Zen Buddhism And The Zen School - 1252 Words

Zen Buddhism originated from Chinese Ch’an Buddhism that was transmitted to Japan. The Zen school was known as one of the many Buddhist religion in Japan. In Japan, â€Å"Zen is defined as the â€Å"buddha mind,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦the ultimate reality, or â€Å"emptiness,† of all things and the enlightened state, or knowledge of that reality, characteristic of a buddha† (Bielefeldt 1995: 198). Zen emphasizes on the insight into the Buddha-nature through seated meditation (zazen), meditation practice, and teacher-sudden interaction. Zazen was understood as an expression of the Buddha nature. Zen Buddhism, focus on â€Å"a separate transmission outside scripture, not depend on words or letters, a school based solely on the teaching of Bodhidharma, which â€Å"points directly at the person’s mind,† enabling one to â€Å"see his own nature and become a budhha† ( Bielefeldt 2002: 5). The teaching of Zen was divided into two distinct monastic schools: The Northern school (Shen-hsiu) and the Southern school (Hui-neng). This paper will show that the difference between the teaching of Gradual and Sudden have affected the way people traditionally perceive enlightenment through the Northern school and Southern school of teaching and Shen-hui criticism of the Northern school practice. Buddhism is the teaching of enlightenment and to achieve enlightenment is the reason why people practice this religion. Enlightenment refers to a singular, intense experience of insight that one has achieved self-realization. One who attains a state ofShow MoreRelatedZen And Pure Land Buddhism1470 Words   |  6 PagesA brief comparison between Zen and Pure Land Buddhism, both of these are very popular amongst the Vietnamese community. The word Zen has been used many times in the West, due to the hard work of Japanese culture; Zen Buddhism does not have a strong influence as that of the Pure Land Buddhism. Also in the school of Zen, they reject claims of scriptural authority and embrace many different practices. Zen Buddhism rests on claims to an exclusive lineage that has been passed down from teacherRead MoreBuddhism : Buddhism And Buddhism1009 Words   |  5 Pages Zen Buddhism isn’t exactly a â€Å"religion†, but a way of living. It creates peace within the human mind that allows one to grow, develop and look at the world more positively. Originating in China in 650 C.E., Zen Buddhism is a combination between Indian Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism. Mahayana Buddhism promotes bodhisattva, which is practicing the way of life in the direction of Buddha. Taoism is a religion developed by Lao-tzu, a Taoist philosopher, and focuses on obtaining long life and good fortuneRead MoreKoan Essay1209 Words   |  5 PagesObtaining Realization Through Koan Zen, also known as Ch’an Buddhism in China, is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that was established in China about 1500 years ago. Zen is a form of religious practice of mainly concentrating the mind to a single point in which then results in self-realization and/or enlightenment. Zen philosophy is interpreted that all humans are capable of reaching enlightenment, which is generally blocked by ignorance. The idea emphasizes enlightened masters over forms of scripturesRead MoreCompare And Contrast : Dogen And Hakuin1419 Words   |  6 PagesWarner Belanger GC2Y Sec 06 May 4, 2016 Final essay: Dogen and Hakuin Compare and Contrast There are multiple schools in Zen Buddhism as well as multiple masters and teachers. Dogen Kigen, master of Soto Zen (1200-1253), as well as the Japanese monk who brought Caodong school of Chan over from China to Japan and then greatly modified it based on his own insights and criticism of Buddhism in Japan. Dogen lost his parents at a young age and became ordained at thirteen, and then became student of Eisai’sRead MoreFinding A Middle Way Between Zen And Pure Land Buddhism1692 Words   |  7 Pagesbetween Zen and Pure Land Buddhism Introduction After the death of the historical Buddha occurred and his lineage had ended with Buddha Sakyamuni, his teachings spread in two main directions, southward (Theravada tradition) and eastward into China, Vietnam, Korea and Japan (Mahayana tradition)(Blake 16 March 2016). In East Asia, these teachings developed into ten different schools, several of which remain important to this day: Zen, Tantric and Pure Land (Li 4 April 2016). These schools of thoughtRead MoreZen Buddhism Essay1202 Words   |  5 PagesZen Buddhism was first introduced to China by a South- Indian man called Bodhidharma in around 520 CE. Bodhidharma, according to tradition, was a man so epic that he removed his own eyelids in order to win a staring contest with a rock wall (from his severed eyelids sprang tealeaves, and thus, the connection between Zen Buddhism and tea-drinking). The main teaching of Zen is that of zazen, or seated meditation, and that only through meditation and action, rather than cogitation, can one achieveRead MoreThe Mystic Tradition Of Zen Buddhism1487 Words   |  6 Pagesmystic tradition of Zen Buddhism and its various components. I have never thoroughly researched Zen Buddhism before engaging in the Spirituality and Research Methods class that is being taught by Professor Scott at Texas Tech University. Therefore a formal definition of Zen is a â€Å": Japanese sect of Mahayana Buddhism that aims at enlightenment by direct intuition through meditation† (Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, 2017). Additionally an article I examined articulated that Zen is the most recognizedRead MoreZen And Pure Land Buddhism1584 Words   |  7 PagesVietnam, Korea and Japan (Mahayana tradition). In East Asia, these teachings developed into ten different schools, several of which remain important to this day: Zen, Tantric and Pure Land (Li 4 April 2016). These schools of thought differ in many ways but also have overlapping similarities. In my essay, I will explain three underlying differences and similarities between Zen and Pure Land Buddhism and its relation to emptiness and compassion. The differences the reader will encounter will be the roleRead MoreWhat Does Eastern Religions Mean For Americans?1397 Words   |  6 PagesReligions mean to Americans?† Starting in the 19th century, Buddhism began to make its way to America through the immigration of the Chinese whom brought their religious traditions with them. Buddhism continued to gain popularity in America when Buddhist texts, as well as Buddhist teachers, were brought here to share and spread their religion. It wasn’t until the late 1950’s/early 1960’s that we see the interest in Buddhism, particularly Zen Buddhism, blossom throughout the country. Through the memoir â€Å"SacredRead More buddhism Essay1223 Words   |  5 Pages Zen; Buddhisms trek through history, politics, and America Zen, or Zenno (as it is known by the Japanese word from w hich it derives), is the most common form of Buddhism practiced in the world today. All types of people from intellectuals to celebrities refer to themselves as Buddhist, but despite its popularity today in America, it has had a long history throughout the world. quot;Here none think of wealth or fame, All talk of right and wrong is quelled. In Autumn I rake the leaf-banked stream

