review. To the question above, majority of students answered once and minority of them had answered twice. Based on the question above, all 30 students who have watched the movie claims that they are unaffected by the movie. To question 6, only 2 students answered â€Å"yes† where else majority of them answered that they will do not see themselves wanting to replicate the stunts they see in the movie. As to question 7, majority of students claimed the there is no scene applicable. However, a minority of 6% answered the racing scene made an impact on their driving. Based on the question, all 30 students have answered that it is dangerous to be mimicking the driving from the movie. According the chart above, minority of students claimed that their driving abilities have improved after watching the movie. However, majority of them said that the movie did not improve their driving abilities. Based on the final question, majority of students feel that the movie does not play a role in how they drive today and a minority of 23% said that it does. Conclusion We’ve learned that the conducting research isn’t an easy task and takes time to produce result. We also learn that most students find it hard to produce quality answers as they rather provide brief answers. From the findings above, we are able to deduce that the influence brought upon by a movie has not affected the driving style of college students in our campus. This is solely based on their answers of course; however we are unable to physically prove at the moment if it has taken an effect Most students found the movie to be fun and entertaining but however manage to realized that the movie is unrealistic and are aware of the dangers involve if they were to follow what they see in the movie. Despite having good overall reviews of the highly action packed scenes from the movie itself, students find that stunts coordinated in the movie is rather dangerous and definitely will not be attempted in their daily driving routine. In short, based on the majority of answers we gathered, after a watching the movie, The Fast The Furious, students at Tunku Abdul Rahman University-College are not affected by it. Bibliography/References Neal H.M (Producer), Rob Cohen (Director) (2001).The Fast and the Furious[Motion picture]. United States: Universal Pictures (Distributor). Martyn Shuttleworth(Jul 5, 2008). Survey Research Design. Retrieved Nov 22, 2014 from Explorable.com:https://explorable.com/survey-research-design Robson, C. (2002)Real world research: A resource for social scientists and practitioner-researchers, Oxford, Blackwell. Biagi, S. (2012). Media impact: an introduction to mass media (10th ed.). CA: Thomson/Wadsworth. Vivian, J. (2012). The media of mass communication (11th ed.). Singapore: Pearson. Burton, G. (2005). Media and society: Critical perspective. New York: Open University Press. Krish, S. J. (2006). Children, adolescents, and media violence: A critical look at the research. CA: Sage Publication. Appendix Survey 1 Have you watched the movie The Fast and the Furious before? Yes Where did you watched the movie? I watched it on TV, one of the Astro movie channels. What do you think about the movie? Very fast paced and entertaining action movie, But like all actions movies, it is filled with unrealistic action sequences, involving cars mostly, and violence. How many times have you watched the movie? Twice. Do you think the movie influences your driving style? In what ways? No, the move did not influence my driving style. After watching the movie, do see yourself attempting to replicate the stunts you’ve seen? No. What scene in the movie would you say made an impact the most on your driving? No scene in particular as I think the entire movie did not have any impact on my driving skills. Do you think it is dangerous or safe to be mimicking driving acts from the movie? It is dangerous of course, People have to know that Fast and Furious is a movie and the driving sequences are made to look unrealistic and dangerous to meet the criteria of an action movie. These sequences are mostly carried out by experienced stunt drivers. After watching the movie, would you say that your driving abilities have been improved? No, not at all. Watching the movie did not affect my driving skills at all. Do you agree that movies can play a role in how a person drives? Yes. Those who watch the movie and are into to automobiles might try to imitate the driving sequences done in the film, which depict illegal racing, speeding and reckless driving to be fun. Also, some people might get the idea that it is safe to do all those things and not get in trouble or get hurt as the characters in the movie remain unscathed and always get away with what they’re doing. Unfortunately, this does not apply in real life. Survey 2 Have you watched the movie The Fast and the Furious before? Yes. Where did you watched the movie? When it played on TV. What do you think about the movie? Good, quite entertaining. I thought it was very cool with the fast cars. How many times have you watched the movie? Once. Do you think the movie influences your driving style? In what ways? No. After watching the