The Effects Of Electronic Waste Management Environmental Sciences Essay

The Effects Of Electronic Waste Management Environmental Sciences Essay Electronic waste known as E-waste is one of the growing and emerging problem in this world. E-waste consists of many components as toxic substances which have adverse affects on human health and environment if not properly handled. Developing countries have several dumping of e-waste that assumes the importance of management. This concise paper provides EPR legislation to reduce the hazards of E-waste, managing the concerning problems, recycling operations and NGOs participation to combat it. It also focuses on the emerging issues and their strategic solutions. Introduction Waste of electrical and electronic material was considered as cost factor in past. Easiest and cheapest way of disposal was selected to put at the nearest distance. At national level the practices of disposal are not allowed in many courtiers. Waste of the municipal solid consists in electronic and electrical equipments. Waste management has been developed for the all institutions involved in the end of life management of electronic management. Waste of electronics and electrical equipments increases the mass of the toxic inputs into local waste streams. If the volume of the E-waste exceeds to that of processed in manufacturing of products from the mining operations, then no matter it will be an ore located on the globe. On the one hands this E-waste is used as raw material to shape new products while on the other hand it has very harmful potential impacts on the ecosystem. An analyst looks the end of life processes as well as the chain values that are sorting, logistics and collecti on strategies. Many strategies were taken in hands for the treatments of this E-waste like incineration and landfill. Previously the reuse, recycling and remanufacturing of the E-waste is strongly recommended to reduce the volume of these E-waste. Recycling is also emphasized that is linked with the improper disposal of materials. The loop of the industrial waste can be closed by recycling of these waste materials as to sustain the economy of that particular industry. In industrialized countries recycling has become a common practice in the end of life processes. Recycling strategies also differ in yielding the standard quality products. Several features are taken into account to recycle the E-waste for useful purposes. An important feature of recycling process is to handle the situations arising during processes as handling of hazards materials, safety and health care of workers, rates of recycling and levels of recycled material. It is observed that a long scale progress of recycl ing of E-waste is achieved in industrialized countries like U.S, Asia and Europe. Extended producer responsibility is a main policy to tackle this kind of issue. EPR plays main role for the producers to incorporate the end of life facets to design new products. It is important to provide the necessary incentives to all those involved in making the regulatory policies. This can be supported by the study of two Norwegian scientists those who revealed the crucial role of regulatory policies. They put the facts of their survey and survey participants answered that main green technological changes occur from the environmental regulations in EU. Fig 1: Showing the main driving forces for green technology changes EPR feasibility has been shown in Asia and Europe. At earlier stages of infancy in last decade E-waste started in Switzerland in 1992 and it became widespread in other countries due to pressure of environmental authorities. Environmental Effects of E-waste E-waste has many toxic substances which are dangerous at high level if not handled properly. Why are these risks and dangers produced? These are the concerning issues and need the attention of analysts and industrialists to minimize the dangers. On the industrialist end the equipments and feasible machinery is not provided to workers at workplace. There are concerns of workers that their analysts do not guide them in proper way to recycle the E-waste and complete the disposal processes. Serious repercussions arise due to proximity to those places where E-waste materials are recycled or burnt. Grey goods have very toxic chemicals as compared to white and brown goods. For example a computer has very toxic chemicals like mercury, beryllium, cadmium, PVC and Phosphorous compounds. Central nervous system, Reproductive system and Urinary system are badly affected by the lead absorption in human body. Mercury also affects the CNS, Reproductive system and Urinary system of humans. If it is m ixed in water used for living animals and on transportation of the water into water living animals can become the cause of death of those animals. Cadmium and Poly cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons affect the human body organs specially kidneys, lungs, skin and bladder respectively. E-waste has caused serious consequences to environment and human health. For example location near to recycling and burnt places of e-waste has many components of e-waste which directly affect the living of that area. When recycling plants are installed near rivers, it is found that river water is contaminated by the e-waste components and water livings are badly harmed by these e-waste materials. Extended Producer Responsibility EPR is a new tool of market and focuses on the background and responsibility of the producer. WEEE recycling regulation after the necessary analysis and evaluation of EPR with new approaches is provided. Question arise that why we need the regulatory action. E-waste is a big challenge in 21st century. Initial study of industrial ecology reveals that cycle economy is the big source to make contribution to sustainable development of economy. The growth in new electronic products needs new large resources and E-waste is increasing the inputs into local stream flows. We address the two basic needs of the closing the material loops and treatment of the hazards materials. These features are addressed by applying the regulatory actions. An analysis of existing economic or market incentives is required in order to come to a conclusion where regulations necessary and where market forces already achieve favorable results (Costanza et al. 1997). As the growth rate of the new products increase we require to recycle the E-waste with the same extent as shown in the figure. Volume of E-waste New Product Fig 2: Showing the proportionality between Volume of E-waste and New E products To answer the issues concerning the new product growth and recycling of E-waste EPR is new technology with better results in marketplace. à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"An environmental protection strategy to reach an environmental objective of a decreased total environmental impact from a product, by making the manufacturer of the product responsible for the entire life-cycle of the product and especially for the take-back, recycling and final disposal of the product.