Detailed Explanation on a D+ Grade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Detailed Explanation on a D+ Grade - Essay Example I would like to clarify that I am not offering any excuses for my poor grade, just explanations that led to me performing so poorly in the unit. The fact that I passed in all the other units I took in the same semester is testament to my willingness to apply myself regardless of my personal troubles. The unit is very challenging, and it would be difficult for anyone to pass it without putting in the required hours. Poor time management was also very instrumental in the D+ grade I got, because I found it very challenging to dedicate enough time to all my units after being distracted for so long. I applied myself as much as I could in all my units but unfortunately this unit proved very challenging without 100% focus. I am applying for transfer because I believe I have a better chance of passing my remaining units at your University. The environment there is ideal for me and the facilities are great. Kindly consider my

Expository research paper Essay Example for Free

Expository research paper Essay Minority students have been discriminated against for a very long time; many people think that minorities don’t have the same opportunities as others, but in reality they have many advantages. Minority students have opportunities to get into good colleges and getting more scholarships than other non-minority students. Colleges look for the obvious things like grades, and extracurricular activities and all those things but what most really want is to have diversity in the college and therefore colleges need minority students. Colleges read students’ applications thoroughly, so colleges’ look for stuff that sticks out, stuff that makes a student different than the rest one thing that might sticks out is race. In the article is says, â€Å"An applicants final determination of what to say about race is often made consultation with a college counselor. Many counselors may convey to families that a multiracial applicant has a better chance of being admitted to a highly selective college than those in any other racial or ethnic category. †(Saulny). This tells how a multiracial student may have a better chance of getting into a good college than those in other racial or ethnic categories. â€Å"Many private scholarships are geared toward minorities because they are looking for something in particular†(Borowski). The author talks about how private colleges seek at minorities, which tells that they consider race are when choosing students. Molina 2 Scholarships are used to help students get into college, but some scholarships are targeted to specific students, most likely minority students. This also could equal disadvantages to non-minority students. In this article the author says, â€Å"Some private scholarships are based on a students characteristics such as race, ethnicity, and religion, and some are based on professional affiliations or future career choices†(Borowski). Private scholarships look for very specific things in students which show how much of a disadvantage some students have in. The article talks about one student’s problem, â€Å"As Johnson found, private scholarships can extremely selective. â€Å"When I research all the grants and scholarships out there, they are all really specific, targeted towards everyone but me, he says, Are you a Pacific islander who plays tuba? There is a scholarship for you. Or a woman from an inner city who works with animals? There’s a grant for you. But a hard working boy from the suburbs? Nothing. †(Borowski). The author shows how very specific scholarships can be and how they affect other people who do not fit the description of what that scholarship wants. Another reason why minorities have an advantage is because of stereotypes even if it doesn’t apply to that student. In an article a student says, â€Å"I just realized that my race is something I have to think about,† she describes herself as having an Asian mother and a black father. â€Å"It pains me to say this, but putting down black might help admission. †(Saulny). This states how putting down a specific race might better or worsen someone’s chances depending on that particular race. A mother states, â€Å"My 17 year old son is a high B student and an excellent athlete, but we’ve been unable to find any scholarships for him because he’s white. † Elizabeth says, Johnson also says â€Å"We aren’t wealthy. We don’t take on fancy vacations and we do without a lot of things. Yet because I’m white, I don’t get a hand. There are all kinds or nationalities at Molina 3 my high school, whose families have a lot more money than we have, and yet they are getting scholarships. †(Saulny). This tells how stereotypes can give minority students an advantage by colleges stereotyping and giving help to those who don’t really need it instead of to the ones that do. Minority students also think that it is a disadvantage being a minority but in reality it can be an advantage against non-minority students. Minority students are what colleges look for. There are scholarships targeted towards minorities, and due to stereotypes there are advantages. These affect more than just minority students, it basically affects everyone because being a non-minority is at a disadvantage of getting a scholarship or getting into a good college. In today’s society someone’s race could affect their future. Saulny, Susan, and Jacques Steinberg. On College Forms, a Question of Race, or Races, Can Perplex. New York Times 13 June 2011: n. pag. The New York Times. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. http://www. nytimes. com/2011/06/14/us/ 14admissions. html? pagewanted=all_r=2. Borowski, Susan. Scholarships and the White Male: Disadvantaged or Not? Insight into Diversity. N. p. , n. d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. http://www. insightintodiversity. com/ scholarships-and-the-white-male-disadvantaged-or-not-by-susan-borowski.

Rodrigo’s Reconcile Essay -- essays research papers

Rodrigo’s Reconcile   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reconciliation means to bring back together. In Reconciliation the way we are brought back together with the community is by asking forgiveness. Forgiveness means to pardon or spare. In Greek it means to send forth, put away, and yield up. The other meaning is to give up the desire to punish or to cancel a debt. Jesus gave us the sacrament of Reconciliation. We were granted this sacrament so whenever we turn away from God we have the choice of asking forgiveness so we can be reunited with Him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The four steps in the sacrament of Reconciliation are confession, contrition, penance, and absolution. The first step is confession which allows people to reunite with God by admitting their sins. Before you can heal mentally and spiritually you have to admit your sins. Rodrigo, who was a former slave trader and mercenary, committed a grave sin. He killed his younger brother who he raised as a kid when his parents died. Rodrigo didn’t mean to kill his brother, but it happened during a time of rage against his brother for stealing his girlfriend. Rodrigo knew and accepted the fact that he killed his brother, but he couldn’t let it go. He was really hard on himself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After realizing you have sinned against someone, the next step is asking forgiveness from God. Rodrigo Mendosa after killing his brother could not ask forgiveness from God. It was because he couldn’t forgive himself. He needed someone to help him and be with him. At this time along cam...

