World War Z as a Sociopolitical Assessment of Globalization

World War Z as a Sociopolitical Assessment of Globalization World War Z showed readers that what may have worked in peace time was unsuited for war. By doing so Brooks was able to make a good assessment of our current global systems with the overarching evaluation of globalization’s literal and metamorphical infectiousness. He uses the novel to comment on the social issues such as government ineptitude, while also playing on innate human fear and our ability to adapt to new situations for the sake of survivability.By adding an overarching apocalyptic theme with a touch of old-fashioned zombie gore, Brooks is able to provide a thoughtful, entertaining assessment of how different parts of the world would react to a widespread crisis. World War Z is one of the most creative social commentary of our times. It is chilling, to say the least, not only because of the ghouls themselves, but also how the rest of the world reacts to them. Max Brooks was able to depict a huge range of mot ivations and human intentions in this novel that could be comparable to a sociological study of humans in a time of crisis.He also does an excellent job of describing the sort of cold, logical planning that was necessary in order to survive a zombie apocalypse and that even after the war is over, the world still has a long way to go before it can move on. Survivalism and disaster preparedness are two other dominant themes in the novel. Many of the interviews in World War Z that come from United States citizens focus on policy changes with the intent of training themselves to thwart off zombie attacks and, in a post-apocalyptic world, rebuilding the country to its former glory.This was an interesting policy for the United States to take up, as it completely changed the social hierarchy by putting the working class mechanic above the CEO of a multimillion dollar corporation (Brooks, 2006: 140). Throughout the novel, Brooks repeatedly presents characters with the sort of mental and phy sical toughness required to survive a disaster. Although one’s physical fitness is a factor that attributes to one’s survivability, many of these interviews are of ordinary people with extraordinary resiliency who were able to rise to the occasion when they were needed.In this sense, readers can see a distinction in the United States from the rest of the world in that its citizens are a nation full of individualists who believe that they have the ability to survive any dire situation as long as one has the right â€Å"tools and talent† (Brooks, 2004: 140). It was also inspirational to read that in times of extreme adversity man can be beaten and brought to his knees but also rise up to show his resilience, When zombies were first written about, they seemed to be created by magic. In recent decades, however, their origins have become more and more complex.Today, one would be hard pressed to find a zombie novel or movie where the origin of the zombie species is no t from radioactivity and viruses being used as a sort of biological warfare. One thing that many books in the zombie genre do not address is how the rest of the world develops weapons to specifically deal with the zombie threat. Brooks not only creates new weapons in his zombiverse, he also finds new uses for previously existing ones. It is true that new wars create new technology and there is no better motivator than a worldwide crisis such as a potential zombie apocalypse.World War Z is no exception to this fact, as various peoples around the world were able to adapt and overcome technical limitations when it came to facing a new enemy. The United States Marines, for example, are credited for creating the â€Å"Lobotomizer,† a fusion of shovel and double-bladed battle-axe improvised from the recycled steel of cars (Brooks, 2006: 146). People were also able to repurpose the resources that they had in new ways, such as using K-9 units to sniff out zombie populations (Brooks, 2006: 283).This adaptation and repurposing of resources was crucial in the Zombie War effort and is a reflection on how important a military’s ability to adapt to new situations is in establishing victory in a war. In â€Å"Why do some people think they know what is good for others? † Naeem Inayatulla talks about many westernized country’s desire to give aid to these third world countries and how this can prove to be ineffective if done with the view that these impoverished countries need to be given what the western world thinks they need (Inayatulla, 2009: 345).This point is further emphasized in Brook’s novel when he describes how these â€Å"third world† countries seemed to fare the same, if not a bit better than their first world counterparts. This is especially true when one reads the section of the book with the interview of Xolelwa Azania, or Paul Redeker in the United States of Southern Africa. This interview talks about the origins of the Redeker Plan, which was a systematic way of intentionally sacrificing a large portion of a population in order to save another population in a more easily defensible or important location (Brooks, 2006: 106).During the zombie outbreak in South Africa, Redeker adapted his Plan Orange 84 into a zombie survival plan should the outbreak become a serious threat. Plan Orange 84 was a