à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚  (Lindquist et al. 1990). EPR is considered as an approach to take the E-waste to industries for the purpose of re-engineering of the material to improve the mechanism of processes and products. Goals of the EPR: Major contribution of EPR is in environment and industrial zone. Hazardous materials are treated appropriately to reflect sound E-waste hazardous components to be disposed to provide the safety and health standards to workers. Closing of material loops is possible by recycling of E-waste which is base on the rate of recycling and material reapplication levels. The environment must meet the reward design including the avoidance of hazardous material and materials to be cycled optimized in general design. In economic goals it is ensured that fair allocation of burdens for the stakeholders and producers must count all the economic areas. Always keep in mind to avoid financial burdens which are not supporting the environmental cause. The EPR must be clear, transparent and feasible in controlling the monitoring of the systems. The EPR policies must be implemented in order to amend the incentives to create the favorable consequences for the system. We have studied the EPR importance to achieve the specified goals. Now we have to evaluate and make analysis of EPR policies. The evaluation process of EPR policies for the achievement of goals is dependent on both qualitative and quantitative analysis. It is observed that environmental effectiveness through the implementation of the regulatory policies does not yield required results until it is not controlled in a viable way. It is estimated that incentives to collect the E-waste and recycling is totally according to the EPR or take the alternative approaches to complete the process like collection and recycling. There are many practical problems which are related to EPR. For example it becomes difficult to allocate actual cost of recovery after a decade. Many products are so comprehensive for their disposal that increases the global market. The product is chan ged in many hands and it becomes difficult to decide that when and where the end of life stage is reached. It is not clear that who is responsible for the collection and recovery of the product when product is exported in other countries. What stands out most is that, even when practical problems are solved, doubts remain about the effectiveness of EPR in its current form because it mainly leads to global low-quality solutions. Alternatively, the application of high-level recovery in many cases reduces the eco-footprint through substitution. (Hischler, 2005). EPR in current form has many impacts on the E-waste flows and it has promoted many low level recycling processes. Therefore high rate of recovery for which a local industry is optimal is set to achieve in less budget. Industries following theses approaches may benefit their owners and countries where they are installed. Governments are the responsible to provide the legal and financial incentives to promote the business. It is now required to present the estimates of the production, recycled and import export. Region/country Production in million tons per year Land filling storage in million tons Recycling in million tons Export in million tons per/year Import in million tons per/year EU-25 7 1.5 3.43 1.9 USA 6.6 5.1 0.12 1.4 China 3.2 3.7 1.5 - 2.10 Japan 3.1 0.5 1.84 0.63 - West Africa 0.06 0.44 0.18 054 India 0.35 0.84 0.35 - 0.85 Total 20.31 12.08 5.85 3.76 3.49 Table 1: Global E-waste production, disposal, recycling and import/export estimates in 2005 This data in table tell us about the emerging powers of the world in industrial zone. Many other countries like Canada and South America continent are not included in it. In Europe alone the production is 7 million tons per year. China has made rapid progress in production as it equals its production to Japan. China is the second country in land filling after the USA and E-waste recycling is in largest volume in EU followed by Japan. All of above discussion finds the lack of the awareness of our citizens about E-waste and EPR. The E-waste management depends upon the active role of local or city governments and attitudes of the citizens. Producers, stakeholders and consumers also play role to shape the development. It will be very disappointing to keep the citizens away from the management deeds to take benefits of EPR policy. It hardly required involving the common people in process of recycling of electronic goods. Consumers must be informed about the goods by labeling the consumerà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s requirements for those items. Consumers are educated to use only those products which utilize the modern emerging technologies. For example halogen free, lead free and from the authenticated retailers or manufacturers. Different training programs for the training of the citizen must be arranged to make them aware of the impacts of the E-waste and on their health and possible ways to minimize its haza rdous affects. Due to these training programs our consumers are able to purchase the environmental friendly products and maintain the environmental operational processes of the products via careful disposal. On the hand suppliers provide only those items to manufacturers which are containing the friendly components in materials. Manufacturers can reduce the impacts of their products by making a compatible design products, raw material choices and manufacturing and delivery processes. To get rd of free riders check and balance of system must be ensured. Economic Viability: The EPR policy has given us knowledge to boost up the economy of that particular manufacture ring company by recycling process of E-waste. It can be achieved by direct reuse of the E-waste. The processes of the parts cannibalization and remanufacturing do a lot for the owner of the company. Main advantage of these processes is shown as it recovers more value than just materials. The value of the discarded products is used when the equipments and parts are left mostly in their original forms. The price of the product includes the administrative labor and logistic charges. In this way 90% of the total original cost is recuperated. New labor is cheaper to the costs of the collecting, disassembling cleaning, repainting and controlling of E-waste material. However this remanufacturing process takes less work and yields high level recovery as compared to start new product from scratch. Remanufacturing can be as efficient as virgin production and assembly, if not better. Practice proves that even cheap (à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¡Ã‚ ¬15/piece) and somewhat complicated electrical motors can be refurbished and adapted for 50% of the new price (Comperen, 2006). Parts manufacturing with less work and high value, this condition is more advantageous. If other cost of disassembling is kept low then reuse is very profitable for many companies. Ecological Viability: The high level closed loop recovery is also environmental friendly as we have studied in our discussion. There is clear evidence from the studies mentioned that high-level closed-loop recovery is also more environmentally-friendly then most present practices as energy efficiency improves compared to virgin production (Krikke Zuidwijk, 2008; Hischler 2005). It is seen that process of remanufacturing reduces the much resource consumption. The main advantage of this process is that much of energy is saved that cut the amount of CO2 emissions. It is also observed that remanufacturing of goods requires only 15% energy as compare to manufacture new product from scratch. There are many environmental indicators as water use, land filling and CO2 emissions. As the number of the indicators increases it becomes difficult to handle the data and it creates serious concerns of closed loop supply chain for management and others. In this paper we have discussed the E-waste materials and its hazardous effects on human. The impacts of the regulatory policies on economic and environmental are significant. These both aspects combine together to allow the resultant analysis of the regulatory policies and their developments. This EPR tests the already existing economic incentives in a system. These regulations must amend the structures in a way that favors the main player of that system to achieve the set goals. The recycling process must be in control according to the regulatory policies. Drafting of the regulations ask all the participants to shape it in a style to get maximum benefits from the reuse and avoid the hazardous affects of the toxic materials. It is essential for the EPR that it is defined in a way to establish an effective management framework in that particular region. In this paper we have focused on the possible consequences that may arise due to E-waste materials. What amount of electronic produc ts is produced in many developed countries of the world? It has provided us to find the facts behind the E-waste material. The recycling and reuse of the E-waste is briefly discussed in this paper. EPR makes its lot of contribution in our whole studies. It has given the answers of our basic questions concerning to its impacts on economy and environments. Environmental regulations are the driving force in Europe as estimated in survey conducted to bring the green technology changes.

