Occupy Wall Street Essays (Examples)

Occupy Wall Street

Moral Implications

Economic Implications

Utilitarianism

Kantian Ethics

Virtue Ethics

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

IIOGRAPHY

Occupy Wall Street is about moral and economic vision; it is not about policy demands. Therefore we cannot ask for certain yes and cannot compromise on the other because all moral, social, economical and behavioral values are interlinked and if one is detached then the whole chain comes in broken pieces. All we need in to publicize our internal and external issues in public which have ruined the roots of the American Nation. This is the time to recollect and think alike with unity regardless of racism or class discrimination. We can now jot down the pieces into a complete story that our leaders kept us busy in such petty issues and did their part steadily and neatly to accumulate power, wealth and resources. The best way is to keep going with maximum positivity and…

Occupy Wall Street movement began on September 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park in New York, NY. It has continued to be in session in multiple cities around the world, with no set end date in sight. he primary goals of the protest are to raise public awareness of corporate greed, banking sector malfeasance, corruption, and extreme income inequality. he general feeling of the American populace is that the banking sector never suffered for its mistakes in 2008, and has since then been one of the only sectors of the American economy still earning a year-to-year profit. he commonly adopted term for Occupy Wall Street is the slogan "he 99% versus the 1%." his is in reference to the immense growth of the upper class in the past twenty years, while the middle class has seen their economic status stagnate for decades, and in some cases even shrink.

he Movement

With…

Occupy Wall Street Movement and its Implications as a New Form of Protest

"We are what democracy looks like!" that is a major theme that is represented through the Occupy Wall Street movement (Benjamin 1). Essentially, the movement is a new adaptation to older nonviolent protests styles. It encompasses elements of older traditions, like the use of nonviolent sit ins and marches; however, it proves much different from more traditional protests based on its inclusion of the middle class, and the diverse movement objectives that are not so easily packaged into a neat media story, but are being translated through individual user media outlets. The movement is meant to encourage a new way of thinking about democracy, and how we should live our lives in an era that is trying to deny us that very right.

Occupy Wall Street has been taking action on the streets of New York since…

riot disruptive movement "Occupy all Street" place New York City. The discussion MUST include: 1. A chronological description 2. engaged commentary (opinionated) 3. theoretical interventions.

e live in a world today that is seen as being clearly a sign of discrepancy between the different standards of living, between the rich and the poor, between the highlife and the low life in the society. Some analysts consider that the different levels of development have defined this era of globalization and the social tragedies that this dissociated development create throughout the world.

There have been numerous attempts to try to draw the attention to these discrepancies, done by both the international community and the non-governmental organization in time. The results however, although these aspects are well-known in terms of statistics and well-known at the level of the political decision makers, have not been significant enough for action to be undertaken at the…

The conversations here are held away from the political interferences and entanglement that is usually seen in the other forums.

Points in opposition of the movement

The Platypus Affiliated Society (2011)

According to The Platypus Affiliated Society (2011), the participants in this movement have succeeded in arranging for the smaller supportive issue like the accommodation, venues, transport communication and such like smaller issues, but the bigger dilemma remains to be the meeting of the long-term goals that they may be having. One issue that is overlooked is the means of debating their concerns out in a structured manner that can be subjected to debate for administrative decisions to be taken.

The participants and the organizers in particular have not been able to think of how this movement can affect the society further than just the space that they occupy.

Heidi Morrison (2011)

Another factor is that they are involved in…

Goffer made over $300,000 from the illegal deal. As the case expanded, 13 others were also charged. Altogether, they had acquired approximately $40 million or more in profit during the years 2006-2009 (Krantz). And the list could go on and on.

Conclusion - How Does Illegal Insider Trading Affect the Market and Economy?

Unfair advantage. Violation of transparency. Disruptive of a properly functioning market. Investors no longer invest. It begins with the first one and ends with the last. Trading in the market, whether by a professional or an amateur is based on skill and luck. One investor can perform better in the market because he or she learns how to acquire more skill in analyzing equities. But, if one person has an advantage such as inside corporate information no one else has, and he uses it to trade, he now has an unfair advantage (Heakal).

Transparency is now violated…

What the Occupy Wall Street movement is doing, is questioning the entire system itself.

A good example of this can be seen with the Occupy Wall Street Oakland chapter. What happened was the city had removed their camp near City Hall Plaza. This is in response to reports of: deaths, drug use and unsanitary conditions. At the same time, the resources of the police department were stressed to the point that they were unable to deal with possible issues affecting the safety of the community. This is when the police raided the encampment and dispersed the protestors from the area. In response to what was happening, the Oakland chapter decided to begin occupying foreclosed homes and privately owned vacant lots near City Hall Plaza. As, they are trying to illustrate how: the risky activities of bankers contributed to the financial crisis by staying in these locations. This is significant, because…

Mill and U.S. Constitution

None of the issues being raised today by the Occupy all Street (OS) movement are new, but rather they date back to the very beginning of the United States. At the time the Constitution was written in 1787, human rights and civil liberties were far more constrained than they are in the 21st Century. Only white men with property had voting rights for example, while most states still had slavery and women and children were still the property of fathers and husbands. Only very gradually was the Constitution amended to grant equal citizenship and voting rights to all, and even the original Bill of Rights was added only because the Antifederalists threatened to block ratification. In comparison, the libertarianism of John Stuart Mill in his famous book On Liberty was very radical indeed, even in 1859 much less 1789. He insisted that individuals should be left…