â€Å"doomsday scenario† survival plan for the Apartheid government if the Black African population rose up against the White Afrikaners. Being a logical and dispassionate person who thought emotions such as love and hate to be inefficient, Plan Orange made Redeker a hated man in South Africa.Although this plan came at the cost of Redeker’s sanity, it proved to help out the rest of the world by allowing them to adopt and modify the plan for themselves, in addition to indirectly saving thousands, if not millions of people from being turned into zombies and thus wiping out the human race. This le ads into the argument that authoritarian regimes tend to be most effective during times of war. It seems that democracies tend to be most effective during peacetime, while authoritarian regimes function best under times of war or crisis.The reason why this is so effective is because of fear. Authoritarian regimes are most effective when its citizens are afraid of what might happen to them if they break the law or participate in suspicious activities. This is especially true during World War II, when Adolf Hitler was able to amass support from almost an entire country using fear and intimidation. There are many parallels that can be drawn between World War II and World War Z, such as the early responses to the impending crisis. That is to say, arly warnings went unheeded, profiteers made millions selling a placebo to the masses and the military prepared itself with the tools that would have been perfect for the last war that it fought. This is all combined to highlight the fact that almost no one really paid much attention to the crisis until it was staring them in the face, or, more appropriately, shambling towards them. Another prevalent theme that Brooks considers in World War Z is not only that of fear, but the uncertainty that breeds that fear. Zombies are the perfect harbinger of the apocalypse because they do not play by the traditional rules of the â€Å"game. Any other enemy, be it another nation or a group of terrorists, initiates or receives an attack and then this sort of back-and-forth warfare begins where you go and fight them and then they retaliate. Zombies have no wartime strategy or vendetta against any particular group. They are thoughtless, infectious humanoids who are driven by one of the most basic instincts of seeking out their next object of consumption. It is the mindlessness of the zombie theme that plays so perfectly into the apocalyptic genre and furthermore the fear of an enemy that acts more like a virus than a predator.A predator is naturally intelligent and knows not to over-hunt its territory, lest it starve to death. Zombies are undead, and will just continue to infect and consume despite everything. Although the zombie war was rightfully portrayed as a disastrous event, there were some good things that seemed to come out of the war. For example, cooperation between Israel and the neighboring Muslim countries greatly increased during the Great Panic. Israel opened its borders to everyone regardless of their race or religious affiliation.Although this was only for a short time, this act spoke volumes throughout the world. While this may be a somewhat too idealistic portrayal of what could happen in a situation such as the one presented in World War Z, it is inspirational to imagine countries that were once enemies band together to face a common enemy in order to survive. Perhaps one of the more surprising stories in World War Z is how Brooks imagines Cuba dealing with the zombie crisis and even coming out as one of the world’s postwar superpowers. Cuba became an ideal refuge for a number of reasons.Besides being surrounded by Caribbean waters, which gave Cubans time to prepare for the invasion, their lack of diplomatic ties to the United States, their militaristic dictatorship and their generally well-educated populace helped to resist the first waves of zombies. Early outbreaks were handled in brutal fashion and the Cuban military fortified their shorelines early on and only let in the most desirable workers and talent. Although Cuba was by no means spared from the heavy fighting during the war, their early successes made them one of, if not the most desirable nation to flee to (Brooks, 2006: 228-233).World War Z is a novel that redefined and repopularized a genre while also giving a thought-provoking look on how the world might react to a disaster on a worldwide scale. Max Brooks writes his novel with such a finesse and realistic perspective that one might be misled into th inking that a zombie apocalypse is something that could actually happen in the future. The personal accounts of people help to give a frighteningly accurate commentary on modern society by playing into innate human fear and desire to survive.All in all, World War Z takes a serious, geopolitical and sociopolitical look at a fantastical premise and disastrous event with a keen eye for detail. He also shows just how resilient man can be when faced with extreme adversity. Brooks, Max. 2006. World War Z: an oral history of the zombie war. 1st ed. New York: Crown. Inayatulla, Naeem. 2009. â€Å"Why do some people think they know what is good for others? † in Global Politics: a new introduction, edited by Jenny Edkins and Maja Zehfuss, (New York: Routledge), Ch. 15, pp. 344-369.

