Explication of a Poem: Making a Fist by Naomi Shihab Nye

The title contributes, to us readers as it shows, that we are alive and strong as long as we can still make a fist. The person speaking in this poem is speaking to her daughter after a long car ride of days and days, maybe even weeks. Her mother is giving her comfort and reassuring her that even though people go through obstacles, you need to be strong enough to go through many aspects in life to bring happiness. And just tells her if you can still make a fist you are still alive. You will make it through because she believes her daughter has the strength to get through all the obstacles they have and will go through. This poem is very easy to understand, I think she did very well with her words and references of the content. I believe this story develops as a true statement, I think the lady speaking with her daughter has gone through similar obstacles as a child and her mother reassured her as she does for her daughter. It is always important to tell your children that they are strong and can make it through anything and that’s all she is trying to do. Many people face difficult times in life and that’s why it sounds so much like a true statement then just a story. Strength is very important to have and is always nice to have someone’s reassurance. Main idea of this poem is Strength. To never give up, and you are strong enough to get through anything even at rock bottom. The figurative language is symbolism the writer is giving her worlds to create the image using more meaningful words rather than a writers experience.

Within the Context of the Period 1895-1995?

Within the context of the period 1895-1995 to what extent were the anti-Semitic policies implemented by the right wing elites during the Vichy Regime from 1940-1944 a reflection of their popularity within France? To this day the period of French Occupation and the Vichy Regime remains one of the most contentious and sensitive in modern French history.After suffering a crushing military defeat to Germany in the summer of 1940 an armistice was signed and the country was divided: the northern half of France including the capital was occupied by the German forces and became the zone occupee and in the southern unoccupied zone, the zone libre, the ‘autonomous’ yet collaborationist government was set up in the town of Vichy headed by Marshal Philippe Petain. Petain’s government collaborated with the German forces in deportation of some 75,000 Jews who perished in Auschwitz . JJ) These 4 years in French history which have become known as the ‘Dark Years’ sti ll to this day weigh heavily on the French national conscience. Consequently in post-war France there was a widely shared desire to erase these years from French history. The French post-war leaders that had, for the most part, emerged from the Resistance attempted to erase Vichy from French history through not acknowledging the government as legitimate. De Gaulle refused announce ‘the restoration of the French Republic†¦ n the grounds that it had never ceased to exist. ’ De Gaulle had no need to encourage examination of this shameful period of French History and instead went about reinterpreting the Vichy years as the years of the Resistance. However this myth of the Resistance ignored many of the harsh and unfavourable realities of French life during the occupation. Robert Paxton’s Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order marked the first phase of study of Vichy and was written at a time when the Gaullist myth was being questioned and challenged.His historica l study somewhat dispelled the generally accepted and favourable view that Vichy’s collaboration was on the whole involuntary. In addition to this he set about instating Vichy into France’s wider historical context rather than allowing it to be viewed as an anomaly in France’s history. Another work contemporary to Paxton’s study was Marcel Ophuls’ The Sorrow and the Pity an unprecedentedly scathing depiction of the French people under Occupation. Both of these works challenged de Gaulle’s revised version of the French occupation and sought about to shed light on he true nature of the Vichy Regime and France under occupation. Paxton dispelled the view that Vichy collaboration was entirely involuntary and that the line between voluntary and involuntary collaboration ran between Laval and Petain. What this revealed is that the anti-Semitic views that the Vichy government pursued could not said to be fully enforced by the German occupiers. This gives rise to the debate to what extent were the policies followed by the Vichy regime actually their own or were they rather pursued out of necessity to maintain France’s sovereignty as Vichy sympathisers argued.Perhaps what was most abhorrent about the Paxton’s study to the French public was that he made the bold assertion that the nature of the Vichy regime and its policies could be assimilated into the wider French political culture which essentially is the suggestion that the anti-Semitism that proliferated under Vichy was not exclusively present in Vichy. Similarly Ophuls’ documentary suggests that the attitudes adopted by the French public presents a social culture where anti-Semitism was acceptable.However it must be acknowledged that whilst the abovementioned present a scathing unfavourable depiction of French social and political culture this by no means can be said to , as Julian Jackson writes: ‘The history of the Occupation should be written n ot in black and white, but in shades of grey. ’ (JJ) Jackson here comments the complexity of the period of Occupation and the Vichy regime itself whilst Vichy followed policies of