Maximizing Naitonal Security Through Foreign Policy

Foreign policy can be understood as a set of political goals that aims to outline how a particular state will interact with others For Beach (2012), â€Å"Foreign policy actions can be undertaken using a variety of different instruments, ranging from adopting declarations, making speeches, negotiating treaties, giving other states economic aid, engaging in diplomatic activity such as summits, and the use of military force†. No matter which instruments are used, the primary objective of states in outlining their foreign policies is to maximise their national security. As such, states go about maximising national security through different means such as by military force, economic prosperity and/or the welfare of its people. However, it has been†¦show more content†¦States within the international system are said to be existing under the same conditions as there is no effective overarching authority mediating disputes between nations (Waltz 1979). Realists argue that st ates are compelled to seek power in order to ensure their own security. They posit that the primary national interest of all states is national security. Though there have been different strands of realism within IR theory, they are all united in their subscriptions to the concepts of survival and self-help (Dunne Schmidt, 2011). Due to realists depicting the international realm as anarchic, the first priority of state leaders is to ensure the survival of the state. Because there is no guarantee that states can ensure their safety from external threats, the use of force which can escalate to war is seen as a legitimate tool of statecraft – such force can be used to start wars or be used as an element of coercive diplomacy (Art Cronin, 2003). For realists, the possibility of states using force against one another is ever-present, generating insecurity between them. But anarchy is not the only factor that generates insecurity between states. First, most states possess some form of offensive capability which they can use against rivals. Second,

Education Essay Teaching For Creativity Essay Free Essays

string(124) " risk taking and experimentation, so that learners have the chance to come up with new ideas and learn from their mistakes\." INTRODUCTION The lack of creativity in teaching has been a significant issue in recent years. In All Our Futures: Creativity, Cultures and Education, a report by the National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education (NACCE) in May 1999, there are proposals suggested to implement a wider nationwide scheme for creative education. The report highlighted that children profit from using creative skills and by having these skills developed. We will write a custom essay sample on Education Essay: Teaching For Creativity Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now It also suggested that creative teaching should be made part of all academic education. This was the first time that this issue had been fully recognised. In response to this report, the government has acknowledged the significance of developing the creative skills of children, as these could become essential in future workplaces. The Nation Curriculum recognises that many employers want and need creative people: ‘Schools that promote creativity will ensure that pupils respond positively to opportunities and responsibilities and are better able to cope with new challenges as well as change and adversity’ (National Curriculum 1999). Creativity helps teachers deliver the academic curriculum to students in an appealing manner. The NACCE report highlighted that there is a difference between teaching creatively and teaching for creativity. Teaching creatively can be interpreted as a teacher being inventive and developing strategies to engage and encourage students. On the other hand, teaching for creativity focuses on strategies that aim to develop the creative skills of the learners. Subjects such as design and technology can contribute greatly to the enhancement of creativity, as evidenced by the specific outcomes of the National Curriculum that indicate learners should be able to think creatively. In design and technology, creativity is central to developing the learner, so it is crucial that teachers of the subject recognise how to foster creativity. Nichol, points out that teachers have an important responsibility to increase ‘creativity in the DT classroom’ (2004, p.1). Therefore, teachers have the responsibility of ensuring the development and promotion of creativity in students. Teachers have to set examples for their pupils, so the use of creativity must originate from the teacher. To do this, there are many things teachers can do. Davies (1999, p.102), suggests the chance for learners to develop creatively in the classroom depends critically on how much support is exploited through teachers. Creativity cannot be easily defined because there are a number of different approaches to understanding creativity. This paper focuses on teaching for creativity. In order to promote this I have considered how teachers can create the conditions of a secure environment where pupils feel they can take risks without being penalised and how imaginations can be stimulated through different strategies. Create the conditions Creativity can be defined as the willingness to be courageous, adventurous, daring and to try new things. Creative people take risks and produce some of the best ideas. Iconic designer, Michael Wolff, has never been afraid of taking risks; he has achieved great things through his passion, vision and daring attitude. Design and technology is a very ‘creative and innovative subject’ where pupils are motivated to utilize different thinking approaches and ‘to