movie, do see yourself attempting to replicate the stunts you’ve seen? Nope, not at all. What scene in the movie would you say made an impact the most on your driving? No particular scene. Do you think it is dangerous or safe to be mimicking driving acts from the movie? Dangerous, of course. After watching the movie, would you say that your driving abilities have been improved? Nope, I was too young at the time when I first watched it. Do you agree that movies can play a role in how a person drives? Maybe. Sometime Maybe. Sometimes people will go too far and imitate their role models on screen without knowing the risks of actually doing so. Survey 3 Have you watched the movie The Fast and the Furious before? Yes. Where did you watched the movie? On the television. What do you think about the movie? Quite a cool movie. How many times have you watched the movie? Once but I watched it halfway through. Do you think the movie influences your driving style? In what ways? Nope. After watching the movie, do see yourself attempting to replicate the stunts you’ve seen? Not really, I wouldn’t dare. What scene in the movie would you say made an impact the most on your driving? No particular scene. Do you think it is dangerous or safe to be mimicking driving acts from the movie? Quite dangerous, After watching the movie, would you say that your driving abilities have been improved? No. Do you agree that movies can play a role in how a person drives? No. Survey 4 Have you watched the movie The Fast and the Furious before? Yes, unfortunately I have. Where did you watched the movie? It is quite an old movie, I think it was on TV. What do you think about the movie? It’s good but very unrealistic. How many times have you watched the movie? Once. Do you think the movie influences your driving style? In what ways? Absolutely not. After watching the movie, do see yourself attempting to replicate the stunts you’ve seen? No. What scene in the movie would you say made an impact the most on your driving? None in particular as I can barely even remember the movie. Do you think it is dangerous or safe to be mimicking driving acts from the movie? Very dangerous. After watching the movie, would you say that your driving abilities have been improved? Not at all. Do you agree that movies can play a role in how a person drives? Yes, there will always be some crazy sod out there who think they can pull of movie driving-stunts on an actual road an attempt to speed on the highway. Its ridiculous.

Nike and Child Labor

I. Identification 1. The Issue Nike has been accused of using child labor in the production of its soccer balls in Pakistan. This case study will examine the claims and describe the industry and its impact on laborers and their working conditions. While Pakistan has laws against child labor and slavery, the government has taken very little action to combat it. Only a boycott by the United States and other nations will have any impact on slavery and child-based industries. Futhermore the U. S constitution states that child labor is an illegal and inhumane practice and any U. S. company found guilty practicing and encouraging it will be prosecuted. GATT and WTO prohibits member nations, like the United States, from discriminating against the importation of goods made by children. Are dolphins becoming more important than children? A question making WTO to reconsider the children's appeal of the third world. 2. Description Brief about the tradition of child labor in Pakistan Pakistan has a per-capita income of $1,900 per year -meaning that a typical person survives barely on $5 per day. And that's nonot all, Pakistan has a traditional culture where earning of one person goes on feeding 10 mouths; and with the high rate of inflation it becomes difficult for a low income population to survive. Child labor is spread all over Pakistan but has the greatest impact in the north-west of punjab province, that is Sialkot. Pakistan has a population of approximately 1 million and is an important centre for the production of goods for export to international markets, particularly sporting goods. In 1994, exports from Sialkot brought income of almost US$ 385 million into the Pakistan economy. Sialkot is thus one of the world’s most important centres for production of sporting goods. Child labor exists in Sialkot both in the export sector and the domestic sector. This fact has been well documented and reported by the international media for several years but nothing has been done about it. In Pakistan it is clearly documented that child labor is against the law, but the government carries lack of willingness to do anything about it. Provision for education is very limited, due to the fact that very low priority is given to education in the national budgets. Education receives around 3% of he total gross domestic product when compared to over ten times of this amount spent on military. Gender and other forms of discrmination plus adding to the lack of political will, gives the clear picture of the existence of child labor in Pakistan. Nike as a helper or exploiter to IIIrd World Recently if you go to a shop to buy your child a new soccer