Media And Democracy

?Media democracy is a set of ideas advocating reforming the mass media, strengthening public service broadcasting, and developing and participating in alternative media and citizen journalism. The stated purpose for doing so is to create a mass media system that informs and empowers all members of society, and enhances democratic values. It is a liberal-democratic approach to media studies that advocates the reformation of the mass media with an emphasis on public service broadcasting and audience participation, through the use of citizen journalism and alternative media channels.A media democracy focuses on using information technologies to both empower individual citizens and promote democratic ideals through the spread of information. [1] Additionally, the media system itself should be democratic in its own construction [2] shying away from private ownership or intense regulation. Media democracy entails that media should be used to promote democracy[3] as well as the conviction t hat media should be democratic itself;[4] media ownership concentration is not democratic and cannot serve to promote democracy and therefore must be examined critically.[5] The concept, and a social movement promoting it, have grown as a response to the increased corporate domination of mass media and the perceived shrinking of the marketplace of ideas. The term also refers to a modern social movement evident in countries all over the world which attempts to make mainstream media more accountable to the publics they serve and to create more democratic alternatives The concept of a media democracy follows in response to the deregulation of broadcast markets and the concentration of mass media ownership. In their book Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media, authors Edward S.Herman and Noam Chomsky outline the propaganda model of media, which states that the private interests in control of media outlets will shape news and information before it is disseminated to the public through the use of five information filters. [6] In this way, the construction of the mass media as a for-profit enterprise behaves in a way that runs counter to the democratic ideals of a free press. Media democracy advocates that corporate ownership and commercial pressures influence media content, sharply limiting the range of news, opinions, and entertainment citizens receive.Consequently, they call for a more equal distribution of economic, social, cultural, and information capital, which would lead to a more informed citizenry, as well as a more enlightened, representative political discourse. A media democracy advocates: Replacing the current libertarian media model[clarification needed] with one that operates democratically, rather than for profit Strengthening public service broadcasting Incorporating the use of alternative media into the larger discourse Increasing the role of citizen journalism Turning a passive audience into active participantsUsing the mas s media to promote democratic ideals The competitive structure of the mass media landscape stands in opposition to democratic ideals since the competition of the marketplace effects how stories are framed and transmitted to the public. This can â€Å"hamper the ability of the democratic system to solve internal social problems as well as international conflicts in an optimal way. â€Å"[7] Media democracy, however, is grounded in creating a mass media system that favours a diversity of voices and opinions over ownership or consolidation, in an effort to eliminate bias in coverage.This, in turn, leads to the informed public debate necessary for a democratic state. [8] The ability to comprehend and scrutinize the connection between press and democracy is important because media has the power to tell a society’s stories and thereby influence thinking, beliefs and behaviour. [9] The concept of â€Å"democratizing the media† has no real meaning within the terms of politic al discourse in Western society. Contents [hide] 1 Media ownership concentration 2 Media democracy movement 3 Feminism and media democracy 4 Internet media democracy 5 Criticism 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 8. 1 Books 9 External links9. 1 Journals and periodicals 9. 2 Other Media ownership concentration[edit] A key idea of media democracy is that the concentration of media ownership in recent decades in the hands of a few corporations and conglomerates has led to a narrowing of the range of voices and opinions being expressed in the mass media; to an increase in the commercialization of news and information; to a hollowing out of the news media’s ability to conduct investigative reporting and act as the public watchdog; and to an increase of emphasis on the bottom line, which prioritizes infotainment and celebrity news over informative discourse.Cultural studies have investigated changes in the increasing tendency of modern mass media in the field of politics to blur and confuse the boundaries between journalism, entertainment, public relations and advertising. [10] A diverse range of information providers is necessary so that viewers, readers and listeners receive a broad spectrum of information from varying sources that is not tightly controlled, biased and filtered. [11] Access to different sources of information prevents deliberate attempts at misinformation and allows the public to make their own judgments and form their own opinions.[12] This is critical as individuals must be in a position to decide and act autonomously for there to be a functioning democracy. [13] The last several decades have seen an increased concentration of media ownership by large private entities. In the United States, these organizations are known as the Big Six. [14] They include: General Electric, Walt Disney Co. , News Corporation, Time Warner, Viacom, and CBS Corporation. A similar approach has been taken in Canada, where most media outlets are owned by n ational conglomerates.This has led to a reduction in the number of voices and opinions communicated to the public; to an increase in the commercialization of news and information; a reduction in investigative reporting; and an emphasis on infotainment and profitability over informative public discourse. The concentration of media outlets has been encouraged by government deregulation and neoliberal trade policies. In the United States, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 removed most of the media ownership rules that were previously put in place. This led to a massive consolidation of the telecommunications industry. Over 4,000 radio stationswere bought out, and minority ownership in TV stations dropped to its lowest point since 1990, when the federal government began tracking the data. Media democracy movement[edit] Several activist groups have formed on both local and national levels in the United States and Canada in response to the convergence of media ownership. Their aim is to spread awareness about the lack of diversity in the media landscape, and direct the public to alternative media. Additionally, these groups press for political solutions to the FCC in the United States and the CRTC in Canada to â€Å"oppose any further media consolidation.