Are Antibullying Strategies in Schools Successful

Are the anitbullying strategies used by schools successful? A boy named Erilick that lived in a small town called Mendocino County was a transgender. He realized at age eight that he was a girl. His parents were going crazy and he was isolated from the rural community where he lived. When he had to use the bathroom at school he would use the teacher’s and kids would make fun of him. He was picked on so much that it terrified him from using the bathroom for six years, and he would wait to go at home or prefer to be sick. (Abcarian). Bullying is a form of abuse that can be emotional or physical. Many children and teens are bullied at school every day. Some of these victims become depressed and lose interest in their schoolwork. (ProQuest Staff). There have been too many instances where young people have committed suicide to escape the torment of bullies. Most people do not realize or know how to stop bullying until someone gets hurt. Schools should have a disciplinary class that bullies would have to take. They would have this class on Saturday morning, and students would watch a video and do a work-package that goes along with the video. Students and parents would have to sign a paper stating that they understand the consequences. Therefore if any bullying continued, the next step would be expulsion. Most people do not know that bullying hurts people emotionally, physically and socially. Bullying is a problem that can’t be ignored. Nearly 50% of students are occasionalShow MoreRelatedBullying And The Education System898 Words   |  4 PagesMost kids say that they don’t see bullying around school. In just Minnesota alone there is talk about bullying and how to prevent it. Sen. Franken states, â€Å"Nine out of 10 LGBT kids are harassed or bullied in school. One-third report having skipped school in the last month because they felt unsafe† (Shah 14). Kids should not feel unsafe to go to school. School is supposed to be a safe place to go and if someone needs help there are supposed to be people there to guide them. Franken adds, â€Å"But theRead MoreBullying Prevention2457 Words   |  10 PagesProblem of bullying in schools Problem-solution essay Final draft Academic Reading and writing I Nurman Assima (ID: 20110635) November 25, 2011 Outline I. Introduction Thesis statement: Due to the fact that problem of bullying negatively affects students learning ability, their health and the entire school climate society should take definite and urgent measures to solve it. II. Background * School bullying is a kind of aggressive and angry behaviour. *

Registered Nurse Free Essays

Researchers routinely choose an ? -level of 0. 05 for testing their hypotheses. What are some experiments for which you might want a lower ? -level (e. We will write a custom essay sample on Registered Nurse or any similar topic only for you Order Now g. , 0. 01)? What are some situations in which you might accept a higher level (e. g. , 0. 1)? You are correct when you say that the influence of the media has an affect on the children of â€Å"todays† behavior. There are so many TV shows and movies that protray violence and crime, I think it may lay the foundation for ideas for the kids that do not have a lot of parental supervision. Some of the video and computer games are the worst for violence. Also the way parents punish their children for bad behavior has changed. They do not have the respect for the parents that use to be there. So if they don’t respect their parent they are not going to respect another adult. They feel they can get away with almost anything. You would have a great study also. Debbie Great and interesting post, I agree with your statement that an important and good standards are part of every cultures. To respect parents are an important aspect of parent and child relationship. But as you mentioned things have changed in the process of time. There are a lot of factors to consider in this changes i. e. , the environment that we live in, peer groups, and too much exposure to television that shows violent behaviors, and not to mention the lack of time or lack of parental involvement in their children. Substantive Post Yes | No Reply | Quote Reply | Report Abuse DQ Points Abuse Reports This is a very good post. It would be interesting in itself to see how many teen parents there were 20+ years ago. This would be a very interesting study because these are kids having kids and still have a lot to learn themselves. It would also be interesting to learn how many of the teen parents also had a criminal record. Very interesting. Substantive Post Yes | No Reply | Quote Reply | Report Abuse DQ Points Abuse Reports Great post and well explained. I do agree with you that sending a questionnaire to the parents to gather data is a good idea. Children model adult behavior on television and in real life. And they replicate language they learn online. It is not uncommon to hear foul language spoken by children just learning to talk. That’s because children are systemically connected to everything around them. The world is their learning environment. We are their teachers. Admittedly, there are many roadblocks to reversing the downward trend of civility in today’s society. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t. In fact, as parents, teachers, politicians, television producers, and others who impact children’s lives, we have a responsibly to do so because studies show that incivility leads to violence and unhealthy communities. Substantive Post Yes | No Reply | Quote Reply | Report Abuse DQ Points Abuse Reports How to cite Registered Nurse, Essay examples

Accounting and Management Information Systems

Question: Discuss about the Accounting and Management Information Systems. Answer: Introduction: Australia is one of those countries which have an important research infrastructure, highly skilled workforce, experienced employees and technology loving customers(Pan Perera, 2012). The large size of the market, modern outlook, and various customers makes the country an ideal place to develop and examine new IT product. Accounting software is one of the important parts of the IT software industry. Accounting software is more often the solution of the cash flow problems (Britton et al., 2013). It is a very surprising thing these days that a successful business is not using accounting software. This is one of those major things that keeps an eye on the companys money, helps in taxation, and helps in managing the business the whole year. In the past ten years, the software market in Australia has changed significantly, especially in accounting software (Pan Perera, 2012). The distributorship has changed the whole picture. Mind Your Own Business is one of the most successful accounti ng software of the country. History of the company MYOB, Mind Your Own Business is the leading business management provider in Australia (Curtis, 2015). The company offers a range of products and services. It covers all the sectors related to accounting, CRM, job management, payroll, websites, and retail point of sale, professional tax solutions and more. Christopher Lee and a few Teleware developers together found this company in 1980. In 1999, it changed its name to MYOB