Human Memory Essay Example for Free

Human Memory Essay The human memory is that part of our brains that has the capacity to receive, store, and retrieve information. It is comprised of not one but three types: sensory, short term, and long term. Generally, the process involves receiving information or stimulus from the environment. The stimulus is then received by the sensory memory. Then the information, which is converted into electrical impulses, is passed through the short-term memory, and finally, the long-term memory through the neurons. Sensory A stimuli that is sensed or received by one of the five sense organs are received by the sensory memory, which acts as a protective barrier. There are different types of sensory memory, one for each sense organ. For the visual stimuli that are registered by the eyes, the sensory memory is called iconic. Stimuli that passes through the ears are received by the echoic memory. And the haptic memory is for stimuli that are felt or touched. A stimulus reaches the sensory memory between two hundred and five hundred milliseconds after it was perceived. An example of sensory memory is the ability to remember how something looks like even if you were able to see it for only a few seconds. Based on research, sensory memory is able to retain about 12 items in a very short period of time. Interruption in the smooth relay of sensory information can be caused by problems in the neurons . If there are some neurons that do not connect or there are imbalances, then information flow will stop or will be delayed. Short-Term Information that reaches the sensory memory are transferred to the short-term memory. This type of memory allows retention of information for up to 60 seconds. While it can remember information far longer than the sensory memory, the short-term memory can only retain up to five items. To increase the number of items that the short-term memory can remember, studies showed that grouping or chunking the items into three have been found very useful. Short-term memory will degrade if a person experiences chronic pain or drinks constantly. It can be enhanced through aerobic exercises because of the increased oxygen in the brain. Long-Term After information has passed through the short-term memory, it is then transferred to the long-term memory for storage and for retrieval in the future. Contrary to the two previous memories, the long-term memory can hold information indefinitely, sometimes for a lifetime. Information becomes ingrained in the memory through repetition or rehearsal. For instance, the alphabets has been constantly repeated to young children in order for them to remember each letter. As a result, knowledge of them will remain etched in memory forever. Long-term memory degrades through certain illnesses. It can be improved through constant intellectual stimulation and rehearsal. Long-term memory groups information into facts and skills. Facts is further classified into two: the episodic and semantic. As their names suggests, episodic refers to events that are stored in the memory. All the others are stored in the semantic memory. Skills, on the other hand, is about learned information that needs to be recalled to perform certain actions. The processes involved in the long-term memory are retention, retrieval and deletion. Retention is achieved when there is rehearsal. Deletion happens when there is interference. Retrieval can occur through recall and sometimes, through recognition. When the information is remembered from memory, it is called recall. If there are promptings and cues to remember an information, it is called recognition. Interference Interference is defined as the inability to recall an information because certain items or events interfere with the process. Proactive interference occurs when previous learnings will make it difficult to remember new ones. On the other hand, retroactive interference occurs when new learnings make it difficult or impossible to recall past information. While studying, information gets jumbled in the students mind because there are too many to recall. To improve absorption and recall, it is important to rehearse the information over a period of time. This could be done by reading the days lessons and memorizing the salient points before going to sleep. If the student will make this a habit, he wont need to cram everything in his head a few days before the exam. By constantly rehearsing, the retention and retrieval will become easy. Other Factors That Could Affect Memory Age is one factor that could make a person forget an information or make it difficult to retrieve it from its storage. Like any other part of the body, the brain also degrades if it is not constantly in use. Injuries, traumas, medicines, and diseases could also affect memory storage and retrieval. For example, a tumor in the brain can interrupt the flow of electrical impulses, resulting to memory loss. Or a trauma caused by accident could result to sensory memory loss in one part of the body. To improve and maintain a good memory, it is always important to keep on exercising the mind as well as the body. When the mind is seldom used, it degenerates. Reading, learning and engaging in intellectual discourses would keep the mind active. References Gailbuck. (2007). Delving Into the Autistic Brain Part 1. HubPages. Retrieved August 14, 2008, from http://hubpages.com/hub/autism-sensory-processing Human Memory. Retrieved August 14, 2008, from http://www-static.cc.gatech.edu/classes/cs6751_97_winter/Topics/human- cap/memory.html Mohs, R. How to Improve Your Memory. HowStuffWorks. Retrieved August 15, 2008, from

The Coming of Age Essay Example for Free