anti-Semitism it set about protecting French Jews from the extremities of the German occupation.Whilst the public opinion can be described as attentiste indifference to the Jew’s fate didn’t mean the French public actively encouraged the persecution of the Jewish population. In considering the extent to which Vichy’s policies are a reflection of their popularity in France requires an appreciation of the inherently nuanced nature of the period. The debate between whether Vichy’s collaboration with Germany was voluntary or involuntary is important in forming a judgement on the motives behind the policies the regime implemented.It is noteworthy that both Laval and Petain believed that Germany had won the war and the British would soon surrender. This gave rise three distinct motives behind voluntary collaboration; politico-administrative, politico-diplomatic and the alleviation of the impact caused by the Armistice on daily life. Despite the fact that in theory the Vichy administration was in control of the Occupied Zone this control was very much subjected to German regulation.By actively collaborating with the Germans Vichy leaders hoped to maintain this balance of German intervention in the administration of the country fearing that not being forthcoming with collaboration would encourage further loss of Vichy autonomy. The politico- diplomatic motive was based on the assumption that the Germans had won the war and set about creating an environment for favourable peace treaty negotiations with the victorious axis powers.There had already been portentous signs of the division of France in the Occupied Zone; for example, ‘The two departments of the Nord and Pas-de-Calais were attached to the German military command in Brussels. ’ (JJ) Thi s was to prepare for the British invasion however once this was called off the refugees that had been removed from the area were not returned and instead their properties were being prepared to be handed over to German settlers.If this was to be the case then it was essential for there to be goodwill between Vichy and the Germans in order to ensure favourable terms in the, believed to be, imminent treaty. Much of these considerations harkened back to the German annexation of Alsace-Lorraine after French defeat in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. The third consideration behind collaboration was to limit the effects of the armistice on the daily lives of French people by being cooperative in other terms of the armistice the French had hoped to limit some of the other strands of the agreement that had become increasingly burdensome.For example, the financial strains being placed on France by the German war effort had been increasingly problematic. These motives exonerate Vichy from the stigma associated with a policy of collaborationism as they present a concerted desire to preserve French interests. However, whilst these were overarching intentions behind collaboration by becoming actively involved in appeasing the Germans Vichy began down the slippery slope of complicity that would eventually lead to the extremes of collaboration.For example, Theodor Dannecker’s radicalisation of anti-Semitic policy in the Occupied Zone meant in order for Vichy to ‘preserve nominal sovereignty’ (JJ) Vichy had to follow suit and this essentially involved carrying out the anti-Semitic policy of the Germans. One can argue that Vichy’s complicity in the most extreme anti-Semitic policy was not motivated by its anti-Semitism but more the logic of their collaboration policy. Whilst Vichy made anti-Semitic policy one of its initial concerns what is clear is that, to some extent, it was necessitated by the German occupation.Viewing the Occupation from a conte mporary perspective can be problematic especially when it comes to assessing Vichy in terms of its anti-Semitic policy as the treatment of the Jews becomes the dominating factor of the Occupation. However, in order to gain a true appreciation of the Occupation one must contend with the fact that the anti-Semitic policy pursued by the Vichy elites was but a facet of the regime’s policy and its concerns. Nevertheless, this is not to say that Vichy did not have its own autonomous and indigenous anti-Semitic policies.The degree of enthusiasm in which Vichy administrators pursued anti-Semitic policy varies however within the Vichy government many anti-Semites were active who acted out of a very much French interpretation of the ‘Jewish Problem’. Xavier Vallat, a Catholic and former member of the extremist right wing group Action Francaise and head Commissariat-General for Jewish Questions from 1941-1942 ( CGQJ), remained during his trial before the High court of Justi ce in December 1947 unrepentantly anti-Semitic.In fact he used his anti-Semitism as a defence claiming that he cannot be accused of collaborating with the French ‘since his ant-Semitism was authentically French†¦ ’ (JJ) However contradictory this may seem as a defence it sheds light on an important reality: the crime anti-Semitism was seen as less of a crime than voluntary collaboration. This reality vindicates Vallat’s claim of his indigenous anti-Semitism; his willingness to concede his own anti-Semitism is an attempt to normalise it and thus is revealed an attitude that propagated in right-wing political culture.When one considers Vallat himself was a former member of right wing group Action Francaise that was borne out of the Dreyfus Affair (1894-1906), in which an innocent Jewish officer was accused of treason having been framed by the military that coalesced with other institutions of the right. We see that this attitude is one that has existed within the political