Globalization Impact on Chinese Culture

Globalization Impact on Chinese Culture Globalization is an irresistible trend in the progress of society. From the introduction of the concept of globalization and widespread use among mainstream press, the lives of most people in the world are affected by the impact of globalization. Globalization can be regarded as a process which is essentially multifaceted and intimately related to free trade, technological innovation and information communication, demographic change linked to the development of global societies, socio-cultural, economic, and ideological convergence (Thomas, 2005, p. 138). In recent years, the impact of globalization is more obviously reflected in the exchange of goods, technology, and culture. Although globalization recedes the constraints of geography on economic, political and cultural arrangement (Water, 2001, p.5), integration and confliction still company in the process of globalization due to the diversity of values and ideologies hold by people from different countries. Generally speaking, glo balization brings positive and negative impact on peoples daily lives, which is not only changing the living styles, but also challenging traditional culture values of a nation. Global culture inevitably uniforms and standardizes peoples day to day lives. As Waters suggests that there will be a single society and culture occupying the whole planet in a globalized world (Waters, 2001, p.5). It is believed that the global marketing of artifacts is not only to maximize profits, but also to disseminate and reinforce culture influence of an economic power (Oliver, 2005, p.10). There are many phenomena can be observed as the influence of global culture. English is used as a dominant language in global communication, commodities of famous brands such as Coca Cola, Nike, and Adidas are sold in shops around the world, fast foods like KFC and McDonalds become popular among young people, and Internet transfers the whole world into a village. According to Thomas (2005, p. 143) socio-cultural dimension to globalization involves changes in attitudes to cultural and religious beliefs. Thus, it is likely that the uniformity and standardization of global culture leads to a p otential danger of challenging identities of a nation. China receives challenges and opportunities through globalization, which has a great impact on Chinas economy and culture. After carrying out the reform and opening up policy in 1978, China gradually involved in the flood of global market. During over thirty years development in the global market, China achieves significant accomplishments in the aspects of economy, international competitiveness, and the improvement of peoples lives. According to the speech at the meeting marking the 30th anniversary of reform and opening up in the year 2008 by Chairman Hu Jintao, the total import and export of China raised from $20.6 billion to $2.17 trillion during the period from 1978 to 2007, which ranked the third in the world and became the No.1 country in terms of foreign reserves, and the paid-up overseas investment amounted to nearly $1 trillion. Therefore, it is obvious that globalization and international cooperation speed up Chinas economic development while contributing a lot to the worl d economy. As to the culture aspect, Chinese traditional culture is inescapably affected by global culture. In the process of globalization, western world takes dominant position in advanced technology and economic system, therefore, the global culture is mainly composed by the western culture, which is characterized by free markets, consumerism and individualism (Arnett, 2002, p.777). In contrast, countries such as China and Japan have tradition of collectivistic values (Natio Gielen, in press; White, 1993 cited in Arnett, 2002, p.776). When traditional Chinese values meet global culture under the circumstance of globalization, there will be some extent of conflicts and integrations, which will generate the crisis on the issue of identity. Identity crisis can be regarded as a new phenomenon brought by globalization. In the following essay, it will critically analyze the issue of identity among some Chinese young people under the influence of globalization and global culture. Chinese culture also has reaction on global culture. In recent years, China is making an effort to introduce its traditional cultures and values to the world and laying some extent of influence on the global culture. By the end of 2009, there have been 282 Confucius institutes and 272 Confucius Classrooms established in 88 countries, and the Confucius Institutes/Classrooms adopt suitable teaching styles to teach Chinese language as well as promoting Chinese cultures (http://english.hanban.org/node_10971.htm). Chinese cultures and values are gradually recognized by western society, which is a consequence of cross-cultural communication in globalization. Byram (1989) suggests that Culture is knowledge which is shared and negotiated between people, belonging to all of them and not being idiosyncratic to any single one. It is necessary to develop an understanding and appreciation of other cultures meanwhile critically thinking about ones own culture and other cultures (Byram, 