How Americans Were Seduced By Annexation Of Hawaii History Essay

How Americans Were Seduced By Annexation Of Hawaii History Essay In the title of this paper, I am making an overt reference to a recent publication of Dr. Andrew J. Bacevich, retired US Army colonel and professor of History and International Relations at Boston University. In this title, Bacevich provided a contemporary analysis of the roots of militarism in American society, and the over reliance that America places of its military capabilities when it comes to world affairs. It may seem odd at first, but Americas eponymous militarism and its current experiences in the current Global War on Terror have direct parallels with the US involvement in the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. The US involvement in the forcible removal of the Kingdoms sovereignty has been described as Americas first experience with regime change.  [2]  In this paper, I will be documenting how Hawaii was in fact a sovereign nation within the family of nations; a status which changed with the US militarys intervention in the overthrow of the existing government in 1893. I will be framing this military intervention in the context of international laws and the United States own codes on war. In addition, the annexation of the strategically important Hawaii in the context of the impending Spanish American war will be discussed, as it has clear corollaries with the current US oil wars. (Just like the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Americas participation in the overthrow of Haw aiis sovereignty in 1893 brings up questions of legality regarding international law.) To begin the analysis it is useful to look at the two frames of looking at Hawaii as an entity today: Hawaii as the 50th State In researching this paper, I have gained a new understanding in the history of the Hawaiian Islands, which is very different from the standard narrative which is generally taught. In fact, what is clear is that there are now two distinct narratives that in play when it comes to conceptualizing Hawaii. The first is that Hawaii is the 50th state of the United States of America, having won statehood in 1959. It is an idyllic land of beaches, tiki bars and a haven for surfing and brown girls in hulu skirts. One of the main texts consulted in this research was the Russs The Hawaiian Revolution. This monograph was published in 1959, the year that Hawaii became a US state. This is the authors preface as it succinctly describes how America frames its conception of Hawaii: No commercial company would touch this book because popular appeal is lacking in the pages. It is simply not the kind of book which would ever become a bestseller. Upon submitting a preliminary draft, at his request, to a reader of a New York publishing house, I received the following comment: What the commercial market wants on Hawaii is romance. I cannot quite see how you can appropriately put out this book with a jacket showing a scantily clad brownish maiden and a blurb assuring the reader that he or she might get some pointers as to how sin thrives in Hawaii. And that is what the public wants.    [An interesting aside to this is that this institution has one copy of this book, which was acquired in 1977 and in the intervening 33 years, I am the forth individual to check this item from the library.] Hawaii as a sovereign nation under US occupation In contrast to this way of looking at Hawaii, is to view Hawaii as a sovereign nation which is not a part of the United States and instead has been under illegal occupation since 1893. This is certainly not the way that Hawaii is portrayed in mainstream education and media, but does make sense of and explains the growing Hawaiian sovereignty movement. It is testament to the power and hegemony of the United States that what is in reality a colonial possession is perceived to have ceded its powers voluntarily and become a US state. To understand this narrative of Hawaii is to understand neo-colonialism at work. The United States clearly had a renewed vigour of Manifest Destiny in the late 1800s. At this time there was a push westwards to the Pacific coast, in search of cheaper labor, land and raw materials. Native people impeding this were fought, through the Indian wars all the west to the western coast. At this time there was great interest in the vast market of China and the Orient. Japan was a growing imperial power. The US was gravely concerned with European colonial powers and the nascent Japanese colonial powers influence on China, as this was in large part an untapped market. Hawaii as a military outpost Today Hawaii is one of the most militarized places on earth. It has tens of thousands of troops and more than 150 military installations on the island. More than a third of the land is controlled by the US military. It had become a popular retirement location for military personnel, and real estate prices are several times the national average. It is home to The  United States Pacific Command  (USPACOM), which has responsibility for over half of the worlds surface. The idea of the American military base is a fundamentally symbol of power for the US. A recent count of US military installations across the globe places the number of foreign bases at over 700  [3]  . A US presence in Germany or the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are facts of the modern world. In his recent critique of the modern American empire, Chalmers Johnson, seeing these bases as a symbol of empire, draws parallels between the current spread of mid- and large-sized US military bases with those of the British Empire and the Roman Empire at the heights of their powers.  [4]  Given these parallels, it is evident why the label of empire has been applied to the American experience. This notion of empire changed the image of America from within and to the outside world, with the 1898 annexation of Hawaii was an important first step in the creation of this new empire. Fundamental to the US domination of Asia was to have a military outpost far out in the Pacific. In John Hustons WWII documentary Report from the Aleutians he shows a map that illustrates how the Aleutian Islands and the Hawaiian islands were the two strategic outposts from which the Pacific coast of the United States was protected.  [5]  In essence the strategy was to establish naval superiority by bringing the war to them, and have these outposts operating as vanguards against attack. Ernest May emphasizes the shift in Americas foreign policy when it came to the Hawaii question by comparing views expressed about Hawaii with those expressed twenty-odd years earlier about the Dominican republic: As of 1870 they had still seen the United States as an experiment: the only consequential nation without a monarch and a privileged aristocracy, and the only one that attempted to reconcile national and local interests by means of a federal system.  [6]   Central to the debates and discourse that occurred around the 1890s was the Monroe Doctrine from several decades earlier. By the 1890s The Monroe Doctrine of 1823 seemed to offer justification for actions taken involving Hawaii, Cuba, The Philippines, China and Central and South America. Ultimately, the Spanish-American war of 1898 was an important focal point that sharpened attitudes towards how America should approach her role within the wider world. To understand this, it is useful to revisit the Monroe Doctrine of over half a century earlier and to explain why it became so important at the close of the century.   The Monroe Doctrine was declared in a few paragraphs of President James Monroes seventh annual message to Congress on December 2, 1823. Monroe warned European countries not to interfere in the Western Hemisphere, stating that the American continents are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers.  [7]  This made clear to the rest of the world that any such colonization would amount to an act of aggression and would be responded to with force.    The Monroe Doctrine thus became the foundation of future U.S. foreign policy, and it set out to separate the New World from the Old World. Although this Doctrine met with tacit approval from Great Britain, it was not initially taken as seriously as it would be later in the century due to the image at the time of Americas week naval power. Alongside the resurgent interest in the Monroe Doctrine, there also was a movement towards a new Manifest Destiny a phrase normally ascribed to an earlier period of westward territorial expansion. American historian and philosopher John Fiske wrote an influential article in 1885, published in Harpers magazine entitled A New Manifest Destiny. Referring to the frontier against barbarism Fiskes piece which advocated Christianizing and civilizing the barbarians was rapturously received by audiences at the time, on the lecture circuit.  [8]   It is interesting to contrast Fiskes optimistic and expansionist world-view with the prevailing traditionalist American sentiment of isolationism. A prime example of this was in the US restrained response to The Chilean Controversy of 1891. In late 1891 two US sailors on shore leave from the cruiser USS Baltimore in the Chilean port of Valparaà ­so were killed by rebels (who later would form the new post revolution government.) Despite registering his indignation at the attack, President Harrison remained non-confrontational. Responding to this diplomatic incident he states in an internal memo: It has been my desire in every way to cultivate friendly and intimate relationships with all the Governments of this hemisphere. We do not covet their territory.  [9]   President McKinleys future Secretary of State John Sherman in 95 echoed these sentiments when he wrote that he hopes that our people will be content with internal growth, and avoid the complications of foreign acquisitions.  [10]  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is in the context of the above tensions between the expansionist and traditionalist mindsets that Hawaii and its intertwinement with the United States came about. The background to the US involvement in Hawaii began with trade treaties cementing a relationship going back a half century based on missionaries and whaling fleets  [11]  . In return for the United States permitting Hawaiian sugar to enter the American market freely, the Hawaiian government agreed not to lease or dispose of any of its territory to any other power. It also lead to the granting to the US of a naval base at Pearl Harbor. Interestingly the Treaty explicitly acknowledged Hawaii as a sovereign state. Overall, however, the effect of this treaty was to dilute the countrys independence and make her dependent on the United States.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   At this point Hawaii was a sovereign independent state the Hawaiian Kingdom and was governed under a single ruler (King David KalÄ kaua.) It had international recognition and had entered into treaties and conventions with the nations of Austria, Belgium, Bremen (presently Germany), Denmark, France, Germany, Hamburg (presently Germany), Italy, Hong Kong (former colony of England), Japan, Netherlands, New South Wales (former colony of England), Portugal, Russia, Samoa, the Swiss Confederation, Sweden, Norway, Tahiti (colony of France), United Kingdom, and the United States of America.  [12]  In 1887, the King was forced to promulgate a new constitution which would drastically reduce his powers and transfer the balance of power to the American, European and Hawaiian elite on the islands. It changed the voting rights of the population and disenfranchised Asians from voting. This came to be known as the Bayonet Constitution as a result of the King being under threat of being deposed by the armed militia and politicians representing the elite what came to be known as the Reform Party. This Party favored annexation with the United States. In the end this led to the permanent cession of Pearl Harbor and its surrounds to the United States. This experience of having a naval military installation in a foreign territory or host country was to be the blueprint for the future expansion of the American Empire. This uneasy alliance continued until 1893 when Queen LiliÊ »uokalani, sister of the King ascended to the throne and went about drafting a new constitution which would restore the monarchys powers. As a reaction to this, elite mostly American residents on the island created a Committee of Safety which had for its purpose the removal of the Queen, and ultimately to cede to the United States through annexation. A provisional government was assembled and a coup dà ©tat took place aided in large part by the presence in Hawaii of a detachment of uniformed US marines who came aboard from their cruiser, the USS Boston which was in Honolulu Harbor at the time. The presence of these armed US soldiered who were there ostensible in a neutral capacity to protect US citizens in Hawaii was sufficiently intimidating for the Queen to surrender, leading to the abolition of the monarchy. What is particularly interesting about this whole episode and ensuing controversy is that it marked a period of introspection and conspicuous concern for the image that America was projecting to the world. President Harrison had favored annexation but when President Cleveland assumed office again in 1993 for his second term (the first term being directly before Harrison) he strongly opposed annexation on moral grounds. In a message to Congress dated December 18, 1893 he states that all things relating to the transaction (the treaty of annexation of Hawaii) should be clear and free from suspicion. He conceded in the same message that the Provisional Government (of Hawaii) owes its existence to an armed invasion by the United States. The tone of this message makes it clear that President Cleveland thought the annexation of the islands to be unconscionable and would impugn the American people and the image of the country internationally.  [13]  In fact President Cleveland ordered an investigation into the overthrow by former Congressman James Henderson Blount.   It was concluded by Blount in 1893 that the United States diplomatic and military representatives had abused their authority and were responsible for the change in government. However, a U.S. Congressional investigation under Senator John Tyler Morgan into the overthrow, one year later cleared the US military of wrongdoing.  [14]  At this point Cleveland changed his position, recognizing the Provisional Government and the nascent Republic of Hawaii. The United States had failed to annex the Hawaiian Islands by treaty. The Hawaiian question remained, and continued to be debated. It could be said that at this point America had to position itself internationally, wrestling with ideas between its traditional moral repugnance at the idea of colonial interference and a growing notion that it should take all outlying territory necessary to (its) own defense.  [15]  That last quotation is attributed to the very influential Henry Cabot Lodge speaking to the US Senate in 1895. In this speech he forewarned of Japanese encroachment of the islands which would cause a threat to the United States.  [16]   Lorrin A. Thurston, leader of the 1893 coup, further pushed the cause for annexation by emphasizing the Japanese threat. He circulated a pamphlet  [17]  in 1897 warning of Japanese immigration to Hawaii and the threat that the huge numbers of arrivals to the islands would pose.   Eventually they would be dominant in numbers and being an energetic, ambition, warlike and progressive people would pose a serious threat. Walter LaFeber summed up the years leading up to this writing:   Ã‚   Jingoistic congressmen, expansionist-minded naval officers, and militant-minded newspaper editors frequently attempted to conjure up the specter of British, Japanese, or even Russian control of these islands.  [18]   The following year in 1898 the new President McKinley was in favor of a Treaty of Annexation, but this failed in the Senate. A congressional joint resolution was obtained this year, and on the authority of this joint resolution Hawaii was annexed, becoming a US territory officially in 1900. This was an important turning point, as effectively this was the first instance of the new American Imperialism. It is also important in that the basis for the annexation was not a treaty but rather a joint resolution (even a treaty of cession by the self-imposed government officials of the Bayonet Constitution would be suspect.) To compare this with today, the United States had as much right to annex Hawaii in 1898 as it has today to annex Iraq or Afghanistan. This is a fundamental point at the heart of the issue the overthrow was illegal under international law. But in the context of the Islands use as an outpost during the 1898 Spanish American war, that is what happened. In his doctoral dissertation on the issue, Dr. Keanu Sai writes Congress could no more annex the Hawaiian Islands in 1898 as a matter of military necessity during the Spanish American war than it could annex Afghanistan today as a matter of military necessity during the American war on terrorism.  [19]  Dr. Sai, who himself served as a US Army officer, gave an example of how Americas involvement in the Hawaiian overthrow would be perceived now. He explained how if he landed in South Korea as a US Army officer without a status of forces agreement or consent by that government, it would be an act of war.  [20]  When the US Marines came ashore in 1898 wielding Gatling guns and Howitzers to protect the insurgents, this was thus an act of war. Military occupation is currently regulated by the Hague and Geneva Conventions, and US Army Field Manual 27-10. Section 358 of this manual states: Occupation Does Not Transfer Sovereignty: Being an incident of war, military occupation confers upon the invading force the means of exercising control for the period of occupation. It does not transfer the sovereignty to the occupant, but simply the authority or power to exercise some of the rights of sovereignty. The exercise of these rights results from the established power of the occupant and from the necessity of maintaining law and order, indispensable both to the inhabitants and to the occupying force. Section 369 of the same field manual entitled Local Law and New Legislation states that the penal laws of the occupied territory shall remain in force. It is for this reason that in the current War on Terror US lieutenants can be seen to be acting in temporarily municipal capacities as Afghani town mayors etc. Clearly neither of the above regulations was observed by the US in Hawaii. The political crisis of the Spanish American war provided the motive and the opportunity to annex Hawaii. From this point onward the military buildup in Hawaii took off in earnest. To keep the war outside the continental US and to protect shipping posts, a large navy was to be created with naval outposts at Hawaii, Guam, Subic Bay and Pago Pago in Samoa. By attaining Hawaii unlawfully, the US has demonstrated that military, economic and political motives came first. Hawaii did indeed continue to prove to be the strategically valuable military outpost that it was presented as in the 1890s. At no time more so than during WWII. The war was fundamentally a global war between different colonial powers about who gets to control what. After the war ended, the United Nations was set up and charged with tackling the question of colonialism itself. The 1950s saw a wave of colonialist movements and clearly the US began to see Hawaii as being in danger of falling outside of the US sphere of influence. Statehood was voted upon in 1959 and Hawaiis ties to the US were formalized. At this time the minority of the population were Hawaiians whose sovereignty had been taken away, and the vote was passed by the very people who benefited from the illegal regime change. These people were the settlers from the US, the Asian laborers they had brought to the Islands and US military personnel stationed and living there. Clearly the interests of the native Hawaiians was placed at the forefront in this vote for statehood (a concept the UN refers to as a duty of sacred trust.) The ballot for statehood gave the whole experience the veneer of democracy. Article Six  of the United States Constitution  makes treaties made by the US a part of the supreme law of the land, the constitution. As a signatory to the United Nations and by acting in contravention of its codes, the US was thereby violating both international and domestic (constitutional) law, in order to further its military and strategic aims. In his (of the time) groundbreaking work The Tragedy of American Diplomacy, William Appleman Williams shoes how America has used informal empire to influence and shape weaker states into an American political and economic mold. At the time of publication, Appleman Williams in his conclusion chapter references the then ongoing Vietnam war and he draws parallels with this and the way the United States acted in the past (Hawaii and the expansionism era of the 1890s.) It is interesting to now be able to draw parallels with the Bush Doctrine as evidenced in the Global War on Terror. Williams comments on the Open Door policy for foreign expansionism which helped America out of the slump of 1893 (in essence, the scramble for China.) This foreign policy advanced by U.S. Secretary of State John Hay allowed imperial powers to equally access the Chinese market, without in fact colonizing it. (It was a great fear of the U.S. that China would be colonized thereby threatening U.S. commercial interests.)   He provided a revisionist interpretation of the debates occurring in the 1890s: at the time it was imperialist vs. anti-imperialist Williams shifts this analysis to colonialist vs. anti-colonialist. This analysis provides us with further proof that the American experiment differed in substantial ways from the colonial empires of the Old World. His analysis also questions the then pervading narrative of Americas altruistic exceptionalism as being the primary driver in entering into foreign wars. Again, parallels can be drawn between more recent US Oil wars. In an inte resting contemporary development on the Hawaii situation, President Clinton in 1993 (100 years after the overthrow) signed a congressional joint resolution into law, known as the Apology Resolution. It acknowledges that the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii occurred with the active participation of agents and citizens of the United States and further acknowledges that the Native Hawaiian people never directly relinquished to the United States their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people over their national lands, either through the Kingdom of Hawaii or through a plebiscite or referendum  [21]   To conclude, it is evident that a marked shift in occurred in the American foreign policy and militarism in the 1890s, culminating in the Spanish-American war. Americas approach to the Hawaii situation and the ultimate annexation of the islands was a turning point, and was clearly the first real evidence of the new American empire. I have reviewed debates and accounts from the time and later, influential revisionist writers such as Appleman Williams who makes comparisons to the then current Vietnam situation. I have reviewed and discussed recent literature from critics of current U.S. wars and drawn comparisons between Hawaii in 1898 and current conflicts over 100 years later. The conclusion is that although the symbol or form of empire is different it is still there.

