International Relations Essay

International relations (IR) is the study of relationships among countries, the roles of sovereign states, inter-governmental organizations (IGO), international non-governmental organizations (INGO), non-governmental organizations (NGO), and multinational corporations (MNC). International relations is an academic and a public policy field, and so can be positive and normative, because it analyzes and formulates the foreign policy of a given State. As political activity, international relations dates from the time of the Greek historian Thucydides (ca. 460–395 BC), and, in the early 20th century, became a discrete academic field (No. 5901 in the 4-digit UNESCO Nomenclature) within political science. However, international relations is an interdisciplinary field of study.[3] Besides political science, the field of international relations draws intellectual materials from the fields technology and engineering, economics, history, and international law, philosophy, geography, and social work, sociology, anthropology, and criminology, psychology and gender studies, cultural studies and culturology. The scope of international relations comprehends globalization, state sovereignty, and international security, ecological sustainability, nuclear proliferation, and nationalism, economic development and global finance, terrorism and organized crime, human security, foreign interventionism, and human rights. History The history of international relations can be traced back to thousands of years ago; Barry Buzan and Richard Little, for example, consider the interaction of ancient Sumerian city-states, starting in 3,500 BC, as the first fully-fledged international system.[4] The official portraits of King WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw IV dressed according to French, Spanish and Polish fashion reflects the complex politics of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Thirty Years’ War The history of international relations based on sovereign states is often traced back to the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, a stepping stone in the development of the modern state system. Prior to this the European medieval organization of political authority was based on a vaguely hierarchical religious order. Contrary to popular belief, Westphalia still embodied layered systems of sovereignty, especially within the Holy Roman Empire.[5] More than the Peace of Westphalia, the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713 is thought to reflect an emerging norm that sovereigns had no internal equals within a defined territory and no external superiors as the ultimate authority within the territory’s sovereign borders. The centuries of roughly 1500 to 1789 saw the rise of the independent, sovereign states, the institutionalization of diplomacy and armies. The French Revolution added to this the new idea that not princes or an oligarchy, but the citizenry of a state, defined as the nation, should be defined as sovereign. Such a state in which the nation is sovereign would thence be termed a nation-state (as opposed to a monarchy, or a religious  state). The term republic increasingly became its synonym. An alternative model of the nation-state was developed in reaction to the French republican concept by the Germans and others, who instead of giving the citizenry sovereignty, kept the princes and nobility, but defined nation-statehood in ethnic-linguistic terms, establishing the rarely if ever fulfilled ideal that all people speaking one language should belong to one state only. The same claim to sovereignty was made for both forms of nation-state. (It is worth noting that in Europe today, few sta tes conform to either definition of nation-state: many continue to have royal sovereigns, and hardly any are ethnically homogeneous.) The particular European system supposing the sovereign equality of states was exported to the Americas, Africa, and Asia via colonialism and the â€Å"standards of civilization†. The contemporary international system was finally established through decolonization during the Cold War. However, this is somewhat over-simplified. While the nation-state system is considered â€Å"modern†, many states have not incorporated the system and are termed â€Å"pre-modern†. Further, a handful of states have moved beyond insistence on full sovereignty, and can be considered â€Å"post-modern†. The ability of contemporary IR discourse to explain the relations of these different types of states is disputed. â€Å"Levels of analysis† is a way of looking at the international system, which includes the individual level, the domestic state as a unit, the international level of transnational and intergovernmental affairs, and the global level. What is explicitly recognized as international relations theory was not developed until after World War I, and is dealt with in more detail below. IR theory, however, has a long tradition of drawing on the work of other social sciences. The use of capitalizations of the â€Å"I† and â€Å"R† in international relations aims to distinguish the academic discipline of international relations from the phenomena of international relations. Many cite Sun Tzu’s The Art of War (6th century BC), Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War (5th century BC), Chanakya’s Arthashastra (4th century  BC), as the inspiration for realist theory, with Hobbes’ Leviathan and Machiavelli’s The Prince providing further elaboration. Similarly, liberalism[6] draws upon the work of Kant and Rousseau, with the work of the former often being cited as the first elaboration of democratic peace theory. Though contemporary human rights is considerably different from the type of rights envisioned under natural law, Francisco de Vitoria, Hugo Grotius and John Locke offered the first accounts of universal entitlement to certain rights on the basis of common humanity. In the twentieth century, in addition to contemporary theories of liberal internationalism, Marxism has been a foundation of international relations. Study of IR Flags of the member states of the United Nations Initially, international relations as a distinct field of study was almost entirely British-centered. IR only emerged as a formal academic ‘discipline’ in 1919 with the founding of the first ‘chair’ (professorship) in IR – the Woodrow Wilson Chair at Aberystwyth, University of Wales (now Aberystwyth University[7]), from an endowment given by David Davies, became the first academic position dedicated to IR. This was rapidly followed by establishment of IR at US universities and Geneva, Switzerland. In the early 1920s, the London School of Economics’ department of international relations was founded at the behest of Nobel Peace Prize winner Philip Noel-Baker, and was the first institute to offer a wide range of degrees in the field. Furthermore, the International History department at LSE, developed as primarily focused on the history of IR in the early modern, colonial and Cold War periods. The first university entirely dedicated to the study of IR was the Graduate Institute of International Studies (now the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies), which was founded in 1927 to form diplomats associated to the League of Nations, established in Geneva some years before. The Graduate Institute of International Studies offered one of the first Ph.D. degrees in international relations. Georgetown University’s  Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service is the oldest international relations faculty in the United States, founded in 1919. The Committee on International Relations at the University of Chicago was the first to offer a graduate degree, in 1928. Now Universities in USA, UK, Europe, India, Kazakhstan, Brazil, Australia, Canada, Africa, Russia, Indonesia offer Graduate, Post-Graduate & PhD degrees in IR. Theory Main article: International relations theory Normative theory In the academic discipline of International relations, Smith, Baylis & Owens in their Introduction to Smith, Baylis & Owens (2008)[8] make the case that the normative position or normative theory is to make the World a better place and that this theoretical worldview aims to do so by being aware of implicit assumptions and explicit assumptions that constitute a non-normative position and align or position the normative towards the loci of other key socio-political theories such as political Liberalism, Marxism, political Constructivism, political Realism, political Idealism and political Globalization.