1996, p.25) . The following essay will mainly focus on two aspects, the impact of globalization on Chinese culture and the reaction of Chinese culture to the world. In the first section, it will critically analyze the issue of identity among Chinese young people, how it is formed, affected and reinforced through the global culture brought by globalization, and the efforts by government and schools to strength students notion of identity. In the second section, it will discuss the intercultural communication and culture exchange between nations in the world under the circumstance of globalization, and illustrate the importance of intercultural competence in globalization. Section One: The Challenge of Chinese Culture on the Aspect of Identity Issue under the Affection of Globalization As discussed above, the identity issue of Chinese young people can be regarded as a consequence of globalization and global culture imposes influence on Chinese traditional cultures and values. In order to demonstrate this, this section will firstly focus on the concept of identity and Chinese identity in order to present a framework of the identity issue. Secondly, it will critically analyze the identity crisis of Chinese young people through the process of globalization. Thirdly, in this section, it will suggest that the conscious of globalization and cross-cultural communication should be introduced into education though various challenges and problems may company through the process. 1. The concepts of identity and the formation of Chinese young peoples identity 1.1 The concepts of identity There are many forms of identities in academic field, but this assignment will mainly focus on three kinds of identities, which are national identity, cultural identity, and social identity respectively. As to national identity, different researchers suggest various models. Smith (1991) proposes a Western civic model, which focused on territory and the idea of patria (Smith, 1991, p.10), and a non-Western ethnic model, which emphases on descent and blood tie. However, Kellas claims that ethnic, social an official nationalism are more important than geographical boundaries (Kellas, 1991, cited in Parmenter, 1997, p.24). It is obvious that the definition of national identity is based on some common ideas such as shared territory, shared culture and community for group, and recognition, acceptance and sense of belonging for the individual (Parmenter, 1997, p.26). Compared with Ting-Toomey and Chungs definition of cultural identity (2005, p.93), which emphasizes the emotional significance of belonging to a larger culture, Brock and Tulasiewiczs definition is more precise and recapitulative. Brock and Tulasiewicz indicate that cultural identity is a world view, constructed and developed by the individual in interaction with others (Parmenter, 1997, p.27). The elements such as language and religious help to shape cultural identity but these are not the determinate factors. The relationship between national identity and cultural identity implied by Parmenter (1997, p.27) is that national identity is constructed on the basis of cultural identity and involves particular political ideas, attitudes, values and practice in the cultural identity. The form and development of national and cultural identity can be analyzed by the secondary socialization theory. School education and curriculum such as language and history offer a chance to nurture national and majority cultural identities (Tate, 1994, cited in Parmenter, 1997, p.35). According to Berger and Luckmanns secondary socialization theory (1966), the assimilation of primary knowledge mush through pedagogic techniques. The education process works as a pedagogic technique, which is strengthen the concept of individuals fist notion, in other words, is to reinforce the concepts of national and cultural identity. Social identity is stemmed from individuals group memberships and social comparison, as to establish self-esteem of individuals which based on the status of the group (Tajfel, 1981, p. 277). The concept of social identity shows the behavior of individuals when they act as a member of a group, and the feelings of being a member of a group. According to Tajfel (1978, 1981, cited in Ward, 2001, p. 103), the social identity mainly includes three features, which are self concept, awareness of membership in a group, and evaluative and emotional significance. These three features work as major element of defining social identity. It is also demonstrated by Tajfel that intergroup bias is irresistible consequence of social identification (Ward, 2001, p.104). Individuals seek status and self-esteem in their own group and judge it as superior than the other groups, which not only leads to prejudice on out-group people and in-group people, but also generates confliction and competition between g roups. 