1st Amendment Issues

A highly controversial decision rendered on January 21st of this year by the Supreme Court, affirming the right of corporations and other organizations to enjoy consideration as "persons" and the 1st amendment protections afforded by that status, threatens to undermine the foundation of this country's democratic process. With their closely contested 5-4 decision in the case of Citizens United v. FEC, the high court's conservative members have effectively shattered existing precedent regarding the ability of corporations to channel shareholder funds to political campaigns. In their effort to protect the duly granted right of individuals to contribute money as a form of political speech and expression, the justices in the majority have effectively opened a Pandora's box of unintended consequences. By extending the rights held by individual citizens of this nation to corporate conglomerates and multinational entities, the Roberts court has redefined the menace of judicial activism once…

Unfortunately, their American dream is more often than not the American nightmare. It does not provide living wages for their families to live on. Their blood, sweat and tears build the companies. The leaders attempt to evade paying the workers their fair share by moving to other states where they can pay less money. This is exactly what Universal Manufacturing does by moving its operations to Mississippi. It goes there to pay less money and avoid the unionization that is the only weapon that the workers have in their struggle to organize and get more money and better working conditions. Mega corporations in the time of globalization do exactly the same thing, but just on a much greater scale in the time of NAFTA when selling out to lowest bidder and making people into commodities that can be sold over international borders has been raised to a high art.

Part…

But this, instead of helping the people, often misleads them. Thus, the media must put profit last, and public good first, a thing which it has found hard to do very often, according to Riley, and one which is no exception today.

How Media Portrays Occupy all Street: Two Sides of the Coin by Jessica Layne

The last of the articles gives another way in which to look at the movement through the media's eyes, and elucidates both the positives and the negative, which is a bit of a contrast from the two previous pieces and which is why this article is included here. As with any contentious issue, it is thus important to examine these two sides. Layne, the author of this piece argues that the media has 'two sides' and that "one side celebrates the protests like tea parties while the other side thinks that everyone who attends…

Some jammers still retain low-tech methods to spread their message utilizing nothing more than a magic marker.

The most important thing about cultural jamming is that it is a response demanded by the people. People are tired of being told what to wear, how to look, what to buy and they don't want to be classified into categories by corporations. Corporations have more influence on an individual's day-to-day than other major institution. They are the new creators of norms and values. Corporations tell what is beauty, what is fashionable or "cool," everything is being dictated to the people. The public on the other hand are lagging behind economically while big banks and corporations gain record breaking profits year after year. Jamming is the people's emotional response to corporate domination. It is an effort to be heard in a society that is increasingly finding it difficult to focus.

Jamming is not…

Abstract

Engaging in a Bartleby, the Scrivener analysis essay is bound to test one’s patience. It is one of the most inscrutable works of Herman Melville. While Melville is perhaps most famous for his nautical adventure tales, this paper delves into the enigmatic cogs and wheels that make this short story a piece of eternal literature. Eternal literature transcends the constraints of time and relatability, touching upon themes and symbols that are indelible to human existence. This paper summarizes the major events of the short story, briefly addresses the main characters, and examines the more predominant themes.



Introduction

Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville is one of his most elusive and compelling short-stories, one that most critics deem to be his ultimate masterpiece. One of the main reasons that critics herald it as such a masterpiece is because it can be interpreted in so many ways—as a supernatural tale, as…

Public dialog in a network age can cover a lot of topics. The network age is filled with a plethora of varying interests, ideas, subjects, and issues. Some of which relate to privacy, piracy, and even technology. People often forget what an impact the Internet has made in the last couple of decades, even in just 8 years. ANON came into existence, social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter came into popularity, and the recent concept of content creators has shaped the way people view and accept media. ith all these innovative ideas that came out, what kind of impression has it left on the public? hat were the origins of some of these topics? And moreover, has the Internet shaped the identity of people in the last decade?

Several events within internet history have made public dialog important. People need to discuss and analyze things in order to fully understand…

The Great ailroad Strike of 1877 was the nations' first major rail strike and witnessed the first general strikes in the country's history. The strikes and the violence it brought about temporarily paralyzed the country's commerce and led governors in ten states to mobilize sixty thousand militia members to reopen rail traffic. The strike would be broken within a few weeks, but it also helped set the stage for later violence in the 1880's and 1890's, including the Haymarket Square bombing in Chicago in 1886, the Homestead Steel Strike near Pittsburgh in 1892, and the Pullman Strike in 1894 (1877: The Great ailroad Strike, 2006).

