Opposing Viewpoints in Kurt Vonneguts Slaughterhouse-Five Essay

Opposing Viewpoints in Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five The Allied firebombing of Dresden has been called the worst and most unnecessary air raid in military history. The German city was home to no military bases or stations, but on February 13, 1945, death rained down from the air on nearly 135,000 people, most of them civilians, compared to the 74,000 deaths caused by the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima (Novels 270). Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a Allied prisoner of war during this raid, hidden underground in an abandoned slaughterhouse. After surviving the war, Vonnegut came home to the United States to become an author. Though he had published several books before Slaughterhouse Five, this book became his most famous and best-selling book. Slaughterhouse Five was Vonnegut's breakthrough work because he finally addressed the most distressing and pivotal point in his life, the Dresden firebombing (Novels 270). Vonnegut writes in the first chapter that he was once given advice against writing an anti-war novel, because "...there would always be wars, [and] that they were as easy to stop as glaciers" (Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse 3). However, rather than writing an anti-war novel, Vonnegut writes a response to the tragedy of war through the eyes of a soldier (Novels 272). Vonnegut narrates the story of Billy Pilgrim, a soldier who went through the same experiences as Vonnegut did. Narrating the story of someone else allows Vonnegut distance and separation from the painful events at Dresden (Harris). Through Billy's story, Vonnegut introduces opposing ideas throughout his novel, creating tension between conflicting forces and philosophies. The opposing ideas in Slaughterhouse Five are differing views of time, and inco... ...s, it is the one that states war is stupid, pointless, and cruel, yet it is inevitable. Works Cited Harris, Charles B., "Time, Uncertainty, and Kurt Vonnegut Jr.: A Reading of 'Slaughterhouse Five,'" Farmington Hills: Gale Group. October, 2001. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/DC/ Reed, Peter J., "Authenticity and Relevance: Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five," Farmington Hills: Gale Group. October, 2001. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/DC/ Schatt, Stanley, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Farmington Hills: Gale Group. October, 2001. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/DC/ "Slaughterhouse Five" Novels For Students. Vol. 3 1998 ed. Vonnegut Jr., Kurt. Fates Worse Than Death. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1991 ---, Palm Sunday. New York: Delacorte Press, 1981 ---, Slaughterhouse Five. New York: Dell Publishing, 1969

Althussers Ideology :: Ideological State Apparatus, God

In the first half of his essay â€Å"Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses†, Althusser says that, â€Å"the resistances of the exploited classes is able to find means and occasions to express itself there† (99), by which he means in the Ideological State Apparatuses. In the second half of the essay, Althusser argues there are places that can be found in the ISA that allow expression of the exploited class, but this expression is an illusion as they can only express themselves in terms of being subjects. Althusser separates the State Apparatus into two sections, one being the Repressive State Apparatus (RSA) and the other being the Ideological State Apparatus (ISA). The RSA encompasses things like the military, police and government, whereas the ISA contains things like education, religion and family. The RSA is fundamentally different from the ISAs for two reasons, the first being that the RSA is strictly in the public domain whereas the ISAs can exist in both the public and private domain. The second difference is that, â€Å"the Repressive State Apparatus functions ‘by violence’, whereas the Ideological State Apparatus functions ‘by ideology’†(97). Althusser qualifies this statement by saying that the RSA truly functions by both violence as well as ideology since no apparatus can function by one alone. Therefore, conversely, the ISAs function primarily by ideology and secondarily by violence, although most of this violence is usually internal to t he apparatus. Althusser ends his discussion of the distinction between the RSA and ISA by saying that, â€Å"the Ideological State Apparatuses may be not only the stake, but also the site of class struggle, and often of bitter forms of class struggle† (99). By this, Althusser means that it is inherently difficult to take the ISA’s from the â€Å"formal† ruling class since they can retain their roles for a longer period of time than being thrown out of power in the RSA. This also leads us back to the question at hand; how do the resistances of the exploited classes find means and occasions to express themselves in the ISAs? The occasions for expression come from ideology. For Althusser, ideology is, â€Å"conceived as a pure illusion, a pure dream, i.e. as nothingness. All its reality is external to it† (108). Althusser differs from Marx on who controls this reality. Marx argues that this illusion is controlled by those who are in power and is used to control those who are not in power.