Inc. after it entered into a contract with Data-Tech software. In 2004, the MYOB limited compound with Solution 6 holdings. In 2008, MYOB limited of Australia acquired Mac development team from the United States. Bain Capital bought MYOB in 2011 for an undisclosed amount. The merger helped Bain Capital a mainstream stake with MYBOB beside management that will be the shareholder in the company. The company offers a variety of products, which can be taken on subscription and it also supports the cloud based technology. Market size MYOB has more than 1.2 million happy customers across Australia and New Zealand. The company has more than forty thousand accountants, bookkeepers and other professional partners. In Australia every two of three businesses uses the MYOB accounting software (Curtis, 2015). According to the latest segment revenue performance of MYOB, the Small Medium Enterprise revenue of the company has gone up by fourteen percent ($205 million), and online users have also increased by forty six percent (Curtis, 2012). That is more than one and a half million. The company has also seen a growth in the practice solutions, which is twenty-five percent of the total revenue. MYOB Advanced and MYOB Exo, the newly launched licensed desktop software, which comes under the enterprise solutions has grown thirteen percent (Curtis, 2015). MYOB mainly helps to automate all the financial aspects of the business. The software built with GST and Vat ready and the latest version can also run on windows eight. The accounting software is broadly used in GST countries namely Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand and many more (Curtis, 2012). As a result, it is tested globally for the processing of GST. The enquiries raised by the users of MYBOB have been handled by a large group of technical team, which is always available. Competitive advantage over other softwares In the recent years, MYOB has become one of the biggest SME accounting software in Australia (Curtis, 2012). The newly launched MYOB Accounting essential is one of the best features that the software offers. It gives the company a competitive edge over other companies. This is probably the biggest threat to Xero in the country; as Xero has been in the market for quite some time. MYOB is popular for selling Account Right variety of mixed desktop software. Account Right has the capability to save the data to its online servers or in the desktop itself. The most amazing thing that the software offers is the complex inventory solutions, which most of the accounting software lacks or they have not yet added it to their software (Curtis, 2012). Growth of the software industry: Digital economy: The digital economy of Australia is growing day by day. It has contributed more than eighty billion of the GDP (Lignier Evans, 2012). The growth has stimulated the revolution of the business and economy. The industry believes that the growth of the cell phone access, analysis of data, could technology, mechanism to machine technologies in the companies has helped the software market to grow this much. Cloud: The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) encourages little firms to take benefit of the aggressive market and adopt the cloud technology (Ionescu et al., 2013). The accounting software market has become widely competitive. The prices of the software have also become very affordable which has also made the market more competitive. The cloud technology offers the clients to access their information from any place and anytime. The software also provides the opportunity to connect to their clients and offer them to deliver the best product on time. Outsourcing: Software industry is becoming more and more competitive nowadays. Outsourcing has become one of the smartest and latest trends to grow the company by planning to expand and offer services around the world. It has become difficult for the accounting professionals to keep up with the expertise required by the clients. Strengths of the accounting software Easy to use: Online accounting software is designed in such a way that it can be used by everyone. Most of the software in the industry uses a dashboard as their opening screen, which displays all the significant information in an individual page. Automation: The accounting software has eliminated all the manual procedures to import the important bank statements from various online portals (Pan Perera, 2012). Instead, the bank feeds communicate directly to the accounting software and saves all the necessary data automatically. Chances of errors have been reduced with the introduction of automation. Real time management: Online accounting software can be submissive daily. It has the ability to capture and store all the important documents and transactions right on the time it is happening. It avoids cost infesting and offers a more profitable business. Real time advice: Most of the accounting software offer real time advice regarding taxation and more. It helps the business owners in decision making by advising important suggestions. Security: Accounting software uses a large database operated by the worldwide technology companies. It also uses secured servers, monitored 24*7 by the latest technologies. It is more reliable than the traditional desktop softwares. The software uses a server which can store a large number of data. Even if the software crashes the data remains unaffected. Accounting software creates data branches in different countries and over the cloud. This helps the company to keep the data safe anytime. References Britton, T., Jeng, L., Carver, G., Cheak, P., Katzenellenbogen, T. (2013). Reversible debugging software.Judge Bus. School, Univ. Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, Tech. Rep. Curtis, V., (2012). Making the Most of MYOB AccountRight. Woodslane Press. Curtis, V., (2015). MYOB Software for Dummies-Australia. John Wiley Sons. Ionescu, B., Ionescu, I., Tudoran, L., Bendovschi, A. (2013, June). Traditional accounting vs. Cloud accounting. InProceedings of the 8th International Conference Accounting And Management Information Systems, AMIS(pp. 106-125). Jones, D. Jones, M., (2016). Using QuickBooks Accounting Software to Improve Financial and Production Records for Better Decision Making. In 2016 Annual Meeting, February 6-9, 2016, San Antonio, Texas (No. 229772). Southern Agricultural Economics Association. Lignier, P. Evans, C., (2012), August. The rise and rise of tax compliance costs for the small business sector in Australia. In Australian Tax Forum (Vol. 27, No. 3, pp. 615-672). Pabst, W., Perrin, B. (2014). e-Generation: A Computerised and Manual Accounting Practice Set: Using MYOB Accountright Plus Version 19 Student Edition. Pan, P., Perera, H. (2012, June). Market relevance of university accounting programs: Evidence from Australia. InAccounting Forum(Vol. 36, No. 2, pp. 91-108). Elsevier. Pavaloaia, V.D. Andone, I.I., (2013). Opportunities of innovation with intelligent technologies for the financial and accounting software. Global Journal on Technology, 4(2). van Dijk, A., Mount, R., Gibbons, P., Vardon, M., Canadell, P. (2014). Environmental reporting and accounting in Australia: progress, prospects and research priorities.Science of the Total Environment,473, 338-349.