The Coming of Age Essay Childhood is a time where children learn about the world around themselves. They see and experience many factors that influence their everyday lives, which help them grow stronger when they become adults. In â€Å"Girl† by Jamaica Kincaid and â€Å"The Lesson† by Toni Cade Bambara the characters within the stories learn valuable lesson with help them grow to become better individuals. In â€Å"The Lesson† the character of Sugar undergoes a realization that society does not treat everyone equally, that not every individual has the same opportunity and equality that they should have. In â€Å"Girl† the main character learns that she must be perceived as a woman and not as a slut, her mother brings to her attention of how the world is and what she must to do in order to survive in it. Lessons that children learn all help them grow to become better individuals, in â€Å"Girl† and â€Å"The Lesson† the lessons that the characters learn both help them grow to become better and stronger individuals. In â€Å"The Lesson† the character, Sugar undergoes a realization of the world around her, through her teacher Miss Moore, Sugar notices that there is a better way of living in the world besides, her own little world with her friends. Sugar says, â€Å"You know, Miss Moore, I don’t think that all of us here put together eat in a year what that sailboat costs,† (Bambara 452). Miss Moore is an African American woman who has broken through the expectation that society has placed on her class and on her color. Bambara presents Miss Moore as a very educated and intelligent woman, who has a college degree. With her knowledge Miss Moore sets out to educate the deprived and lower classed children and teach them of the world around them. She sets out to open their eyes, as well as their knowledge of the world around them. Miss Moore says, â€Å"Imagine for a minute what kind of society it is in which some people can spend on a toy what it would cost to feed a family of six or seven. What do you think? ,† (Bambara 452). Sugar’s realization of the world outside of her own, opens her mind to many questions that she never imagined before. She realizes that there is a better standard of living in the world and that society is not equal, as it should be, â€Å"I think, . . . that this is not much of a democracy if you ask me. Equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough, don’t it? ,† (Bambara 452). In this quotation Sugar realizes what Miss Moore set out to teach the lower classed and deprived children, her goal was to open their eyes and make them aware of how much more there is out there then making pocket change. â€Å"What kinda work they do and how they live and how come we ain’t in on it? Where we are is who we are, Miss Moore always pointin out. But it don’t necessarily have to be that way, she always adds then waits for somebody to say that poor people have to wake up and demand their share of the pie and place,† (Bambara 452). With her eyes wide open and with her mind curious and educated, Sugar and her friends realize that in order for them to get some where in life they have to work at it, but not as in individual but as a whole, a class. The only way for them to make a difference to change societies view of their class and become part of the rest of societies. In â€Å"Girl† Kincaid lists a series of orders from a mother to a daughter in such a way that the characters’ lives are illuminated and transformed by the mundane household details. The â€Å"Girl† is more of a gender type of a story, but there is also a lesson that needs to be realized by the girl. In this story the mother of this girl is her teacher, she tells her daughter of how the world is around her, just like Miss Moore in â€Å"The Lesson. † The mother in this story tries to make her daughter realize that he needs to be viewed as a woman within society. Who or what the daughter is on the inside can be for herself, but on the outside she cannot let her actions give and impression that she is a slut to society. The mother says, â€Å"this is how you smile to someone you like completely; this is how you set a table for tea; . . . this is how to behave in the presence of men who don’t know you very well, and this way they won’t recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming, . . . † (Kincaid 33). As this story progresses the mother lists various chores and behaviors she must do in order for her to remain a woman and not be viewed as a slut, â€Å"be sure to wash everyday, . . . don’t squat down to play marbles-you are not a boy, you know, . . . † (Kincaid 33). In this story the girl wishes to rebel against what her mother wishes for her to do, but she dose not wish to be viewed as a slut, if she doesn’t do everything her mother has taught her. Mother says, â€Å"this is how to make ends meet; always squeeze bread to make sure it’s fresh; but what is the baker won’t let me feel the bread? ; you mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won’t let near the bread? ,† (Kincaid 34). In this story an issue of gender arises, where a girl needs to be taught how to become a woman and not be viewed as a slut. The daughter in â€Å"Girl† wants to rebel against her mother and not be viewed as a slut to society, therefore hoping that society will not look down upon her, if she does not do everything that the mother has taught her that she must do. In the stories of the â€Å"Girl† and â€Å"The Lesson† different lessons are learned, but the common realization of the world around them is learned by the characters and how each of the characters must learn to rebel against societies views. This realization helps them grow smarter and stronger as they grow older and come of age, from childhood to adulthood. Society has set standards for individuals to live by, but it is up to those individuals to break away, or live by the standards and views of society. â€Å"It is not much of a democracy if you ask me. Equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough,† (Bambara 452). In reality, society has set standards for everyone to live by. Those who break away from it are look down upon if they fail, but if they succeed they are praised by, this may be the only way to change societies views of gender, class, and race; it is by succeeding in everything that you do.