History of Pole Dancing Essay

Pole dancing is a combination of dance and gymnastics that is an increasingly popular form of fitness and dance. Pole dancers use a vertical pole which is either static or spinning, and train in gyms or dedicated dance studios. It’s no secret that pole dancing really started in the strip clubs. But it has evolved into so much more and pole dancing fitness enthusiasts and schools have been working tirelessly to change the perception to one of a legitimate dance style emphasising the acrobatics and strength. Circus influences such as Chinese pole and other aerial arts have helped along the way, moving it away from the erotic environment. Competitions are usually non-sexual and are judged on tricks and transitions rather than sensuality. Rather than just the gyrating and grinding people expect it to be, pole dancing requires an amazing amount of strength, flexibility and cardiovascular endurance, even a five minute routine is extremely tiring! Obviously in clubs, rather than actual tricks, there is a lot of floor-work and other things that are designed to arouse rather than amaze! Pole dancers use upper body and core strength are the most obvious requirements as there are a lot of climbs, spins and inverting the body weight – it often involves a lot of training to get anywhere near an advanced level. Pole dancing as we see it today originated during the depression in America. The traveling entertainment and carnival troupes would go from town to town. In one of the side tents aside from the main show, girls would dance suggestively on a small stage in front of crowds of cheering men. Sound familiar? Pole dancing gradually moved into to bars in the 1950s as burlesque became more popular and then during the 1980s in North America, became pole dancing and the modern striptease. It was only a decade later that a dancer in Canada started teaching pole dancing for fitness to women who weren’t club dancers. In Australia, the first pole dancing studio, Bobbi’s Pole Studio, opened in Sydney in 2004, closely followed by Pole Divas in Melbourne in 2004 and a national competition followed in 2005. Since then there have been dozens of pole dancing schools opening all over Australia and we boast some of the best pole dancers in the world, including multiple Miss Pole Dance World winner, Felix Cane. We do know that there are different styles of pole dancing including Chinese pole, and Mallakhamb (an Indian sport), neither of which have an erotic component and are mainly performed by men, so obviously pole dancing in different forms has developed around the world over time. The Mallakhamb pole is wide, made of wood and has a wooden ball on the top of it. Chinese Pole is usually performed using two poles, between which the men perform gravity defying acrobatics. During a pole dancing fitness class, which are often similar to aerobics or dance classes in their format, students begin with a cardiovascular warm up, use dynamic stretching and strength drills to prepare and then learn a series of tricks, climbs and inverts and often then put them into a dance routine to practice transitions and develop their endurance. One other thing that is often reported by women who have taken up pole dancing for fitness is a feeling of empowerment and increased confidence. Whether this is because of their developing strength, skill, grace or simply a sense of achievement, differs from student to student. Pole dancing now focuses on the fitness, acrobatics and dance performance aspects and competitions are fierce. Some dancers are lean contortion machines whilst some look like they could be body builders in their spare time. Women and men compete on a regular basis around the world in a number of styles, all with absolutely breathtaking performances. Pole dancing has definitely come a long way from the sexy tent pole dancing where it began!

Electrical Circuit

Electrical circuit  is a path which  electrons  from a  voltage  or  current  source flow. Electric current  flows in a closed path called an electric circuit. The point where those electrons enter an electrical circuit is called the â€Å"source† of electrons. The point where the electrons leave an electrical circuit is called the â€Å"return† or â€Å"earth ground†. The exit point is called the â€Å"return† because electrons always end up at the source when they complete the path of an electrical circuit.The part of an electrical circuit that is between the electrons' starting point and the point where they return to the source is called an electrical circuit's â€Å"load†. ————————————————- Electrical-circuits Electrical circuits usually use  alternating current  sources. The load of an electrical circuit may be as simple as the electrical appliances like refrigerators, televisions, or microwave ovens. But the loads for electrical circuits can also be quite complicated, such as the load upon the output of a hydroelectric power generating station. ———————————————— Electronic circuits Electronic  circuits usually use low voltage  direct current  sources. The load of an electronic circuit may be as simple as a few  resistors,capacitors, and a lamp, all connected together to create the flash in a  digital camera. Or an electronic circuit can be complicated, connecting thousands of resistors, capacitors, and  transistors  to create the  microprocessors  that make computers possible. ————————————————- Circuit-and-wiring-diagrams Electrical and electronic circui ts can be complicated.Making a drawing of the connections to all the component parts in the circuit's load makes it easier to understand how circuit components are connected. Drawings for electronic circuits are called â€Å"circuit diagrams†. Drawings for electrical circuits are called â€Å"wiring diagrams†. Circuit diagrams and wiring diagrams are usually drawn by skilleddraftsmen, and then printed. But they can also be simple pencil sketches drawn by  technicians  or other workers. Wiring and circuit diagrams use special  symbols  recognized by everyone who uses the drawings.The symbols on the drawings show how components like resistors, capacitors,  inductors, motors, outlet boxes, lights, switches, and other electrical and electronic ————————————————- Circuit-breakers The current flowing in an electrical or electronic circuit can be suddenly i ncreased when a component part fails. The increase in current can cause serious damage to other components in the circuit. Or the failure can create a fire hazard. To protect the other components, or to prevent a fire hazard, a device called a â€Å"circuit breaker† can be wired into a circuit.The circuit breaker will open, or â€Å"break†, the circuit in which it is installed when the current in that circuit becomes too high. ————————————————- [change]Ground-fault-interrupt-(GFI)-devices The standard return for electrical and electronic circuits is the earth ground. When an improperly designed electrical or electronic device fails, it may open the return circuit to the earth ground. The user of the device could become a part of the device's electrical circuit by providing a return path for the electrons through the user's body instead of the circuit's earth ground.When the user's body becomes part of an electrical circuit, the user can be seriously  shocked, or even killed by  electrocution. To prevent the danger of electrical shock and the possibility of electrocution, ground fault interrupt devices detect open circuits to earth ground in attached electrical or electronic devices. When an open circuit to earth ground is detected, the GFI device immediately opens the voltage source to the device. GFI devices are similar to circuit breakers, but are designed to protect humans rather than circuit components.