ball. There is a good possibi lity that the ball has been made by someone your child's age or even younger. About half of the world's soccer ball are made in Pakistan, and each one of them passes through a process of production where child labor is involved. This problem not only pertains to Pakistan but is worldwide. More than 200 children, some as young as 4 and 5 years of age, are involved in the production line. Majority of these children work in Asia, e. g in the nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia. Nike is characterized of making its equipments in countries which are in the developing phase, having very cheap labor, authoritarian government and lack of human rights appeal and union movement. In doing this it has made greater margins on the cost of mere cents to its workers. So Nike success story is not based on good name and advertising alone but also attached to it is the tears of tortured workers and child labor. A columnist ‘Stephen Chapman' from Libertarian newspaper argues that â€Å"But why is it unconscionable for a poor country to allow child labor? Pakistan has a per-capita income of $1,900 per year – meaning that the typical person subsists on barely $5 per day. Is it a a revelation – or a crime – that some parents willingly send their children off to work in a factory to survive? Is it cruel for Nike to give them the chance? † (source: http://www. raincity. com/~williamf/words96. html) Stephen argues that the best way to end child-labor is to buy more of the products that children produce. This would increase their demand, and as they will produce more, they will earn more, hence giving themselves chane to rise above poverty level and thus also benefiting the families of the children and as well as the nation. However, the issue is not that simple. Increasing the demand of the products produced by child labor means encouraging more child labor, encouraging more birth rates, more slavery, increasing sweatshops and discouraging education – as parents of the children working in factories would want them to work more and earn more. If this happened to be the case, then more and more children will be bought and sold on the black market, leading no end to this problem. By encouraging more child labor, you are not only taking away those innocent years from them but also the right to be educated and the right to be free. Nike – a good chess player As a good chess player Nike always thinks ahead of its movement. It does not launch its production directly in to the developing country, such as Pakistan, but instead it subcontracts it to them by selecting a local firm. When doing this, the local firm, in this case SAGA sports, has to abide by the Nike's international rules and regulations when producing its goods. And it is the duty of the international firm (NIKE) to monitor its subcontracted production units and hold it to tight scrutuny. But this is not what really happens. Both Nike and the local production company aims to minimize cost and earn the highest amounts of profit thus involving themselves in illegal practices, such as child labor, a practice which is not so highlighted by the government of the host developing country. So what happens when you question Nike about its labor practices? An answer comes that it is not they who are involved in this illegal labor practices but it is the local subcontracter who is doing so. This is wrong to say as Nike and SAGA sports both benefits with access to cheap child labor in Pakistan. And if Nike cannot control its subcontracted plants, it means they have not implemented their rules and regulations effectively and is not abiding by the international standards which they have set for themselves. Nike's entrance in to the Pakistani markets was the part of its long term strategic planning. It is false to explain that Nike didn't knew that child labor is an ages-old practice in Pakistan. Nike went into Pakistan, having full knowledge of the favorable conditions prevailing in terms of child labor and has taken no precautions whatsoever to prevent the use of child labor in the production of its soccer balls. Instead Nike has made a profit from its Pakistani contractors who inturn has used bonded child labor in the production process. Critically analyzing the situation, â€Å"Why Nike always land up in places having cheap or bonded labors or in places where it can easily get away with illegal labor practices? † Examples incude: Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. Nike simply bases its operations on finding the lowest-cost labor to make its products. Twelve-year-old girls work in Indonesian sweatshops 70 hours a week making Nike shoes in unhealthy plants. According to a Foulball campaign report, Nike has refused twice to have a check in their Saga-managed center in Pakistan while on the other hand Nike's rival Reebok readily granted access to its Moltex-managed center in Pakistan. Nike has the habit of hiding behind its good public image and its effective means of promotions and advertising. Nike attempts to create a good public image by offering charity, donating equipments and never passing an opportunity to remind