1.2 The formation of Chinese young peoples identity The formation of Chinese national identity can be tract back to 1930s. Through eight-year Chinas war resistance against Japan, Chinese people formed a united, patriotic and anti-imperialist national identity. Friedman (1995, p.6) claims that Maos communist-led peasant Red Army is regarded as a symbol of library, which unites Chinese people in a defensive order, even Confucius could not achieve such a strong influence in this period of time. After the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) in year of 1949, the Communist Party of China (CPC) takes Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory as the guidance of its actions (http://www.china.org.cn/english/Political/26151.htm). Moreover, most universities in China offer compulsory courses of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory which brings formidable influence on the building of Chinese young peoples national identity. As to the cultural identity of Chinese young people, it is believed that the heritage of Confucian culture takes the dominant position in Chinese society. Confucianism is one of Chinese traditional culture values, which is formed on the basis of colleting experience of the nations exploration and response to the challenge of its national and social environment (Zheng, Yongnian, 1999, p.73). Grown up and educated in such a society, young people form their cultural identity and obtain cultural group membership unconsciously. The culture consciousness is internalized by individuals and finally forms cultural identity (Brock and Tulasiewicz, 1985:4, cited in Parmenter). The obtaining and challenge of social identity among Chinese young people can be analyzed under the circumstance of globalization. Social identity is a much broader concept which can include cultural or ethnic membership identity (Ting-Toomey and Chung, 2005, p.101). The process of globalization is not only an exchange of merchandise, but also an interaction between western and eastern cultures. Some Chinese young people appreciate and accept western culture and values. In this sense, the in-group and out-group in social identity theory can be categorized as follows in this essay: Under the influence of western culture to Chinese traditional culture, those people who hold traditional cultural values of Chinese collective culture can be regarded as an in-group, and the out-group can be regarded as those Chinese young people who are westernized through the process of globalization. 2. Identity Crisis of Chinese Young People through the Process of Globalization and Efforts to reshape identity 2.1 Analysis of Identity Crisis among Chinese Young People The identity crisis towards Chinese young people under the circumstance of globalization can be mainly analyzed in two aspects, namely cultural identity crisis and social identity crisis. The cultural identity crisis is a crisis of Chinese traditional world view and cultural values, which produced in the process of western cultures and values invading into Chinese traditional culture values, while social identity crisis is stemmed from how individuals categorize themselves and others in terms of their belonging to groups (Tajfel, 1981), thus, in the circumstance of China, the follow essay will analyze how Chinese young people categorize themselves in terms of groups. But first, the essay will discuss the unique characteristic of Chinese young people under the influence of globalization and global culture. Those Chinese young people who are experiencing their adolescence year are a unique group in the formation of identity. Adolescence is a certain period of year between childhood and adulthood, which involves psychological revolution, uncertainty, curiosity towards the new trend, and the willingness to learn (Erikson, 1968, p.128). Those Chinese young people who were born after the Reform and Opening Up policy carried out in China have experienced a totally different growing environment from the generation of their parents. Under the influence of globalization, Chinese young people find themselves in a wave of technological, economic, and global cultural trend. It is the characteristic of adolescence determines that Chinese young people have a willingness to learn and accept the western values promoted by globalization as well as traditional values hold by Chinese collective culture. It seems likely that the intimacy of western values in the process of globalization leads to a vaguene ss of Chinese young peoples identity. It could be argued that the period of adolescence is also a period of operating the function of secondary socialization as to form a world view, which is a proceeding process of internalizing the primary concept of ideology. The secondary socialization deals with the already formed self and an already internalized word (Berger and Luckmann, 1966, p.160). In the context of China, traditional cultures and values hold by the society can be regarded as circumstance for Chinese young people to form primary socialization, while education offered by school and society contributes to the effort to form young peoples secondary socialization. Under the influence of globalization and invading of western values to Chinese society, the building of concept through second socialization of Chinese young people is receiving more outer influence and challenges, because of the values promoted by global culture and western values may contradict to their primary concept. Erikson (1968, p.162) claims that the egos function to integrate the relation of newly added identity element with those already in existence, but if the