Contributions and Drawbacks of Marxism

Contributions and Drawbacks of Marxism Marxism is a theoretical system that created by Marx and Engels based on labor movements in the 19th century. Marxism was written upon a materialist interpretation of history. The Marxist theoretical system consists of three parts: Marxist philosophy, Marxist political economy and scientific socialism, which were created on the basis of the German classical philosophy, the British classical political economy and French utopian socialist influence respectively.In their writing the two most important terms are â€Å"socialist† and â€Å"communist†. When reading them, it is always important to know what the writer means by them. For Marx socialism was the more comprehensive term; communism was an advanced stage of socialism. Socialism would prepare the way by nationalizing the â€Å"means of production† (factories, farms, mines, transportation, etc. ) and putting them under the control of those he viewed as the sole producers o f wealth: the workers.He viewed political equality and freedom as incomplete (or even illusory) without economic equality. Therefore this redistribution of economic power was aimed at extending democracy far beyond the limits envisioned by earlier democratic revolutions. Social services like health, education, and housing would be provided free, but people would still be paid wages according to their work. When all nations had developed socialist economies, they would begin to evolve into an international communist society.The vision of communism was very similar to that of anarchism: a stateless society in which central government had â€Å"withered away,† local, ground-up control of all affairs by strictly democratic processes based at the place of work, abolition of the market system (no money, no buying and selling) and its replacement by a system according to which people would voluntarily work for the common good to the extent they were able under the understanding that they could receive whatever they needed for free (â€Å"from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs†).National boundaries and governments having been eliminated, war would cease. Since Marx published the â€Å"Communist Manifesto† in1848, the banner of the communist was high erected, from Europe to the Americas, Asia, hundreds of millions of people struggled to achieve this beautiful ideal. People’s enthusiasm changed from faith to practical action. Communist revolution had continued for more than a century and had significant impact on the world’s modern history: 15 socialist countries were born, two global camps were formed and the conflict of different ideological forms evolved into conflict of international relations.After World War II, socialist practice developed from one country into multi countries. The formation of the socialist camp ended the dominance of capitalism. However, after nearly half century’s development , the Soviet model of socialism did not fully demonstrate its superiority. They became rigid, dogmatic and stagnated. At the same time, capitalist forces gathered together to against the socialist countries, and launched the â€Å"peaceful evolution† plan.Through the economic warfare, political warfare and the culture wars, finally in the 90s, the Soviet Union collapsed and majority of Eastern European Socialist Countries changed to capitalist. Since then the international communist movement entered into a setback stage. There is always a question been asked: if the socialist system is more superior than capitalism system, why most socialist countries failed and the remaining countries haven’t catch up with capitalist country?Because the development of socialist countries and that of capitalist countries lack a comparable basis: First, they have different starting points of economic development. Most socialist countries originally are feudal, colonial or semi-colonial countries. They don’t have any accumulated capital and wealthy like capitalist countries do. Under the control and plunder of western countries for decades, they barely have anything left. The difference between the two kinds of countries is significant. Second, they use different means of economic development.The history of capitalism is a history of bloody fortune. As Marx said, capitalist production process is the process of exploitation. Even today, with the advance of technology and dominant of capital, they are still doing unequal exchange with developing countries, which helps them to grab wealth. But the development of socialist countries mainly relies on people’s hard working. Third, they have different lengths of the economic development. From the establishment of the first socialist countries, only 80 years has past. Most of the socialist countries only have a history of forty or fifty years.They are still in the early stage of development, their economic, p olitical and social operating mechanisms haven’t been fully developed. And they are still on their way searching for proper methods for improvement. But capitalism has three hundred and sixty years of history. It has accumulated a solid capital foundation and rich experience. Even so, among the capitalist countries, only around twenty of them are in the category of â€Å"developed countries†. Especially