Information and Media Imperialism Essay Example

Information and Media Imperialism Essay New imperialism Information and media imperialism? n Christian Fuchs University of Salzburg, Austria ABSTRACT This article explores whether contemporary society can be characterized as demonstrating a new form of the Marxist notion of imperialism and as informational/ media imperialism. In an attempt to answer this question, I employ Vladimir Lenin’s analysis of imperialism. Paying particular attention to the relevance of media and information, I test Lenin’s theories against macroeconomic statistical analysis of existing data. My analysis is structured according to Lenin’s five characteristics of imperialism: (1) the role of economic concentration; (2) the dominance of finance capital; (3) the importance of capital export; (4) the spatial stratification of the world as result of corporate dominance; and (5) the political dimension of the spatial stratification of the world. The results demonstrate that Lenin’s theories should be reloaded for contemporary media and communication studies. KEY WORDS communication n globalization n Lenin n media n new imperialism Introduction In recent years, the notions of imperialism and capitalist empire have gained importance in critical globalization studies. This discourse forms the background and context for this paper. In the 20th century, the notion of imperialism has been primarily advanced by Marxist theorists, such as the classical theories of imperialism (Nikolai Bukharin, Karl Kautsky, Vladimir Lenin, Rosa Luxemburg, etc. ). Within this context, thi s paper deals with the question: Is the new imperialism an informational imperialism? My goal is to make a contribution to the new imperialism debate rom an information-, media- and communication-studies perspective. The notion of imperialism employed is Lenin’s classical one, so the task becomes to analyse the role of the media in a contemporary reactualization of Lenin’s notion of imperialism. The main section of the paper is structured according to the Global Media and Communication [1742-7665(2010)6:1] Volume 6(1): 33–60 Copyright  © 2010 SAGE Publications (Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC: http://gmc. sagepub. com)/10. 1177/1742766510362018 33 34 We will write a custom essay sample on Information and Media Imperialism specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Information and Media Imperialism specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Information and Media Imperialism specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Global Media and Communication 6(1) sequence of the five characteristics of imperialism employed by Lenin (1917). Each of these sections discusses the question if a specific quality of imperialism is topical. The interest in Lenin’s theory is analytical and grounded in the recently emerging academic debate on the role of Lenin’s theory today (cf. e. g. Budgen et al. , 2007; Lih, 2005; Zizek 2004a). Contemporary theories of imperialism, empire and global capitalism can be categorized on a continuum that describes the degree of novelty of imperialism. At one end of the continuum there are authors who argue that imperialism no longer exists today and that a post-imperialistic empire has emerged. The stress is on discontinuity (e. g. Hardt and Negri, 2000, 2004; Negri, 2008; Panitch and Gindin, 2004, 2005; Robinson, 2004, 2007; for a discussion of Hardt and Negri see Buchanan and Pahuja, 2004; Callinicos, 2003b, 2007: 345; Laffey and Weldes, 2004; Zizek, 2004b). At the other end of the continuum there are authors who argue that contemporary capitalism is just as imperialistic as imperialism 100 years ago or that it has formed a new imperialism. The stress is on continuity (Callinicos, 2003a, 2003b, 2005, 2007; Harvey, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007; Wood, 2003; Zeller, 2004a, 2000b). A middle ground is the assumption that imperialism has re-emerged and been qualitatively transformed, that through capitalist development and crisis new qualities of capitalism have emerged and others been preserved, and that the new qualities on the one hand constitute a return to capitalist imperialism, but that on the other hand there are aspects of imperialism today that are different from the imperialism that Lenin, Luxemburg, Kautsky and Bukharin described 100 years ago (O’Byrne, 2005; Sklair, 2002). For Lenin, there are five characteristics of imperialism: 1) The concentration of production and capital developed to such a stage that it creates monopolies which play a decisive role in economic life. 2) The merging of bank capital with industrial capital, and the creation, on the basis of ‘finance capital’, of a financial oligarchy. 3) The export of capital, which has become extremely important, as distinguished from the export of commodities. 4) The formation of international capitalist monopolies which share the world among themselves. ) The territorial division of the whole world among the greatest capitalist powers is completed. (Lenin, 1917: 237) Lenin defined imperialism as: capitalism in that stage of development in which the domination of monopolies and finance capital has established itself; in which the export of capital has acquired pronounced importance; in which the division of the world among the international trusts has begun: in which the division of a ll Fuchs New imperialism 35 the territories of the globe among the biggest capitalist powers has been completed. (Lenin, 1917: 237) Lenin gave close attention to the empirical data that was available at his time. He undertook ‘enormous preparatory work’ (Labica, 2007: 223) for his work on imperialism that is documented in his 21 ‘Notebooks on Imperialism’ (Lenin, 1912–1916), which contain notes on 150 books and 240 articles. To re-engage with Lenin’s theory of imperialism today should therefore be an examination and update of his theoretical arguments and the support of these arguments by data in the same empirical rigour that Lenin showed in his own work and that contemporary works unfortunately frequently lack. Updating Lenin can be undertaken by substituting ‘for the data he presented what we have available today’ (Labica, 2007: 232). To repeat and reload Lenin today means ‘to retrieve the same impulse in today’s constellation’ (Zizek, 2004a: 11; see also Budgen et al. , 2007: 1–4). This also means to take Lenin as a theoretical and methodological impulse for contemporary critical globalization studies. The connection of imperialism and the information sector is not specific for new imperialism. So, for example, Boyd-Barrett has shown that already in the 19th and early 20th century the big news agencies Havas, Reuters and Wolff ‘were based in imperial capitals’ and their expansion ‘was intimately associated with the territorial colonialism of the late nineteenth century’ (Boyd-Barrett, 1980: 23). At the time of Lenin, they served as government propaganda arms in the First World War (Boyd-Barrett and Rantanen, 1998: 7). For example, Reuters ‘was for the most part the unofficial voice of the Empire, giving prominence to British views’ (Thussu, 2006: 11). Winseck and Pike (2007) show with the example of the global expansion of cable and wireless companies (such as e. g. Western Union, Eastern Telegraph Company, Commercial Cable Company, Atlantic Telegraph Company or Marconi) in the years 1860–1930 that at the time of Lenin there was a distinct connection between communication, globalization, and capitalist imperialism. The growth of a worldwide network of fast cables and telegraph systems, in tandem with developments in railways and steamships, eroded some of the obstacles of geography and made it easier to organize transcontinental business. These networks supported huge flows of capital, technology, people, news, and ideas which, in turn, led to a high degree of convergence among markets, merchants, and bankers. (Winseck and Pike, 2007: 1) 2 The new imperialism and the information economy In the next five subsections, I will analyse which role information industries play in each of the five characteristics of imperialism today. The sequence of discussion is structured according to Lenin’s five qualities of imperialism. 