culture of the right within France, one that predates Vichy and perhaps more significantly postdates Vichy. What’s more is that Vallat himself was removed by Laval in April 1942 for is all too evident dislike of the German occupiers.Vallat was both a passionate anti-Semite and an ardent nationalist what can be garnered from this is that whilst Vichy followed a policy of anti-Semitism this was not done in order to maintain the terms of collaboration with the occupiers rather we see that Vichy’s autonomous Jewish policy irrefutably has roots in French anti-Semitism. John Sweets argues that: ‘Vichy attention had been turned to the Jews from the first months of the regime’s existence’. Several examples of Vichy anti-Semitic legislation corroborate this view.The Jewish Statute issued in 1940 imposed by the Vichy administration were the beginning of a web of legislation that would deprive Jewish citizens of the right to hold public office, m ake them a lower class and eventually denaturalise them. It is noteworthy that this statute was not imposed by the Germans. What’s more is that an ordinance passed by the Germans in September 1940 defining the criterion of being Jewish was extended by Vichy to make more Jewish people susceptible to the anti-Semitic policies in work by both the German and the French.This lead to Dannecker ordering ‘the wider definition of Jewishness to be used in preference to the slightly more restrictive German one. ’ There are several examples of the Vichy administrators going beyond the demands of the occupiers in Jewish policy what this reveals is a truly independent desire to address the aforementioned French interpretation of the ‘Jewish problem’ . During the years of the occupation the Jews in France became caught between two, not entirely separate but distinct nonetheless, projects of anti-Semitism.The defining dichotomy of the occupation is ‘collaborat ion’ and ‘resistance’ this seemingly clear contrast however neglects the complexity of the period. One may assume that being a part of the Resistance entails being opposed to the existence and policy of the Vichy regime; however, this was not always the case. Among those in the Resistance were those who supported Petain and the anti-Semitic policies as well as the contrary.In debating whether Vichy attitudes reflected wider French attitudes the stance of the Resistance form a counterpoint; what we see in particular regarding anti-Semitism the lines between Vichy and the Resistance are quite obscure. There was ambivalence towards the plight of the Jews present in Resistance. One respondent to a questionnaire, drafted in October 1943, to evaluate the political attitudes of the Resistance desired all Jews to be ‘kept out of all governmental and public functions’; another ‘the relegation of all Jews, Freemasons†¦ nd former politicians. â€℠¢ However, one must not overstate the similarities between the Resistance and Vichy, they differed on fundamental lines; The Resistance did in fact come to actively oppose Vichy anti-Semitism. However, what is important is that even among the Resistance there was conceived to be a ‘Jewish problem’ whilst they opposed Vichy’s methods the roots of anti-Semitism are visible even amongst those who opposed it in Occupied France.This common ground between those considered collaborationists and members of the Resistance created a state in France where one could move into the Resistance without making any ‘fundamental ideological adjustments. ’ This is characterised by Francois Mitterand, who was to later become president of the 5TH republic, who joined the Resistance after being a prominent Petainist. What we witness is that the principals of the Vichy regime were present in that of its opposition. This reality presents the fact that the Vichy regime cannot be viewed as an anomalous French government.Whilst Vichy and the Resistance oppose each other fundamentally the similarities between these two distinct bodies reveal that in fact Vichy can be assimilated in terms of its ideals into a wider French political culture. However in order to make this assumption the nature of the Vichy regime itself must be assessed. The nature of Petain’s regime was authoritarian Julian Jackson comments that ‘Vichy functioned like a court†¦ At the centre of the court was Petain. ’ Petain was Head of state and had the power to appoint and sack ministers at will.Indeed the Vichy regime was as turbulent as the Third Republic with there being ministerial reshuffles frequently. Vichy did not view itself as a stop-gap French government the occupation of France and the armistice offered France a historic opportunity for political change. Paxton makes the assertion that: ‘the excitement aroused’ at the introduction of this N ational Revolution serves as evidence that Vichy was no mere caretaker regime but rather that there was general dissatisfaction at the state of the Republic pre second World War and as aforementioned politicians.The National Revolution ‘defined itself†¦ in opposition to liberal individualism which uprooted people from the ‘natural’ communities of family, workplace and religion. ’ Vichy also embarked on a programme of moral regeneration for France hoping to rid France of its undesirables (mainly Jews, Freemasons and Communists). Vichy also established a personality cult around Petain this involved portraits of the Marshal were commissioned to be placed in municipal buildings in the unoccupied zone. One can trace lineage from the style and nature of the Vichy regime from Daladier’s Republic that precedes Vichy.The authoritarian style of Daladier is reflected in Petain’s position as Vichy Premier not only that but Daladier’s