Investigation And Evaluation Of Two Organizations Management Essay

Investigation And Evaluation Of Two Organizations Management Essay Marks and Spencers is one of the major British retailer companies. It has over 895 stores all over the world in more than 40 countries. marks and spencers have over 600 domestic stores and 295 international stores. marks and spencers is the UKs largest clothing retailer and a high end food retailer. marks and spencers is the worlds 43rd largest retailer. It sells clothes, food and wine, furniture, flowers and gifts and electronic products. It has made a pretax profit of over 1 billion  £ in 1998. They were the first British retailer to achieve such target. This clearly indicates that marks and spencers is a retail giant and has been an undisputed leader in the retail sector as far as the United Kingdom market is concerned. It has also proved itself in the international retail market and plans to expand its business in more directions and covering newer international market. Marks and Spencer was founded by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer in 1894 as their first store in partnership at Cheetham Hill Road, Manchester. They made their reputation on a policy of only selling British made goods in 20th century. This was something extremely new in the market and hoped to capitalize on the buyers sense of belongingness to UK They sold food and clothes under the â€Å"St. Michael† brand which they introduced in 1928. They are also repudiated for having the most generous 35 days return policy on the British High Street. By 1950 almost all the goods were sold under â€Å"St. Michael†, women clothes and uniforms of girls were under â€Å"St. Margaret† label until the whole thing became â€Å"St. Michael†. The Asian food was introduced as the beginning of the cautious international expansion. Marks and Spencer opened stores in Europe in 1975 and in Ireland in 1979. This was a calculated step as Asian food was gaining popularity in the wes t and also the inflow of Asians in the western countries was on an upswing. This idea clicked and the company made huge returns. The company is known for emphasizing quality and offering fair value for money. marks and spencers has been a historic iconic retailer of British Quality goods. marks and spencers is aware of the fact that a solid and consistent growth is only guaranteed if it maintains its standards and delivers the best quality at the most reasonable rates. Being retail oriented company; customer satisfaction is of utmost importance and marks and spencers ensured it by healthy customer relations and most importantly provided post sales services to its customers In 1973 the company expanded in Canada. At a point they had 47 stores there. But they had never been able to improve their as a dull retailer. In late 90s efforts were made to improve and unprofitable locations were closed, but it wasnt successful. So they had to close the remaining stores in 1999.In 1975 they expanded in France by opening the stores in Paris. Paris being the worlds fashion capital, there was already stiff competition and it made it tough for Marks and Spencer to survive in such highly competitive environment. Except for Paris the European operation did not fare and the stores were sold in 2001.The Company acquired Brooks Brothers and Kings Super Markets in US but they were sold off. Several factors like these combined to threw Marks and Spencer into a heavy fall in 1997/98, which took everybody by surprise. These were the results of some bad decisions taken by Marks and Spencer which resulted in downfall of the company. The companys share fell by 70% approx. and its profits degraded from 1 billion to 145 million  £ at the end of 2001.In 2001 there were changes in their business focus. They started accepting credit cards and a new range of clothes was introduced. They also redesigned their business model. This resulted in some recovery but the problem still remained. In 2004 there was an attempt to take over marks and spencers by Bhs boss, Philip Green and Arcadia group. In Feb. 2007, marks and spenc ers announced to open worlds largest Marks and Spencer store at Dubai festival city. This surely turned out to be an intelligent move as Dubai is slowly