36 Global Media and Communication 6(1) 2. The concentration of capital in the information sector The enormous growth of industry and the remarkably rapid process of concentration of production in ever-larger enterprises represent one of the most characteristic features of capitalism. (Lenin, 1917: 178) Lenin identified an antagonism between competition and monopoly as an immanent feature of capitalism (Lenin, 1917: 180, 185, 236, 260ff. ). The formation of monopolies and the concentration of capita l are for Lenin not an exception from the rule of competition, but a necessary outcome of capitalist competition. Concentration indicators that Lenin used included: the development of the number of large enterprises; the share of workers in the economy that are employed by large enterprises; and the share of output in an industry that is produced by large enterprises. One way in which industries become more concentrated is through mergers and acquisitions (MA). Figure 1 shows that the finance sector accounted for the largest share of the mergers and acquisitions (MA) in 2006: 24. per cent (1717) of all MA, whereas the transport, storage and communication sector accounted for 5. 4 per cent (379) of all MA and the printing and publishing industries accounted for 2. 0 per cent (142). All of these sectors have experienced dramatic rises in the number of MA, but the largest and most rapid increase is in finance, which is an indication that finance is the most heavily concentrated sector. Figure 1 Total number of mergers and acquisitions in selected industries Source: Author’s figures based on UNCTAD data. Fuchs New imperialism 37 Figure 2 Share of the number of large corporations (gt;250 employees) in total number of corporations (EU27 countries) Source: Author’s calculations based on Eurostat. Within the framework of the study of capital concentration, one can analyse the concentration of information sectors. Large informationproducing companies, which are those firms that have more than 250 employees, make up only a small share of the overall number of information companies in the EU27 countries (Figure 2). In information-producing branches, a small number of large companies accounts for a large share of the total employees, total turnover and total value added. These shares are higher than in industry and services in general for most information branches. This applies especially in the areas of post/ telecommunications and the manufacturing of communication equipment (Figures 3, 4, 5). In post and telecommunications, large companies make up 0. 9 per cent of all companies and account for 87. 8 per cent of all employees, 87. 2 per cent of total turnover, and 91. per cent of total value added. In the manufacturing of communication equipment, large companies make up 1. 6 per cent of all companies and account for 65. 5 per cent of all employees, 84. 1 per cent of total turnover, and 76. 8 per cent of total value added. A high concentration of information industries is not only specific for Europe, but can also be found in the United States (Figure 6). In the entire US media sector, there we re 330 large corporations (gt;1000 employees), which accounted for 0. 01 per cent of all media corporations in 2002, but controlled 78 per cent of all revenues. In the telecommunications sector, 72 large corporations made up 0. 9 per cent of all companies in the industry, but controlled 88 per cent of all sector-wide revenues. 38 Global Media and Communication 6(1) Figure 3 Share of large companies (gt;250 employees) in total employees (EU27) Source: Author’s calculations based on Eurostat. Figure 4 Share of turnover by large companies (gt;250 employees) in EU27 countries Source: Author’s calculations based on Eurostat. Information industries are not the only ones that are highly concentrated. So for example in the EU27 countries, value added is very highly concentrated in the mining of coal and lignite and the extraction of peat (large companies account for 4. 9 per cent of all companies and for 92. 9 per cent of sectoral value added), the manufacture of tobacco products (20% are large companies and account for 93. 7% of value added in the industry), and the manufacture of coke, refined petroleum products and nuclear fuel (9. 9% are large companies and account for 93. 1% of sectoral value added) (data for 2005, Eurostat). Fuchs New imperialism 39 Figure 5 Share of value added (at factor cost) controlled by large companies (gt;250 employees) in EU27 countries. Source: Author’s calculations based on Eurostat. Figure 6 Media concentration in the USA Source: Author’s calculations based on US 2002 Economic Census 40 Global Media and Communication 6(1) Information sectors, such as publishing, telecommunications and the manufacturing of communication equipment, do not form the most concentrated economic sector, but are among the most highly concentrated industries. . 2 Finance capital and information capital [Finance capital] is the bank capital of the few big monopolist banks, merged with the capital of the monopolist combines of manufacturers. (Lenin, 1917: 237) Under imperialism, finance capital commands: almost the whole of the money capital of all the capitalists and small businessmen and also a large part of the means of production and of the sources of raw materials of the given country and of a number of countries. (Lenin, 1917: 190) The banks’ control of the flow of investment money that is used for operating corporations gives them huge economic power for controlling the capitalist economy (Lenin, 1917: 194). Lenin mentioned that banks are influential in accelerating technical progress (Lenin, 1917: 202). Capital concentration and the formation of finance capital are connected developments (Lenin, 1917: 203). Finance capital aims at generating extraordinarily high rates of profit (Lenin, 1917: 210). A finance oligarchy consisting of rentiers would emerge in imperialism (Lenin, 1917: 213). The indicators that Lenin used for verifying the second characteristic of imperialism, included: development of the percentage of total deposits controlled by banks of a certain size (measured by total controlled capital); development of the number of holdings and establishments of certain banks; development of the number of letters received and dispatched by certain banks; development of the amount of capital held by certain banks; development of the capital invested by certain banks in a country; development of the profit rate of certain banks; and development of the total securities issued by certain banks. How important are information companies in comparison to finance corporations in the world economy? In order to give an answer, I have analysed the 2008 Forbes list of the world’s 2000 biggest companies by economic sectors. The results are presented in Figure 7. Finance companies and financial service corporations together accounted for the vast share of capital assets in 2008 (75. 96%). The second largest sector was oil, gas and utilities (5. 82%). The third largest sector was the information sector (4. 3%), comprised (for statistical reasons) of the following sub-domains: telecommunications; technology hardware and equipment; media content; software; and semiconductors. Fuchs New imperialism 41 5. 82% 4. 63% 1. 96% 1. 51% 1. 48% 1. 36% 1. 29% 0. 97% 75. 