rhetoric of family values, the role of religion and moral regeneration are remarkably similar to the stance taken by Petain, this continuity of the mantras of these two government go some way to disprove the post-war myth that Vichy was a reactionary clique. Elements of the Vichy style of government would even postdate the regime in the Fifth Republic under de Gaulle. He too believed, like Petain and the Vichy elites, that the former structure of the French Republic was ineffective. e Gaulle’s revision to the constitution empowered him and created a more stable but undoubtedly more authoritarian state. Paxton and Marrus make the assertion that: ‘The government of Petain did not invent the anti-Jewish programme†¦ Every element of this program was present in the years preceding the fall of the Third Republic. ’ The wave of anti-Semitism that surged with the arrival of the Vichy regime cannot simply attributed to the anti-Jewish sentiments that erupted in the 30’ s due to the social and economic issues of the great depression and in the late 30’s the fears of a 2nd world war.Anti-Jewish sentiments were an undercurrent in French political and social culture, a volatile force that at sometimes would be restrained by some ‘external pressure’ but other times could burst out after having amalgamated with economic or social hardship. For example, the dormancy of anti-Semitism can be attributed to the fact that many French Jews fought and died in the 2nd world war and the third tenet of the French national motto is fraternite. As Maurras described this sense of brotherhood led to a ‘semi-tolerance’ of the Jews at the time.However in the 30’s during a time of economic contraction, high unemployment and hardship who more vulnerable a target for blame than the foreigners and Jews? What became central to anti-Jewish sentiment during the 30s a growing obsession with the shortcomings of France. With the sense of in security of the 30’s Jews became a symbol and cause of this ‘terrible French inadequacy’ a phrase coined by a contemporary French novelist. This is what allowed anti-Semitic feeling to permeate the sensibilities of the ‘average’ Frenchman.Similarly the rhetoric of anti-Semitism had become so imbued in the French lexis that one even if speaking against anti-Semitism would speak in a way that would jar modern sensibilities. Anti-Semitism was imbued in France in a way permeated all facets of existence. It is noteworthy that Paxton’s seemingly harsh depiction of this historical track of French anti-Semitism is influenced by the time in which he produced his history. Writing in the 70’s he set about to dispel the Gaullist myth that had been largely accepted by the French public that allowed Vichy to detached from French social and political history/ culture.Paxton’s assertion however does not ignore some shocking realities take for ex ample that some 30 years after the Dreyfus affair a production of the play in Paris was broken up by right-wing toughs. Despite the fact that Vichy collaborators contributed to the genocide of European Jewish population whilst anti-Jewish sentiments were assuaged as Paxton argues they are an undercurrent ever –present in French society. Even among who formed the government in the wake of Vichy still possessed this anti-Semitism.Radical Pierre Mendes France PM of the 5th Republic between 1954-55 was forced to resign as his Jewish background made him unpopular with his contemporaries. Not only this but right-wing movements formed in the post-war period the right wing Poujadist movement that was opposed to industrialisation undermining France’s rural wholesome values- remarkably similar to Vichy ethics. However this attitude was not simply preserved among the cliques of right-wing it is noteworthy that Jean Marie Le Pen of the right-wing National Front Party forced a seco nd round of voting in the Presidential election of 2002 having obtained 16. 6% of voting in the first round. Not only do we see a revival of anti-Semitic right wing cliques but as late as 2002 we see genuine support for these movements in France. The simple assertion can be made that if France had not been somewhat accustomed to a political and social culture of anti-Semitism the policies enacted by the Vichy regime surely would have been abhorrent to the French public and caused general outrage. However in assessing the response of the French public the different stances of the French is an important consideration as well as the main concerns facing the population at the time.The prevailing attitudes towards the Jewish people at the start of the period were that of attentisme, indifference and hostility. The French public, on a personal level, had more serious concerns to contend with life in Occupied France was made much more difficult by the fact and many French people sought to look after their own interests therefore the plight of the Jewish people became an occurrence that was largely ignored between 1940-1942. However Julian Jackson makes the distinction that: ‘Indifference to the fate of the Jews was not the same as non- involvement in it. This was the case as ‘The application of the both Statutes drew people into complicity with anti-Semitism’. Whilst the politicians drafted the measures that would put Jewish quotas in their professions and exclude Jewish teachers the people who ran these professional organisations were made complicit in the anti-Semitism by exacting these measures. Indeed the smoothness in the way in which the Statutes were implemented gives evidence to the disregard of the French people to the unethical nature of the policy.However it is difficult to determine whether the indifference to the