becoming the trade capital of the world. Dubai, which is the most popular emirate of UAE, is now one of the hottest destinations for shopping, trading and travel and tourism industry. The high end Zendra Rhodes Collection was introduced in late 2009. PERFORMANCE: Marks and Spencer is listed on LSE (London stock Exchange) as a constituent of FTSE 100. Here is Year/Net Profit plot for Marks and Spencer. From the above data we can conclude that There was a heavy fall in 1998. In year 2001 the profits were very low only  £ M 2.8. There was some recovery in 2003-04 but they were still facing problem. From 2006 to 2008 there is some improvement. There is a significant decline in 2009. BRITISH HOME STORES (Bhs): â€Å"British home stores† is a departmental store chain in Britain which have branches in high street locations. They are primarily selling clothing and household items such as bed linen, cutlery, crockery and lighting. Now they have also started selling furniture etc. Bhs competes on value and quality. They are targeting at lesser part of the population as compared to John Lewis and Marks and Spencer. They have over 186 stores all over UK. The company is listed on LSE (London stock Exchange) as a constituent of FTSE 100 and is currently owned by Sir. Philip Green. HISTORY: In 1928 the first shop of Bhs opened in Brixton. They copied the business model of United Kingdom arm of US based FW Woolworth in that the price of goods was at max 1 shilling. In 1929 the maximum price was increased to 5 to enable the company for expanding the range of products. This includes furnishing and drapery. Bhs became Public company in 1931. After World War II selling based on price was stopped and goods with value and quality to money have been started to be offered. Bhs started expanding in 1970-80. They also opened the stores in indoor shopping malls. In 1977 they launched a joint venture with the firm â€Å"Sainsburys† to create hyper markets using SavaCentre brand. Sainsburys took control of the whole brand in 1989 and converted all the stores. There was a downturn in business in 1980s which was tried to be fought with the reconstruction of the stores and high profit margins selling. Bhs had to close its overseas stores during these times. In 1985 they opened fi rst franchise store. Such stores now operate in Europe and Middle east. There was a merger between Bhs, Habitat and Motherhouse. In mid 90s the brand went under reinvention under the guidance of retail design house 20:20.In May 2000 Philip Green took over Bhs (for  £ 200 million) and changed the company from public to private (ltd). In May 2005 Philip Green bought Etam UK (which included good girls fashion retailers). To improve Bhs girls perception as a whole the stand alone brands were integrated into Bhs.On Feb 27 2009, the company announced its merger with sister company Arcadia. Performance: The current condition of Bhs is not good. It is owned by Philip Green. Marks and Spencers performance is at present much better than Bhs. The growth is slow in retail market. To have a major growth you have to steal your rivals sales. Hence the gain of marks and spencers is resulting in Bhs loss. Philip Green is implementing cost cutting programs to increase the margin. There is a scope of improvement for others here. Cost pricing in this sector is continuously increasing because of the increase in energy and utility prices which accounts for  £ 12 million fall for Bhs. For revitalizing of the brand Green is investing at least  £ 100m and if he pulls this one out next time we will be discussing about marks and spencers slow recovery. Task 2: QUESTIONAIRE: The questionnaire has the questions on the following fields for evaluating the performance of both companies: Product design Shelf price Brand image Advertising Product range Shelf space Logistics Information and Customer relationships The answering of the questions has to be done on interval level. Questions specifically meant for staff members are marked as (SM). Rest can be answered by all. QUESTIONS: A) Product design: 1) How is the efficiency of the product designing process? (SM) bad excellent 2) Which product generation method is preferred? (SM) Based on idea Based on need 3) How good are solution designing and