newly added identity elements is conflicted with the former one, there will be an identity crisis come into being. Globalization accelerates the communication around the world, although China is famous for its conservative culture, it is cannot be denied that Chinese traditional culture is affected by the western values. Chinese culture is built in the society of collectivistic values, in which the power of the group is emphasized (Hofstede, 1991, p.50). Chinese people think highly of the family tie and the values such as filial piety, which implies the proper relations of parents and children in Chinese traditional culture. Parents have absolute power in the family and should be respected and reverenced by children, children are taught that they are in duty bound to take care of their elder parents. However, nowadays it is reported that the empty-nest homes (where old couples live alone) make up 49.7% of households in urban areas (Seniors first, 2010), and 74% of young Chinese people feel incompetent to tend the old duo to various reasons (74% of young feel incompetent to tend the old, 2010). Chinese young people are in a danger of losing traditional values. It is widely believed that western values such as individualism and materialism introduce into Chinese culture and trigger a series of changes in Chinese society in the process of globalization. Chinese young people are facing the challenges of maintaining traditional values and internalizing traditional cultural consciousness while accessing to the global culture. Brock and Tulasiewicz (Parmenter, 1997, p.27) suggest that the cultural identity is a certain world view, constructed and developed by the individual in interaction with others. It is obvious that Chinese young peoples world view is challenged and different from the world view hold by traditional larger Chinese culture duo to the accessing of global culture. Therefore, the globalization and western values challenge Chinese young peoples cultural identity. Through the process of globalization, western festivals such as Christmas and Valentines Day become well known among Chinese young people. In contrast, some Chinese traditional festivals such as the Dragon Boat Festival, Pure Brightness Day, and Double Ninth Festival are forgotten and even ignored. There is a tendency for some of Chinese young people to take on western values and pursue self-esteem by behaving differently. According to Tajfel (1981, p.277), social identity understood as deriving in a comparative and relational manner from an individuals group memberships. It can be assumed that some Chinese young people regard some western values are better than Chinese traditional values through comparison. Thus, there is a crisis in the aspect of social identity among some Chinese young people to define their place in a social system. 2.2 Efforts to Reshape Chinese Young Peoples Identity It has been shown that the issue of identity crisis is raised from the influence of globalization on Chinese culture. The essay above has analyzed cultural identity crisis and social identity crisis among Chinese young people under the influence of western culture. This section will critically analyze the efforts to reshape Chinese young peoples identity mainly from the aspect of education, and focus on the curriculum of Chinese literature and history. It is widely believed that school is in the position of promoting the development of the identity (Parmenter, 1997, p.34), therefore, it is can be assumed that school also plays an important role in reshaping of identity. Chinese education is carried out under the guideline of Education Law of the Peoples Republic of China. The Law (1995) points out the aims of Chinas education, which is to improve the quality of the whole nation and construct socialist material and spiritual civilization in accordance with the Constitution (Article 1), meanwhile, the Law also indicates that education should be carried out under the guideline of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought and the theories, moreover, education should also inherit and expand fine historical and cultural traditions as to achieve civilization progress of human beings. (Article 3, Article 7). Thus, it is can be seen that education in China has been politicized as to reinforce identity among students. Tate shows that language and history are two major curriculums that foster national and cultural identity (Parmenter, 1997, p.35). The Chinese literature curriculum is a course teaches students Chinese languages as well as Chinese traditional cultures and values, especially the Chinese Classic literature, in which contains Confucians classical works, such as The Four Books (The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Analects of Confucius, and The Mencius) and the five classics. Confucianism is the core value rooted in Chinese traditional culture and formed cultural identity among Chinese people. As to the language teaching in Chinese literature curriculum, despite the language helps Chinese young people to shape a world view, it is seemed likely that language is a much weaker factor compared with Chinese traditional values hold by the Chinese literature in reshaping cultural identity. Besides, language is not