There have been many protests in American history against corporations, industrialists, bankers, Wall Street and the economic devastation their unregulated activities including the 19th-century labor movement that featured thousands of strikes and protests. The current protest that can be compared to that of the Great…

Human Resource Retention

Human Resources Membership and Retention

Organized labor unions have seen a decline in membership retention of the last twenty years because of a loss of manufacturing jobs in the United States. There are many different perspectives in which to view this phenomenon from. Due to the rise of the globalized business environment, labor is no longer necessarily required to be in proximity to the parent company. More and more organizations are outsourcing labor or opening foreign operations in locations where the labor force is far less expensive and yet still highly skilled. Therefore businesses have a strong financial incentive to explore labor markets around the world. Furthermore, in many cases, there are also significantly relaxed or no regulations present in foreign markets. All of these factors make it difficult for labor in the United States to be competitive and in turn the organized labor unions have diminished…

Banks

Improper Foreclosure and Mortgage Practices in the Banking Industry

Efficient Market Hypothesis

Real Estate Bubble

Sub-Prime Mortgages

Overview on the Value of Banks

Arguments against Financial Intermediaries

Ethical Violations

This research paper aims to shed light into what led to the global financial collapse that, for the most part, began in the U.S. housing market and the ethical implications that followed. Many researchers agree that the primary drivers that led to the real estate crisis was the lifting of the Glass Steagall Act, the fostering of sub-prime lending, and the creation of derivatives and credit default swaps which were used as complex financial instruments. This offered the big five banks an entire new range of operating opportunities. All of these financial tools were justified by the efficient market hypothesis and as a consequence provide evidence for the lack of a truly efficient market. As a result of the financial…

usiness

US has faced acute economic crisis since 2008. Present economic crisis started from the downfall of housing sector which lead to the financial crisis such as bankruptcy of Lehman rothers (at that time fourth largest investment bank in the U.S.A.) and bankruptcy of largest insurance in world, the AIG (which were later saved by introducing bailout packages by U.S. government) which further collapsed production and unemployment plummeted. It is usually termed that it is the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. (Moseley, 2009)

Even though Fed Reserve claims, the crisis has averted to some extent but the problems of unemployment, recession and inflation still prevails in U.S. economy.

According to U.S. ureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate staggers to an amount of 8.3% in February 2012. Similarly, U.S. ureau of Labor Statistics also shows that consumer price index is on upward swing in 2012. Recent wave of…

Capitalism

Growing Gap between the ich and the Poor: Is Capitalism the Culprit?

Since Karl Marx powerfully challenged Capitalism and criticized it for being exploitative, Capitalism as a system has always come under attack. Although by the end of the twentieth century, Capitalism seems to have triumphed over Communism and the socialist system of command economy, many people renew their criticism of Capitalism in times of economic crisis. ecent protests in Wall Street, which has been expanded to the other parts of the United States and many places around the world, symbolize growing frustration with Capitalism. But is Capitalism to blame for the economic crisis and other problems such as class inequality, the erosion of many social benefits and the attacks on the remaining ones, and the domination of world economy by corporate powers? This paper argues that the problem is not with Capitalism per se, but the way it…

PECEPTION OF SELF & OTHES

While worrying about what people think about one's self and what is thought about others in return is a very complex exchange. It is an exchange where many to most of the people involved are feeling, reacting and jostling based on perceptions and thoughts that are entirely unfounded. This does not automatically mean that the thoughts or perceptions or wrong. However, it can absolutely mean that the thoughts are less than true. With that in mind, people should be careful how they react because of this lack of knowledge. Eye contact and other reactions can, and sometimes should, guide actions and reactions. This can hold true even if the underlying assumptions are wrong. Indeed, safety is sometimes a concern. However, it is entirely too easy to take things too far or to start off on the wrong foot in the first place and this report…

Stiglitz

Analysis of the Price of Inequality

In the year 2013, issues of socioeconomic inequality are perhaps as pressing and problematic as they have ever been. This is the assertion at the crux of Joseph E. Stiglitz text, The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future (ISBN-13: 9780393345063). Released in 2012 by .. Norton & Company publishers, the 560-page text is a timely and compelling contribution to the current public discourse on our need for greater economic equality in the United States.

Understanding the orientation of the text at the center of this analysis requires a more complete understanding of its author, the economist, Columbia professor and winner of 2001's Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. According to his self-composed biography at the Memorial Foundation site, Stiglitz (2001) was born in Gary Indian in 1943. By his own report, his interests as a young student would lead…

Cambridge; Cambridge, MA: Polity Press

Devine, F. (ed.) (2004). ethinking class: culture, identities and lifestyles. Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan

Joyce, P. (ed.) (1995). Class. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press

eid, I. (1989). Social class differences in Britain: life-chances and life-styles. London: Fontana [Franklin-Wilkins HN400.S6 EI]

ose, D and K. O'eilly (eds.) (1997). Constructing classes: towards a new social classification in the UK. Swindon: ESC/ONS

Wright, E. (1997) Classes. London: Verso

Zbigniew, a. (1972). Karl Marx: economy, class and social revolution. London: Nelson

Cohen, G. (2009) Why not socialism?

Elster, J (1986) an introduction to Marx

Gurley, J. (1976). Challengers to capitalism: Marx, Lenin and Mao

Lee, S. (200). European dictatorships, 1918-1945.