Women in Swimming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Women in Swimming - Essay Example o are ugly will feel jealous; the press photographers will do their professional duty, clicking pictures from different angles and with different viewpoints. The winner swimmer will attain international fame, and become overnight a sex symbol as well. Physical beauty and swimming ability are an awesome combination. One has the potential to become a crossover world star overnight. One may be the cover-page girl and the editors are sure to select the most provocative pose amongst the dozens of photographs their lens man has been able to get. Commercialization has crept in and the female swimmer is posed in a sexualized manner. She may do it willingly or the cameraman might have clicked her in that position. A female swimmer’s achievement in sports lasts for the duration of the performance but her sexy poses are cashable and marketable for many years. The athletic performance takes the back seat as compared to her sexy poses. Top swimming stars do would not like to miss the opportunities for making a fortune. In real terms, prize-money accrued out of a bunch of gold medals is kindergarten stuff as compared to the massive returns an attractive pose in the swimsuit may fetch for a top athlete. Sport sells but sex sells better! Yes, those poses looking at which the viewer roll their eyes and sigh in exasperation. Whether it is right or wrong from the sociological point of view, female swimmers are presented by both the print and electronic media, by highlighting their physical assets. The articles also emphasize the swimmer’s sexuality and the photographs are mostly to highlight their sexual features. When they get contracts as models by the multinational giants, the advertising people make their figure more glamorous by lighting and make-up. Her swimming talents take the backseat for a while. Her breathtaking and flawless skin and endless legs are given prominence. Her ripping muscles are made to look more attractive. And sky is the limit for the imagination of

Reading Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Reading - Assignment Example Most organizations have employees with creative ideas but unless they are recognized and given incentives and opportunity to exercise it, the society at large has a lot to lose. The assertion of the post regarding significance of recognizing creativity in an individual is true and valid. The posts show that creativity is the key quality that most employers seek in a potential employee. In the context of engineering, creativity has seen the revolution of technology with ever expanding advancement. The ideas emerging in the field of engineering are a product of creative minds which transverse the traditional concepts. By offering diverse scenarios where creativity boosts engineering discipline and other careers, the post asserts the need for managers to recognize productive recruits. The managers should have open mind and deep knowledge on how to identify creative employees and retain them for a prosperous performance. In that regard, the posts assertion on creativity and its overriding influence in an organization and individual productivity is reliable. This post gives an insight into the role of creativity for individual growth and sustained organization development. There are processes of recruitment which must incorporate the ability to select quality workers. Creativity and innovation should be valued in an individual as it adds credit to the quality of output in an individual. Organizations are currently engaged on formulating strategies towards recruiting and sustaining creative and innovative minds. Competitive strategies of organization has been shifted towards human capital which is significantly defined by ability to innovate hence boost the overall performance. The post therefore reiterates the importance of creativity in sustaining