a direct factor in building cultural identity (Parmenter, 1997, p.27 ). However, it is cannot denied that Chinese Literature curriculum plays an important role in reconstruction of Chinese young peoples identity. As to the aspect of history curriculum in Chinas education, the reason of giving a prior consideration of history has argued by Goodson (1998, p.153), history is considered as revive and refocus of national identity and ideology. In the efforts of reshaping identity among Chinese young people, history curriculum operates the same function as Goodson discussed. Although the focus of Chinese history curriculum changes slightly, from historical materialism to Chinese dynastic and cultural heritage, from socialist people to national people, from socialism to nationalism (Jones, 2005, p.95) The function of history remains to the role of transmission of state-authorized memories as to support ethnic, regional, or political identities in both Nationalist and Communist China (Jones, 2005, p.94). 2.3 New Problems rise from the reshaping of Chinese Young Peoples Identity under the circumstance of globalization One issue that should concern us is the national curriculum under the influence of globalization. In the process of reconstruction of Chinese young peoples identity through national curriculum, there may be a tendency of ignoring the influence brought by globalization to Chinas society. The globalization brings significant changes in the aspects of social and cultural life to Chinese young people in and outside school, however, the designers of curriculum seem to ignore the phenomena and continuously draw up exam-oriented curriculum which focuses on building students national and cultural identity within the nation (Mccarthy, C., Giardina, M. D., Harewood, S. J., Park, J., 2003, p.454). It is likely that the over-emphasizing of national and cultural identity in national curriculum will bring negative effect on the awareness of the diversity cultural values in the world. Encouraging an understanding and appreciation of other cultures is the concept promoted in the international education (Cambridge, J., Thompson, J., 2004, p.162). While, Blaney (cited in Walker, 2000, p.200) suggests that Education systems rooted mainly in national concerns and constrained by national ideologies cannot educate young people to live meaningfully in a world society which is global. In the circumstance of globalization, it could be suggested that popular culture should be added into education. The popular culture should be understood as crucial terrain of political and social contestation, negotiation, and resistance that makes up the ever-shifting boundaries and alliances of youth identity formation (Mccarthy, C., Giardina, M. D., Harewood, S. J., Park, J., 2003, p.463). This section mainly deals with the challenge of Chinese culture on the aspect of Chinese young peoples identity under the influence of Globalization. A framework is built through concepts of identity, the formation and crisis of Chinese young peoples identity. Then, identity crisis of Chinese young people is analyzed and the ways of reshaping identity is presented. At last, it is critically analyzed the problem in the process of reshaping Chinese young peoples identity.

A research proposal on contract strategies for projects in the subsea oil and gas industry Essay

Introduction In different subsea oil and gas projects developments, the award of large contracts for a variety of works is undertaken.   Nevertheless, the overall strategy for distributing these contracts to different contractors is the main issue regarding to contracting strategy. The recent researches on the field of contract strategies establish that the world is growing very fast technologically thus provoke the need for further exploration for sources of energy especially in subsea oil and gas industry. Furthermore, a profound increase in the projects complexity, increase in projects sizes as well as the intensified international engagements in related issues characterize oil and gas projects in the present world. Although these projects are based in the sea, it is argued by different scholars that construction processes have numerous groups of individuals and companies who get involved either as suppliers, buyers or as the real builders. To maintain and ensure ethical relationships among the various stakeholders contracts are formed.   A contract is a legal term that is either written or spoken as an agreement between two or more parties for the purpose of the delivery of particular services in return for money or any other valuable asset (Blum, 2007, p. 88). In projects related to subsea oil and gas engineering, the process and the character of contracting and presentation of projects contracts is of great significance for the future course of the project and as well for the general success of the project. As far as subsea oil and gas industry is concerned, contracts are the critical tolls for the allocation of tasks, risks and responsibilities. Most importantly, contracting strategies in the above discussed industry takes into account the division of responsibilities within the project cycle, the desired allocation of risks, splitting of engaged parties and services among the involved groups as well as taking into account the   interface and the market situation. Realistic selection of contracting strategies is the foundation of realization of goals and objectives of such projects. According to Blum (2007), it is of importance for involved stakeholders in such projects to have the awareness and knowledge about the particular characteristics of probable contracting strategies.   