take risks’ (Spendlove, 2002). When designing and making, creative work is likely to bring about original knowledge which will incur risk taking. Innovation and risk taking are skills that are close together, as designers have to deal with the insecurity involved in creating something new. Young people tend to be very conservative when designing. However, risk taking as part of innovation can help take students out of their comfort zone. When this happens there can be a high level of uncertainty and a great emotional reaction. If teaching encourages pupils, then ‘there is merit in taking chances in using trial and error to improve ideas’ (Owen-Jackson, 2008, p.142) because a more liberated atmosphere in the classroom is created. It is a well-known saying that we learn from our mistakes. However, the fear of making mistakes can prevent learners from trying anything new, so by an atmosphere of trust and a secure environment reassures pupils that they can take risks without being penalised if the outcome is not what they intended. I try to encourage an atmosphere in the classroom were learners feel comfortable in taking risks, rather than worrying about making a mistake. The National Strategy, Social and Emotion Aspects of Learning (SEAL), is an effective way to encourage communal and emotional skills in students. SEAL encourages learners to be ‘more aware of risk and the consequences of certain choices,’ and educates them ‘how to make appropriate choices’ (The National Strategy, 2010). The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTSA), launched a project in 2009, Butterflies in my Tummy, which combines aspects of DT and SEAL. The scheme’s objective is to â₠¬Ëœpromote innovation and risk-taking when children are designing’ (DT Association, 2010). The concepts of SEAL are encouraged to create a secure environment and positive working relationship that expand the abilities and approaches required for risk taking and creativity. Creativity for me is all about taking risks. I totally agree that ‘experimenting and notional failure are essential to good DT education’ (Spendlove, 2002). A popular British proverb, the man who does not make mistakes is unlikely to make anything, can be seen to be true when it comes to creativity. POST-IT notes, for example, were conceptualized from a bad glue formula; sometimes mistakes lead to better ideas. Creativity is often blocked by the fear of being wrong, so using the SEAL approach is helping me support risk taking and therefore nurture creativity in the classroom. Being prepared to be wrong is an important part of being creative and having original ideas that have value. Learners should not be penalised if a bad outcome occurs through taking a risk, as long as the learner recognises where they went wrong and learn from their mistakes. I have embedded SEAL into my teaching by supporting the learners to take risks, encouraging experimentation and providing cons tructive feedback to address any problems. In the exploration and development of ideas, I encourage risk taking and experimentation, so that learners have the chance to come up with new ideas and learn from their mistakes. You read "Education Essay: Teaching For Creativity Essay" in category "Essay examples" Having pupils look at their final product and reflect on what they did right as well as what they did wrong is very important. Recently, I undertook a ‘Stars and Wishes’ task with a Year 9 design and technology class. The task involved each pupil commenting on two things they were proud of, their Stars, and two things they needed to improve, their wishes. This was in relation to a food product they had made. Some pupils felt like they had failed because their product was not perfect or not what they had expected. However, when I encouraged them to think of two things that they were proud of, they realised that there were many things they had achieved. They then began to appreciate the effort they had put in. If pupils cannot see anything they have done well, they are likely to stop trying and give up. After looking at positives, I then encouraged the pupils to reflect on their mistakes. The nature of the task encouraged an environment where the pupils felt comfortable in admitting to their mistakes or areas that needed improving; this is where significant learning takes place. If pupils do not acknowledge their mistakes, they will be likely to repeat them. The two ‘wishes’ for each pupil became their objectives for the next practical lesson. In many situations it is often the teacher that comments on areas of improvement. However, because the pupils had the opportunity to reflect and comment on their own performance, it created a more enthusiastic approach to learning and the pupils wanted to achieve and perform even better. The next lesson the pupils learned from their mistakes and did better. As a result, their work was more creative because they were comfortable to take a risk. The students knew that it was acceptable if they made a mistake, as long as they acknowl edge it and learned from it. Teachers provide a supportive environment that encourages risk taking by acting as a role model. I show pupils that I am not afraid to take acceptable risks and when I make mistakes I remind pupils that mistakes are opportunities to learn. Through my examples, pupils see that taking risks is a valuable and necessary part of learning. By designing classroom environments that encourage risk taking, learners are supported and encouraged to take creative risks. These teaching strategies promote creativity by creating an atmosphere that encourages sensible risk taking, allows for mistakes and encourages learners to persist and to accept not getting things right the first time. Stimulate Imaginations It