the public that it has set up stitching centers in places such as Sialkot, Pakistan. How it all started – Consumer awareness 1996 When the June, 1996 issue of Life magazine carried an article about child labor in Pakistan, Nike knew that it was in trouble. The article's lead photograph showed 12-year-old Tariq surrounded by the pieces of a Nike soccer ball which he would spend most of a day stitching together for the grand sum of 60 cents. In a matter of weeks, activists all across Canada and the United States were standing in front of Nike outlets, holding up Tariq's photo. And yet, Nike has not done an especially good job of scrutinizing the subcontractors with which it's working. Nor has it been open about its labor practices in the way public companies should be expected to be. Cameramen have been pushed out of factory floors. Supervisors at a plant in Vietnam apparently beat workers being paid 20 cents an hour and refused to allow them to leave their work posts. Indonesian labor organizers has been put behind bars. And, most troubling, nearly all the soccer balls made in Pakistan have been revealed to be made by young children getting paid just cents a day. Nike chairman Phil Knight also acknowledged that a shipment of soccer balls Nike purchased in Pakistan in the year 1996 was made by a subcontractor using child labor in â€Å"horrible conditions. † Although 1996 was the first year in which real public attention was focused on Nike's labor practices abroad, it's important to recognize that manufacturing shoes n low-wage countries was, from the start, a crucial part of Phil Knight's plan for his company. In other words, American jobs have not been shipped abroad. On the contrary, Nike has never made shoes in the United States. Its first factories, built in the 1960s, were in Japan, when that country was still a part of the Third World. And since thirty years Nike have migrating from nation to nation, arriving as countries install the necessary mechanisms for orderly business operations and leaving as living standards become too high to make manufacturing profitable. Nike â€Å"not Just do it but Do it right. † This is the first time that Nike has had to face real questions about its labor practices abroad, the first time that it has felt a public-relations impact. At this point, that impact does not seem at all devastating. While in the short run Americans are generally horrified by the issue of child labor and has expressed concern over the working conditions in foreign factories, Nike should take immediate actions in order to provide remedy to all the activism it faces, otherwise it can prove devastating for the company's image in the long run. The basic truth about Nike is that its only real strength is its good name. Nike rules because of all the good things people associate with the company: sharp ads, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, little Penny, and Michael Jordan again. If â€Å"beaten workers† and â€Å"child labor† get added to that list, then Nike's greatest asset will be lost. Now the burden is on the company both to do a better job of implementing company-wide global standards of conduct and also to improve its openness to the media. The more you hide, after all, the more people think you have something to hide. Every hand that goes up, hurts Nike in the public eye. And when you're a consumer company, that's the only eye that matters. Consumers — â€Å"Just don't do it. † When a person states that he/she is working for Nike, it gives a very good status symbol. But what if the person is a 9 – year old child? What image will it give you as a consumer when you buy ththose products or brands that employ child labor? Consumers should take an immediate action in order to eradicate child labor practices discharged by these multinational U. S corporations. This can only be done by not buying their products which are produced in the third world and which have suspicion of a child being involved in the process. Child labor is a human rights issue. What is more of a human right than growing up as a free person, attending school without being held in bondage? 3. Related Cases Nike labor practices in Vietnam Nike in Indonesia Nike labor practices in China 4. Draft Author: Faraz Azam (June 1999) Note Date

American Involvement in Vietnam War

The novel â€Å"Morning Glories among the Peas† was written by James D. Seddon, a mechanic and expert surveillance personnel of the US army. He was one of the US soldiers who was involved in the Vietnam War. In this novel, he wrote some of his experiences albeit fighting and surviving in Vietnam. Nevertheless, he also offered some political issues that he thinks should be addressed by the US government. The Vietnam War was both a military and ideological war. When Vietnam was divided into two parts: North and South Vietnam, tensions were rising between the two nations.North Vietnam had a Communist government supported by both the Soviet Union and Red China. It was headed by Ho Chi Minh who defeated the French during the Vietnamese war of independence. South Vietnam was democratic in government. A duly constituted government was elected by the South