Marx, K. And Engels, F. (2005). The Communist Manifesto

Newman, M. (2005). Socialism: a very short introduction

Schumpeter, J (2010) Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy

Wacquant, L. (2009). Punishing the poor; the neoliberal government of social insecurity

Management

Karl Marx is highly regarded as one of the foremost authorities in economics and social structure. It is through his beliefs that the thought process of Marxism was created. Although very controversial in this thoughts and beliefs, Marx outlined, what he believed to be, a social framework for society. According to Marx, society often begins a series of transformations directly related to the primary flow of labor and production (Singer, 200). Through division of labor each organizational structure has a central conflict. According to Marx, each organizational structure is characterized with conflict among different parts of society with particular emphasis on economic status. Marx focused a disproportionate amount of his research on the social relationships between the economic classes prevailing in society (Marx, 1990). Marx tended to focus on the relationships between entry level workers and those of their immediate supervisor. Marx identified historical epochs from the beginning of…

Globalization has become a ubiquitously word in the last few decades. Much of the globalization trend is driven by the fact that many organizations operate internationally and supply chains have become sophisticated, complex, and spans the entire globe. As a result of globalization, many organizations have tried to proactively create a level of homogenization and standardization internationally of markets, resources, and labor. hen international companies can have access to foreign resources and labor it often helps them achieve business objectives. It can also help to develop the local economy at it is working to create more middle class citizens in developing countries. Yet, the results are deeply mixed and often the result of newly introduced capitalism further stratifies the society. Therefore, even though the trend has been primarily measured by economic activities it also has had many other consequences as well in regards to social and political issues.

Globalization and…

HM as Intermediaries Between Management and Unions

Unions & HM

HM as Intermediary between Management and Unions

Centuries ago employees had little or no power when it came to negotiating wages, hours, and work conditions with their employers and often suffered great hardship as a result (Brown and Warren, 2011, p. 97). Eventually employees formed labor unions to take advantage of their collective power, thus forcing employers to improve compensation and work conditions, a practice that continues to play an important role in many economies globally.

The ole of Unions in the United States

The United States has experienced a greater than 50% decline in the prevalence of labor unions since the 1960s (Brown and Warren, 2011, p. 96) and on a global scale is one of the least unionized economies today (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD], 2011). Yet, the U.S. ranks as one of the most productive…

Social Entrepreneurship

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and he can feed himself for life. How could you put this principle into practice through the development of a social entrepreneurship venture?

Development of Social Entrepreneurialism

Corporate Social Responsibility

Externalities

Social Inequality

Social Entrepreneurship and Food

Social entrepreneurship was introduced in the 1970s to address the issue of social sustainably and the term "social entrepreneur." This analysis will begin by providing a brief history as well as a working definition for the concept of social entrepreneurialism. It will also discuss some of the related movements that have been working towards some of the same goals, albeit, from different directions to address various challenges in society and the environment. Furthermore, a more detailed overview of the exact challenges that are present in society that social entrepreneurialism can work to address will…

My brother has been unemployed for two years. He is not a moocher -- he works odd jobs and takes care of our ailing grandmother. But the economy in upstate New York has suffered a lot as the result of the financial meltdown. While the bankers on Wall Street continue to get richer and richer, ordinary people continue to struggling with the effects of their corrupt ways. Don't get me wrong -- I love what capitalism can do for us -- everything we take for granted today. But we a capitalist system that works for everybody.

Consider that real wages have flatlined since the 1970s, while the wealth of the richest 1% keeps growing exponentially. We want wage equality and equal rights for all Americans, not just wealthy ones. We want corporate money out of politics. Consider that the Supreme Court rulings that corporations are people (What?

) and that…

Education in the Community

A major issue currently effecting culture, population, and demographics is that of wealth inequality. As the global economic downturn continues throughout the world, wealth disparity is increasing rapidly. This affects culture, population, and overall demographics in a litany of ways. First, due primarily to lower wages, families are postponing child birth. The uncertainty surrounding the future creates an atmosphere of fear. Families are now waiting until the economic climate becomes more certain before they have their children. Furthermore, the median income for middle class families has plummeted within the last 3 years. The median income for the average American household was roughly $51,000 in 2008. Now the median income is roughly $48,000. This creates problems as families are less apt to spend money are discretionary activities that form the basis of their culture. Holiday spending, for example has yet to reach its 2007 heights. Families are…

Motivating Employees

you pick 2 companies write their motivation techniques. I pick intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. And compare companies. Do papers have database, searches people pulled web. You find UOPHX Website writes companies listed, pick.

Motivating employees at two companies:

Ben & Jerry's versus Southwest

Motivational theories by their very nature address companies in a fairly generic, prescriptive format. However, two corporations exist that continue to be very successful, after many years of impressive financial growth, seem to break all molds, yet confirm one of the most noteworthy theories regarding what motivates employees -- intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation. Ben & Jerry's began as a small company based in Vermont that, despite or because of its ethical ideals, has become an integral part of American culture. Ben & Jerry's changed the way Americans consume ice cream, shifting the focus from quantity to quality. Southwest Airlines is a largely regional airline…

Power Struggle, it would not be wrong to say, is one of the oldest struggles in the world. It has continued through centuries, however the tactics might have been changed. But the end result, the desire is always the same, and that is to be on the apex position.

This desire however has meant that the world has suffered immensely by wars, battles, diplomacy, politically motivated murders and killing. And things have yet to change for the better. E still live in a world where the race to grab the top position continues and the lies and deceits that surround such a campaign are ever so strong.