American Businesses Motivated to offer Healthcare

American Businesses Motivated to offer Healthcare Why businesses were motivated to offer healthcare American businesses were motivated to offer healthcare for their employees because of various factors. Healthcare for employees was not given the seriousness that it deserved because many organizations were not keen on this. As much as this situation started changing slowly, there are certain aspects that made it necessary for different businesses to offer healthcare for employees.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on American Businesses Motivated to offer Healthcare specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The most notable healthcare service that was offered by different business was accident insurance that took off in the early 1990s (Lane 2003, p. 23). This has been improving and nearly all businesses in America offer healthcare for employees. The motivation to offer employees healthcare could have been as a result of the changing business environment that has ultimately had an impact on healthcare in America today. This means that the changing business world as far as technological advancements are concerned made it necessary to provide healthcare for employees. In this case, such an aspect motivated business to offer healthcare because employees were supposed to be safe. In a broad perspective, it can be said that American businesses were originally motivated to offer healthcare for employees because they were supposed o give them a reason to do some tasks. Businesses saw the need to motivate their employees to be committed to what they were doing which could only be enhanced through healthcare (Lane 2003, p. 45). This means that retaining employees was becoming a hard task without offering them healthcare. In this case, businesses were motivated to offer healthcare to employees because it was an emerging and necessary competitive advantage for success in the business world that was changing. Healthcare was necessary to engage and keep employees motivat ed as the key for sustainable growth (Jacobs 2008, p. 63). The strength of healthcare could not be underestimated because it was proving to be an asset in other countries which motivated businesses in America to follow suit. As a matter of fact, it can be said that the need to keep happy employees originally motivated businesses to offer healthcare.Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More How does this choice influence healthcare in America today? The choice that was taken by different businesses has greatly influenced healthcare in America today. Most notably, it has become a necessity for businesses to offer healthcare for employees. This is because the business world is competitive based on the fact that every organization is competing for the best employees in the market. There is no business that can attract the best talent in the market without healthcare for employees which has changed as time goes by. This choice has influenced healthcare in America as far as spending is concerned (Jacobs 2008, p. 71). In this case, many businesses are now spending a lot of money on healthcare for employees and this has helped in improving the sector for long term sustainability. This choice has meant that any business that wants to attract the best talent should offer healthcare for employees. In this case, the business community has ended up keeping motivated employees who have improved productivity in different ways. Healthcare in America today has been influenced by this choice because the country ranks well when compared with other countries that offer health benefits (Jacobs 2008, p. 88). Because employees are always motivated, they have effectively contributed to the growth of small businesses. The most outstanding aspect is the fact that many healthcare organizations have grown tremendously because of an increase in demand for healthcare services for emp loyees (Jacobs 2008, p. 93). This is as far as growth of the healthcare industry in America is concerned. Reference List Jacobs, P. (2008). Wages and Benefits: A Long-Term View. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Lane, B. (2003). The Art Science of Pricing Small Group Medical Coverage: From Debits to Risk Factors. New York: Routledge.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on American Businesses Motivated to offer Healthcare specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More