† [15] In the United States, the non-profit Media Access Project is a public interest law firm that advocates media democracy by â€Å"protect[ing] freedom of expression, promote[ing] universal and equitable access to media outlets and telecommunications services, and encourag[ing] vibrant public discourse on critical issues facing our society. â€Å"[16] The group has raised numerous concerns with the neoloiberalization of media in the United States in recent years, particularly with regards to media ownership, net neutrality laws, and access to the wireless spectrum.In Canada, OpenMedia.ca is a similar group that promotes media democracy by encouraging open communication systems through online campaigns, events, and workshops. In particular, the group's â€Å"Stop The Meter† campaign to petition against proposed usage-based billing was the largest online appeal in Canadian history. [17] Feminism and media democracy[edit] Though the model aims to democratize the opinions expressed within the mass media as well as the ownership of media entities themselves, feminist media theory argues that the media cannot be considered truly inclusive or democratic insofar as they rely on the masculine concepts of impartiality and objectivity.[18] Creating a more inclusive and democratic media would require reconceptualizing how we define the news and its principles. [18] According to some feminist media theorists, news is like fictional genres that impose order and interpretation on its materials by means of narrative. [19] Consequently, the news narrative put forward presents only one angle of a much wider picture. [19]It is argued that the distinction between public and private informatio n that underpins how we define valuable  or appropriate news content is also a gendered concept. [19] The feminist argument follows that the systematic subversion of private or subjective information excludes women's voices from the popular discourse. [19] Further to this point, feminist media theorists argue there is an assumed sense of equality or equalness implicit in the definition of the public that ignores important differences between genders in terms of their perspectives.So while media democracy in practice as alternative or citizen journalism may allow for greater diversity, these theorists argue that women's voices are framed within a masculine structure of objectivity and rationalist thinking. [20] Despite this criticism there is an acceptance among some theorists that the blurring of public and private information with the introduction of some new alternative forms of media production (as well as the increase in opportunities for interaction and user-generated content ) may signal a positive shift towards a more democratic and inclusive media democracy.[21] Some forms of media democracy in practice (as citizen or alternative journalism) are challenging journalism's central tenants (objectivity and impartiality) by rejecting the idea that it is possible to tell a narrative without bias and, more to the point, that it is socially or morally preferable. [22]Internet media democracy[edit] The World Wide Web, and in particular Web 2.0, is seen as a powerful medium for facilitating the growth of a media democracy as it offers participants,† a potential voice, a platform, and access to the means of production. â€Å"[23] Because the web allows for each person to share information instantly with few barriers to entry across a common infrastructure, it is often held up as an example of the potential power of a media democracy. The use of digital social networking technologies to promote political dissent and reform lends credibility to the media de mocracy model.This is apparent in the widespread protests in the Middle East and North Africa known as the Arab Spring where social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube allowed citizens to quickly connect with one another, exchange information, and organize protests against their governments. While social media cannot solely be credited with the success of these protests, the technologies played an important role in instilling change in Tunisia,[24][25] Egypt,[26][27] and Libya.These acts show a population can be informed through alternative  media channels, and can adjust its behaviour accordingly. Criticism[edit] Critics of media democracy note that in order for the system to function properly, it assumes each member of society to be an educated and active participant in the creation of media and exchange of information. In countries with a high illiteracy rate, for example, it would be next to impossible for average citizens to take part and fully engage with media, and adjust their behaviour accordingly in society.[28] Instead of promoting democratic ideals, this would in turn fracture society into an upper-class that actively participates in creating the media, and a lower-class that only consumes it, leaving individuals open to the manipulation of information or media bias. This is not far from Nancy Fraser’s critique of the Habermasian public sphere, with regards to the bracketing of personal inequalities. [29] There is also a problem when trying to blend the role of journalists and traditional journalism within the scope of a media democracy.Although many media outlets are privately owned entities, the journalists whom they employ are subject to intense training, as well as a strict code of ethics when reporting news and information to the public. Because a media democracy relies heavily on public journalism, alternative media, and citizen engagement, there is the potential that all information exchanged be treated as equal by the p ublic. Not only would this negatively effect an individual's agency in a democratic society, but run counter to the notion of a free press that serves to inform the public.