is often common to hear that good teachers are ‘imaginative’. These teachers show a mental flexibility that permits them to present a subject in a new and engaging way that supports students to be creative and enjoy learning. Philosopher Mary Warnock studied imagination and referred to it as the ‘chief aim of education’ (1976, p.9) and that ‘we have a duty to educate the imagination’. Many would argue this statement, however, I believe that imagination enhances creativity and only through this can we bring our ideas into realisation. Imagination helps to realise our full potential, therefore teachers have an essential responsibility to educate imagination. In order for imagination to grow there has to be resources to stimulate it. The more experiences pupils gain the greater their imagination, so pupils must have the resources they need to be creative. I have considered just a few teaching strategies that I consider to be effective ways of st imulating imagination in the classroom. Often imagination is associated with imagery and when people try to describe imagination, often they refer to the capacity we have to hold images in our minds. Good visuals have the potential to enhance creativity. Several professional designers were interviewed by Malcolm Welch and David Barlex (2004) to find out what they used to support and enhance their creativity. The designers used ‘job bags’ which contained anything relevant to a particular project: models, photographs, drawings and digital images of models (Barlex, 2007). Mood boards are also excellent visual guides that stimulate inspiration. According to Bill Nichol (2004), strategies such as developing mood boards help learners develop their creative potential. During Nichols research on creativity and innovation, pupils commented on the ‘freedom’ they had when producing mood boards (2004, p.4). The benefits of using visuals help increase the learner’s creative capacity. An ancient proverb states that on a blank sheet of paper the most beautiful of marks can be made, however, Welch (Bartlex, 2007) deliberates that a blank piece of paper may be very intimidating to pupils. From my experience, pupils tend to reflect Welch’s theory and are daunted by the thought of making the first mark. As often as possible I try to give pupils a choice to work from a blank piece of paper or an alternative. Most often the pupils choose the alternative. The alternative could be a mini white board which, although is a blank canvas, pupils do not have the fear of making a mistake because they know it can easily be erased. In a Food Technology lesson I undertook, the pupils had the task of designing a cupcake decoration, so I provided templates of cakes for the pupils to illustrate their ideas on. As a result the pupils created more ideas and were more experimental, compared to those that did not use templates. One approach to help stimulate imagination is to encourage divergent thinking through questioning. Effective questions in this instance are those that are open and do not have only one answer. Questions with one word answers are either too easy or too hard; therefore some pupils become bored or frustrated which results in a loss of imagination. Open and relevant questions stretch and add flexibility to the mind. Teaching design and technology imposes many questions throughout each and every process. One of the fundamental notions of DT is the investigation into the design and production of existing products, as well as ‘how they may develop in the future’ (National Curriculum). In order to further enhance the pupil’s awareness, abilities and comprehension the following questions could be asked: What designs already existWhat do you think of themCould they be improvedThis strategy of questioning could also be used to explore the relationships between ‘principles of good design, existing solutions and technological knowledge to develop innovative products and processes’ (National Curriculum). For example: is the product or solution likely to solve the design problemThese type of questions help stimulate imagination by encouraging pupils to see lots of possible answers and see things from different perspectives. Creativity can be enhanced by sharing knowledge. Sharing creative ideas and thoughts can help to stimulate ideas. One way for teachers to promote an atmosphere where pupils can share ideas is through group work. Teachers TV offers a series of programs named ‘Proven to Work’, where one of the programs, ‘Collaborative Enquiry’, shows how collaborative enquiry can be used to stimulate imagination. A class is spilt into mixed ability groups and asked to look at a photograph. The groups are asked to consider what they know from the photograph, what they would like to find out about the image and what it might be. The group discussions then lead to imaginative answers. This technique is often used in design and technology lessons where groups have different objects or products and have to work out what the function or purpose is. Group members have the opportunity to share their perspectives and listen to different views and approaches to problems. When pupils are working in groups they will differentiate between good and bad ideas, so the teachers must not be critical. The responsibility of the teacher is to praise pupils for coming up with ideas, whatever these ideas may be. It is also important that the students are motivated to select and develop the good ideas further. Pupils will profit from experiencing the methods, approaches and skills that others use in the creative process. There are many ways to stimulate imagination and I have only considered a few ways teachers can achieve this. Most pupils already have a rich and varied imagination, but through the teaching