96% Finance (Banking, Financials, Insurance) Oil Gas Operations, Utilities Information (Telecommunications, Technology Hardware Equipment, Media, Software Services, Semiconductors) Consumer Durables Food (Food, Drinks Tob acco; Food Markets; Hotel, Restaurants Leisure) Conglomerates Materials Transportation Construction Figure 7 Share of selected industries in total capital assets of the world’s largest 2000 corporations. Source: Author’s figures based on Forbes 2000, 2008 list. Information companies are important in the global capitalist economy, reflecting a trend towards informatization, that is, the rise of the importance of information in economy, but they are far less important than finance and the oil and gas industry. Fossil fuels are still very important in the contemporary economy. This is an indication that industrial society is not over, and that we have entered a hyperindustrial area, in which information production, selling and consumption becomes an important factor of the overall economy, but are still no substitute for the economic importance of finance capital and fossil fuels. Financialization, hyperindustrialization and informatization characterize contemporary imperialist capitalism. The data in Figure 8 are for the year 2007. Data for the year 2008 (Forbes, 2000: list for 2009, available online at Forbes. com), which was the year a new worldwide economic crisis started, show that the financial sector suffered tremendous losses. The world’s biggest 176 diversified financial corporations had combined losses of $46. 27 billion, the world’s 92 largest insurance companies sustained losses of $61. 8 billion. Nonetheless, the financial sector still accounted for 74. per cent of all assets of the world’s 2000 largest corporations, oil, gas and utilities for 6. 2 per cent, and the information economy for 4. 6 per cent. These are only minor changes in comparison to 2007, which shows that the economic crisis did not undermine the inner-capitalist hegemony of financial capital. 42 Global Media and Communication 6(1) 2. 3 Capital export and the information industries Under modern capitalism, when monopolies prevail, the export of capital has become the typical feature. (Lenin, 1917: 215) The goal of imperialism is for Lenin the achievement of high profits by exporting capital to countries in which `capital is scarce, the price of land is relatively low, wages are low, raw materials are cheap (Lenin, 1917: 216). Indicators that Lenin used for verifying the third characteristic of imperialism included the absolute amount of capital invested abroad by certain nations and the geographical distribution of foreign direct investment. What are the most important economic sectors in capital export and the outsourcing of production? In which areas is the economy most globalized? What is the role of the information sector? Figure 8 shows that transport, storage and telecommunications has been the fastest growing sector of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the past 20 years (from 1. 6% to 7. 6% of all FDI inflows). Nonetheless, information industries are not dominant; more important in FDI than transport and communication are the sectors of finance, mining/quarrying/petroleum, and trade. Figure 8 Selected sectors of FDI (inflows). Source: Author’s figures based on data from UNCTAD. Fuchs New imperialism 3 A number of authors have argued that global/transnational media organizations have emerged (Appadurai, 1990/2006; Herman and McChesney, 1997; McChesney, 1999; Rantanen, 2005; Schiller, 1991/2006; Sklair, 2002: 164–207; Sreberny, 1991/2006). Herbert Schiller (1991/2006: 297) speaks in this context of ‘transnational corporate cultural domination’. Edward Herman and Robert McChesney (1997 , see also McChesney 1999: 78–118) argue that global media advance corporate expansion by advertising and create an ideological environment for a global profitdriven social order. Neoliberalism and mergers and acquisitions would have resulted in a tiered global media system dominated by a small number of colossal, vertically integrated media conglomerates (measured by annual sales), such as News Corporation, Time Warner, Disney, Bertelsmann, Viacom, ATT (TCI), Vivendi (Seagram acquired MCA in 1995 and Polygram in 1998 to became the Universal Music Group, which became part of Vivendi in 2000), General Electric (NBC), or Sony (Herman and McChesney, 1997: 52ff. , 72–105; McChesney, 1999: 86ff. ). The main feature of the global media system is, for Herman and McChesney (1997: 152), the global implantation of a model of privately owned commercial media. Possible negative effects would be the global spread of consumption as lifestyle, the displacement of the public sphere with entertainment, the strengthening of conservative political forces, and the erosion of local cultures (Herman and McChesney, 1997: 154ff. ). Other scholars are more sceptical, doubt the emergence of global media, or argue that their existence is a myth (Flew, 2007; Hafez, 2007). Terry Flew (2007: 87) lists data on the foreign asset share, the transnationality index, and the foreign revenue share of Time Warner, Disney, News Corporation and Viacom for the year 2005, in order to argue that ‘media corporations are less globalized than major corporations in other sectors’, globalization of media and entertainment is moving slowly, and that News Corporation is the only truly global media company (Flew, 2007: 87ff. ). This analysis is not convincing because inductive generalizations from data for four companies are not conclusive, the indicators are mainly consumption- and not production-oriented (in contrast to, for example, the share of foreign employees), and other information sectors are not taken into account. Not only media content producers are media companies, but also media infrastructure capital and media technology capital (telecommunications, software, hardware) should be taken into account. Also the internet, the computer, and the mobile phone are media. Colin Sparks (2007: 172–4) analyses the foreign assets and sales of News Corporation and Viacom (for 2002) and Time Warner (for 2004) and argues that global media are ‘centred in a single â€Å"home† country’ (Sparks, 2007: 174). 44 Global Media and Communication 6(1) Table 1 Transnationality index of the world’s largest information corporations Year Top 100 average TNI of all included corporations Information corporations’ average TNI N (Number of information corporations in ranking) 2001 55. % 60. 2% 26 2002 57% 55. 0% 22 2003 55. 8% 55. 3% 21 2004 56. 8% 55. 9% 21 2005 59. 9% 59. 5% 20 2006 61. 6% 61. 7% 18 Source: Calculations based on World Investment Reports 2003–2008. I have analysed the transnationality data that is published in the annual World Investment Report by UNCTAD. UNCTAD’s transnationality index (TNI) measures the global dimension of a company by a composite measure that covers the world largest companies’ shares of assets, sales and employees outside of the home country. Table 1 shows the average TNI of the top 100 corporations listed in the World Investment Reports (UNCTAD, 2003–2008) and the average of information corporations. Information/media corporations are in this context defined as all companies from the domains of computer and related activities, electrical and electronic equipment, media, printing and publishing, and telecommunications. Media content capital and media infrastructure capital have a common referent – information – so summarizing these companies under the category of information corporations or media corporations is feasible. The data show that the TNI of the largest information corporations has in the years 2001–2006 been close to the total average and that the information companies covered by the TNI are more global than local in their operations, which casts doubt on the assumption (made by Flew, Hafez, and others) that there are no global media corporations. Table 2 shows further indicators for the degree of transnationality of information corporations: the average share of foreign ssets in total assets, the average share of foreign sales in total sales, the average share of foreign employment in total employment, and the share of foreign affiliates in total affiliates. The values for the 18 information corporations that are included in the 2006 list of the world’s top 100 TNCs are compared to the total average values for all 100 included companies. For calculating these shares, I treated all companies (and respectively information companies) as a totality (what Marx [1867: 344] termed à ¢â‚¬Ëœcollective capital’) so that the shares were calculated based on aggregated values. Fuchs New imperialism 45 Table 2 Indicators of the degree of transnationality of the world’s largest Information corporations (N = 18) Average of all corporations Foreign assets share Foreign sales share Foreign employment share Foreign affiliates share 61. 