How do you configure hardware and software Essay

The most common colour depths are:   16 colours   256 colours   Ã¢â‚¬Å"High Colour† (16 bit, or 65,536 colours)   Ã¢â‚¬Å"True Colour† (24 bit, or over 16 million colours) Higher resolutions are greater number of colours require more memory. At 256 colours, each pixel requires one byte of memory. There are 8 bits in a byte, so each pixel in High Colour requires two bytes, and each pixel in True Colour requires three. Because of this, some video cards may restrict you to fewer colours in higher resolutions, due to the amount of memory required. For example, a True Colour display with a resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels would require memory of 1280 x 1024 x 3 = 3,932,160 bytes, or nearly 4Mb! Drivers Different printers have different features, such as the ability to print in different fonts, and different resolutions (i. e. numbers of dots per inch) when printing graphics. Even where there are common features, such as the ability to print in bold, the codes that the computer needs to send to switch that feature on and off can vary from model to model. What the computer requires is some software called a driver, which can translate the codes generated by the program into codes suitable for the printer. In Windows, the drivers are installed centrally in the Control Panel so that each application, e. g. Excel or Word, can use the same drivers. In the days of DOS, each program often had its own printer driver. Other hardware devices, such as video cards, modems and scanners also require drivers. These perform the same function, allowing the computer to control the device. Sometimes the same driver can be used for similar devices (e.g. you may hear about â€Å"Hayes compatible modems†, or â€Å"HP LaserJet compatible printers†), but even in these cases it is often only by using the specific driver for that device that the most advanced features can be utilised. WYSIWYG and TrueType Fonts One of the problems with printing from a word processor or other application is that your text may not appear on paper as it did on the screen. With modern Graphical User Interfaces, this should be less of a problem, but with older â€Å"character-based† systems (such as DOS, or UNIX), fonts on the screen were not â€Å"proportionally spaced†. Characters could only appear at fixed intervals across the screen, and so it wasn’t possible to insert fractions of spaces to justify the text. This meant that sometimes you could print out justified text, but not see what it was going to look like on the screen. A solution to this problem came with the arrival of WYSIWYG user interfaces. WYSIWYG stands for â€Å"What You See Is What You Get†, and means that your print should appear exactly as it does on the screen. Word (in Page Layout View, at least) is a WYSIWYG word processor; you get exactly what you see as you are typing. Other word processors, such as WordPerfect 5. 1 offer a halfway house solution, with a character-based input screen, and a graphical print preview. Even with GUIs and WYSIWYG word processors, there was still the problem of the fonts being used in the printer not being exactly the same as the ones used for display on the screen. This could lead to things not quite lining up, or not appearing as expected. A solution for this came with TrueType fonts. A TrueType font is used by Windows both for display on the screen and for printing. When you select a typeface in, say, Word, the TT symbol indicates a TrueType font. If you select one of these, you can be sure that your document will appear in the same way on paper as it did on the screen. Limitations of Hardware and Software Sometimes, due to the limitations of the hardware or software being used, a system will not be able to fully exploit the features of a peripheral. You will not be able to use certain fonts that a printer may support, for example, if the word processor you are using will not let you select that font, or if you are printing from, say, Notepad. Also, there is no point in you being able to scan things in 24-bit colour (i.e. 16 million colours) if your monitor cannot display that many, or you need to save the image as a GIF (GIFs only support 256 colours; if you want more colours than that, save your picture as a jpeg). Some modern printer drivers are applications in their own right, and have minimum hardware requirements specified. The drivers for my printer at home, for example, will not run on a 386. Examination Questions When installing or configuring a particular word processing package, the documentation states that the correct printer driver must also be installed. What is a printer driver, and why is it necessary? (1997) A company sells a range of health foods at five different shops. It also sells directly to the home from a number of vehicles. There are hundreds of different items of stock and many items are seasonal, so items in stock are constantly changing. Customers purchase goods and pay by cash, cheque or credit card. The company is considering a computerised system to help manage sales and stock control. Discuss the capabilities and limitations of current   communications devices,   input devices,   output devices and   storage devices.

Is Bolivia a Quality Democracy

Is Bolivia a Quality Democracy Free Online Research Papers Democracy is defined by Princeton University as â€Å"the political orientation of those who favor government by the people or by their elected representatives.† (University 2010) Basically a democracy is a government that is run by the people and/or its elected officials. A democracy is a government that is meant to serve the will and needs of the people to improve life in all aspects. Both the USA and Canada are examples of successful, and long lived, democracies. The opening to the book Assessing the Quality of Democracy states the essences of democracy and the need for it to be an adaptive state: â€Å"As democracy has spread over the past three decades to a majority of the world’s states, analytic attention has turned increasingly from explaining the character of democratic regimes. Much of the democratic literature of the 1990s was concerned with the consolidation of democratic regimes. In recent years, social scientists as well as democracy practitioners and aid agencies have sought to develop means of framing and assessing the quality of democracy. This stream of theory, methodological innovation, and empirical research has three broad motives; First, that deepening democracy is a moral good, if not an imperative; second, that reform to improve democratic quality are essential is democracy is to achieve the broad and durable legitimacy that marks consolidation, and third, that long established democracies must reform if they are to attend to their own gathering problems of public dissatisfaction and even disillusionment.