The Country Comes Together :: essays research papers

The Country Comes Together   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Yesterday, December 7, 1941-a date that will live in infamy-   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When the United States was attacked by the Japanese on December 7, 1941 we were a third rate military power. By the end of the war in 1945 we were producing more weapons and firepower than the rest of the world put together. The American people realized that in order to defeat our enemies and win this war it was necessary to work together toward this goal. It took a tremendous exercise of American will and power to turn the tide, a national mobilization such as this country had never seen before, and may never see again. Fueling this was raw revenge, retribution for the humiliating defeat at Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor might be the greatest American victory of the war. It awoke a sleeping giant. Sixteen million Americans served in the armed forces in the war. Many jobs opened up for women. Women made airplanes, bombs, and ships, and performed secret administrative work on the atomic bomb project. Women joined the WACS and the WAVES, auxiliary forces of the Army and Navy. Theyalso served with the Women Air Force Service Pilots, known as the WASPS. The war also lured black people by the millions from cotton fields in the south to northern industrial centers. For the United States World War II lasted more than four years. By the time the Japanese signed the surrender documents on September 2, 1945 the people of the United States had been working together and suffering together for a very long time. For some Americans, wartime prosperity, coming on the heels of the Great Depression was an absolute miracle.

Essay on Edgars role in King Lear, Act 3, Scene 4 -- King Lear essays

Edgar's role in King Lear, Act 3, Scene 4 In Act 3, Scene 4, Edgar takes on the roles of a madman, and a spirit. In counterfeiting madness, he not only hides from an unjust death, but also serves as a character that resembles King Lear: (1) Both are deceived by family; (2) Both are outcasts of Gloucester's castle; (3) Both are threatened with death; and (4) Both enter into a form of madness. But, whereas King Lear actually becomes mad, Edgar only feigns madness. As Edgar takes the role of a "spirit" (3.4.39), he reveals: (1) Edmund's moral condition, by prescribing moral laws that he will break (3.4.80-83); and (2) that Gloucester will be blinded by Edmund (3.4.117). This essay will begin by examining how Edgar's role, as an outcast feigning madness, resembles the life and fate of King Lear, and then will show how his role as a spirit, reveals future events that will come to pass. Edgar's role, as an outcast and madman, corresponds to King Lear in four ways: (1) they both are deceived by family. Edgar is deceived by his half brother, and King Lear is deceived by two of his daughters. Edgar babbles about how Edmund deceived him: "Who gives anything to Poor Tom? whom the foul fiend hath led through fire and through flame" (3.4.51-52), and reveals his plan "to kill [the] vermin" (3.4.51-52). And by calling Edmund a "foul fiend" who had "course[d] his own shadow for a traitor" (3.4.57-58), he parallels Edmund with a devil, which is trying to make him commit suicide by laying "knives under his pillow" (3.4.54). And because King Lear's madness begins to be revealed after realizing that he'd been fooled by his daughters (2.4.273-286), he asks Edgar if he became mad due to daughters too (3.4.49-50). (2) The... ...hom] squinies the eye" (3.4.115-117). These lines suggests that Edmund, the foul fiend, will cause someone's eye to squint. And it's only a couple scenes later that Gloucester's eyes are blinded because of Edmund's report to Cornwall. Thus Edgar's lines in this scene are prophetic and further his role as a spirit. This small essay only touches on some of the important lines that fulfill Edgar's roles as a spirit and an exiled madman in Act 3, Scene 4. His lines are hard to follow and are meaningless at times because he's pretending to be mad. It's not until the play is over that Edgar's wisdom and insight can be understood in this scene. As a madman, his role foreshadows King Lear's fate, and as a spirit, he is able to predict Edmund's moral condition. By counterfeiting madness, Edgar's wisdom and insight are shown, and Edmund's corruption is exposed.

Symbolic Meaning of Edna’s Arms and Teeth in Chopin’s The Awakening :: Chopin Awakening

Symbolic Meaning of Edna’s Arms and Teeth in Chopin’s The Awakening Although characters’ personalities are described vividly in The Awakening through action, dialogue, and descriptions of clothing, little is presented of the characters physically. While Edna is alone in Madame Antoine’s house, resting, two moments occur in which specific aspects of her body are highlighted. Prior to this scene, it is known only that she is considered pretty and that her hair and eyes are a similar yellow-brown color. At Madame Antoine’s house, however, where Edna loses sense of time while resting, first her arms and then her teeth demonstrate her peculiar strengths. It is problematic to consider Edna as strong so soon after having nearly swooned in the small island church. Although we know that she had slept little the night before and that her invitation to Robert was her first conscious move into a new sort of consciousness, her apparent moment of epiphany is accompanied by an all too typical display of feminine weakness. Moments later, lying in Madame Antoine’s bed, Edna is revealed as contradictorily strong. While stretching her â€Å"strong limbs that ached a little† Edna pauses and notices her arms. â€Å"She looked at her round arms as she held them straight up and rubbed them one after the other, observing closely, as if it were something she saw for the first time, the fine, firm quality and texture of her flesh† (58). In this description, her arms appear detached from the rest of her body. She discovers that she has strength—not of spirit or mind, which is what the rest of the narrative focuses on, but of bo dy. After she awakens, her attention is drawn away from her self personally, but the description of her returns to this physical strength when she finds the snack Madame Antoine had left for her. â€Å"Edna bit a piece from the brown loaf, tearing it with her strong, white teeth† (59). Because there is no other description in the paragraph, her teeth here stand out as odd. The action of biting the loaf rather than cutting or tearing it with her hands exhibits her characteristic carelessness, but also a bit of viciousness that is surprising. The teeth represent her latent strength here, in action rather than in rest, as she had seen her arms. It is unclear to me what significance, if any, there might be to these images of her arms and her teeth.