for those newly independent countries in the 20th century who use capitalist system, none of them is in the â€Å"rich club†.Fourth, the development environment is different. From the establishment of the first socialist state, the world’s capitalist countries start to apply economic blockade, military siege and even the armed aggression, the development environment for socialist countries is very dangerous. However, when the capitalist start developing, the old feudal system are almost collapse thoroughly from a global perspective. The international envir onment for the development of capitalism is very favorable. From the reasons above, I think it is not fair to compare the development level of socialist countries and capitalist countries.Even socialism did not success in a global point of view, it should be noted some of them have had great achievement. Before the collapse, the Soviet Union maintained an average industrial production growth rate of 21% from 1928 to 1940, ranking first in Europe and second in the world. And they completed in twelve years what capitalist countries achieved in 100 years. From 1951 to 1980, the Soviet major economic indicators are1 to 2 times higher than the U. S. In 1950, the Soviet industrial output is less than 30% of U. S. ’s industrial output, while in 1980 it reached 80%.In addition, the Soviet Union has significant achievement in science and technology, education, culture, military and many other fields. From the development of the Soviet Union, we can see the socialism has certain kinds of advantages. We should also notice that the eighty years of socialist development history has a huge and far-reaching impact on the human social history. The establishment and development of socialism, breaks the operation system of colonialism and imperialism, propels the international political and economic order to a more equal and reasonable direction.The socialism analysis of the conflict between productive forces and production relations also helps with the improvement of the capitalist system. So socialism is conducive to the common progress of human society. But like other theories, Marxism, by the limitations of the era, has a series of shortcomings: The class struggle theory. It is easy for the dogmatists and violence advocates to take advantage of. Some people exaggerate the power of class struggle. They do not realize the probability of class change (proletariat to propertied class) and the class cooperation, so it can lead to widespread violence, legalized terrorism e asily.The proletarian dictatorship theory. The starting point of protecting people is good. But if the bad guys control the government, they may suppress people and dissent in the name of proletariat comrades. The theory of surplus value. Marx thinks, in a market economy, the exploitation of surplus value is from production. Surplus value is the value worker created minus the employment expense of that labor. Although this theory of exploitation has a positive side in recognition of exploitation, its bias and extreme part is obvious. Marx's mistake is that he ignores capitalists’ management of complex operation and the business risk they bear.Capitalists’ income should include their general labor income (he works as a worker), complex management income (he conducts the operation and management, decision-making and other complex activities), capital income (he puts in capital), the risk income (the principle of market economy is the risks and benefits equals; he bears t he investment risk, so he should have a higher income). Moreover, Marx does not realize that in the old socialist society, because of high concentration of power in planned economy, some problems will be created: corruption, plunder of resources and people is a more serious exploitation. The plan economy theory.Marx negates the market economy, advocating elimination of private ownership and replace with full ownership. He promotes the idea of â€Å"distribute according to the work contributed†. He encourages eliminating commodity and currency and replacing them with a comprehensive economic plan, distributing consumer goods by needs. Moreover, Marx states that full ownership will become state ownership, the planned economy will be under the control of government, and distribution by work is actually by the length working time. Those policies will certainly leads to unclear property rights, irresponsibility and egalitarianism.There will be no competition and people will have n o incentive to work. Some other problems also need our attention: Is public ownership really efficient? Will egalitarian distribution inhibit creativity? Will planned economic encourage bureaucracy, and lead to laziness and waste? And so on. Sources: http://www. douban. com/group/topic/4691689/ http://baike. baidu. com/view/680726. htm http://baike. baidu. com/view/8059. htm http://public. wsu. edu/~brians/hum_303/manifesto. html http://wenda. tianya. cn/wenda/thread? tid=0aa8581c30d4c1ea;hl=vbgood http://www. marxists. org/archive/bukharin/works/1933/teaching/intro. htm

Automobile and South Africa Essay