of design and technology, teachers can stimulate imagination through various way of teaching for creativity. Conclusion Creative teaching methods are vital for the effectiveness of a teacher. Renzulli (1992) argues that teachers are a fundamental tool in the nurturing of creativity in students. Fasko (2001) stated that ‘creative teaching can enhance learning’. Good teachers use creative teaching methods so they can reach all their pupils and engage them effectively. Creative teaching strategies can help teachers utilise pupil’s strengths to enhance learning and encourage them to develop deeper levels of thinking. Overall they ensure the role of the teacher creates an environment that fosters creativity. This paper has attempted to outline some of the key approaches to improving creativity in classrooms. If creative teaching strategies are incorporated into every lesson they can help children succeed. However, teaching for creativity is ‘a complex and demanding activity in which the role of the teacher is crucial’ (Barlex et al, 2007, p.152). Coming up with creative teaching strategies can put extra strain on teachers if they are not particularly innovative themselves. Morris states that teaching for creativity ‘can involve more time and planning to generate and develop ideas and to evaluate whether they have worked’ (2006, p. 5). Nicholl points out that it is the ‘teachers who sanction creative work’ (2004, p.6). However, encouraging creativity in the classroom is a skill not all teachers possess, yet any person can encourage creativity given the correct skills and knowledge. Teachers have to plan to make it happen; they may have to change their teaching styles so there is more potential for creativity. There is much that teachers can do to enc ourage creativity in the classroom; I have only considered a small fraction of strategies that can aid and stimulate creativity in the teaching of design and technology. Morris comments that there are many ways teachers can use creativity in their classes but it is ‘only a job half done without the support of the school leadership’ (2006, p.7). Morris suggests that school leaders can support teachers in many ways such as providing resources that stimulate creativity and a stimulating environment. Ofsted suggests that school leadership should be dedicated to the encouraging of creativity. It will also ensure that good practise is resourced effectively across the schools. Our government is starting to realise that is it important for children to foster these creative skills, as they may become vital in the future. The need to foster all pupils’ creativity has become an important issue after the NACCE report. The development of creativity should be a concern of the entire school. Creative teaching strategies offer a chance for a fresh vision on education. Unfortunately, there is very little literature and research to evidence that teaching for creativity is effective. The NACCE committee is currently gathering a substantial amount of information that suggests that pupils achieve higher and behave better when they are more engaged in creative activities. The connection between creativity and effective teaching will more than likely be fully explored in the future. Since the NACCE report, creativity has been a debated topic in education and it is likely to remain this way. References Books Barlex, D. ed., 2007. Design Technology: For the next Generation.Shropshire: Cliffe Company. Fisher, R., and Williams, M., 2004. Unlocking Creativity: Teaching Across the Curriculum. London: David Fulton Publishers. Owen-Jackson, G. ed., 2008. Learning to Teach Design and Technology in the Secondary School. Abingdon: Routledge. Warnock, M., 1978. Imagination :University ofCalifornia Press. Journals Davies, T., 1999. Taking Risks as a Feature of Creativity in the Teaching and Learning of Design and Technology. The Journal of Design and Technology Education, 4 (2), pp.101-108. Fasko, D.J., 2000-2001. Education and Creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 13 (34), pp.317-327. Morris, W., 2006. Creativity: It’s Place in Education NACCE (1999) All Our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education. National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education Report.London: DfEE. The NACCE report. Renzuli, J., 1992. A General Theory for the Development of Creative Productivity Through the Pursuit of Ideal Acts of Learning. Gifted Child Quarterly 36: 170-182. Websites Department for Education: The National strategies: Seal. [online] Available at: http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/inclusion/behaviourattendanceandseal/seal [Accessed 12/12/10]. DT Association: Nesta: Butterflies in my Tummy [online]. Available at: http://www.data.org.uk/index.php?option=com_contentview=articleid=316Itemid=383 [Accessed 12/12/10]. Spendlove, D., 2002. Risk Brings Rewards. TES Magazine, [online]. Available at: http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=371276 [Accessed 11/12/10]. Teaching expertise: Valuing and developing creativity. [online] Available at: http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/valuing-and-developing-creativity-1007[Accessed 21/12/10]. Teachers TV: Collaborative Enquiry. [online] Available at: http://www.teachers.tv/videos/collaborative-enquiry [Accessed20/12/10]. 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The Terms traditional And modern Are So Often Used In Conversa Essays