production methods? (SM) Poor Excellent B) Shelf price: 1) How is spending at each level of production handling and distribution? (SM) Very less just right Very high C) Brand image: 1) Which brand is more preferable? marks and spencers Bhs D) Advertising 1) How much does the firm spent on the marketing? (SM) very less just right Very high 2) Which brands advertisement is more enlightening about the product? marks and spencers Bhs E) Product range 1) Which brand has wider variety of products to choose from? marks and spencers Bhs 2) Which brand fulfills the better product requirement? marks and spencers Bhs F) Shelf space 1) Which brand has better stores? marks and spencers Bhs 2) Which brand store is easily reachable? marks and spencers Bhs G) Logistics 1) How good is the flow of goods, resources and information in the company? (SM) Poor Excellent H) Information and Customer relationships 1) Which brands store provide better information about the product? marks and spencers Bhs 2) Which brands customer service is more satisfactory? marks and spencers Bhs Statistical output: Output stats after a survey of 150 persons. Result interpretations of the survey: Product design process of Bhs is more efficient than that of marks and spencers . Idea based product generation is preferred more in Bhs, whereas it is almost balanced in marks and spencers . Shelf pricing efficiency of Bhs is much better than that of marks and spencers . marks and spencers brand is more preferable as compared to Bhs. Advertising marks and spencers spent more on Advertising. Product range marks and spencers have wider variety of products. Shelf space of marks and spencers is slightly better than Bhs. Logistics of Bhs are better than marks and spencers (there is not much difference). Information and Customer relationships: Customers are more satisfied with marks and spencers as compared to Bhs. CONCLUSION: From the result of the above survey and from the information collected from the various other resources we can conclude that: marks and spencers s (Marks and Spencer) is a much bigger company as compared to Bhs. marks and spencers have over 695 stores whereas Bhs only have over 185 stores. marks and spencers s net profits and turnovers are much higher than those of Bhs. Marks and Spencer can invest into more number of ventures and more capital which is generated by its huge network round the globe. marks and spencers is more famous and older brand as compared to Bhs. marks and spencers operations are more widespread as compared to Bhs. marks and spencers s targeted customers are much larger than those of Bhs. marks and spencers usually targets high end customers whereas Bhs do not. Product range of marks and spencers is much higher than that of Bhs. Customers prefers marks and spencers over Bhs. However, the internal operations, functions and working of Bhs are more coordinated better and efficient than that of the marks and spencers . This can prove beneficial to the company in the long run and this can result in Bhs having more output to input ratio as the system is more efficient. ROCOMMENDATIONS: From our current analysis I can say that Bhs has improved its internal structure to its maximum. There is a need to revitalize the plans, if that is successful then there is a good chance that Bhs might improve to the required level. However, marks and spencers have scope of improvement in its internal structure which will bring significant change in its profit margin. Currently marks and spencers have better hold of market but if they can side by side update their structure then they can avoid majority of the downfalls they face. References: Marks Spencer (n.d.). Retrieved on May 6, 2010, from http://www.marksandspencer.com/ (Marks Spencer) Modern living made easy (n.d.). Retrieved on May 6, 2010, from http://www.bhs.co.uk/ (Modern living made easy) How to begin your survey design project. (n.d.). Retrieved on May 6, 2010, from http://www.surveysystem.com/sdesign.htm (How to design your survey design project.) Bhs results in investment and retail sector. (n.d.). Retrieved on May 6, 2010, from http://www.moneyweek.com/articles/money-morning/why-bhs-could-be-just-the-start-of-retail-sector-woes.aspx (Bhs results in investment and retail sector.)