Quality Management Tools & Techniques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Quality Management Tools & Techniques - Essay Example In addition, it is also used in the monitoring of the effects of process improvement theories. Consequently, as the standard the X-bar and R chart will only work in place of X-bar and s or the median and R chart. In order to create an X-bar and R chart you can use CHARTrunner and SQCpack software. The X-bar is used to show the mean or average of every subgroup. It also used to analyze central location. On the other hand the R-chart is used to depict how data is spread and study system variability. We can actually utilize the R charts and X-bar for any of the processes that with a subgroup size greater than one. Usually it is used when the size of the subgroup falls within two and ten. However, the s charts and X-bar charts are used those subgroups of eleven and more. The X-bar and R charts are only utilized; if you need to assess stability of the system, the data is in variable form, if the data is collected in such subgroups that are larger than one but are less than eleven. So as t o ensure the best of the results, before calculating the control limits should collect as many subgroups as possible. This is because with the small amount of data the variability of the entire system may not be represented by the X-bar and R chart. Therefore, the more subgroups utilized in the calculation of limits usually 20-25 the more reliable the results (Waite, 2010). As in the case of Scott and Larraine the utilization of 30 sub groups is actually recommended. Since Scott said that he noticed that the number of complaints seem to have significantly increased since the new system was installed, it can actually be diagnosed that the problems may be emanating from the system thus the need of checking if there is any variability in the system. But since the errors increased in the last third of the month it is also substantiated that the system has been in place close to a month. The X-bar and R charts can be of help if you commence to improve the system and later use them to ass ess the systems stability. After assessment of the system’s stability, should determine if there is need to stratify the data. This is because you may actually come across variability in the results should collect the data and enter it such way that lets you to stratify it by location, symptom, lots, time and operator. Moreover, since the hotel was continuously receiving complaints the X-bar and R charts can also be used to analyze the results of improvements of the process. This would curb down an increased trend of complaints of the inflated bills from the hotel staff. Finally, the X-bar and R charts can be used for standardization. This means the data should continue to be collected and analyzed through the process of operation. If changes have been made to the system that can make the collection of data to stop, then you can only have the perception and opinion that they improved the system (Waite, 2010). An X-bar monitors the average value of particular process overtime. This means that for every subgroup the x-bar value is plotted. The lower and upper control limits are the ones that define the range of inherent variation in the means of the subgroups when the process is in control. However, the R chart is used to monitor the process if the variable of interest is a quantitative measure. To find the upper and lower limits we use the formulae (Woodwall, 2011). UCL = ?+ 3vn and UCL ?-3vn To commence with, the R chart is

The nature of democracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The nature of democracy - Essay Example Democracy as defined by Margaret Thatcher was through her policies known as Thatcherism. A simple definition of Thatcherism involves three main themes, which are; it was the peak suitable shorthand portrayal of what Conformist administrations practiced between 1979 and 1990. This ideology shows that every step these governments took had a heavy doctrinal base, and it infers that all the Conservative governments in this era were subject to their leader, Mrs. Thatcher. Gorbachev, on the other hand, was determined on restoring Soviet socialism through peaceful and democratic means. The hitch, of course, was that the Soviet economy was a deranged system that directed people and resources through state commands, threats, and the force of the Gulag (McFaul, 2002). Nonetheless, Gorbachev relentlessly strained to reform the organization, not through orders but using influence and pleas to truth and teamwork. Ronald Reagan, in support of United Kingdom, dared Gorbachev who at the time was the secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, a major participant in the cold war. Reagan believed that communist democratic system was going to split down as a symbol of Gorbachev desire to increase unrestrained freedom in the Eastern bloc of Germany restructuring and transparency processes. Thatcherism asserts to promote low inflation, the slight state and free markets through strong control of the money supply, privatization and constraints on the labor movement (Blundell, 2008). It is frequently associated with Reaganomics, which implemented policies founded on supply-side finances and encouraged a traditional liberal and laissez-faire viewpoint, in search of stimulating the economy with large, across-the-board tax cuts. Gorbachev also initiated capitalism through the laissez faire ideology. This was a major reason for the fall of communism in Russia. The inflexibilities and deceits of the Soviet economic and political organization demonstrated to be fundamentally resis tant to change, ending in the comprehensive fall of the Soviet government and economy in 1991. Capitalism backs democracy in that it takes very slight upkeep from the government for a capitalist economy to work. Capitalism undermines democracy since wealth in a capitalistic culture ultimately converts to be much lop-sided, and this culminates to a vast gap among the proletariat and the bourgeoisies. This result to the entire democratic developments being tainted by money added in the political course and the effect that money has on the politicians. Democracy and socials, on the other hand, have a curious relationship. Both of these traditions are rooted in the philosophical concept of equality (Duberstein, 2006). However, different characteristics of equality are emphasized. Democracy relates to political equality and socialism relates to material equality. From all these relationships, a deep analysis of Vaclav and Gorbachev depict the latter in their type of ideologies. Equity as a nature of democracy and capitalism was portrayed in Thatcher’s government, and she introduced various political as well as economic initiatives intended to reverse high unemployment rates and the Britain’s fights in the rise of winter of dissatisfaction and on-going downturn. Margret Thatcher’s political view and economic policies emphasized the deregulation specifically on the financial