The terms traditional and modern are so often used in conversation, and also in reference to Society, that it is a good exercise to consider what these terms do mean in a comparative light. Berman in All that is solid melts in air puts forward an interesting set of ideas in the comment that people who live in traditional ways, or in modern ones, can almost be said to occupy different states of mind. For instance, a full 500 years have passed since some peoples first met up with the influences of the more modern Western world. (1988, pp. 15-16) However, in many cases, the adjustment has still not been made, and the conflict of what is traditional and what is modern continues to occur with different impacts upon the individual, as well as the society in which he or she lives which is apt to reflect an ongoing conflict. For example, it could be said that what is lived in a remote western Chinese village differs very much from the experience that is given to human beings by life in New York City. It would be easy to state that the former was very backward or just very different from what is imparted by New York City, but obviously, this contrast cannot be made too neatly. The modern has arrived in mainland China, little by little, over centuries. On the other hand, what is modern or foreign has not been absorbed completely, and varies greatly from place to place in China. Furthermore, the systems under which modern influence did begin to arrive happened to be different from those which produced modernity in the West. In the traditional society of mainland China, western influence came only in a trickle for some time, only to coastal or other directly affected areas during the centuries of attempted European colonization of China, and afterwards, only according to what a Communist regime has permitted to take root in the country. The dichotomy of convention also does not give much time to just what was introduced or expanded into China by the neighbouring countries of Korea or Japan, by the period of British authority over some parts of China, and what ideas or practices really came from within the society itself. The Chinese experience has involved various things which would seem to match what happened in the West, as in governing a mass population, or industrialization, but the results have differed from what has been the experience of the West or for that matter, the experiences of other traditional societies that have also been exposed to Modernity by way of mainly outside forces. The social sciences make use of the terms, Traditional vs. Modern, in ways that are sometimes just as vague as those of ordinary conversation. As Eisenstadt asserted, the central preoccupation of modern social thought and sociology has been unraveling the nature of the modern social order. (1973, p. 4) It is argued that the changes brought by the forces of modernity, and which the social sciences have to take into account, have been the dichotomies of liberty versus Authority, of stability and continuity versus Change, and of what is called modern social rationality versus Cultural orientations. (Eisenstadt, 1973, pp. 4-5) The last concept, that of modern social rationality in contrast with usually much, much older cultural orientations, seems to be helpful in understanding what is meant by traditional society in its different elements that do not fit with the modern. Wagner stressed how difficult it has been to describe the modern society as much as we use the term as a kind of conv ention. The basic distinction between these social developments and traditional societies is very often to be found in social scientific writing, even though it is known that what happens when the modern meets the traditional can be unpredictable, that is can take a very long time to occur, and that this does not occur smoothly or in the same ways from place to place. (1999, p.3) It seems that at best we are really dealing with patterns and certain tendencies which can be alleged to mark traditional societies from modern societies. All of these accounts to which this paper has referred so far

Juvenile Delinquency essays

Juvenile Delinquency essays I felt this was a good place to start, considering I feel that most criminal activity starts at a young age. There are very few criminals who have picked up the trade in their adult life. Just as manners and norms are developed at an early age, delinquency and defiant behavior is also. There are certain factors that wage deviance that I think are important to explain. Heredity is an important factor, a lot of characteristics come from this. How one may react to certain situations is not genetic, but can be developed early in life by home situations. The way one is treated and disciplined as a young child directly affects how he or she will perceive and treat those around them in life. The environment a child grows up in plays a key role in determining the childs view on life, which may have a direct effect on his or her proneness to delinquency. There are certain characteristics that I feel we inherit and certain characteristics that we develop at a young age. Some genes may cause a child to have a short temper or a limited attention span. Other genes may make it difficult for the child to learn in school. He or she may turn to other means and other children to feel part of the group. Often these other children are more defiant. Without proper discipline a lot of these characteristics can become repeated and condoned behavior. By generalizing traits we can distinguish inherited traits from learned behavior. I believe that when children are young they learn the norms of society from their parents, but they learn social roles from their peers. They learn how to be accepted and what behavior will get them the appropriate response. First and foremost certain things need to be noted. A delinquent child is one that has little or no respect for authority. This causes them to act out against authority and any formal institution constraining him or her. A delinquent child is often characteri...