Anne Moodys Involvement in the Civil Rights Movement Essay -- Anne Mo

Coming of Age in Mississippi   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Anne Moody’s Coming of Age in Mississippi, talked extensively about the civil rights movement that she had participated in. The civil rights movement dealt with numerous issues that many people had not agreed with. Coming of Age in Mississippi gave the reader a first hand look at the efforts many people had done to gain equal rights.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Anne Moody, like many other young people, joined the civil rights movement because they wanted to make a difference in their state. They wanted their freedom and the same rights as the white people had. Many other young people joined the civil rights movement because they felt that a change was needed in the way black people were treated. They felt that this change would not come if they did not join the civil rights movement. Anne Moody was a strong believer of black rights and felt that it was important for her to help black people fight for equal rights. These civil rights workers felt that their freedom would only come if most of the black community supported the efforts of the civil rights workers. Anne Moody, and other young people, thought that the only way that they would get equal rights for black people was to prove that they really wanted them. These civil rights workers, for example, showed that they really did care by joining various civil rights orga nizations and engaging in Freedom Marches. These Freedom marches were very organized, and they occurred all over the United States, which proved that black people wanted the same rights as the white people had. Anne Moody, and many other young people, joined the civil rights movement because they felt a change was needed and that it was their duty to fight for equal rights.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Anne Moody had thought about joining the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), but she never did until she found out one of her roommates at Tougaloo college was the secretary. Her roommate asked, â€Å"why don’t you become a member† (248), so Anne did. Once she went to a meeting, she became actively involved. She was always participating in various freedom marches, would go out into the community to get black people to register to vote. She always seemed to be working on getting support from the black community, sometimes to the point of exhaustion. Son after she joined the NAACP, she met a girl that was the secretary to the ... ...tunity Commission that prevented discrimination in the workplace. Anne Moody was very optimistic about the desegregation cases. She always tested the Supreme Court decision of Brown versus the Board of Education numerous times by doing sit-ins and freedom marches. She was determined to fight for her rights, despite numerous threats against her life. When Kennedy was assassinated, she was devastated. Anne really thought that Kennedy was the answer that she and other members of SNCC were waiting for. She walked around in a daze wondering what would happen next. Governmental leaders were essential during the civil rights movement. Without the help of government officials, black people would not have had the same rights they have today. Anne Moody’s Coming of Age in Mississippi, talked extensively about the civil rights movement that she had participated in. The civil rights movement proved successful in achieving equal rights for Black Americans, despite strong opposition. Black Americans got equal rights because of the untiring efforts young people, like Anne Moody, had. Without the efforts of these young people, the role of Black Americans in society may have been different today.

Propaganda and Its Effect on America Essay -- Advertising Advertisemen

Propaganda and Its Effect on America Thesis: Propaganda was a tool that leaders used to get people involved in wars of the past. Propaganda, a term that only reminds people of corruption and manipulation. Others, it reminds of advertising and raising American spirit. Well, they are both right. [â€Å"Propaganda† Pg. 1, sec.1]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Propaganda is a specific type of message presentation aimed at serving an agenda. At its root, propaganda is to propagate (spread around) a certain position or point of view, rather than just reporting the facts. Most propaganda is associated with politics or war time. It is used to help unite countries, especially the U.S. in the past. [Pg. 1, sec. 1] Most propaganda that people have heard of came from World War II in Nazi, Germany. They would be surprised to learn that the U.S. has done the same thing in the past. [Pg. 1, sec. 1]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Before World War I, uninterrupted public support was thought to be critical to all the wartime effort. In 1917, Wilson created the War Aims Committee on Public Information (CPI) to promote World War One Nationally, while advertising America overseas. Under the guidance of a journalist named Creel, the CPI gathered people from different aspects all over the world. The CPI mixed advertising techniques with a refined understanding of human psychology; its efforts represent the first time that a modern government distributed propaganda on such a large scale. It is intriguing that this occurrence, often linked with totalitarianism, emerged in a democratic state. [Pg. 1, sec. 14] Also, being that video was more popular than written propaganda, they begin to make videos. One propaganda video I came across was of an American citizen pretending to be a Japanese man in a very racially discriminating way. The man was obviously a fake Japanese man who was made to look Japanese by using stereotypes and donning a very obviously fake Japanese accent. [â€Å"My Japan† Pg. 2, sec. 