The Definition of the Phrase Slut Shaming

The Definition of the Phrase Slut Shaming ÑSlut shaming is the deliberate act of calling a woman a slut, a whore or impugning her character in sexual terms in order to embarrass, humiliate, intimidate, degrade or shame her for actions or behaviors that are a normal part of female sexuality. Although the act of slut-shaming is not exclusive to either gender, females of every age from girls to adults often engage in slut-shaming to put down or express contempt for another female. Slut-shaming is often associated with mean girl behavior but is not restricted to that age group. A slut-shaming story from a personal blog illustrates how this practice can happen in the unlikeliest of settings: [O]ne church member...called another member a slut because of the latter’s shoes (which had been part of a Halloween costume) with stiletto heels. It was a joke...[which] hints at the truth...that even if you are a good Christian, if you also happen to be wearing certain clothes, you will be stigmatized sexually if you are a woman. Slut shaming entered the public consciousness in 2010 due to two separate events: the suicide of Phoebe Prince, a high school student who was so humiliated by her classmates that she hanged herself; and the 2010 midterm election in which two Congressional candidates, Christine ODonnell, and Krystal Ball, were attacked by the website Gawker which published an anonymous tell-all about a night spent with ODonnell and candid photos of Ball at a Christmas party posing with sex toys. Slut shaming was also depicted in the CBS series The Good Wife when a female candidates breast augmentation surgery was revealed by her male opponent. In the episode which originally aired November 9, 2010, the candidate directly addressed the situation and revealed she was a breast cancer survivor who had kept her double mastectomy a secret and was having breast reconstructive surgery following cancer treatment.

Stocks Returns Investment Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Stocks Returns Investment Analysis - Essay Example The value of R-square suggests that all variable have explained the excess returns of MYR by 47.22% which is a moderate percentage. If the intercept of the equation is analyzed, it can be observed that it is insignificant because p-valued computed is higher than the critical value of the 0.05 level of significance. Excess marker return is the best predictor among the three variables, so that it has predicted a beta coefficient of 1.7, which means that the stock is quite risky as it 0.7 time more than that of the market. However, SMB and HML did not effectively predict the excess returns of MYR.The model fit of TAH reflects that it is not quite good as hardly 14% of the stock return is explained by the model. Another interesting thing that can be noticed is that all the three variables of the Three Factor Model are unable to predict the excess returns of TAH as all of them having p-values higher than the critical values of 0.05 which is the significant level. Hence, the excess return of the TAH is found to be independent of the Three Factor Model.If the model fit of BHP is observed, it can inferred that the overall model fit is quite strong as it presents that around 77% of excess returns of BHP are explained by the Three Factor Model. If individual factors are analyzed, it can be noticed that intercept remained insignificant due to higher p-value statistics. EMR has come out as the best predictor indicating a beta coefficient of 1.38, which reflects that the stock is 38% more risky than the market.