Vietnamese under the terms of its constitution. South Vietnam was supported by the United States. When the North Vietnamese army i nvaded South Vietnam, call for its defense was alerted by the United States. Allied nations of the United States responded and began sending troops to South Vietnam.The United Nations Security Council called for the deployment of troops in South Vietnam to relieve the pressure from the South Vietnamese army trapped in the invasion. The United States, under the presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson sent troops to Vietnam without the formal declaration of War. Hence, the Vietnam War came to its early phase of battle. The book was about a Vietnam War veteran who saw the horrible events in the war: the bloody massacre of villages by US troops suspected of hiding North Vietnamese, the frequent ambush of US marines in the jungles of Vietnam, and many other events narrated in the book.Since the book is non-fiction, it guarantees a wide range of historical discourse on policies on war and political ideological struggles. Nevertheless, the wide array of schematic dialogues and conjunctures bet weens characters provide the audience the atmosphere of intense conflict, of which, the most pervasive is the reality of war as politics and of politics as war. The Vietnam War was the longest war involving the United States (1961-1975), yet it was only the war in which the United States was defeated.The intense realities of the war which the author was trying to convey in his novel was a blanch or result of ideological struggle between the US and the Communist bloc. It was often argued that the United States fought a war of non-sense, but policy-makers at that time were not concerned of practicality, but only of necessity. Vietnam was strategic since it holds the key to the numerous bodies of water surrounding the newly-born democratic republics of Southeast Asia. If Southeast Asia fell to the Communists, what are then the chances for the United States to maintain its ideological dominance?The implication of the author’s argument may hold the key to the very purpose of sendi ng expeditions to South Vietnam. Soldiers were sent to a land where they have no affinities. They were serving a war that does not suit their interests. Added to that, the war seemed to be a reflection of their nation’s stance to maintain world leadership at all costs, by all means. Hence then, the experiences of the veteran in the novel were a reflection of the credulity of the insistence of the United States to maintain its ideological dominance in the form of a genuine â€Å"defense of democracy.† It was in many ways irresponsible, unconcerned, and strategic from the point of view of those who fought in the battle fronts. As for the author, his experiences of senseless massacres of villages, poisoning of wells, senseless killings of soldiers, indiscriminate bombings of cities and towns, were the direct results of this desire: the desire for ideological and military dominance. It was even implied in the title of the novel. Do morning glories really found among peas?D oes this serves as an allegory of the conflicting conditions in Vietnam and the United States? Or does this indicate a struggle for ideological dominance? Or simply a way of reiterating the realities of war brought by the things mentioned above? It seems that the novel covered these issues presented, although some of them may be highlighted and some cast aside. The realities presented by the author (who was a veteran of the war) were, in my interpretation, the embodiment of the war policies of the United States.These were policies that prioritize ideology rather than human dignity. The novel also presented the decay of human dignity brought about by the Vietnam War. Human dignity is generally found in the ability of humans to live comfortably without the interference of foreign powers, that is, free development under the term of a just legal standard. The intrusion of the United States into the lives of the South Vietnamese brought them anguish and despair.The United States also suf fered because it lost almost 500, 000 men in the war. Nevertheless, it lost the pride and status achieved decades ago. It was generally an unwarranted war. The novel is generally a good source of historical information about the war in Vietnam. It also gives a thorough and clear description of Vietnam; its people, goals, and achievements. Nevertheless, it should be noted that there are some form of biases in the novel; sometimes favoring the United States; sometimes attacking its war policies.For instance, to describe the North Vietnamese as â€Å"senseless killing machines† is generally unacceptable especially for educated men who view these people as freedom-loving. Nevertheless, it can also be argued that the book also suffered from the credulities of a simplistic master piece. Although it accurately describes reality, the author was unable to highlight his literary style in the novel (novice). Reference Seddon, James D. 1990. Morning Glories among the Peas: A Vietnam†™s Veteran Story. Iowa State. e-bay bookstore download. http://worldcat. org//22181821?