39% 64. 35% 60. 48% 69. 38% Information corporations: average 62. 50% 64. 05% 58. 36% 68. 15% Source: Calculations based on data for 2006, World Investment Report 2008 Statistical data suggest that the globalization of media/information corporations is not a myth, as claimed by scholars like Hafez and Flew. There surely is not a purely global media system – as transnational corporations are grounded in their respective national economies. But global production in the form of outsourcing, subcontracting and spatially diffused production seems to be an emergent quality of capitalism and therefore also of information corporations. Indicators such as the transnationality index, the foreign assets share, the foreign sales share, the foreign employment share, and the foreign affiliates share allow measuring the degree of transnationality of information companies. Data for the world’s largest information companies suggest that although they are fairly grounded in national economies, they follow the general trend of TNCs to have the majority of their assets, sales, employment and affiliates located outside of their home countries. This is not a uniform pattern, but a general trend. Emergent qualities are additions to old qualities that transform systems, but do not supersede and eliminate them. Transnationality is not something entirely new; instead – it is a degree, measure and tendency. Globalization of the media is something different from fully global media: certain media corporations become more global, parts of production are outsourced to other countries and parts of sales are achieved in other countries. The degree of sourcing, investment, affiliations, employment, assets, sales and profits outside the home country are indicators for the degree of globalization of a media corporation. That the calculated average shares are close to 60 per cent is an indication not for the emergence of fully global information corporations, but for the globalization of the operations of information corporations. These information TNCs are all capitalist in character, each focuses on capital accumulation on national and transnational levels that are interlinked. 46 Global Media and Communication 6(1) Transnationality is an emergent quality of the informational dimension of new imperialism. Transnationality is not entirely global, but an emergent quality in comparison to Fordist capitalism, in which many corporations were either state owned or rather nationally contained by regulation. Concerning the world’s largest information corporations, corporate structures have become global and ever more influenced by media and information. Media globalization then means that corporatism – the structuration of media organizations according to the logic of capital accumulation and profit maximization – has expanded its worldwide scope. Corporatism rules the world, therefore it also rules media and information organizations, which have increasingly been transformed into media corporations in processes of accumulation by dispossession that transform information and technology into commodities or intensify their commodity character. A further aspect of media globalization is that in the 20th century, global communication networks (telephone, internet) have emerged (Thompson, 1995/2000), which today allow communication and the transmission of information in real time over distance by time–space compression. How important are information products and information services in world trade? Figure 9 shows that fossil fuels are the most important goods in the world trade of manufactured goods, followed by media products, and transport vehicles. Fossil fuels and the car have been characterized as being characteristic for Fordist industrialism or for the third and fourth long wave (Boyer, 1988; Freeman and Perez, 1988; Mandel, 1972/1998), whereas microelectronics is frequently considered as ‘post-industrial’. Concerning world trade, the data show that post-industrialism has not superseded industrialism, the information economy and the traditional industrial economy exist together. The only claim that could be made based on this data is that the structure of world trade is characterized by the dominance of a ‘mobilities paradigm’ – the trade of goods that allows ‘the movement of people, ideas, objects and information’ (Urry, 2007: 17). UNCTAD launched the Creative Economy Database in 2008. The creative economy is defined as consisting of the ‘creation, production and distribution of goods and services that use creativity and intellectual capital as primary inputs’ (UNCTAD, 2008: 13). This includes products in the areas of cultural sites, traditional cultural expressions (arts, crafts, festivals, celebrations), performing arts, audiovisuals, new media, design, publishing and printed media, visual arts, and creative services (architectural, advertising, creative RD, culture, recreation). Figure 10 shows the development of the share of creative industry exports in total Fuchs New imperialism 47 Figure 9 Share of specific product groups in total exported goods. Source: Author’s figures based on data by UNCTAD. exports in the years 1996–2005. Related industries cover supporting industries or equipment, such as media infrastructures. The combination of creative goods (3. 2%), creative services (0. 8%) and related industries (5. 5%) accounted for 9. 55 per cent of world exports in 2005. This again confirms that information products and services are important in world trade, but not more important than fossil fuels and vehicles, and therefore not dominant. Finance, mining/quarrying/petroleum, trade, and information are the most important economic sectors of foreign direct investment. Finance is the dominant sector in both FDI and world trade. Figure 10 Share of creative industries in world exports. Source: Author’s figures based on data by UNCTAD Creative Economy Database. 48 Global Media and Communication 6(1) Transnational information corporations do not operate entirely globally. They are grounded in national economies, but a certain degree of their operations, assets, employees, sales, profits and affiliates are located beyond their home economies so that a national–transnational nexus is established. Transnationality is an emergent quality, a measure, degree and tendency. Media globalization furthermore also means the global influence of the neoliberal logic of accumulation by dispossession on media. In world trade, information goods and services are the second most important category, and transport vehicles the third most important sector. The data indicate that capital export and world trade are not dominated by the information sector, but that financialization, hyperindustrialization by continued relevance of fossil fuels and the car, and informatization are three important economic trends of the new imperialism. Financialization is the dominant factor. 