2]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The video went on to try and convince Americans at home that Japan was to strong and formidable opponent in the war using Japanese newsreels. By using stereotypes and fear (see â€Å"Types of Propaganda†), America was trying to get America to accept their idea that the war was a good thing. [Pg. 2, sec. 2] Yet another example would be around Pearl Harbor. Right after Pearl Harbor, propaganda helped unite people in ... ...I. They were also a measure to manage inflation by removing money from the economy heated up by war efforts. [Pg. 1] By the end of WWII, over 85 million Americans had invested in war bonds, a number unmatched by any other country; and most of the credit can be given to propaganda. If a country had a mass of supporters it has a better chance of winning then a country that has to fight with only government funding and no supporters. Frankly, it would be a whole easier to strike fear into another country if you have more supporters to go along with a large army of well-trained soldiers. [Pg. 2]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To some people, the only reason we won any war was because of propaganda. They might also consider it sad that we had to manipulate America in order to get support, of course, that is their opinion. Maybe it wasn’t more of manipulation; maybe propaganda could be considered a â€Å"push† rather than a total brainwash. The U.S. is a democracy, and the survival of democracy depends on the ability of people to make decisions based on information; propaganda would be an easy and efficient way to get people this information and therefore give them the choice to support an idea or not. [ Rooij 2]

Clinton Administration Foreign Drug Policy In Colombia :: essays research papers fc

Since the introduction of narcotics in the United States, American society has felt the effects of drug use in all aspects of daily living. As drug use heightened to new levels in the 1980's the Bush Administration chose to declare a "war" on drugs. Never before in our history had crime been combated with war. This war led to the militarization of the United States' tactics for overcoming illegal drug use in the U.S. Instead of choosing to combat drug use by putting greater effort into reducing demand the Bush Administration chose to decrease illegal drug supply. This required reducing drug supplies from Latin America, an area where most of the illegal drugs are produced and trafficked. The Clinton Administration has chosen to maintain the drug "war". The administration has not changed the distribution of funds that are used for combating the drug problem. The drug war has continued to demonstrate limited success, yet militarization has increased along with spending. Since the beginning of the drug "war" Latin American nations have been targeted by the United States. Latin American nations are believed to be the among the major illegal drug producers in the world. Illicit drug cultivation has more than tripled in the last four or five years. Today, Colombia is the world's leading source of cocaine and the leading cultivator of coca, the raw material for cocaine (Reuters). In 1986 Washington passed the International Narcotics Control Act which required foreign countries to cooperate with U.S. efforts in drug-enforcement. The countries could not be "certified" by the U.S. unless they complied with U.S. demands. The executive order given by the President is passed through Congress, where it is negotiated and then ratified. Certification means a continuation of aid from the United States and gains U.S. favor in international financial situations. Most Latin American countries oppose the process but agree to the laws demanded (Casteneda). Colombia is included in the group of nations seeking re-certification every year. In 1996 Colombia did not receive certification, but was given a "vital national interest waiver". In 1997 Colombia again failed to be certified by the U.S. because it was believed that the Colombian government was not doing everything in its power to combat narcotics. The penalties for decertification included the prohibition of more than $1.5 billion in U.S. trade financing and investment guarantees. "Decertification" also means that the U.S. is obliged to vote against multilateral loans for Colombia in international financial institutions.

Examine critically the GLA proposal to introduce congestion charging

Traffic congestion has been a major problem for many of the cities in the UK and nowhere more than in the central of the largest UK city and capital London. It is known that 50% of drivers' time going though central London is spent in queues and at peak times and that times of high amounts of traffic average speeds of vehicles are under 10 miles per hour (Transport for London, 2001, Congestion Charging: Introduction). It has been a key issue for the transport authorities for some time and many efforts have been aimed at levelling this problem. The GLA (Greater London Authority), and in particular the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has now decided to confront this problem head on and has issued a congestion charging scheme for central London. The charge is set to come into place on the 17th February 2003. The congestion charging scheme is intended to reduce the amount of motorists taking unnecessary trips through the centre if London, and to make them think of using public transport where possible. There will be a charge of i5 for drivers who still wish to go through central London. The charge will occur on weekdays between the hours of 7am and 6. 