1.) Cultural differences have a great effect on how Renault-Nissan operates in South Africa. South Africa is known for its ethnic and cultural diversity. Therefore, in my opinion they would need managers that know the country and how its people do business. Though some of South Africa is a lot like Western Europe, there are eight different languages spoke in South Africa, so having a person from Rosslyn managing the plant would be beneficial. South Africa has been referred to as the â€Å"rainbow† nation, I believe that in order for Renault-Nissan to be successful they will have to do their homework and find a person that knows the country’s customs and traditions to lead them into an emerging market in South Africa. 2.) Culture is a huge factor in Auto sales. For example, in Europe gas is around $8.00 a gallon, if Ford took their F-250 (which gets around 12mpg) into the European market it would fail miserably. It is not because the Ford F-250 is not a quality truck, it is because this truck does not fit into what is now part of the European culture. Also Europeans do not have the same tastes in cars that Americans do so, car companies do research to find out what Europeans look for when they are buying a car. This is how culture affects the auto industry. 3.) I do not believe that it is possible for a car company to transcend national culture and produce a global automobile that is accepted by people in every culture. Though car companies can get away for making a regional automobile for a specific region of the world, there are too many cultural differences that that affect each market to make a â€Å"worldwide† vehicle. Like I said before Europeans have different tastes in automobiles than Americans, Africans, Chinese, Japanese, Indians, and the rest of the world.

BMM notes Essay

Attempt all the questions. Read the question carefully before answering. Figures to the right indicate full marks. Illustrations/ Layout is not Compulsory. But ensure to give a clear and concise description of the visual. 1. Answer any four : (a) What is the difference between Political Advertising and Government Advertising? Give one example of each. (b) What is creative? How important creative brief is for writing copy for a product? (c) How is reason why copy different from slice of life copy? (d) What are the essential qualities to become a good copy writer? (e) Explain the importance of sub-head for the print media. (f) What are the different types of copy? Explain one in detail. (g) Explain the following terms (Any three) :(i) Zoom in (ii) Dissolve (iii) Wipe (iv) Pan. 12 2. Answer any four of the following question :(a) Write short note on, Copy for Children as the Target Audience. (b) Give two examples each of comparative and demonstration type of advertising. (c) What are the essentials of a Good Poster? (d) Give your comment on ‘Daag Achche Hain’, Television commercial. (e) Analyse any one of the recent public service television or print advertisement. (f) (i) ‘Maine poocha kya’? is the base line of which detergent brand ? (ii) ‘Insan Phone lete hain baat karne ke liye,’ is the line of which television commercial? (g) Explain the various stages of producing a TV commercial? 12 3. Answer any two : (a) Radio advertising creates a ‘Picture in the Mind’. Explain? (b) Write a 30 sec Radio spot for Shopper’s stop, Highlighting, Range and Location. (c) Write a direct mailer to the prospective Customer in Bandra, persuading them to place their monthly grocery requirement to ‘Sangam’, A Hindustan Lever Limited Venture. Sangam provides free home delivery within an hour. 10 4. Multimedia campaign and strategy (Attempt any one):(a) VIP luggage is launching a new campaign to reinforce its new image of a company marketing trendy luggage for upwordly mobile young professionals. They have added new design and different colours in their portfolio of products. i. Prepare a creative brief for Making Impact on the Target Audience. ii. Create a press advertisement campaign based on the creative brief. iii. Prepare a storyboard for television commercial based on the creative brief. PDF Powered By BMMBox.com 5 6 5 www.bmmbox.com www.bmmbox.com (b) PDF Powered By BMMBox.com The recent cases of corruption among a few police officers tarnished the image of Mumbai Police. The Commissioner wants to improve the public image of the Mumbai Police. i. Advice them on strategy and baseline. ii. Develop a 3 advertisement press campaign. iii. Develop a storyboard for a 30 sec TVC. PDF Powered By BMMBox.com

World Wide Web and E-commerce Winter

Introduction to E-Commerce Revenue Models Objectives In this chapter, you will learn about: Revenue models How some companies move from one revenue model to another to achieve success Revenue strategy issues that companies face when selling on the Web An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 2 1 Objectives (continued) Creating an effective business presence on the Web Web site usability Communicating effectively with customers on the Web An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 3 Revenue Models Mail order or catalog model Proven to be successful for a wide variety of consumer items Web catalog revenue model Taking the catalog model to the WebAn Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 4 2 Computers and Consumer Electronics Apple, Dell, Gateway, and Sun Microsystems have had great success selling on the Web Dell created value by designing its entire business around offering