plight of the Jews was indeed ‘enough to characterise the attitude of the French population as one of active anti-Semi tism’ or whether the attitudes of the French public towards the Jewish population were a result of the need to protect one’s own interests during the Occupation or perhaps is it too scathing to the French public to describe them as ‘active’ in the anti-Semitism? In some cases, the French public acted to reinforce the opinion that they were active in anti-Semitism.In the South of France the exodus of Jews escaping the seemingly more threatening German Occupied Zone encouraged feelings of resentment and, for example, in Nice anti-Semitic incidents frequented. In there was a contrast between Jewish perception of attitudes towards them between the two zones; A Jewish observer commented at this time about the free zone: ‘here we can still move around freely and don’t fear arrest at any moment. But as for the attitude of the French one feels more at home in the Occupied Zone. This serves as evidence that in the unoccupied zone of France there were s entiments of active anti-Semitism present in that the Jewish population were subject of resentment and hostility. However, the reaction towards the Jewish population somewhat changed when the policy transitioned into deportation of the Jews. Sweets charts public reaction to the plight of the Jews as: ‘At first indifferent, insensitive†¦ and then hostile to government policy as life became increasingly precarious for the Jews with each new action against them. Whilst there was an eventual turning point in public opinion regarding the fate of the Jews it seems that the French public were willing to witness the destabilisation of the Jews within France that saw them humiliated and sectioned aside from the rest of French society but drew the line where manifestations of this destabilisation became physical i. e. having to witness babies being torn apart from mothers who are being arrested for deportation to an internment camp.Whilst a formal and somewhat discreet destabilisat ion of Jewish presence in France had been tolerable the visible sight of this seemed to be unpalatable to the French public. What becomes evident in the enacting of Vichy’s anti-Semitic policy is that it was extremely reliant on public approval. The ease of which Vichy was able to establish anti-Jewish legislation was reliant on the complicity of the French people who did not have the interests of the Jewish people at the forefront during the German occupation.However, we see that one this consensus had been broken in 1942 come to the implementation of the Final Solution Vichy policy loses effectiveness as it is undermined by civil society. We witness that the French population despite being complicit largely did in fact have a great deal of influence over the policy of Vichy. Vichy France and the German occupation has and will continue to be a contentious issue in French history.Whilst it is irrefutable that German influence in the occupation had an influence in bringing abo ut the anti-Semitic policy that proliferated under Vichy it is clear that Vichy had its own indigenous roots of anti-Semitism that almost provided this government with a historical inclination to act in the way it did. The complexity of the period disallows any sweeping judgement of the period however, an acknowledgement of the influence of German factors and an understanding of France’s own historical potential for the anti-Semitic policies allow for a nuanced appreciation of the period.Bibliography Jackson, Julian. ‘France the Dark Years 1940-1944’. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. Paxton, Robert. ‘Vichy France Old Guard ad New Order’. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001. Sweets, John. ‘Choices in Vichy France’. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. Marrus, Michael and Paxton, Robert. ‘Vichy France and the Jews’. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1981. Vinen, Richard. ‘The Unfree French: Life under the Occupation’ London: Penguin Books, 2007. http://www. wikepedia. com

China’s Economic Development since the 1950s

The last 50 years have witnessed a remarkable economic and political change in China. For many, the rise of the modern Chinese state is equaled to economic and political miracle; in reality, not the miracle, but a whole set of realistic reforms laid the foundation for the rapid economic growth in China. Chinese model of economic growth was not perfect, and evidently, the country had to pay a definite price for its wonderful and almost unbelievable achievements. However, even at times of serious economic and political crises, China did not lose the sense of its national dignity and pride. To understand the essence and the implications of the Chinese economic development means to understand the way the country was able to embrace the benefits of the communist system and the best features of the market economy; and China’s â€Å"putting people first† is the best and the most appropriate social perspective that can be used to analyze the rapid Chinese transformation over the course of 50 years. China’s Economic Development since the 1950s Introduction The last 50 years have witnessed a remarkable economic and political change in China. For many, the rise of the modern Chinese state is equaled to economic and political miracle; in reality, not the miracle, but a whole set of realistic reforms laid the foundation for the rapid economic growth in China. Chinese model of economic growth was not perfect, and evidently, the country had to pay a definite price for its wonderful and almost unbelievable achievements. However, even at times of