30pm, there will be no charge on weekends and public holidays, the fee of i5 will be at a flat daily rate with no limit on the number of times motorists go through the charging zone. The fee can either be paid on the day or in advance, with passes to the zone available on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis (TfL, 2001, Congestion Charging: How the scheme will work? ) Not everyone has to pay the charge; there are a number of discounts and exemptions as part of the scheme. Residents who live within the charging zone will receive a 90% discount; providing they can give appropriate verification that they do in fact own the vehicle, they will then be subject to a i10 administration charge to register with the TfL. Disabled badge holder will receive a 100% discount but they will have to register and pay the i10 fee. Others receiving a 100% discount are certain NHS vehicles and firefighters' operational vehicles. There are also a number of exemptions from the charge, which do not have to register with TfL either. These are motorbikes, Black cabs and mini-cabs. Also exempt from the charge are Emergency Service vehicles, NHS vehicles exempt from vehicle excise duties, buses and coaches. There are a number of other types of vehicles that are exempt or receive a 100% discount for the charge (TfL, 2001, Congestion Charging: Who will pay? ). They're will be a fine for the registered keeper of any vehicle which has been caught in the charging zone without having paid the charge will be penalised by the amount of i80, this will go down to i40 for payment within the week, or it will rise to i120 if the fine is not paid on time. However, motorists will be able to pay the charge at the normal rate of i5 before 10pm on the day and at a rate of i10 from 10pm till midnight (TfL, 2001, Congestion Charging: Penalties). The scheme will be enforced by a number of powerful and highly technological camera's which will be situated a in and around the congestion charging zone. There is an initial set up budget of i200 million, and i100 million worth of traffic management measures. The scheme is set to raise around i130 million a year, which is by law, should all be spent on transport improvements within Greater London. After rounds of public consultation over a ten-week period starting in July 2001, the London Mayor has decided to go ahead with the proposed scheme, and without any glitches should go ahead on the 17th February 2003 (TfL, 2001,Congestion Charging: Fact Sheets: Basic proposals of the central London scheme). The scheme itself has many benefits along with drawbacks to road users, residents, businesses motorists and the environment. All of these will be affected and care and consideration should be taken when considering the significance of the charge on the various groups. The largest and foremost benefit of the scheme would be the reduced amounts of congestion in the key zone, i. e. Central London. Even though there are many motorists who consider their trips through central London vital, there will be a number of motorists who will avoid the zone during the charging hours, because they do not need to make that trip. The estimated level of reduction in vehicles passing inside the zone would be 10-15%, with a 20-30% reduction in the in the levels of congestion. This would then aid in the speeding up of traffic, which is estimated to increase by 10-15% (TfL, 2001, congestion charging- benefits). The levels of traffic now cause negative externalities, where Marginal Social Costs (MSC), public costs, is greater than Marginal Private Costs (MPC), costs to the individual. The motorists only take into account the cost of petrol and time taken for the trip, MPC. This does not take in to account the levels of pollution, noise and other people's time that their vehicle is effecting, MSC. With the charge leading to the above levels of reduced traffic the size of the externality is reduced as the individual driver is bearing more of the cost. The charge that the Tfl have brought in is in relation to the size of the externality caused by the driver therefore getting closer to the social optimum in road use and traffic congestion. Traffic congestion in London being at its worst ever is also costing industry in and around greater London millions of pounds every year. In a study Alan Griffiths & Stuart Wall (2001), estimate that if traffic were reduced then London's economy would be better off by i1m a day. This would be a major boost for a city that at the moment looks unattractive and is sometimes over looked in favour of other cities because of the traffic congestion and the additional costs to business because of it. The scheme would also improve business efficiency and reduce the time employees and deliverers spend on the roads, and would spend less on fuel consumption (Greens on the GLA, 2001). The TfL expect the scheme to raise around i130 million a year, with a ten year investment plan to plough it all in to transport improvements. This would no doubt improve public transport, namely buses and the underground, in many areas with improved and new routes planned and an increase in the number of buses and trains. There are investments planned in all areas in public transport, including implementing more safety regulations (TfL, 2001, Congestion Charging: Public Transport Improvements). This all has to occur fairly swiftly as the demand for the use of public transport will be stretched. The congestion charging scheme also has many consequences to it. With the reduction in congestion in the charging zone, there will be an obvious increase in traffic around the surrounding areas of the zone. The TfL are expecting there to be a 5% increase in traffic levels on orbital routes. This would raise the externalities, and the difference between MPC and MPC will increase. There is also an issue of this being like just another tax and being regressive in its cause, therefore benefiting the rich and adversely affecting the poor. The rich will be able to pay the tax with no qualms, and will actually benefit from paying it as the people less able to pay the tax will be forced, not to drive in the zone.