The understanding of the Global Relations and orld politics, therefore, can only be gained through the understanding of these relationships, termed as International Relations. It is this study that can yield as an understanding of how and why states do what they do…

yan Dawson (2011) helps illustrate the way ideology shapes foreign policy by digging into Project for a New American Century files and showing how the PNAC reports are basically a lobbying tool for Israel. Dawson refers viewers of his documentary to PNAC many times in his attempt to show how the papers lay out the blueprint for American foreign policy post-9/11: "The policy of 'containment' of Saddam Hussein has been steadily eroding over the past several months. As recent events have demonstrated, we can no longer depend on our partners in the Gulf War coalition to continue to uphold the sanctions or to punish Saddam when he blocks or evades UN inspections." Such reports coupled with the yellow cake uranium story and the WMDs hoax, and of course the "harboring terrorists" myth, and the American public was read to back a war against Iraq -- even though Iraq was no…

This is where incentives come in to play. agner quotes Rudolf Hickel who distinguishes between an entrepreneurial state and a tax state (our present state of affairs). Hickel and Schumpeter both see the tax state as acting outside the normal laws of contract and property to confiscate wealth. The entrepreneurial state is just the exact polar opposite of this. Corporatist principles that have been incorporated into this system. Corporate structures were in their infancy in 1787 when the U.S. Constitution was written, hence the lack of corporatist principles (ibid, 56-57). e must now incorporate the wisdom of two centuries of follow on experience.

These corporatist principles would turn a government entity like a city into a private corporation with stockholders that would provide services. In this view, government has created some markets. It is in the market already. Therefore, for us to bring the entrepreneurial state, we need to introduce…

Flat (2006), Thomas Friedman describes the new global capitalist economy and how it has affected the United States, as well as the type of skills and education that will be most in demand in the 21st Century. Even white-collar workers, managers and engineers have been doing poorly because of globalization, while unskilled and semiskilled blue-collar workers have been devastated. Construction and manufacturing workers with only a high school education have been losing ground in wealth and incomes to the elites for the last thirty years. This era has been far better for the creative and imaginative designers of new technologies than those performing routine tasks. For the last ten years, the majority of Americans were surviving through inflated credit, mortgage and asset bubbles, but when these collapsed in 2008-09 their true economic situation became stark. Friedman's main thesis is that those workers with flexible, adaptive, creative skills who can understand…

Institutional Decay

In "The Quiet Coup," Simon Johnson draws remarkable and shocking parallels between the United States and emerging market economies. The current monetary and debt crisis in the United States bears resemblance to similar crises that have occurred not in Western Europe but in places like Russia, Ukraine, India, Indonesia, and South Korea. Tracing the economic crisis to bad political decisions, and a culture of corruption, the author shows how the financial elite in the United States have got a stranglehold on the government. Financiers -- bankers -- have created what Johnson calls the "most advanced oligarchy" in the world (p. 2). The financiers in the United States have become so nefariously entwined with government that it seems nearly impossible -- or would be too messy and shocking -- to detangle the two. The situation has reached crisis level, and if nothing concrete is done to reduce the power…

Global Economic Crisis

Throughout the history of the U.S. and the world at large, financial crises and the resultant economic recessions have occurred unerringly recurrently. In fact, the phenomenon has become so common that some think of such crises as parts of economic systems of the major world powers. The most recent one is the 2008 financial crisis that brought about the world economic recession. The recession resulted in over 4.1 trillion dollars in losses, increased poverty, unemployment numbers climbing to over 10% in the U.S. and quite higher in major European economies, major banks collapsed and several stock markets crashed. In fact, American investors alone lost over forty percent of their savings value. Housing prices dropped sharply from the high recorded previously in 2006. The 2008 crisis also resulted in decline in manufacturing, reduction of world trade, decrease in consumer spending, and many negative effects. Because of the importance…

Role of Social Media in Social Movements
The rapid technological advancements have played a major role in shaping today’s society, especially in terms of communication and information sharing. Technological developments have contributed to the emergence of social media, whose use has grown rapidly over the last decade (Anderson et al., 2018). Currently, many people across the globe including in the United States are using a wide range of social networking sites to get news and information. As a result, social media has become a key avenue for public discourse on various issues as people engage in civic-related discussions and activities. For many people, social media allows them to obtain more secure and reliable information or knowledge on various issues including civic-related issues (Balci & Golcu, 2013). By providing avenues for people to get more secure and reliable information and enhancing communication, social media has played a critical role in recent…

This approach is significant because it proves how grassroots efforts gain momentum and affect change when passion is followed by commitment. Liz Fusco said the group's philosophy rested on the pillars of "education and the emphasis on black radicalism" (Sturkey). Education was essential to overcoming inequality and one result from this mindset was the Freedom School, which sought to educate African-Americans about their history and "emphasis on traditions of black Resistance"(Sturkey). The school's curriculum "emphasized the importance of historical knowledge in the formation of social identity. But they could also serve as a source of motivation for social activism" (Sturkey). The school is a direct result of what happens when people band together at a grassroots level and fight to make change.