Karl Marx - Capital Ch 7 Ch 9 Sec 1 Ch 10 Sec 1 Essay

Karl Marx - Capital Ch 7 Ch 9 Sec 1 Ch 10 Sec 1 - Essay Example Yet the legions of workers who once provided labor commodity with their hands (sweat equity, in other words), the spindle operators, for instance, to whom Marx refers in Chapter 7, have been supplanted by a technological revolution that has made the computer a tool nearly as utilitarian and ubiquitous as the spindle once was. In the modern economy, technology transforms the very nature of labor and the way in which that labor produces wealth. In the â€Å"Information Age† economy, the laborer’s work product is intrinsically intellectual, a work type rooted in the cogitative rather than the muscular. It places a premium on communication, since computer-based labor is informational, allowing communication to take place in the blink of an eye, and requiring the laborer to locate, extrapolate and respond to Name 2 unprecedented amounts of information each day. Decision-making, even among a company’s lowest strata, becomes a necessary and desirable skill, a thing unhe ard of among submissive 19th century laborers held in thrall by exploitative capitalists. In tracing the process involved in producing yarn, Marx outlines a chain of events that assesses the worth of the raw material needed to make yarn, the spindle used to produce it and the labor expended to manufacture it.

Liberty and equality in French revolution Essay

Liberty and equality in French revolution - Essay Example Liberty and equality in French revolution There lots of downfalls regarding the state of economy which had be corrected to averting the anger from the general population .Economic volatility indeed was the factor that preceded the revolution. Improper usage finances coupled with deficit made it hard to provide for people who faced economic hard ships. Therefore the suffering of many peasant continued to reveal unfair weighty taxation that peasant have to bear. This resulted in more hardships because of the equalities between the rich and poor. Agricultural advance in agriculture in late 17th century and early 18th century couple with the birth of trade spurred the manufacturing sector that existed at the time to rapidly expand and increase production. Therefore agrarian revolution indirectly contributed to industrial revolution because agriculture provided the raw materials that were required by various manufacturing and processing industries hence contributing to their growth and expansion. Trade in Britain led to private banking as a result of the expansion. This also led to money economy characterized by trading organizations. Credit facilities appeared such as the promissory notes, bourse, state bank and other exchange media. This stimulated the economy to grow and people had more money to spend on new investments that later were turned to industries through growth.