a high degree of configuration flexibility to its customers An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 5 Books, Music , and Videos Retailers use the Web catalog model to sell books, music, and videos Among the most visible examples of electronic commerce Jeff Bezos Formed Amazon. com Jason and Matthew Olim Formed an online music store they called CDnow Used the Web catalog revenue model An Introduction to E-CommerceWinter 85, 6 3 Luxury Goods People are still reluctant to buy luxury goods through a Web site Web sites of Vera Wang and Versace Constructed to provide information to shoppers, not to generate revenue Web site of Evian Designed for a select, affluent group of customers An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 7 Clothing Retailers Lands’ End Pioneered the idea of online Web shopping assistance with its Lands’ End Live feature in 1999 Personal shopper Intelligent agent program that learns customer’s preferences and makes suggestions Virtual model Graphic image built from customer measurements An Introduction to E-CommerceWinter 85, 8 4 Flowers and Gifts 1-800-Flowers C reated an online extension to its telephone order business Chocolatier Godiva Offers business gift plans on its site An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 9 Digital Content Revenue Models Firms that own intellectual property have embraced the Web as a new and highly efficient distribution mechanism Lexis. com Provides full-text search of court cases, laws, patent databases, and tax regulations ProQuest Sells digital copies of published documents An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 10 5 Advertising-Supported Revenue Models Broadcasters provide free programming to an udience along with advertising messages Success of Web advertising is hampered by No consensus on how to measure and charge for site visitor views Stickiness of a Web site: the ability to keep visitors and attract repeat visitors Very few Web sites have sufficient visitors to interest large advertisers An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 11 Web Portals Web directory A listing of hyperlinks to Web pages Portal or Web portal Site used as a launching point to enter the Web Almost always includes a Web directory and search engine Examples: Yahoo! , AOL, AltaVista An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 12 6 Advertising-SubscriptionMixed Revenue Models Subscribers Pay a fee and accept some level of advertising Typically are subjected to much less advertising Used by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 13 Advertising-Subscription Mixed Revenue Models (continued) Business Week Offers some free content at its Business Week online site Requires visitors to buy a subscription to the Business Week print magazine An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 14 7 Fee-for-Transaction Revenue Models Businesses offer services and charge a fee based on the number or size of transactions processed DisintermediationRemoval of an intermediary from a value chain Reintermediation Introduction of a new intermediary An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 15 Fe e-for-Service Revenue Models Fee based on the value of a service provided Services range from games and entertainment to financial advice Online games Growing number of sites include premium games in their offerings Site visitors must pay to play these premium games An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 16 8 Fee-for-Service Revenue Models (continued) Concerts and films As more households obtain broadband access to the Internet, companies are providing streaming video of concerts and films to paying ubscribers Professional Services State laws are one of the main forces preventing U. S. professionals from extending their practices to the Web An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 17 Revenue Models in Transition Subscription to advertising-supported model Microsoft founded its Slate magazine Web site An upscale news and current events publication Charged an annual subscription fee after a limited free introductory period Was unable to draw sufficient number of paid subscribers Now operated as an advertising-supported site An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 18 9 Advertising-Supported to AdvertisingSubscription Mixed Model Salon. om Operated for several years as an advertisingsupported site Now offers an optional subscription version of its site Subscription offering was motivated by the company’s inability to raise additional money from investors An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 19 Advertising-Supported to Feefor-Services Model Xdrive Technologies Opened its original advertising-supported Web site in 1999 Offered free disk storage space online to users After two years, it was unable to pay the costs of providing the service with the advertising revenue generated Later switched to a subscription-supported model An Introduction to E-CommerceWinter 85, 20 10 Advertising-Supported to Subscription Model Northern Light Founded in August 1997 as a search engine with a twist Revenue model Combination of advertising-supported model plus a fee-base d information access service January 2002 Converted to a new revenue model that was primarily