The grassroots effort spread with Freedom Rides, the Mississippi Summer Project and the Freedom Ballot. The Freedom Ballot in 1963 is significant because it was an election the…

Plato Cave

The Sociological Implications of Plato's Allegory of the Cave

Social enlightenment is an abstract concept indeed, and one that is tied closely to collective ways of understanding and perceiving complex cultural dimensions such are hierarchies, forms of governance and variances of individual economic burden. However, our understanding of this abstract concept may be enhanced by Plato's well-known "Allegory of the Cave." Comprising Chapter VII of Plato's critically important The Republic, the allegory examines the experience of socially-imposed ignorance and the consequences of enlightenment. In doing so, it offers an extremely compelling discussion on the human condition that is remarkable in its relevance to our lives today. Namely, the allegory forces us to examine our conceptions of awareness and to reflect on that which we truly know as opposed to that which we believe we know. Indeed, the most compelling aspect of the Plato allegory is the degree to…

Future of the Internet

There are certain events and inventions that are bound to change the world and how we see it forever. The internet is for sure one of those inventions that finds itself in this prestigious list of inventions, right along with the heel and the theory of Gravity. The way Internet has impacted our lives it can only be described as phenomenal; its impact has been felt on a Global level, and there should be little doubt that there is anyone who has not been impacted by the side effects of this great invention.

The internet was never designed for the purpose that it is being employed for today, but it is a fact that it has evolved itself to take on this role of the great connector, a need of every human, which emerges from the basic need of humans to connect with each other.

hile…

Adler reveals that poverty is systemic: a sign of a corrupt system. Mollie James' and Balbina Duque's only chance of extricating themselves from poverty is to inject more political power and energy back into the formation of labor unions. The power of the people to overcome and overthrow corrupt regimes has been proven time and again throughout human history; the struggle is not an easy one but there is no way that Duque or any of her colleagues around the world are going to achieve any upward social mobility within the current system. Besides just the suppression of labor unions and the collusion between the PI and big business, other examples of how systematic and systemic the problem is include the glaring idiocy of the bailouts. The Clinton administration arranged a record-breaking fifty billion dollars to the very people who were creating the problems that James and Duque faced. As…

MLK

One of the most famous public speeches in American history was delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On August 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The context of the speech is important: millions of Americans were growing tired and fed up with the lack of progress made with civil rights and equality. As Mount (2010) puts it, "In 1950's America, the equality of man envisioned by the Declaration of Independence was far from a reality. People of color -- blacks, Hispanics, Asians -- were discriminated against in many ways, both overt and covert." King grew up in the South and had personally experienced racism and discrimination. He also understood the need to work systematically to eliminate oppression and injustice. In 1959, something momentous happened in King's life that would ultimately lead to his earning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Martin Luther King, Jr. traveled…

This construction gave credence to the concept of class consciousness. Class consciousness is really class identity; it is the way entire groups of people conceive themselves as belonging to a whole. This understanding permeates the corpus and unites the initiated into a common group think. This group or class view is reinforced through the economic determinants that are at the foundation of the group's position. These determinants reinforce inequalities and class identities.

The challenge to class as a locus of identity formation; results from the assertion that contemporary society is too layered and complex for class identity to be relevant. The discussion centers not on the existence of inequalities but the explanation of those inequalities. In the postmodern context the inequalities that exist are not anchored in an a priori formulation of class structure. This formulation considers the development of a classless society. This is not to be interpreted as…

New Media Implications

The improvement of internet and other technology and its ready availability to more and more people has revolutionized the structure and population of the media around the world. People that would normally be members of the audience have become the creators of news and vice versa. The lines that separate news makers and people that normally would be making news or expected to make news have blurred significantly and in several different ways. There are many examples of countries that could be focused on for this subject but one of the best is the United States.

Media Structure

There are multiple ways in which the structure of news creators has changed and evolved over recent months and years. One way in which the idea regarding audience and news sources has been altered significantly is the corporate structure of the people that are providing the news. The companies…

It also allows the countries best suited for such activities to flourish. For example, China is proficient in manufacturing which allows the country to export far more goods than it imports. Developed nations such as Europe, Canada, America, and to a smaller extent, Japan demand these cheaper goods as they import more than they export. This trade allows both parties to subsequently flourish. China can sell its products to generate addition funding to expand its economy while Canada and Europe have access to low costs goods and services (Dessler, 2006). With the advent of globalization, Chinese manufactures are better equipped to expand overseas to expand their manufacturing competitive advantage. This expansion allows lower cost goods and services to reach otherwise inaccessible areas of the world, thus increasing their standard of living. A shirt that once cost $15 now only costs $5. Society benefits as more dollars can be allocated to…

Town in Turmoil

A Town in Conflict

Every story can be told a number of different ways. Each person in a given narrative understands what went on from a particular perspective. Sometimes, if that person is especially perspicacious and especially curious, then she or he can see a particular event from the perspective or one or two other people. But the individual's perspective is always limited, and this is a good thing. If we cannot see the world from our own point-of-view then we have no hope of understanding our own virtues and vices, our own sense of cause and effect.