serious economic and political crises, China did not lose the sense of its national dignity and pride. To understand the essence and the implications of the Chinese development means to understand the way the country was able to embrace the benefits of the communist system and the best features of the market economy; and China’s â€Å"putting people first† is the best and the most appropriate social perspective that can be used to analyze the rapid Chinese transformation over the course of 50 years. Pre-industrial China: the beginning of the 1950s and the legacy of the past Profound analysis of the Chinese economic and social revolution is impossible without analyzing the state of Chinese economy at the edge of the 1940s. After the Sino-Japanese War, China found itself in the midst of the growing economic crisis. â€Å"Russian troops occupied Manchuria and selectively dismantled industrial installations, carrying them off to the Soviet Union. Only the more modern and up-to-date equipment was carried off; the oldest and the most obsolete machinery was left in place† (Eckstein, 1997). Thus, by the end of the 1940s, the country was facing the deepening industrial crisis, which was accompanied by the need to restructure its system of agriculture, and to provide the national population with reasonable instruments for survival. As a result of industrial devastation, by the beginning of the 1950s Chinese industrial output fell almost 70 percent; the consumer goods output did not exceed 30 percent compared to the previous industrial peak in the 1940s (Riskin, 1987). The production decline was combined with the growing government expenses, and the government’s striving to reduce inflation and further, hyper-inflation. As a result, the nation was seeking the means of economic and social modernization; the communist model of economy and distribution has become the source and the basis of the major economic initiatives in the 1950s’ China. Late Maoism, egalitarianism, and equal distribution: putting people first Despite traditionally negative attitudes toward communism as such, late Maoism actually served the basis for developing and implementing a whole set of egalitarian policies – the policies that promoted redistribution of income and did not welcome the benefits and privileges of the social ranks and statuses. Redistribution and egalitarianism were further combined with industrialization and slow restructuring of the national agriculture. The First Five Year Plan has paved the way to rapid growth of less industrialized Chinese provinces: â€Å"all employee wages in state sector were set nationally and did not vary with labor productivity. Thus although more industrialized provinces had a higher proportion of well paid industrial workers in their industrial labor force, these workers wages were similar to those in less industrialized provinces where labor productivity was lower† (Riskin, 1987). The Great Leap initiative was developed to utilize labor surplus and to promote technological production (Eckstein, 1997). Whether those â€Å"equality† approaches were beneficial for all is not clear; but at that point of economic development the state was making everything it could to provide its citizens with material incentives for economic and social transformation. Maoism was promoting the value of unity, cohesiveness and social mobility, but those seemingly positive elements simultaneously sped up and retarded Chinese social and economic development. On the one hand, Mao was able to build a â€Å"developmentally oriented regime† (Eckstein, 1997), where people were committed to achieving the strategic national goals; on the other hand, conservative beliefs and outdated agricultural system were serious barriers to Chinese economic innovation (Eckstein, 1997). Nevertheless, Maoism was an essential component of Chinese movement to economic and social highs. Maoism positioned a Chinese citizen as the source and the center of the major transformational initiatives. Since the beginning of the 1970s, China was able to utilize the best features of Maoist egalitarianism, including personal initiative, inventiveness, innovation, and the willing to implement changes at all levels of the national economic performance. The 1970s, the revolutionary growth, and the new China By the beginning of the 1970s, China has finally realized the weakening potential of communism as the instrument of social change. At that time, the need for a new scientific development concept became evident. At the 10th Session of the Chinese Congress â€Å"the five balanced aspects – balancing urban and rural development, balancing development among regions, balancing economic and social development and opening wider to the outside world – became the major topic of discussion among deputies† (Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Houston, 2008). The need to promote social welfare pushed Chinese authorities to the need for reconsidering the major Maoist policies and reviving them in a more reasonable and measured form. China could no longer solely rely on the outdated communist values. To become an international economic power, the country had to adopt a new set of social and economic visions that would fit into the contemporary international developmental frameworks. International speed of economic development led Chinese policymakers to reevaluating the balance between agriculture, raw materials production, investment, and consumer products output. â€Å"Putting people first† has become the international top priority, and China could not ignore the significance of those humanist trends. Chinese economic openness and the development of the new market initiatives