subscription supported An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 21 Multiple Transitions Encyclop? dia Britannica Original offerings The Britannica Internet Guide Free Web navigation aid Encyclop? dia Britannica Online Available for a subscription fee or as part of a CD package 1999 Converted to a free, advertiser-supported site 001 Returned to a mixed model An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 22 11 Revenue Strategy Issues Channel conflict Occurs whenever sales activities on a company’s Web site interfere with existing sales outlets Also called cannibalization Channel cooperation Giving customers access to the company’s products through a coordinated presence in all distribution channels An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 23 Strategic Alliances and Channel Distribution Management Strategic alliance When two or more companies join forces to undertake an activity over a long period of time Account aggregation servicesIncrease the propensity of customers to return to the site Channel distribution managers Companies that take over the responsibility for a particular product line within a retail store An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 24 12 Creating an Effective Web Presence An organization’s presence The public image it conveys to its stakeholders Stakeholders of a firm Include its customers, suppliers, employees, stockholders, neighbors, and the general public An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 25 Achieving Web Presence Goals Objectives of the business Attracting visitors to the Web site Making the site interesting enough that visitors tay and explore Convincing visitors to follow the site’s links to obtain information An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 26 13 Achieving Web Presence Goals (continued) Objectives of the business Creating an impression consistent with the organization’s desired image Building a trusting relationship with visitors Reinforcing positive images that the visitor might already have about the organization Encouraging visitors to return to the site An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 27 Profit-Driven Organizations Toyota site A good example of an effective Web presence Provides links to Detailed information about each vehicle modelA dealer locator page Information about the company and the financing services it offers An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 28 14 Toyota U. S. Home page An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 29 Profit-Driven Organizations (continued) Quaker Oats Web site does not offer a particularly strong sense of corporate presence Site is a straightforward presentation of links to information about the firm Redesigned site is essentially the same as the previous version An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 30 15 Quaker Oats Old Home Page An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 31 Quaker Oats Home Page: 1999 RedesignAn Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 32 16 Not-for-Profit Organizations Key goal for the Web sites Information dissemination Key element on any successful electronic commerce Web site Combination of information dissemination and a two-way contact channel An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 33 Web Site Usability Motivations of Web site visitors Learning about products or services that the company offers Buying products or services that the company offers Obtaining information about warranty, service, or repair policies for products they purchased Obtaining general information about the company or organizationAn Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 34 17 Web Site Usability (continued) Motivations of Web site visitors Obtaining financial information for making an investment or credit granting decision Identifying the people who manage the company or organization Obtaining contact information for a person or department in the organization An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 35 Making Web Sites Accessible One of the best ways to accommodate a broad range of visitor needs is to build flexibility into the Web site’s interface Good site design lets visitors choose among information attributes Web sites can offer visitors multiple nformation formats by including links to files in those formats An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 36 18 Making Web Sites Accessible (continued) Goals that should be met when constructing Web sites Offer easily accessible facts about the organization Allow visitors to experience the site in different ways and at different levels Sustain visitor attention and encourage return visits Offer easily accessible information An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 37 Trust and Loyalty A 5 percent increase in customer loyalty can yield profit increases between 25% and 80% Repetition of satisfactory service can build ustomer loyalty Customer service is a problem for many electronic commerce sites An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 38 19 Usability Testing Companies that have done usability tests Conduct focus groups Watch how different customers navigate through a series of Web site test designs Cost of usability testing is low compared to