Two Kinds of Protagonist

Two Kinds of Protagonist Two Kinds of Protagonist Two Kinds of Protagonist By Maeve Maddox The definition of protagonist most familiar to me as a student of literature is this one: protagonist noun: the chief character in a dramatic work. Hence, in extended use: the leading character, or one of the main characters, in any narrative work, as a poem, novel, film, etc. According to this definition, the sister of Polynices is the protagonist of Antigone, Dorothea Brooke is the protagonist of Middlemarch, and Ree Dolly is the protagonist of Winter’s Bone. The use of protagonist in an article about a prison-related work program alerted me to another use of the word: This program, termed â€Å"evil† by protagonists because the prisoners aren’t paid prevailing wages, has changed the lives  of prisoners. In this context, protagonists refers to people who object to the work program and advocate its abolition. Here are other examples of protagonist used in nonliterary contexts: Two activists, Shirley Andrews and Barry Christophers, became the chief  protagonists  in the Federal Councils fight for  equal wages. Accordingly, management and male workers were the  protagonists  in these struggles. The leading protagonist of â€Å"women’s rights† was a remarkable woman of frontier type named Abigail Scott Duniway. [HK169, (a trade union)] has been the most prominent  protagonist  in  equal  value cases and took the  Danfoss litigation The U.S. must be careful â€Å"not to get engaged in such a way that we become the chief protagonist, and eventually not just in Syria, but in the region as a whole,† Mr. Brzenzinski said. In addition to the literary definition of protagonist, the OED offers these: 2 a. The main figure, or one of the most prominent figures, in any situation; a prominent supporter or champion of a cause. 2 b. In weakened use (without connotations of prominence): a proponent, advocate, or defender of a cause, idea, etc. 3 a. leading player or competitor in a game or sport, or on a team. The first two citations given for 2a suggest that this use of protagonist began as a figurative application of the meaning â€Å"chief character in a dramatic work†: Those republican demagogues [in France] who acted the part of iniquity became themselves the protagonists of the piece and perished in the catastrophe. (1801) If he [Lafayette] has not been the Alpha and the Omega of the era,if he has not always been the protagonist of its different acts, yet has the whole of his somewhat extended life been devoted to the cause. (1837) The weakened use described in 2b may have arisen from the mistaken idea that the pro- in protagonist means the same as the pro- in a word like pro-government. In fact, the first three letters in protagonist do not bear the meaning â€Å"for† (as in â€Å"for and against†). This pro derives from Greek proto, â€Å"first.† The protagonist is the first (or chief) actor. When referring to people who play an important part in promoting a cause, the word protagonist is appropriate. Using it as just another word for the noun advocate is less so. Here are other words that mean supporter or advocate: champion upholder backer promoter proponent spokesman spokeswoman propagandist apostle apologist booster flag-bearer Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Comma After i.e. and e.g.How to Punctuate with â€Å"However†Double Possessive

US airways's new Market - China Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

US airways's new Market - China - Term Paper Example It is a subsidiary of the US Airways Group with its headquarters in Temple, Arizona. The airline company operates both domestically and internationally. Being one of the biggest names, it would obviously want to explore the Asian markets. However, the major determining factor in this regard would be the pricing of fuel in the coming fiscal year, the economic scenario and the state of the aviation fleet. Interestingly, the company had already received permission from the sovereign authority to fly from Philadelphia to China back in 2008. However, due to the global economic slowdown, the project got delayed. This paper aims to understand the impact of the business environment of China on the expansion of US Airways and the possible marketing strategies to be adopted. Under the leadership of MAO Zedong, China had developed as a socialist state. However since 1978, under the leadership of DENG Xiaoping and with a favorable attitude towards globalization, a pro-market economic structure had materialized with a positive outcome through an increased GDP (â€Å"East & Southeast Asia: China†). The majority of the population is Buddhist with Christians and Muslims forming the minority. Chinese population is equally distributed between the urban and rural areas such that only 50% of