Contracting strategies refer to the strategies in all stages of a project that establish a level of integration in design, the actual construction and ongoing maintenance in a project and gives support to t he project in form of risk delivery, risk allocation and incentivisation. The Rationale of the Research Considering the increased exploration and initialization of subsea oil and gas exploration and extraction projects, it is of importance to acknowledge the significance of instigating effective and realistic contracting strategies, as they are key to the success of each and every projects. For this reason, it is important to bring into light various contracting strategies by discussing, exploring and analyzing the impacts of such strategies in subsea oil and gas engineering. It is in this respect that the research that will follow will go even deep to thrash out the advantages as well as the shortcomings of different contracting strategies with respect to various literatures in the specific field. Research issue As many comprehend, there has been very little in terms of research concerning contracting strategies especially in the subsea oil and gas sector.   Although few study this issue, many companies are investing in the industry probably ending up adopting one or several contracting strategies. It is therefore a major issue when the necessary research that can guide these companies in selecting the best approaches is unavailable. Research Aim The aim of this research will be to investigate various types of contract strategy used in the subsea oil and Gas Industries and the consideration made before choosing for a particular project. In addition, the research will provide insight in various concept of contracting strategies besides going deep to unclothe various strategies used in the subsea oil and gas industries. Furthermore, the research will explore, discus and determine the role of contract strategy in project management by comparing and evaluating their impacts on a project by applying cost reimbursable contract strategy and lump sum contract strategy. Finally, the study will materialize in identifying the benefits and disadvantages of the various types of contract strategies. The importance of the study On the event of the completion of this planned research,   it is anticipated that various stakeholders in subsea gas and oil industry will be provided with adequate   and vital information about contracting strategies in the field, their impacts on general project   performance, their advantage and disadvantages as well being equipped with information on the roles of various contracting strategies. Research questions To these ends, the study calls on the following research questions: What are the various types of contracting strategies used in the subsea oil and gas industry? What are the considerations made before choosing a contracting strategy? What are the roles of contracting strategies in the subsea oil and gas industry? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the discussed contracting strategies? The empirical part of the research examines the theoretical framework of the perspective of different contracting strategies, their effectiveness, their roles as well as the benefits and shortcomings that accrue as a result of their espousal. Literature review During the initial stages of any project, the main issue that faces the project management stakeholders is to make informed decisions on which contract strategies to adopt that best suits the project for successful achievement of the projects goals and objectives (Inkpen & Moffett, 2011, p. 187). According to Babusiaux (2007), contract strategy refers to the process or the endeavor to select an organizational or projects contractual policy that is required for the execution of specific projects within the major venture. Most importantly, a proper and effective contract strategy for a project especially the ones related to subsea oil and gas industry involves making of five critical and basic decisions that include; setting of the projects objectives and constraints and making of informed decisions on the selection of proper project delivery method. In addition deciding on selection of proper contract type as well as adopting realistic contract administrative mechanisms serves as a basis for triumphant selection of contracting strategies.   