the total cost of a Web site design or overhaul to E-Commerce An Introduction Winter 85, 39 Customer-Centric Web Site Design Putting the customer at the center of all site designs Guidelines Design the site around how visitors will navigate the links Allow visitors to access information quicklyAvoid using inflated marketing statements An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 40 20 Customer-Centric Web Site Design (continued) Guidelines Avoid using business jargon and terms that visitors might not understand Be consistent in use of design features and colors Make sure navigation controls are clearly labeled Test text visibility on smaller monitors Conduct usability tests An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 41 Connecting With Customers Personal contact model Firm’s e mployees individually search for, qualify, and contact potential customers Prospecting Personal contact approach to identifying and reaching customersMass media approach Firms prepare advertising and promotional materials about the firm and its products An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 42 21 Connecting With Customers (continued) Addressable media Advertising efforts directed to a known addressee Also called mass media One-to-many communication model Communication flows from one advertiser to many potential buyers One-to-one communication model Both buyer and seller participate in information exchange An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 43 Business Communication Modes An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 44 22 Summary Models used to generate revenue on the WebWeb catalog Digital content sales Advertising-supported Advertising-subscription mixed Fee-for-transaction and fee-for-service Companies undertaking electronic commerce initiatives sometimes Form strategic allia nces Contract with channel distribution managers An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 45 Summary (continued) Firms must understand how the Web differs from other media Enlisting the help of users when building test versions of the Web site is a good way to create a site that represents the organization well Firms must also understand the nature of communication on the Web An Introduction to E-Commerce Winter 85, 46 23

Blaming Khrushchev for the Cuban Missile Crisis Is Wrong

Blaming khrushchev for the Cuban missile crisis is wrong, for it is kennedy who precipitated the crisis and no one else. Cuban missile crisis does not consist only the placement of missiles in cuba , but also the things before it, cubas nationalization of industries ,like the bop, the embargoes , the soviet giving of aid to ussr, Subject: outbreak / origins of the Cuban missile crisis Focus: role of superpower involvement Timeframe : 1959 to 1962 Keyterms to note: precipitation of crisis Arguments 1. Khrushchev was to be blamed as well as kennedy 2. Only krushchev should be blamed The personalities of who was to be blamed for the Cuban missile crisis can be traced as one looks at the events in th1950s which led to Cubas deteriorating relations with the USA and its subsequent alignment with the USSR, which led to the placement of missiles in Cuba and the consequent tensions that followed. This relations has its origins in the quest for self interest by newly elected leader, Fido Castro, as while as search for national security by both superpowers from the tension passed down from the cold war in Europe ( qualify). Kennedys search for national security precipitated the crisis when his search translated into actions that directly went against Cuba and pushed Cuba away from the US and into support of the USSR. Kennedy failed to consider that Castros intention to establishing diplomatic relations with the USSR was not to antagonize the US or threaten its national security but mostly for economic benefits. ( the US had earlier refused to grant a loan to Cuba and there were continuing disputes over American property in Cuba). This failure to interpret events correctly led US on its intense quest for national security by instituting economic embargoes on Cuba and direct intervention as seen in the Bay of Pigs invasion. However, such actions were needlessly aggressive for its national security was not threatened in the first place. This however caused a deep rift in the US-soviet relations which was an opportunity for USSR to gain a foothold in the Caribbean ; and thus allowed the opportunity for issiles to be placed on Cuba and arising to the tensions that followed. Khrushchev had a part to play in the Cuba missile crisis as well because his action of giving aid to Cuba, a traditional backyard of the USSR, further fuelled the already intense mistrust the US had of the USSR; eventually cumulating in the Cuban missile crisis, leaving Cuba on the edge of brinkmanship. The role of Castro in starting economic reforms directly affecting American industries also contributed to the US suspicions in the crisis. His actions of turning to the USSR for economic aid ( even though he was not communist) also reinforced US perceptions, and his final agreement for missiles to be placed in Cuba (although he knew the implications of doing so) was the ultimate trigger for USs knee-jerk response and the subsequent tensions that followed. Kennedys