the population lives in the urban areas with the rate of urbanization hovering around a mere 2% (â€Å"East & Southeast Asia: China†). Occupationally, majority of the population are engaged in the agricultural sector (around 50%), even though agriculture makes a relatively lesser contribution in GDP, while the shares in the industry and services sector stand around 22% and 28% respectively (Yoo 187). Level of education Figure 2: Education level in China Source: (â€Å"East & Southeast Asia: China†) Mobility In the wake of the pro-market reforms and globalization, China’s occupational mobility is undergoing paradigm shifts (â€Å"Occupational Mobility and Migration in China†). This is causing a rapid change in the age-old social division, according to occupational natur e. Due to the increasing unemployment and large lay-offs by government and private enterprises, the masses are increasingly migrating to the urban areas in search of employment. Both the mobility between jobs and places has increased on this account. This will be an added advantage for US Airways. Transportation The traditional form of transportation in China revolves around the railways. However, roadways, airports and waterways also comprise the other forms of transportation. The total area covered by the roads is 4,106,387 km with a paved length of 3,453,890 km and unpaved length of

Legal Aspects of E-commerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Legal Aspects of E-commerce - Essay Example Responsibility and privacy are issues that touch on the law, though they are perhaps best characterized as aspects of common sense conduct. The political response to ecommerce, particularly its expression in regulatory and taxation policies, is a further source of potential uncertainty for the ecommerce player. The ease of finding and copying information on the web leads many users think that the copyright is unsustainable in the wired world, though this has been a false impression. Works published on the web enjoy the same rights as other forms of publication. The world intellectual property organization (WIPO) copyright treaty and performances and Phonograms Treaty of 1996 extended the Berne convention on the copyright to include digital applications. Arguably, copyright is easier to defend online, as it is simple for a comply to run a regular search on its own content to see if it appears in unexpected place. Intellectual property unique to the ecommerce arena include domain names and business process patents On the firmer ground of patent law, ecommerce has created something of a stir. Patents are being granted for a range of business process that are, in the opinion of many, generic ecommerce techniques. However, Jay Walker, founder of Priceline.com, who pursues intellectual property break through his walker Digital Company, believes the novel modes of commercial practice in ecommerce channels can amount to legitimate innovations. "Walker Digital is about reengineering the DNA of the future of business" Walker declares. "What we hope is that a group of thoughtful people can together reinvent whole sectors of the global economy. And not only can we reinvent them, we can own those inventions." 1 Of course, reengineering is itself the bane of all attempts to protect intellectual property. Ecommerce patents currently remain unchallenged, but the generic nature of many of them may enable competitors to formulate alternatives that achieve similar ends without infringements. In any case; interest in filing business process patents certainly forces companies to spend on patent lawyers rather than on software and service development. This may help the image of a startup, however, the ability to prove early and continuos commercial use of technology is likely to be important Meanwhile the cost of defending a claim of intellectual property infringement will often be more than the cost of paying royalties to the claimant. Smaller companies have long complained that larger companies restrict their movements with walls of patents." As always, the cost of litigation is a form of social tax on business. Responsibility and Privacy. The abstract quality of the web and its apparent autonomous existence as a medium of communication and business often cause uncertainty about personal and corporate ownership of the acts committed through it. Responsibility for content and transactions is not always as clear as in the traditional commercial world, where formal and informal codes of conduct have consolidated over many generations of use. Reliance on electronic communications mediated by network and machines whose functions are mysterious to the majority of users raises suspicion about privacy and its accidental or malicious betrayal. In one sense, the internet is the ultimate bureaucracy- a faceless solicitor,