† (Diamond and Morlino 2005, 1) Skipping ahead a little in the book they go in to say, â€Å"Who is to define what constitutes a ‘good’ democracy, and to what extent is a universal conception of democratic quality possible? How can the effort to address deficiencies of democracy avoid becoming paternalistic exercises in which the established democracies take themselves for granted as models and so escape scrutiny? How can assessments of democratic quality go beyond mere analytics and be useful to political reformers, civil society activists, international donors, and others who seek to improve the quality of democracy? These are only some of the questions that pervade and motivate this growing subfield of study.† (Diamond and Morlino 2005) From this we can see how deciding whether or not a country is a quality democracy is a little tricky and involves many different facets of thought. This paper is obvious my approach and opinions in this matter and it is very possible I am wrong in my assumptions. A quality democracy is defined, in my opinion, by several things. First, and foremost, is the concern for the people and their welfare before anything else. The people are the country, and the reason for any kind of governing system. The second mark of a good democracy is the dedication to bettering the economical wellbeing and stability of the country. The more prosperous a country becomes the better the living situations and the overall quality of life should increase within that state. The goal should be to become prosperous in order to benefit the country and its people as a whole; not to make the government more powerful or wealthy. Not that the country has to be a rich one to be a quality democracy just that the ultimate goals and values are those that are for the betterment of the country, and not politicians. My thesis for this research is that Bolivia is not a quality democracy and the facts and research outlined in this paper will either prove or disprove this statement. Political and Governmental To take a quick look back to the 16th century, Bolivia was originally populated with an Indian population that was under the rule of the Incan Empire and used to be known as Upper Peru. (Skidmore, Smith and Green 2010) They gained their Independence in 1825 from Peru and renamed the country after independence fighter Simon Bolivar, who subsequently became Bolivia’s first president, which at that point in history was intended for life. Part of the power of the president at this point in history was the power to nominate his presidential successor. Even though Bolivia had a president, all the workings and policies reflected those of a monarchy. This is just a quick look into the first instance of a Bolivian president, even if it is not in the modern sense and concepts. One point that kept showing with the research into Bolivia is similarity to most other Latin American countries by having a long history of military interference with the government. Currently, Bolivia is considered a Democratic Republic and has recently drafted, and implemented, a new constitution in 2009. It is a completely electoral state including the smaller governing bodies such as mayors of the smaller towns. Since Bolivia is a democracy, it is ruled by a President elect who is the head of the government as well as the head of state. There are nine departments in the Administrative divisions of the government with many smaller branches. â€Å"The reforms (of the 1990s) just changed a few, but it wasn’t enough. It was a change in name only. They, the politicians, made the changes among themselves, the authorities. They never consulted with the people (el pueblo) †¦ So, the people arose, they got mad and the kicked out Goni (the president, Gonazales Sanchez de Lozada). (Grey 2007) The third millennium is the epoch of the original peoples, no longer that of the empire; it is the epoch o the struggle against the (neoliberal) economical model.† This quote is from Bolivia’s current president Evo Morales, the former leader of the coca growers union and a member of the Movement toward Socialism party. He was also descended from the indigenous Indians who had lived in Bolivia for centuries. (CIA 2010) Morales has been in office since 2005 and was re-elected into office in 2009, which is highly unusual since according to the old Bolivian constitution a president can only serve one term in office. In the old constitution, the president would be chosen by the Senate if neither of the candidates was over 50 percent of the popular vote. The drafting of a new constitution in 2009 allowed a candidate to be re-elected if neither of the new candidates were over 50 percent of the popular vote and if the margin of votes was less than 10 percent dividing them. (CIA 2010) (Reuters 2010) (Coster 2010)This erases the term limit that is placed on the former president and allows him to enter the race. This was history making because it w as the first time in Bolivia that a president ran for re-election, let alone won and started a second term. Plus, it had the added feature that he was part of the indigenous people descended from the Incans of the past. â€Å"Morales†¦ broadened the scope to include real participation of the Indian population in local and national governance†¦ Morales organized a special inauguration ceremony following Aymara (the indigenous people) rituals prior to the official event. He represented himself as the first full-blood indigenous president who was dedicated to overturning Bolivia’s centuries-old social hierarchy. After centuries of oppression, this was a stunning culmination and display of newly found Indian power.† (Skidmore, Smith and Green 2010, 181) Morales policies are intended to focus the countries resources towards those areas that need it and not the ones that already have a stable means of support, such as the natural gas areas and the farming areas. Part of the new constitution was the re-distribution of land to the people to balance the prosperity of the land with the impoverish people. The idea was to give the people not only a way to feed themselves but also a way to make a little extra money and better their lots in life. This, obviously, was not a popular idea with the prosperous land owners who had long enjoyed the privileges of their class. Another area where he lacked popular support was with the indigenous classes that he so proudly came from. He didn’t fluently speak either of the native languages and the majority of the time speaks Spanish. According to The New York Times; â€Å"Officials in the lowlands, where most of Bolivia’s food and petroleum are produced, ridiculed the new charter. But others say the new Constitution addresses underrepresentation of Indians, pointing to articles that would reserve seats for them in Congress and in other areas of the fast-growing bureaucracy. Even Mr. Morales’s cabinet has just two Indian ministers; his top aides, the vice president (a former guerrilla) and the chief of staff (a former military officer), are light-skinned intellectuals† (par 9 10) The new constitution was created to try and balance the social classes as well as stabilize the economy but it seems regardless of the changes