Lifestyle Causes of Disease

Lifestyle Causes of Disease In this world whether from developed, developing and underdeveloped countries, there is no doubt that most of the people is experiencing illness and diseases. The major leading causes of illnesses are their lifestyle and standard of living. Some people argue that individuals should be responsible for their health while others argue that the government are the one who is accountable for health. In this paragraph, it tackles the insights on who need to be a liable for health, may it be social, personal and environment. Moreover, it gives the impact of the said issue on international and national policy. Also, it will discuss the justification of each solutions or intervention to address the balance responsibility for healthcare between society and family. The leading factors for the lifestyle diseases are as follows: first is high blood pressure. It is also known as hypertension. It does increase the risk for heart attack or stroke to most have this case. When a person has hypertension, usually it has no signs. That is why people should have a regular check-up of their blood pressure. The only way to know if a person is experiencing a high blood pressure is having it always high for a very long time like for three months. The causes for this illness are unknown but there is a study that it runs in the families or known as hereditary. Occasionally, glandular and kidney diseases are responsible for this. Second is tobacco use. It is considered to be common throughout the globe. It contains a raw material which has an addictive ingredient like nicotine. It is one of the most leading factor for lots of chronic diseases such as cancer, lung related diseases and cardiovascular too. As to this a number of countries are now restricting tobacc o use, regulating people who can only buy and where can they smoke. Third is unsafe sex. It is also known as unprotected sex where describe as having sex without condom. As a result of this, HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STI) can occur. Globally, the number of people getting infected with this is increasing every year. That is why using condom is important and it is effective way for preventing STI, AIDS and HIV which can be passed on during sex. Fourth is alcohol use. In order for people to socialise with others, drinking with them is way to know them. However, drinking regularly in high amount can cause lots of health conditions. These alcohol related problems are liver disease, cancer, malnutrition, impotence, infertility, nerve damage, stroke, addiction and worst is death. Fifth is obesity. Obese is defined as accumulation of too much fat inside the body and it has a negative effect on one persons health. If the person BMI is more than to its normal by 30%, it is cons idered to be obese. As to this, high number of health risk can be identified like osteoarthritis or bone degeneration, coronary heart disease, gall bladder disease, high blood pressure, respiratory problems, sleep apnoea, stroke and diabetes. Last is cancer. It is the abnormal cell growth inside the body. There are 100 types of different cancer. It harms the body wherein the damaged cells are dividing uncontrollably which forms masses and lumps except for leukaemia. These masses interferes system in our body like the circulatory, cardiovascular, digestive and respiratory system. Some of the tumours are benign but some of them turn out to be malignant, which is more dangerous to one person’s health. Consequently, countries are spending a lot of money on healthcare costs and expenditure. Since the lifestyle of a person is interrelated with the diseases, there is a question of should an individual be held responsible for their health related choices? So it is been concluded that there is a relationship between the lifestyle of a person to the diseases they are suffering and also the expenditure in the healthcare. Through this, in medical and economic point of view, individuals are morally responsible for their health related choices. However, lots of people are objecting with this idea. People are objecting with several reasons. First, there will be a conflict between individuals who are entirely responsible for their health and also the responsibility of medicine to treat people. Also, there will be a conflict between the society’s obligations to look after the vulnerable people. Second, it is not fair for individuals to be responsible for their health if they themselves cannot make a good health related choices due to addictive behaviour, ignorance, mental incapability and also peer pressure. Third, it will be extremely difficult for people to implement a system that they are totally responsible for their health to think that some people acquire disease through environmental and hereditary factors. Although, it is vital for individuals to be responsible for their health, they should not be obliged to be entirely responsible for it as it is unreachable and impossible to be done. Furthermore, the government and other healthcare providers should also be there to help the society to give full awareness of health and diseases and on how to maintain health and prevent certain illnesses. There are several ways and method on how the government, public and private healthcare sectors on how to promote health and prevent diseases. Fist is through sanitation, which defines as the safe disposal of human waste may it be urine and faeces. Also, it is known as the maintenance of proper hygiene such as rubbish collection and water waste disposal. Second is pollution control which encompasses the air, water and land. However there is an argument on how control should be done and how much control that is needed. The pollution control or the â€Å"command and control† mechanism increases the expenditure in this strategy thus making it slow to achieve a cleaner environment. Third is food and drug safety, wherein to promote and protect health FDA or the Food and Drug Administration is responsible for this. Fourth is the health education. This is also important as it increases the awareness of the public with regards of health and safety. Fifth is disease surveillance wherein the spread of a certain disease is being monitored, observed, examined and supervise to know the patterns of its progression. Also, it observes, predicts and minimizes the harm that it may cause to the public. Sixth is urban planning which ensures the development of the communities such as in transportation, infrastructures and distribution networks. It needs thorough research, planning, analysis, management, implementation and recommendation from the government. Last one is occupational health and safety which targets the safety, health and welfare of the employees or people in the workplaces. Since there are several different methods on how the society can address the health, unfortunately resources are undoubtedly limited. As a result, there is a question of where should the society needs to invest first? Also, which sectors need the most financial aids? As the promotion of healthcare for the society is very important role of the government, they should consider the prioritization method which needs a greater emphasis on delivering healthcare. There are several sectors that need to prioritize first and less emphasize on access to healthcare. First is the prevention campaign. This includes the health education in public, pollution control, pesticide or chemical regulation, food and drug safety, disease surveillance and occupational health. There is a saying that â€Å"prevention is better than cure†. So it is believe that the government should invest the money on the said different prevention of the disease than treatment. Also, everyone can be benefitted from these services like clean water and air, safe food, sanitation, urban planning, control of pest and pesticides and disaster preparedness. Furthermore, the cost-effectiveness of these services is very important in consideration in healthcare and social policy. Moreover, there are also some drawbacks on having these strategies. First is that, one of its problems with having social responsibility for health, there is a tendency that it may encourage individuals to take less responsibility of their health. People might go dependent on those services. On the other hand, some healthcare services or health promotion can empower the individuals to look after their own health. For example, sex education, which gives every individual a knowledge on how to avoid sexually transmitted diseases. Urban planning can also give them healthy choices with regards to workplace, transportation and recreation. In conclusion, every individual and society itself has its own responsibility to take into account in which they live in. People should know how to look after their health and should also pay for their healthcare costs. People should not be also dependent on the amenities that the public services are offering. While the government and other healthcare services should not stop helping the community in health promotion and prevention for the welfare and development of the society. As to the national and international policy, these strategies are considered to be a big help as it is cost effective and easy to implement than building healthcare infrastructures which are costly and expensive.