signified Chinese preparedness to a marking shift in its attitudes towards its people and the rest of the world. â€Å"Putting people first† ideals have become the leading factors of the Chinese revolution at the end of the 20th century. Ultimately, â€Å"putting people first† marked the Chinese authorities’ willingness to innovate, stimulate, and learn from their own mistakes. Conclusion â€Å"Putting people first† was the distinctive feature of the Chinese economic revolution throughout the last five decades. China was able to embrace the benefits of Maoist communism and market openness in a way that benefited the nation, and primarily, its people. Regardless whether China was following the economic ideals of equal distribution and industrialization, or whether the country was adapting to the new market order, people were the central elements of the Chinese political ideals; and â€Å"putting people first† is the most appropriate and the most reasonable perspective that can be used to analyze and evaluate Chinese way to economic and social prosperity.

Case Study - Just US Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

- Just US - Case Study Example Kicking Horse has planned to open 100% fair trade cafes in Nova Scotia to create further challenge for Just US. The company is dependent on grocery stores to sell their product despite being a strategic business unit. Retailers decide how they want to present product line offered by the company to customers hence the company has limited control over retail channel sales volume. Juliet suggested that the company should invest 7% of annual sales revenue in marketing activities rather than pre decided $20,000 for 2009. The company is following age old advertising channel complemented with news paper, magazine, boards, seasonal point of purchase advertising, CEDIF meeting and website in comparison to integrated marketing communication (for example digital marketing synchronized with other four elements of IMC) followed by competitors (Kitchen 114). The company needs to revamp existing marketing communication program in order to sustain in the competition. The company is operating with fo ur outlets whereas annual sales volume is growing at a rate of at not so attractive rate. The company needs to increase existing product line (all total eight types of offering) in order to attract more customers. Analysis of the Current Situation Competitors Main competitor for the company is Kicking Horse. Starbucks is also planning to enter fair trade coffee market while Loblaws (super market chain) is also challenging Just Us in fair trade coffee market. In accordance to the case study Kicking Horse is one of the major forces in Canadian coffee market. Kicking Horse is promoting coffee products with local name and they are also taking help of e-commerce to increase brand equity among customers. E-Commerce gave the opportunity to the company to expand business outside Canada while Just US is still operating in local market. PEST Political Government of the country influences the business in large extent in terms of providing certificate recognition for fair trade and other interv ening in import process. Economic It is evident from the case that country is under threat of recession hence premium pricing policy might not work for Just US to sell products to low income group people. Social Majority of the coffee lovers in the country gives importance on overall experience rather than enjoying only taste of coffee. Technology Competitors for the company are already using digital marketing to promote their product and introduction of web 2.0 is the next big thing to promote coffee brand. Porter’s Five Forces Threat of New Entrant Market entry barrier to enter fair trade coffee business is low and the business is also very attractive to earn revenue for new

Business commentary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Business commentary - Essay Example minds the mainstream media has been the public medium where the heated debate has erupted regarding the second amendment of the constitution or right to bear arms. Private gun ownership is constantly being assaulted by new laws and legislation limiting and imposing ever increasing licensing requirements and restrictions to legally own a firearm, but have we gone too far? The first laws enacted further restricting gun ownership have already been passed in some states. For example, a bill that bans the ownership of any gun magazines that holds more than 15 rounds has passed the Colorado senate committee on March of this year. New York, Congressman, Steve Israel since last year has been pursuing for the renewal of the soon to expire Undetectable Firearms Act, to even include something that is still in the experimental or prototype stage; firearms or parts of firearms that could in the future be easily printed using a new wave of affordable 3d printers hitting the consumer market. The bill would not only ban the use of weapons that cannot be detected using a metal detector, but any firearm party that could potentially be manufactured in the future using 3d printer technology (Greenburg). This all out assault from the mainstream media, the federal government and local government regarding further limiting our right to bear arms is an illegal immoral atte mpt to further limit our individual freedoms, security of the free state, and further erode our U.S. Constitution (Salsman). Greenburg, A. 15 April 2013. â€Å"Lawmaker Seeks to Extend 3D-Printed Gun Ban Bill To Ammo Magazines And Other Components,† Forbes. 15 April 2013. Salsman, R. 21 December 2012. â€Å"Gutting The 2nd Amendment Is Not The Way to Deter Mass.† Forbes. 15 April 2013.