made there was still mass unhappiness in Bolivia with the various aspects of change that Morales has, and wants to, implement in Bolivian society. Officially Bolivia calls itself a Plurinational State which basically translates to a focus on the diversity and needs of the population. The general idea is that the government distributes the nation’s income to different areas in order to help those who need it the most. These general ideals aren’t that different from the Marxist ideas that are so prevalent in Latin Americas history. (Skidmore, Smith and Green 2010) I am including a breakdown from the CIA’s World Fact Book of the political structure to help illustrate how the Bolivian government is constructed. Branches: Executive Branch- which includes the president and governmental cabinet. Legislative Branch- there are actually two legislative chambers in Bolivia. Congress also falls under this branch. Judicial Branch- There are five levels of jurisdiction in the Bolivian judicial system. It is headed by the Supreme Court with has a separate Constitutional Tribunal, as well as a Supreme Electoral Tribunal which rules on matters related to the electoral process. There are nine departments that are subdivisions of the government which is headed by elected governors. Within the political system in Bolivia there are four major political parties. They are: 1. Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), 2. National Unity (UN), 3. Fearless Movement (MSM), 4. Social Alliance (AS) There are many smaller civilian-based parties but none that are of any consequence or major influence. (Government 2010) There is history involved in the politics that would indicate that Bolivia was a bad democracy, but the recent changes in the government, both leadership and structurally that are showing great promise and potential in making Bolivia a quality democracy. So far my thesis seems to be in jeopardy of being proven false. Social The majority of the general populous still has a high content of Indian descendents and most are fiercely proud of that heritage. As stated previously, the large majority of the Bolivian population is indigenous and descendant from the Incan Indians that had inhabited the area before Spanish conquest. Originally under the control of the Viceroy of Lima the land then called Upper Peru would eventually become Bolivia. The majority of the proceeds from the silver that was mined there was a very large contributing factor to the Spanish Empire. Towards the beginning of the nineteenth century Upper Peru declared its independence from Peru and Spain, renaming itself after the freedom fighter Simon Bolivar in the mid-eighteen twenties. Just because independence was achieved this didn’t meant instant stability or prosperity. The growth of a new government was slow and there were constant changes and upheavals in the first half century or so. Some of their land was even taken over by Chile, which effectively cut off sea access and the ease of trade that Bolivia had enjoyed and taken for granted for all those years while still under Spanish control. Not only did Bolivia mine gold and silver, they had gold mines as well, which became one of the few saving graces for this newly independent country. Gold was ever increasing in value in the world market. Gold mining was definitely a profitable endeavor for the mine owner as well as the country, but this was soon surpassed by the mining and exporting of tin. The natural reserves of tin far outweighed any of the other metals and other natural resources that Bolivia possessed. The increase in wealth with the mine owners had an eventual effect on the political systems in Bolivia, when they decided that they wanted or needed anything they would simple hire strong arms and place pressure on the still weak government. This was a fairly successful method, especially since a large majority of the countries jobs and income came from the mines. Despite the wealth of the various mines and other natural resources available to Bolivia, it has a very high poverty rate because it is still one of the least developed countries in Latin America by comparison. Somewhere around two thirds of the population consists of impoverished subsistence farmers. The annual population rate is incredibly low, averaging less than two percent a year. (Grey 2007) Another factor in the social state is the literacy rate, which is also very low. Many of the children attend less than a year of schooling in their lives, and that is if they are lucky enough to get that. The prominent religion is Roman Catholic thanks to the early influences from Spain; however there is a slowing rising Protestant movement in recent years. The poverty rate in Bolivia is staggeringly high, toping over sixty percent of the general populous. That would roughly be around six million people all living in squalor with no sewage system, no running water, no medical care and barely enough food to survive. (Grey 2007) The people have bad working conditions in the silver and tin mines, as well as no education or any opportunities to better their lots in life. The Great Depression was especially hard on Bolivia cutting the price of tin down below half of what it was. Because of the loss of the easy sea access, shipping costs had always been high for Bolivia and the effects of the Depression were devastating. While the struggling economy from the Depression almost crippled them, tin would eventually bring Bolivia out of its slump and in later years and place them as one of the four leading suppliers of tin worldwide. Working in the mines in dangerous conditions and low pay was a prominent social structure until a war broke out with Paraguay in the nineteen thirties. The shock of the war helped the working classes realize that they needed more from life and formed various social groups to pursue and hopefully achieve these goals. The workers in the mines were both men and woman. Often times there were even children that worked the mines in order to help feed their families. One woman worker from the mines said, â€Å"We eat the mines and the mines eat us†. (Skidmore, Smith and Green 2010, 158) This shows the general feeling that was prevalent among the people, especially those in the mines. According to The New York Times many laws were recently passed to fight different aspects that were considered problematic to society in including racism. â€Å"Bolivia’s leftist president, Evo Morales, signed an anti-racism law Friday that his opponents say could be used to stifle media criticism of his government. The law allows authorities to close down news outlets deemed to have published racist content, which has led to protests by senators from the eastern region of Santa Cruz, the nation’s richest area and an opposition stronghold. Mr. Morales, Bolivia’s first president of native Indian descent, said the measure ensured greater equality for the indigenous majority in South America’s poorest nation.