But it is also true that there is an important place in the world for understanding an event from a larger perspective. This is the role (or, at least, one of the roles) that scholarship plays in our lives. Scholarship provides that larger lens, that broader focus on the…

Intervention

The notion of 'intervention' has the literal, Oxford English Dictionary meaning of "stepping in or interfering in any affair, so as to affect its course or issue." But its connotative meaning within contemporary culture is more resonant and multivalent in nature. The television show Intervention exemplifies the positive, pop psychology notion of an 'intervention,' in which an individual is saved from an addiction by group of outsiders (usually friends, family, and treatment staff). But many 'interventions' have a negative resonance: more traditional notions of intervention raise questions of sovereignty and legitimacy. At the heart of the conflict between 'good' and 'bad' notions of intervention is the question of autonomy. When is it acceptable and appropriate to impinge upon the autonomy of a human being or of the state? Is it ever moral to not intervene?

Awareness of injustice has increased in the era of Internet-based social networking and communication.…

MANAGING CONSUME BEHAVIOS & UNDESTANDING CONSUME PECEPTIONS

Consumer Behavior

Understanding consumer behavior is a pursuit that answers why, when, how, and where people buy or do not buy products. Consumer behavior is an area that combines topics such as economics, media studies, sociology, and psychology. Predicting and understanding consumer behavior is a challenge for experts and novices alike. Perception can be a biological process by which a person's brain interprets and organizes stimuli so as to gain awareness and understanding of one's environment. Perception can also be psychological and social phenomena. The paper surveys literature that proves the correlations and implications between consumer perception and consumer behavior.

Managing Consumer Behaviors & Understanding Consumer Perceptions

Perception is a large determinant or factor apart of behavior. Therefore, gaining understanding of consumer perceptions can illuminate the reasons behind certain types of consumer behaviors. With accurate data reflecting the connection between consumer behaviors and…

Transfer App

When first choosing a university in the United States, the size was one of the last things on my mind. When I was accepted to Northeastern, I gladly accepted because of the good quality of the school's academic programs and access to resources and interactions with the local business community. However, recently I had the opportunity to reconsider my options. As an Israeli national, I remained home to fulfill my army duty. During this time, I was accepted to a desirable community service position, which transformed my worldview and my visions for the future. Moreover, my army experience precluded me from remaining on the waiting list of any college and university. Too many put me on the waiting list and I had to refuse them all. Therefore, I used this extra time at my disposal to examine my options and explore the full gamut of American universities and…

Environmental Sciences

Obama Turns to Web to Illustrate the Effects of a Changing Climate

This article discusses how the use of technology and the internet can aid in the overall global warming education process. The article explains how President Obama is using a mobile app to depict the effects of global warming in local communities. Through technology, Obama hopes to create awareness of the overall global warming issue, and its impact on communities. The article states that out that individuals given a list of 20 issues, rank global warming as 19th. Through the use of the app, the Obama administration hopes to create an overall sense of urgency within the general public.

A particularly interesting aspect of the article was the amount of detailed coordination needed to produce the app. The mobile app is unique in that it attempts to depict the impact global warming has on communities' overtime. As…

American Anti-Corruption Act: The Tipping Point for American Citizens

The American Anti-Corruption Act:

A tipping point for American citizens

In the wake of increasing concerns about the undue influence of money and special interest groups in American politics, the anti-corruption advocacy group epresent.Us created a grassroots campaign in support of a law called the American Anti-Corruption Act. The Act is "a nine-point plan to crack down on lobbyists, strengthen the flimsy law intended to prevent super-PACs from coordinating with campaigns, and put a stop to undisclosed donations funneled through dark-money nonprofits" (Aronsen 2013). It should be noted that ironically, "epresent.Us is a project of United epublic, a campaign finance reform group that, like many of the outside spending organizations it takes aim at, is a 501(c)(4)" although it is bipartisan in its composition (Aronsen 2013). Its bipartisan membership includes "former Federal Elections Commission chair (and Stephen Colbert's 'personal lawyer') Trevor…

awls and the Just Society

Today's United States society is not just because it violates both principles of John awls' theory of justice based on the "original position." This paper will explain awls' principles and show how the U.S. violates those principles.

awls states that justice is fairness (MacKinnon, Fiala, 2015, p. 78) within the framework of the social contract, which stems back to ousseau (2012, p. 1), who ironically pointed out that "man is born free, yet everywhere is in chains" -- alluding to the fact that in a free society, man ought not to be a made a slave of institutions such as Church, aristocracy or government. This is the "original position" regarding man's natural state, what ousseau and the Enlightenment thinkers believe is not a "fallen state of human nature," but one that is free to assert the "rights of man." These rights were popular at the…

Corporate Social esponsibility Programs

Corporate Social esponsibility (CS) programs are effective forms of management that directly and indirectly impact the "social, environmental and economic environment in which" the corporation functions (Castka, Bamber, Sharp, 2005, p. vii). In this context, corporations are viewed by societies as influential in the development of a "better world" (Friedman, Miles, 2002, p. 1). By using an ethical foundation for a business model, corporations have gained substantial market share and public trust because they are viewed as being good for the environment and for communities (as well as delivering a good product) while other companies have come under fire and social pressure for not living up to an ethical standard (Pearce, Doh, 2005). The factors that affect the implementation of CS programs can range from governmental standards to stakeholder involvement to moral and ethical cultures (or lack thereof) within the corporate entity (AnyangoOoko, 2014). This paper…

Economics

There is a concerted effort to bring developing nations into the global trade system. There are certainly success stories of nations that have been able to enjoy advantages from joining this system -- China in particular comes to mind -- but there is room for debate as to whether or not the neoliberal trade system is actually desirable for developing nations. There are a lot of issues at play, starting with the basic economics.