2. 4 The economic division of the world and information corporations Lenin argued that under imperialism, big companies dominate the economy. They would divide among themselves spheres of influence and markets and would make use of cartels, syndicates and trusts. Finance capital struggles ‘for the sources of raw materials, for the export of capital, for â€Å"spheres of influence†, i. e. , for spheres of good business, concessions, monopolist profits, and so on; in fine, for economic territory in general’ (Lenin, 917: 266). Lenin used the following indicators for the fourth characteristic: the number of sub-companies of certain corporations, the development of turnover, the number of employees, and the net profits of specific big companies. Whereas the third characteristic focuses more on economic activities that cross nation-state borders and the economic benefits that are derived from it, the fourth characteristic covers the spatial dimension of these activities. This distinction is indicated by the term ‘division of the world among capitalist combines’ (characteristic four) in contrast to the term ‘the export of capital’ (characteristic three). The two characteristics are nonetheless certainly closely linked. Table 3 shows the share of corporations based in developing and developed countries in the industries that constitute the Forbes 2000 list of the world’s biggest corporations. The share of corporations that have developing countries as their home bases ranges between 0 and 20 per cent, which is

Understanding Delphi Class (and Record) Helpers

Understanding Delphi Class (and Record) Helpers A feature of the Delphi language added some years ago (way back in in Delphi 2005) called Class Helpers is designed to let you add new functionality to an existing class (or a record) by introducing new methods to the class (record). Below youll see some more ideas for class helpers learn when to and when not to use class helpers. Class Helper For... In simple words, a class helper is a construct that extends a class by introducing new methods in the helper class. A class helper allows you to extend existing class without actually modifying it or inheriting from it. To extend the VCLs TStrings class you would declare and implement a class helper like the following: type TStringsHelper class helper for TStrings public function Contains(const aString : string) : boolean; end; The above class, called TStringsHelper is a class helper for the TStrings type. Note that TStrings is defined in the Classes.pas, a unit that is by default available in the uses clause for any Delphi forms unit, for example. The function were adding to the TStrings type using our class helper is Contains. The implementation could look like: function TStringsHelper.Contains(const aString: string): boolean; begin result : -1 IndexOf(aString); end; Im certain youve used the above many times in your code - to check if some TStrings descendant, like TStringList, has some string value in its Items collection. Note that, for example, the Items property of a TComboBox or a TListBox is of the TStrings type. Having the TStringsHelper implemented, and a list box on a form (named ListBox1), you can now check if some string is a part of the list box Items property by using: if ListBox1.Items.Contains(some string) then ... Class Helpers Go and NoGo The implementation of class helpers has some positive and some (you might think of) negative impacts to your coding. In general you should avoid extending your own classes - as if you need to add some new functionality to your own custom classes - add the new stuff in the class implementation directly - not using a class helper. Class helpers are therefore more designed to extend a class when you cannot (or do not need to) rely on normal class inheritance and interface implementations. A class helper cannot declare instance data, like new private fields (or properties that would read/write such fields). Adding new class fields is allowed. A class helper can add new methods (function, procedure). Before Delphi XE3 you could only extend classes and records - complex types. From Delphi XE 3 release you can also extend simple types like integer or string or TDateTime, and have construct like: var s : string; begin s : Delphi XE3 helpers; s : s.UpperCase.Reverse; end; Ill write about Delphi XE 3 simple type helper in the near future. Wheres MY Class Helper One limitation to using class helpers that might help you shoot yourself in the foot is the fact that you can define and associate multiple helpers with a single type. However, only zero or one helper applies in any specific location in source code. The helper defined in the nearest scope will apply. Class or record helper scope is determined in the normal Delphi fashion (for example, right to left in the units uses clause). What this means is that you might define two TStringsHelper class helpers in two different units but only one will apply when actually used! If a class helper is not defined in the unit where you use its introduced methods - which in most cases will be so, you do not know what class helper implementation you would actually be using. Two class helpers for TStrings, named differently or residing in different units might have different implementation for the Contains method in the above example. Use Or Not? Yes, but be aware of the possible side effects. Heres another handy extension to the above mentioned TStringsHelper class helper TStringsHelper class helper for TStrings private function GetTheObject(const aString: string): TObject; procedure SetTheObject(const aString: string; const Value: TObject); public property ObjectFor[const aString : string]: TObject read GetTheObject write SetTheObject; end; ... function TStringsHelper.GetTheObject(const aString: string): TObject; var idx : integer; begin result : nil; idx : IndexOf(aString); if idx -1 then result : Objects[idx]; end; procedure TStringsHelper.SetTheObject(const aString: string; const Value: TObject); var idx : integer; begin idx : IndexOf(aString); if idx -1 then Objects[idx] : Value; end; If youve been adding objects to a string list, you can guess when to use the above handy helper property.

Ghana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Ghana - Essay Example From this paper it is clear that  the first reason provided is the existence of a free media in both broadcast and print. Ghana’s radio stations actively engage their political class by holding the government accountable and demanding for transparent elections. Ghana also has vibrant and vigilant NGO’s and civil society groups which promote a variety of issues such as combating corruption and good governance.As the discussion stresses  the existence of these groups is made possible by the country’s freedoms of expression, association, and movement. The maturing of political leaders in Ghana has also contributed to the country’s rise to the top of the peace index. Political rivals have learned to put animosity aside for the greater good of the nation. By graciously conceding defeat and congratulating opponents, political leadership within the country has aided to breakdown stereotypes about election loss in Africa. Ghana has also been lucky to have one of its sons, Koffi Annan, as a major world peace broker. In his bid to broker peace deals among warring factions across the globe, the nation has rallied behind his efforts by promoting peace within their country first.  Ghana’s democratic political system has contributed to the country’s growing economic prosperity and made it a regional powerhouse in West Africa.  The country is regarded among the globe’s leading gold and diamond producers.