† (Reuters 2010) This shows at least a general awareness, if not concern, for the stability of the relationship of the people of Bolivia by its leadership and the recognition of the need for change and evolution. They recognized that there are problems present from the history of the country and they want to change as a way to move Bolivia towards a more modern and tolerant society. From research, the social structure of Bolivia is a divided and impoverished one. There is drastic difference in the social classes and there is little available to move out of where you are born. Classically speaking I would say that Bolivia had a very poor social structure and that directly reflects on the government’s influences and practices. Looking at the past social aspects of Bolivia I would say this was definitely an argument towards Bolivia not being a quality democracy, however with the new governmental changes and the amendments to the constitution that distributes money where it is needed and gives land to the workers, I would definitely say that Bolivia is on the right track to correct mistakes and problems of the past. The governing body is showing concern for the needs of the people and working to fill those needs. Once again there is hope for this small country in regards to a new governing body that works and is beneficial to country and the people. Economic systems Economically speaking, Bolivia is one of the poorest and least developed countries in modern Latin America. (Government 2010) There have been recent discovery of natural gas deposits and the country is hopeful this will help boost them as a significant player in the world economy. Other industries include; sugarcane, tobacco, petroleum, mining and clothing. Bolivia’s original exports that brought them commerce and eventually times of economic stability, were silver and tin. Because of the changing times and the advancements of the times, tin was surprisingly the leading export for Bolivia for many years and is still one of the major mining and export industries in the country. There were other natural resources that were present in Bolivia and a major one was petroleum. There were wells being drilled as early as 1916 by private companies and when the Bolivian government saw the value in this industry, they simple nationalized the entire operation by the end of the nineteen thirties. The petroleum industry was a steady export and the peak for Bolivian petroleum was in the 1970s and steadily declined after. The ever changing global economy and market contributed to the decline in the Bolivian petroleum industry, they are a small country and they were competing against many large countries, most of which the drilling companies were privately owned and inevitably, by the early 1990s the oil industry returns to being privately owned. (Skidmore, Smith and Green 2010, 158) Another export, though not as prevalent as their other ones or quite as legal in many cases, was coca. This plant is what is used in the manufacturing of cocaine and thrives in the South American climate. The farming of this plant not only affects the economical structure in Bolivia but it has some political connotations as well. Helen Coster of the Washington Post wrote, â€Å"The United States says that Bolivia the worlds third-largest producer of coca, after Colombia and Peru produces too much excess coca, which is often processed into cocaine and sold in South America and Europe. Critics say the decision is political, intended to punish Bolivia for its lack of cooperation in the U.S.-led war on drugs, specifically President Evo Moraless decision to kick out the Drug Enforcement Administration in 2008. Washington is saying that if youre not fighting the war on drugs the way we want you to, well punish you, says Sdenka Silva Ballon, a sociologist and founder of the Museo de la Coca in La Paz. If Bolivia had invited DEA agents back, then the U.S. would probably be pleased with its efforts. (Coster 2010) The Bolivian government takes a stance against drugs and the production of cocaine but refuses to outlaw the farming of the coca plant. Coster goes on to say, â€Å"Coca is an issue that has long defined U.S.-Bolivian relations, and which Morales, a cocalero and head of the coca growers federation, uses to galvanize his base.†Evos electoral stronghold was the cocaleros and other groups with the same school of thought: the have-nots neglected by the government masses, says Caesar Guedes, representative of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime in Bolivia. Theres a thin line where the government has to be careful: keep the culture of coca without the support and endorsement of cocaine. It takes work for the government to make that message clear. (Coster 2010) While the production of cocaine is obviously illegal, the farming of the leafy plant is not and surprisingly plays a part in the history of the country. The indigenous people have long used this plant as a medicine to combat fatigue, hunger and thirst. It had also been used as a mild anesthetic before stronger ones were wildly available. There were also smaller tribes that used the plant in religious ceremonies to assist in vision quests and many times was used as an offering to their gods. There was a brief gold rush in the 1980s which fit right into the countries mining history and for a short time they were exporting around 80 percent of the legal gold exports in the world market. The Bolivian economy was history making in the 1980s with prices increasing by over 20,000 percent in a one year period. This was a real threat until a new government was formed in the end of 1985 that instigated a stabilization program. This plan capped prices and halted inflation and actually lessened it for awhile. Not too long after it started to rise again. There was not one major war that effected the Bolivian economy but the buildup of the various government coups that seem to be very prevalent in this country’s history. They were also affected by high interest rates, price drops for commodities and the instability of the foreign markets. The country hoped that the solution to their economic problems was Siles Suazo, who was elected in 1980 but did not take office until 1982. His government would have power for a short three years. By this point in their history Bolivia could not obtain any foreign loans and the inflation rate was over 300 percent annually. According to Juan Antonio; â€Å"By any standard, Bolivias economic crisis in the 1980s has been extraordinary. Like its neighbors. Bolivia suffered from major external shocks, but the extent of economic collapse in the face of these shocks (including a hyperinflation during 1984-85) suggests that internal factors as well as external shocks have been critical to Bolivias poor economic performance. One major theme of our work is that the recent economic crisis in Bolivia is a reflection of political and economic conflicts in Bolivian society that have undermined the development process throughout this century. While major reforms have been begun by the present government, many of the deepest problems in Bolivian society that contributed to the crisis remain unresolved.