In general, the theory of comparative advantage argues that nations should open up trade, so that they can produce the goods in which they have a comparative advantage and sell them to buy the goods in which they do not. There are some fairly significant real world limitations to this theory, however. One is that trade is usually governed by absolute competitive advantage, not comparative advantage. If a company wants a good at a low…

The Social Studies instruction that I observed was in a high school setting with students of diverse ethnicities and backgrounds. The demographic of the class consisted of 12 students, 5 female, 7 male; 3 African-American, 1 Asian-American, 1 Hispanic-American, and 1 foreign exchange student from Germany, as well as 6 Caucasian Americans. The overall demographic of the school is about 75% Caucasian American, 15% African-American, 5% Hispanic-American, and 5% other. There is about a 50-50 mix of males and females in the student body. The teachers are mostly female, with only about 30% of the faculty being male. Less than 5% of the faculty is African-American. There is 1 Hispanic teacher. The school’s faculty is thus not very reflective of the study body in terms of ethnic background.

The Social Studies instruction I observed helped to prepare students for participation in a democratic society by focusing on the recent Occupy…

Ann Petry's "The Street": A novel in the American naturalistic tradition

Ann Petry's "The Street" is a story about Lutie Johnson, an intelligent, strong, and beautiful black woman who does her best to raise an eight-year-old son as a single parent, advance in her job, and work her way out of the Harlem streets. Petry uses Lutie Johnson as a medium to explore the limitations of the American capitalist system; the role of race and gender in perpetuating violence, poverty and failure; and the societal restrictions that restrict and oppress the female gender, especially black women. To quote Shannon Cate:

Ann Petry challenges the ideology of American capitalism, asking how a poor, Black woman can possibly attain the social and economic fulfillment promised by a bourgeois value system. The text depicts the struggle of a Black heroine who uncritically accepts America's sacrificial work ethic, radical individualism and cult of womanhood…

Mollie's Job

The viewpoint expressed in (b) is the closest to the way this paper will be presented. Indeed the roles that all Street (profit first, workers be damned) and the U.S. government played in this nonfiction book are the main reasons why Mollie's job was moved first to Mississippi and then to Mexico. To be sure, this sad legacy could have ended up with a more positive result for Mollie and a less negative result for the Mexican worker, Balbina Duque.

In fairness, statement (a) also has a ring of truth since the way corporations are moving jobs to cheaper locations (like China, where Apple employs many thousands of workers at low wages to assemble the iPads and other technologies) is good for business. But (a) is "not for the best" when it comes to corporate behaviors creating an inevitability that good people like Mollie and other hard-working employees…

t is explained that the "fiscal cliff" itself refers to the end of Bush-era tax cuts and large spending cuts that will occur at the end of the year if Congress can't agree on a way to cut $1.2 trillion in debt over the next decade. This would lead to income tax and payroll tax increases for almost everyone, with an immediate negative impact on spending and thus on the economy, and with a rising unemployment rate through 2013. The article also cites Ben Bernanke as saying the Fed would not be able to counter or even effectively mitigate the effects of going over this cliff, yet the politics will have to play out before any action is taken by anyone.

lluminating the issue still further, John D. McKinnon, Kristina Peterson, and Josh Mitchell's "Most Households Face 'Fiscal Cliff'" from the November 21st edition of the Wall Street Journal present…

Presidential Elections

Because of the extreme conditions of the 1930s depression, the New Deal under Franklin Roosevelt went further in expanding the powers of the federal government than any previous administration in history, certainly far beyond the very limited role permitted to it by the conservative administrations of arren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover in 1921-33. It was the worst depression in U.S. history, and led not only to the complete collapse of all Street and the financial system, but of industrial production as well, which fell 85% in 1929-33, while the Gross National Project fell by half and in some cities like Chicago the unemployment rate rose as high as 50-60%. At the same time, the entire banking system collapsed by 1933, as did agricultural prices, and money stopped circulating. John Maynard Keynes and other economists blamed this severe contraction on low incomes, unequal distribution of wealth,…

internet strategies of Samsung. Best known for their flagship company Samsung Electronics, a global leader in high-tech electronics manufacturing and digital media, Samsung has been in business for more than 70 years. The company began as a small export business in Taegu, Korea and has since expanded into a number of diverse businesses: advanced technology, semiconductors, skyscraper and plant construction, petrochemicals, fashion, medicine, financial services, and hotels (Samsung, 2011). According to the all Street Journal, Samsung was expected to report second quarter operating profit this year of approximately $3.5 billion USD, which represents a decline from last year (Ramstad, 2011).

One of Samsung's internet strategies is apparent even before landing on the company's main website. hen one googles the name Samsung, the search returns 1.61 million results. At the very top of those results is the Samsung webpage, www.samsung.com. Along with listing the company's website, there is also content directed…