misinterpretation of Castros actions ( aligning close to the USSR)-as threatening its national security- stemmed from his perception of monolithic communist aggression and the loss of china to communism. communism expousedeventual showdown and triumph over capitalism. Communism has already extended to parts outside Europe such as China, and as such national insecurity has grown; thus the need to safeguard their national security. This misinterpretation of Castros actions , coupled with Kennedys inexperience in dealing with world affairs, caused the US to embark on its quest for national security through economic embargoes on Cuba the initial bay of pigs as a direct intervention . However, such actions were needlessly aggressive for its national security was not threatened in the first place when castros intentions were for economic benefits rather than to deliberately antagonize the US. Furthermore, due to his inexperience,Instead of turning to diplomatic action, kennedy set on the institution of a military solution (With the aim was to oust Castro from power and to reverse the effects of the reforms) caused Castros fear of more direct American intervention ( demonstrated by the case of Guatamalan) and the desire for military protection in anticipation of it and to seek protection from future efforts to unseat his revolution. This further motivated Castros shift to the USSR and his subsequent nationalizing of American owned industries, banks, etc, which created the conditions for the Cuban missile crisis to happen. Castros shift to the USSR directly coincided with Khrushchevs quest for a successful foreign policy and need to address nuclear strategic imbalance. Khrushchevs search for USSRs national security could be traced from the need to spread the Solidarity movement worldwide, to extend communist zeal into Cuba so that there would be countries supporting USSR and its line of communism. his need aroused due to events like the humiliation of the Berlin wall and the failed ultimatum over berlin, where the credibility of krushchev (in narrow terms) and Khrushchev( in broad terms) was lost. Krushchev also believed that it was right for soviets to extend their influence into the backyard of the us since the US has extended their influence in Europe. khrushchevwas aware of the weakness of Soviet weakness in terms of the number of nuclear warheads and missiles. Given the weakness of Soviet nuclear capability , placing missiles on cuba could be a quick solution to addressing the strategic imbalance. Khrushchev also had an overtly simplistic view that he must return the same medicine the us had been administering in turkey with the jupiter and thor missiles. thus his action of sending missiles to Cuba. However, the US did not see developments in the way that the USSR did. The US saw the placement of missiles as a provocative and aggressive threat to US security, given that the Soviet missiles could reach major US cities on the eastern coast. The fact that the US had seen Soviet tendencies to lead to aggression against the capitalists from the soviet testing of the atomic bomb, the collaboration with stalin during the nazi soviet pact, and the confrontational Berlin Blockade led the US to think that not only was Cuba turning communist ( that the USSR had indeed extended her sphere of influence and Cuba was a breeding ground for states hostile to the US, followed by states within Latin america), but the placement of missiles would mean a high probability of a pre-emptive first strike from the USSR . Put together with the fact that any changes with the political status qup (with US as a leading political power) would severely undermine the credibility of kennedy and america, and how the US was not prepared to forsake economic interests in Latin America where western Europe can overcome its dollar shortage and pursue economic revival, atop of its search for national security, the uss response was to choose a quarantine. alsothey to produce plans for an American invasion of Cuba and put all American bases around the world on high alert with the expectation that an American nvasion of cuba would provoke a soviet response in Europe. This equated to the intensification of the nuclear arms race when clearly it was dangerous; and led the countries to be on the edge of mutually assured destruction. as it reached crisis level It threatened the existence of the entire world. While it is undeniable that the issue that kickstarted the intensification of the nuclear arms was the soviet placem ent of missiles in cuba, it should be noted that both superpowers played a part in their quest for national security and self-interest. Kennedys perception of monolithic communist aggression led it to its attempts to try to cripple Cuba to prevent it from posing any threat to the US national security through the institution of actions that were needlessly hostile towards Cuba, causing it to turn to the USSR. This granted the USSR the opportunity to place its missiles there to address nuclear strategic parity and to spread the zeal of communism to safeguard its national security; which was again viewed as aggression by the US. This led to the oncoming of the Cuban missile crisis, where the nuclear arms race threatened the existence of the entire world.