Nevertheless, in the subsea oil and gas engineering projects, a contract type is selected by the managers of the project through the advice of the projects engineers and his or her legal advisor. However, the selection in this case must meet the objectives and the goals of the project and be able to take into account the constraints that relate to the project. The objectives are in terms of the time objectives, functional performance, transfer of technology, use of local materials and resources, allocation and payment of risks as well as cost objectives among others. This lead to a reflective increase in the projects complexity, increase in projects sizes as well as the intensified international engagements. Essentially, there are different contracting strategies in subsea oil and gas industry. The contracting strategies include; Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracting strategy, Engineering Procurement and Construction with Long Lead Items (EPC with LLIs), Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management strategy (EPCM) as well as the Progressive Lump Sum (PLS) (Ross   & Williams, 2012, p. 236). As a matter of fact, the selection of a specific contracting strategy in the subsea oil and gas industry depends on the level of risk an owner of a project dares to undertake and in most cases it reflects the desired peril, the goal and the aspirations of the owner. For that reason, the specific features and factors of the particular project have to be handled with an in-depth analysis and compared to the characteristics of the respective strategy in a manner that provides a foundation for deciding and choosing on the most appropriate solution (Babusiaux, 2007, p. 116). As all this contracting strategies are based on the procurement process, it is basically known that supply chain in the industry of oil and gas has not been taken seriously for quite some time and this has resulted to significant drawbacks . Nevertheless, technological changes lead to the development of core values that aim only at fast exploration with consequent high production of oil and gas products. According to Piskarev & Shkatov (2012) before selecting a contracting strategy to implement, owners of subsea oil and gas projects should ensure that, they consider basic attributes that determine which effective strategy works best in particular environments. To maximize on this, the key factors to consider in such cases include; the type, the size and the location of the subsea industry.   Additionally, as mentioned in the overview, decisions should consider risk allocations, the projects interface, the time constraints   and the market structure among many other factors. References Inkpen, A. C., & Moffett, M. H. (2011). The global oil & gas industry: management,   Ã‚  Ã‚   strategy & finance. Tulsa, Okla, PennWell. Blum, B. A. (2007). Contracts: examples & explanations. Austin, Wolters Kluwer Law &   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Business Babusiaux, D. (2007). Oil and gas exploration and production: reserves, costs, contracts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Paris, France, Editions Technip. Piskarev, A., & Shkatov, M. (2012). Energy Potential of the Russian Arctic Seas Choice of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   development strategy. Burlington, Elsevier Science. Ross, A., & Williams, P. (2012). Financial Management in Construction Contracting.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Chicester, Wiley.

The World Wide Web - 1070 Words

We’re able to get informations thanks to the internet, the wild network connecting millions of computers and other devices across the world. The English computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989, after 20 years the first connection was established over what is today as we known as the Internet. Although the internet has been around since the 1970, but it was the invention of the World Wide Web that really changed people’s life. There is a early film which the scenario designed based on web, many previous case exist for the idea that the real world is an illusion, and the Matrixtrilogy is connected with specific references to philosophers who have interpreted this idea. For example, The Greek philosopher†¦show more content†¦In this film, it is suggested that people should be free before they reach a certain age because there are also some people who will never be able to accept the reality of the world. The Matrix is another kind of reality that exists in itself. Despite its existence as a simulation, the actions people perform within the Matrix are perceived by the mind as real. Thus, if you are removed by the Matrix, you will die in the real world as well because the mind perceives what occurs within the Matrix as real. The mind views that all things within the Matrix as real, and despite the fact that the characters have the ability to bend the laws of physics to perform superhuman feats because they know that the Matrix is a simulation, they cannot defy the mind’s perception of personal injury or death. The Matrix also has connection with a philosophical question posed by French philosopher Rene Descartes. One of Descartes’s important idea was intellectual autonomy, or the ability to think for ourselves. He also indicates that we should not just having a â€Å"good mind†, but also â€Å"applying it well†. Descartes realized that his sensory experiences did not always equal to the reality, he used the example of Wax to demonstrate how unreliable the senses are: our perceptiveness allow us to know that a piece of wax has a specific smell,shape and texture. But these informations we received will all change when the wax is got close to a flame.