Losing Accents Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Losing Accents - Essay Example Moreover, the book just as intently defines the clash between the Hispanic and American cultures. It is a culture clash between the fast-paced American way of life and the more conservative Latin culture of the Dominican Republic, the book tackles, however, the difficulties which come with acculturation is universal. Alvarez points out that the clash stems from the conflict between the changes they need to confront in order to adapt to their new surroundings, and keeping to the customs and traditions of their homeland. The latter is clearly defined when the doctor and his wife begins sending the girls back home to Santo Domingo for the summers. The summer vacations, along with boarding schools, the analyst's couch and divorce courts are inevitable answers to the revolutionary plots that evolve at home like the discovery of pot, birth control devices and explicit love letters. Thus, the characters were undergoing a revolution as a family in exile, and an inner revolution amongst themselves as the family tries to adapt to their new home: Dr.

Romanticism in Literary France Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Romanticism in Literary France - Essay Example Eventually the royalist establishment would also have reason to be disturbed by romanticism's revolutionary ideological component and would suddenly represent some of it most vehement assailants. The difficulty of this position especially for the royalists is described by the author as a, "still more awkward position, fighting against a doctrine without being able to attack even its living followers who were all good royalists and whose support the party did not want to lose" (Lanyi 150). The revelation that to attack the genre effectively and coherently required an ad hominem excoriation of its practitioners as opposed to a formal stylistic criticism is indicative of the politicized aesthetic that defines this critical mode of discourse. Â  On stylistic grounds, the most cogent presentation that was provided in the article came from Francois-Benoit Hoffman, an orthodox critic, who intended to meet romanticism on its own literary terms in a review of Hugo's Nouvelles Odes (Lanyi 145 ). The main thrust of this argument is that romanticism seeks futilely to circumvent the real world, a world of naturalistic images and empirical references, and attempts to access the ideal world a world that is necessarily mediated by the natural. This epistemological confusion results in highly idealized, obscurantist and difficult prose. The failure to recognize the basic mediatory of romanticism fundamentally broken. The classicists' awareness of this issue prompts them to acknowledge.... The liberal antagonism towards romanticism was engendered for two specific reasons. Initially, it was seen as a decadent and extravagant form of literature whose aristocratic appeal was disturbing, and many of the practitioners of this new form of literature were members of the royalist faction in France and consequently the products of such an association were necessarily tainted with royalist ideology. Eventually the royalist establishment would also have reason to be disturbed by romanticism's revolutionary ideological component and would suddenly represent some of it most vehement assailants. The difficulty of this position especially for the royalists is described by the author as a, "still more awkward position, fighting against a doctrine without being able to attack even its living followers who were all good royalists and whose support the party did not want to lose" (Lanyi 150). The revelation that to attack the genre effectively and coherently required an ad hominem excori ation of its practitioners as opposed to a formal stylistic criticism is indicative of the politicized aesthetic that defines this critical mode of discourse. On stylistic grounds, the most cogent presentation that was provided in the article came from Francois-Benoit Hoffman, an orthodox critic, who intended to meet romanticism on its own literary terms in a review of Hugo's Nouvelles Odes (Lanyi 145). The main thrust of this argument is that romanticism seeks futilely to circumvent the real world, a world of naturalistic images and empirical references, and attempts to access the ideal world a world that is necessarily mediated by the natural. This epistemological confusion results in highly idealized, obscurantist and difficult prose. The failure to