Corporate Strategy

MGMT611: Strategy Natalya Vinokurova Corporate Strategy Session 15 1 Corporate Scope Corporate center Division A in industry a Division B in industry b Division C in industry c Division D in industry d – The average U. S. Fortune 500 company operates in four different industries – Diversification is even more prominent in other parts of the world †¢ Grupos, chaebol, business houses, keiretsu, and so on – Poor corporate strategy is common â€Å"Excite, one of the leading Internet services companies, yesterday [received a] takeover offer from Zapata, a Texas-based group with holdings in marine protein and food packaging companies.Citing the â€Å"excellent fit with Zapata’s new strategic direction,† Avram Glazer, Zapata’s chief executive officer, said the proposed transaction â€Å"makes sense for Excite’s shareholders because of the capital resources that Zapata can bring to Excite. † Financial Times, May 22, 1998 2 What di versified corporation did this become? 3 Decomposition of Variance in Profitability: Evidence from the United States Year 2% Industry 18% Corporate parent 4% Transient 46% †¢ In the U. S. corporate strategy is typically the icing on the cake, not the cake itself – Business units must be competitive on their own merits – †¦in attractive industries †¢ But the icing can make the decisive difference between a good cake and a bad one Business segment 30% Note: Ignores covariance terms; based on 58,132 observations of 12,296 business segments in 628 industries in the United States Source: Anita M. McGahan and Michael E. Porter, â€Å"How Much Does Industry Matter Really? † Strategic Management Journal, 1997 4Decomposition of Variance in Profitability: Evidence from 14 Emerging Economies †¢ In much of the rest of the world, corporate strategy is more prominent †¢ Membership in a diversified entity has a larger effect on profitability †¢ Th e effect on profitability is more likely to be positive Source: Tarun Khanna and Jan W. Rivkin, â€Å"Estimating the Performance Effects of Business Groups in Emerging Markets,† Strategic Management Journal, 2000 Countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, India, Indonesia, Israel, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Turkey Litmus Test of Corporate Strategy †¢ Is the combination of all businesses of the firm worth more than the sum of how much each business is worth individually? – The answer could be less, e. g. J. C. Penney telemarketing division was worth 3X the market value of the entire firm †¢ When deciding whether or not to acquire another business, you need to decide BOTH – whether you have a competitive advantage running that business – AND how it will contribute to the fit among the other 6 businesses you are runningAcrobat Document 7 The Walt Disney Company: Stock Price vs. S&P 500, 1984-1994 8 The Walt Disney Company: Stock Price vs. S&P 500, 1995-2005 9 Two big problems 1. Growth at all costs: †¢ This is an example of what happens when a solid corporate strategy meets an aggressive growth goal 2. Mismatch between strategy and organizational structure: †¢ You can have a corporation with businesses that are closely connected like the classic Disney businesses and then run the businesses together in a tightly integrated way.That can work. †¢ You can have a corporation with the broader scope of later Disney and run them in a loosely coupled way. That can work. †¢ But if you have a corporation with the broader scope of later Disney and run them like the classic Disney, with heavy-handed management from the top, searching for synergy that doesn’t really exist†¦then you get into trouble. – In 2005, ABC President Robert Iger replaces Eisner 10 The Walt Disney Company: Stock Price vs. S&P 500, 2005-2012 11 The Walt Disney Company: Take-aways Co re lessons of corporate-level strategy †¢ Competition occurs at the level of the business unit †¢ Corporate strategy is a success or failure to the extent that it enhances business unit competitive advantage – Is the relative gap between WTP and cost larger than it would be otherwise? †¢ Two tests: – Better-off: Does the presence of the corporation in a given market improve the total competitive advantage of business units over and above what they could achieve on their own? (What’s the added value of the corporation? – Ownership: Does ownership of the business unit produce a greater competitive advantage than an alternative arrangement would produce? †¢ A corporation is more likely to pass the tests when it has some shared resource that (a) creates competitive advantage for the business units and (b) is difficult to trade efficiently via the market – E. g. , access to animated characters – Making business units â€Å"be tter off† sounds easy, but it typically requires sophisticated structures, systems, and processes, plus cultural supports 12 Corporate strategy entails trade-offsEither focus on†¦ or focus on†¦ Guidance on the Projects Overall Grading †¢ The project must cover all three components of the class – Human and Social Capital – Strategy – Multinational Management Components of Grade (NOT equally weighted) †¢ Use of frameworks (most important issue) †¢ Quality of research †¢ Innovativeness/Insight of analysis †¢ Integration of different components of class †¢ Quality of communication 14 †¢ ? of grade will be based on presentation; ? on final project write up †¢ We will also use a peer assessment to adjust the grade for effort put in by each team memberA Word on Plagiarism †¢ Any text (more than 2 consecutive words) taken from another source must be – In inverted commas – Clearly identified with the source †¢ It is NOT sufficient to simply note that you used a source. You must identify which text came from it. †¢ Failure to identify the source of your work is a serious breach of academic ethics and will be treated accordingly †¢ If in doubt, ask Professor or TAs for guidance †¢ (It is generally not a good idea to reproduce whole sentences or paragraphs from other sources without a very good reason anyway) 5 Next Class: Firm Scope and Strategy †¢ – – – – Case: Monitor’s Opportunities in India (A), 9708-482 What are the benefits and costs to Monitor of moving each of its back-office functions to India? In light of those benefits and costs, what would you recommend to Mark Fuller, Monitor’s CEO, about the location of each function? Should Monitor tap into the Indian pool of talent somehow, perhaps by conducting business research there? If so: Should it conduct research only for Monitor case teams or sell its re search services directly to external clients? 16

Moral Standards in the 1960s-1970s Essay