† (Antonio 1988) Natural gas became a commodity for this small country. A major pipeline was constructed in the 1970s and twenty years later another line was built due to an agreement with Brazil for export. Bolivia has the second largest reserve of natural gas in Latin America and equaled almost 30 percent of its exports. Controversy was sparked due to control of the natural gas and the economical impact it would have on the surrounding areas. Based upon the research for Bolivia contained in this research, I would say historically this was, and is, a fairly weak and poor country. The political structure was constantly unstable with various instances of military involvement. The recent strides with the redrafting of the country’s Constitution shows promise for the country’s future, and the future of the people. The discovery of the gas reserves is also a promising note for the country. I don’t see historic Bolivia as a good example of a quality democracy because of the aforementioned facts; however, I do see potential and hope for this country in the coming years. Recent times and changes within the government system and leaders have shown a renewed hope and energy that Bolivia will become a stable and prosperous nation. There are many years of calamity and disaster for Bolivia and the hurdles that the new powers have to jump are not easy ones. They are showing themselves to be loyal Bolivian citizens a s well as practical minded in regards to the changes that were/are needed to make their homeland something to be proud of. Antonio, Juan. Bolivias Economical Crisis. NBER Working Paper Series, Vol. w2620, June 1988. CIA. The World Fact Book. September 29, 2010. www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bl.htm. Coster, Helen. Bolivia Walks the Line as it Struggles to Battle Coca Production. The Washington Post, November 13, 2010. Diamond, Larry Jay, and Leonardo Morlino. Assessing the Quality of Democracy. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005. Government, US. U.S. Department of State Diplomacy in Action. May 13, 2010. www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3575.htm. Grey, Nancy. Now We are Citizens; Indigenous Politics in Post-multicultural Bolivia. New York: Stanford University Press, 2007. Reuters. Bolivia: New Law Called Threat to Media Critism of Government. October 09, 2010. Skidmore, Thomas E., Peter H. Smith, and James N. Green. Modern Latin America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. University, Princeton. WordNet, A Lexicon Database for English. September 20, 2010. www.wordnetweb.princeton.edu. Research Papers on Is Bolivia a Quality DemocracyBringing Democracy to AfricaPETSTEL analysis of IndiaRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoQuebec and CanadaThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationDefinition of Export Quotas19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 Europe

The Equity Theory Essay Example

The Equity Theory Essay Example The Equity Theory Paper The Equity Theory Paper The process theories emphasize on the role of an individuals cognitive processes in determining his or her mode of motivation. One major process theory is The Equity Theory (see Appendix 4), which is based on the simple premise that people want to be treated fairly. According to the theory, people are motivated to reduce feeling of inequity when they occur, just as they are motivated to reduce dissonance. Fairness is a basic value in many cultures, and it is one most people want to see put into practice where they work. For example, consider a young woman who believes that her salary should be much higher than it is simply because she belongs to a specific minority group and that her company wishes to demonstrate that it treats such persons very well. Under these conditions, strong feelings of inequity may arise and add to the discomfort the woman experiences in this situation. As a result, her motivation and commitment to the company may both be reduced. In this particular instance, the motivation here works both ways, for the young woman, and for the company, as it also urges the company to compete for its social standing and recognition. The key role of employees perceptions of their jobs is underlined in Expectancy Theory (see Appendix 5). This theory of employee motivation has been promulgated by Vrooms. He suggested that the individuals motivation force in a job could be calculated if the expectancy and valence values are known. He argued that what was crucial to motivation at work was the perception of a link between effort and reward. In workplace, a manager would need to figure out what rewards each employee wants and how valuable those rewards are to each individual, measure the various expectancies, and finally adjust the relationships to create motivation. In other words, the manager will have to attach measurable values to each work that value, they have to work and compete to gain it. In the actual world, money is the critical incentive to work motivation and it is important to employees because it is a medium of exchange. Money will motivate to the extent that it is seen as being able to satisfy an individuals personal goals and is perceived as being dependent upon performance criteria. As equity theory suggests, money has symbolic value in addition to its exchange value, and expectancy theories attest to the value of money as a motivator. In an organization competition occurs when the goals of interacting groups are incompatible and the interactions are important to the attainment of each groups goals (Moorhead, 1992). In the movement of various motivations of individuals, competition is an inevasible fact to people everywhere. In the past, management reward systems have attempted to satisfy an individuals lower level needs for safety and physiological security. As society progresses, nowadays, management reward systems are endeavoring to satisfy also the individuals higher level needs for esteem and self-actualization. Similarly, as people progress on their work, they are constantly faced with different needs, wants, dissatisfaction, and dissonance at different stages, and in order to satisfy their needs and wants, or to overcome their dissatisfaction and dissonance, they will have to compete constantly either with one another or with themselves. Suppose that you ask a large number of individuals what is the most important motivating factor in their work, certainly, you would receive a wide range of replies. Some individuals will consider monetary pay and various economic benefits, while other may focus on the pleasantness of the work itself, and still other will opt for opportunities for advancement or good relations with their coworkers. So much can be said about motivation factors that it is often hard to put a finger directly on it. In other words, they are motivated at various stages by various factors. But at the end of the day, it is competition that matter.