The Collapse Of The Soviet Union - 1689 Words

The collapse of the Soviet Union had ended the communist hold on Eastern Europe and surrounding former communist states. The year 1990 had also marked the beginning of rapid economic and social transition from a communist state to a democratic market based economy. Milton Friedman coined the term shock policy, also referred to as economic liberalism, to describe the abrupt release of currency and price controls, the extraction of state subsidies, large scale privatization of former public owned assets, and immediate trade liberalization. Jeffrey Sachs further evolved Friedman’s notion to create his own coined concept, shock therapy. The first occurrence of the liberal economic concept of shock policy centred on the ideals of the University of Chicago, transpired in Chile in 1975, carried out by the military coup lead by Augusto Pinochet to initiate neoliberal pro-market reforms. Shock therapy, economic liberalism, grew in popularity in the 1970’s, becoming the com mon answer to battle economic crisis. This paper will examine the use of shock therapy in the transition of post- communist states, comparing and contrasting the benefits and consequences of initializing such a rapid reform. This paper will examine the state of Poland that has successfully transitioned through shock therapy to open market democracies and those who had failed to transition because of it, investigating the obstacles and drawbacks. Since 1990 Eastern European countries from the Baltic to theShow MoreRelatedThe Collapse Of The Soviet Union949 Words   |  4 PagesThe collapse of the Soviet Union can ultimately be attributed to three broad, complex, and interconnected issues: The economy, Leadership, and Geography. All three of theses factors are interconnected and each contain several reasons why they contributed to the ultimate collapse of the Soviet Union. 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Mo reover, The Soviet Union sudden collapse, which was composed of fifteen countries, exposed the downfall of the political and economic rule of Communism, which was put in place by the Bolshevik revolution in November of 1917. Many westerners predicted and or were happy that the Communistic ruled country finally saw it’s ending, which left only one dominate nationRead MoreThe Collapse Of The Soviet Union906 Words   |  4 PagesThe quick collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 appalled everyone in the West, but that is because no one outside the Soviet Union knew what was going on. The Soviet government’s lies of economic success and superiority over the Western capitalist states had controlled the citizens of Russia to believe that the USSR’s Communist regime was growing for half a decade. It wasn’t until Mikhail Gorbachev that mocked previous leaders like Stalin and Brezhnev for being responsible for not improving the SovietRead MoreThe Collapse Of The Sovi et Union1649 Words   |  7 PagesThe collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991 marked the beginning of Russia’s transition from a communist system to a market-based economy and democratic political system. Russia, despite being a nation rich with natural resources such as oil, fell into a state of economic instability and continued to weaken throughout the 1990s. The situation escalated until the point of financial collapse on August 17, 1998, resulting in a 90-day suspension on payment to foreign creditors, a default on domesticRead MoreThe Collapse Of The Soviet Union1529 Words   |  7 PagesYuqing He In the year of 1991, the socialist giant –Soviet Union collapsed. At the beginning, many people expected a fast tend of democratization to spread all around not only Russia but also even the whole Eurasian areas. However, this expectation did not come into reality. Or in other words, Russia was anticipated to accept a total new political order internally and externally. But transitions are never so easy. Sometimes, they can be extremely difficult and painful. From my point of view, evenRead MoreThe Collapse Of The Soviet Union1375 Words   |  6 PagesSCENARIO THREE: The Break Up The third scenario is probably the most traumatic. It is a chaotic collapse of the Eurozone, starting in Greece but spreading to Spain and Italy. The core countries will be more disconnected from the current crisis and will not feel responsibility for the consequences of unsuitable decisions made in the European Commission. Countries suffering the crisis will come to the conclusion that the core countries have achieved competitiveness and success at the expenses of otherRead MoreThe Collapse Of The Soviet Union2728 Words   |  11 Pagesthe structures and regulations that have protected bested interest groups. To what extent was the crisis of the Soviet economy, 1990-91, a direct outcome of the reforms undertaken under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev? The swap of the Communist flag in the Kremlin on December 25th 1991 for a Russian tricolour, was the official acknowledgement of the collapse of the Soviet Union; a political, economical and ideological system that had reigned over the vast territory for decades. The dissolutionRead MoreThe Collapse Of The Soviet Union Essay1255 Words   |  6 PagesAbstract The collapse of the Soviet Union left a gap in the educational system of the Soviet republics including Ukraine (Polese 47). Since independence the Ukrainian Constitution guarantees compulsory education for all children and provides federal funds to public schools (4). Every child has a chance to go to elementary school and middle school: however, only 30 percent of school graduates have a chance to go to higher education, especially in agricultural areas of the country [2]. Another majorRead MoreThe Collapse Of The Soviet Union1686 Words   |  7 PagesThe collapse of the Soviet Union ended one era of American Security Concerns, but it gave rise to another more extensive era. This era would be marked by concern over the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction throughout former Soviet countries and other unstable nations. Every president from George H.W. Bush to Obama would mark this issue as a key threat to the nation’s security. The true question is what would each o f these presidents do about the threat. Since World War II the United States