The English social activist Constance Mary Whitehouse was often renowned for her opposition to social liberalism and mainstream media, which she often claimed to be root cause of a more permissive society in Britain. Although, the extent to which we can deem this view valid is debatable. There is evidence leaning on both sides of the argument; but of course it is unquestionable that Britain did see a sudden uprising of permissiveness and overt moral decline to which Whitehouse responded briskly, founding and setting up the ‘National Viewers’ and Listeners’ Association’ via which she campaigned against the BBC n the 60’s. The question is; was she justified in going to these lengths to essentially try and censor media? Surely, if she injected such a vast amount of effort into doing so, then she must have some sort of validity in her view? Or perhaps, there were other factors which she did not take into account. The notion of Television being the main medium of influence of this period is irrefutable, with 95% of British households owning one by the end of the 1960s. Although the fact that the government set up the Committee of Inquiry on Broadcasting could in itself suggest that media had partial censorship (thus disallowing any real explicit broadcasts which could lead to a moral decline), they did little to stop, and actually welcomed the hard-hitting ‘social realist’ plays such as ‘up the junction (1965)’ and ‘Come Home Cathy (1966)’, as they were a replacement for the supposedly ‘vulgar’ American style programmes on ITV such as ‘Take Your Pick (1958-66)’ and the Westerns/Crime Dramas which they feared would erode British culture and make people more violent. Though, these plays did could be argued to have ‘worsened’ the situation as, for example, ‘Up the Junction’ depicted quite a graphic and powe rful home abortion scene, and it is suggested that this may have been one of the causes of the 1967 Abortion Act to be passed; which of course consequently lead to relaxation in attitudes towards sex as there was now an passage, or a ‘life-line’ a woman could use if any accidental impregnation occurred, thus increasing levels of promiscuity. Furthermore, in ‘a taste of honey’ (also part of this social realism movement that swept through theatres in the 60’s), as well as abortion again being key factor in it, there is also an occurrence of a ‘one night stand’, not an ordinary one night stand however, an interracial one night stand. Although this was a very extreme case of moral rebellion, critically it could have lead to the British public to perceiving promiscuity as well as interracial relationships (seen as immoral, abnormal at this time) to be more acceptable, a norm. In other words, the British public would in theory be bellowing â€Å"if she can do it, why can’t I?!† . The Press also have a part to play in this; they contributed largely to a new permissive air in the media when they initiated their launch of colour supplements, sexualised adverts and scandalous news stories and significantly the first female nipple was published by media tycoon Rupert Murdoch who believed this would help the circulation of his paper, The Sun. This conveys the extent to which media was now overtly promoting permissiveness, and could suggest that this directly influenced a more permissive society as the public were fully exposed to these new developments which eased them into a new, more open and bold mind set. Conversely, there is evidence to suggest that Media was not only responsible for the ‘decline in moral standards’, as quoted by Whitehouse. Touching back onto the subject of ‘press’, although it did absolutely encourage some air permissiveness, the Obscene Publications Acts of 1959 and 1964 to an extent conflict that view. These acts were designed to ‘strengthen’ law around public obscenity, in particular the publication of obscene articles and materials used in them. This could thus suggest that there were in fact some restrictions on media, and that they couldn’t possibly fully hold the blame for arousal of permissiveness and decline in moral standards in this period. Additionally, although the ‘powerful’ scene in ‘Up the Junction’ could be blamed for the passing of the Abortion Act in 1967,it is commonly known that it only eased the passage of it, and it was primarily David Steel’s campaign that led the way to this debatably radical change. Prior to the Abortion Act, there were approximately 106,000 illegal abortions a year, and many were sceptical about the idea that the number of abortions would increase when the act was passed as they believed although people had the freedom, it wouldn’t necessarily mean they would exercise it. They were wrong, after a year in 1968 the number of abortions per annum rose by 35,000 to 141,000 a year. This strongly suggests that the Abortion Act itself influenced a more permissive and unmoral society as it offered more freedom to the public in regards to sex and promiscuity. Prior to the passing of the Divorce Act of 1969, divorce was only permitted when there was sufficient evidence exhibiting that one party of the relationship had committed adultery, and statistics show that there were few than two divorces per 1000 married couples. The Divorce Reform Act allowed couples to divorce if they had lived apart for two years and both wanted it or if they had lived apart for five years and one partner wanted it. Following the reform there was a huge increase in the number of divorces, by the mid-1970s nearly one in every two marriages ended in divorce. Although it could be argued that this was due to the growing independence of women, it’s hard to deny that the act had a large effect on this. This thus indicates to us that media was not entirely responsible for the lack or decline of moral standards as legislation such as this, did essentially promote more promiscuity as it gave married couples the freedom to split up and do as they please. In analysing the range of factors, we can conclude that Mary Whitehouse’s view that the media was responsible for the morale decline of the 60’s and 70’s was somewhat valid, as there are a spectrum of sources and pieces of evidence that intrinsically link together and in turn paint a picture where the British society are heavily influenced by media. This was perhaps due to fact that the public at this time, and still to this day, are heavily consumed by the media and are enthralled in its controversy, and although it may not have so much of a profound effect on us today it is obvious people of that period were more vulnerable to it as just coming out of a period of Austerity and slight deprivation, more likely than not they were seeking for something new something fresh, something that kept up with the social norms of other major influences such as America- and perhaps unfortunately, these new trends often entailed social rebellion and permissiveness. And althoug h legislation had a part to play in it, this only ensured de jure change, not always de facto, where as media more times out of 10 had de facto and more profound effect on the British society of the 1960s/70s.