Popularity and Superficiality in Arthur Millers Death of...

Popularity and Superficiality in Death of a Salesman In Arthur Miller’s Death of A Salesman, Willy Lowman possesses the trait of superficiality. Willy’s priorities are to look good and be liked, and this contributes to his misguided path to reach success. This attribute is one of many societal criticisms pointed out by Miller. Arthur Miller criticizes society for perceiving success as being liked and having good looks. He illustrates society’s perception through Willy, who thinks the keys to success are being popular and attractive. Willy transmits this philosophy to his sons by ignoring their education and personal growth and setting an example that popularity is most important. Willy shows many times that his idea of†¦show more content†¦Willy continues to teach his sons his misguided values by telling them education is almost useless and a good body is a fine substitute. Bernard can get the best marks in school, y’understand , but when he gets out in the business world, y’understand, you are going to be five times ahead of him. That’s why I thank the Almighty God you’re both built like Adonises. Because the man that makes the appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you’ll never want. (pg. 33) Willy is now misleading his sons into thinking good looks will keep them alive in the corporate world and education won’t, yet Willy is a man with respectable looks and he isn’t surviving in the same world. Fifteen years later, Willy continues to preach the same theory, even after he has seen both his sons fail in the world, having been guided by his words. Prior to Biff’s proposal to Bill Oliver for ten thousand dollars , Willy is still stuffing his sons’ heads with the same misleading advise. It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it-because personality always wins the day. (pg. 65) Willy’s final words of advise to Biff are no different than his first and no more educational. Biff, like Willy, does not learn from hisShow MoreRelatedThe Destruction of Willy Lowmans American Dream in Arthur Millers Death of A Salesman626 Words   |  3 Pages In Arthur Millers Death of A Salesman readers are introduced to Willy, an ambitious salesman who just cant seem to get a break despite his drive. Willys life is marked by failure, and an almost stubborn attachment to the idea of striking it big. Willys life is ended by his own hands, the result of a broken dream that lead to a broken spirit. In many senses Willy represents the idea of the everyman, the average working class man trying to get ahead, this is reflected in his attachment toRead More Comparing Death of a Salesman and The American Dream Essay1240 Words   |  5 PagesComparing Death of a Salesman and The American Dream   Ã‚  Ã‚   In Arthur Miller’s Death of A Salesman and Edward Albee’s The American Dream, Willy Lowman and Mommy possess the trait of superficiality. Their priorities are to look good and be liked, and this contributes to their misguided paths to reach success. This attribute is one of many societal criticisms pointed out by both authors. Arthur Miller criticizes society for perceiving success as being liked and having good looks. He illustrates

Welfare Intervention Research Paper - 771 Words

Former president Obama and the Obama administration attempted to pass a work waiver, unfortunately it was not passed by the congress. Republicans said that the waiver was an effort to â€Å"gut welfare reform† but they said it would make the requirements for work flexible. Intervention The Social Security Act of 1935 signed by former president Franklin D Roosevelt created many programs that some today created the foundation for the governments role in old age insurance, income security, AFDC program and income security. AFDC program is todays TANF program. The Social Security Act formulated two categories contributory and noncontributory welfare. Social security was for the working Americans that committed a percentage of their wages from†¦show more content†¦Both Grace Abbott and Katherine Lenroot wanted to remove ADC of the stigma of public assistance. ADC was completely turned around from the what it had been intended to do by the casework provisions for supervision. A plan in the law that sanctioned ADC aid only to the â€Å"suitable homes† the program’s first thirty years to cut down the number of eligibility for kids and to restrict the aid for colored children and children out of wedlock. â€Å"in 1960 when 79 of every 1000 children were in need, only 30 received assistance.† (Social welfare library) For the first thirty years ADC operated like a â€Å"private charity†, it’s not until in the 1960s where the National Welfare Rights Organization which was run primarily by African American women who were also into the Civil Rights Movement where they fought to eliminate the harsh eligible provisions and establishing a right to a minimum income. In the 1960s the system was reconstructed in many ways to push moms into work/labor. The amendments gave tax enticement for getting jobs and cutting off the funding to kids whose mothers denied offers of â€Å"fitting† work. An array of working programs was tried at state and federal positions. Some states allowed the people to go to school instead of work since it allows to reduce the welfare reliance over time, but it was taken out shortly after. In the end, workfare failed because of what peopleShow MoreRelatedCommunity Counseling Resources Ess ay727 Words   |  3 Pages6356 - 1) In this paper will analyze primary, secondary, and tertiary couple and family interventions provided by community resources. In this paper will provide a community resource that works with issues of domestic violence and the primary, secondary, and tertiary interventions that the resource provides. A further analysis will be provided on any gaps that may exist in the interventions and an explanation of how to address those gaps. . AccordingRead MoreBenefit Cost Analysis Of Social Programs. Child, Youth,1662 Words   |  7 Pages AND FAMILY PROGRAMS MAYA BOZKURT SPRING 2017 Abstract This paper examines the benefit cost analyses of youth, children, and family programs by means of investigating previous studies in the area and comparing benefit cost analyses of different programs. Benefit cost analysis (BCA) of these programs differ from BCA of infrastructure, health or environmental programs due to the mental and intangible consequences. This paper addresses the main principles applied in BCA and procedural steps.Read MoreCrime Is A Socially Constructed Phenomenon1547 Words   |  7 Pagescrime. It will apply strain theory to attempt to explain why crime occurs and provide a critique. It will examine the welfarist approach during the early 1970s and will go onto look at the controversial phrase ‘nothing works’, which emanated from a paper in 1974 by Robert Martinson. This will be followed by the shift to ‘what works?’ evidence based practice. 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These principles encouraged researchers to work to cut down the figure of animals utilized in experiments to the minimum considered necessary, refine or limit the pain and distress to which animals are exposed, and replace theRead MoreDeveloping Number Of Child Welfare Offices1231 Words   |  5 Pages â€Å"Our Children† In The State of FL Matter Willuance Mesalien Nova Southeastern University Abstract A developing number of Child welfare offices are utilizing differential Response (DR) in a push to react all the more adaptably to child abuse and neglect reports and to better meet singular family needs. In these frameworks, families with screened-in child maltreatment reports might get either a customaryRead MoreDeveloping Number Of Child Welfare Offices1231 Words   |  5 Pages â€Å"Our Children† In The State of FL Matter Willuance Mesalien Nova Southeastern University Abstract A developing number of Child welfare offices are utilizing differential Response (DR) in a push to react all the more adaptably to child abuse and neglect reports and to better meet singular family needs. In these frameworks, families with screened-in child maltreatment reports might get either aRead MoreArgumentative Essay : Generalist Social Work Practice1192 Words   |  5 PagesPosition Paper Two: Generalist Social Work Practice Dating back to the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century two women who impacted the field of social work and its beginning were Jane Addams and Mary Richmond. 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This paper will explore and analyze the service delivery system and financing of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA). Additionally, this paper will examine the achieved outcomes that have been accomplished by the implementation of CAPTA. Children are one of the most vulnerable populations that social workers will assist in the social work profession. The child welfare system encompasses many services that are provided to childrenRead MoreThe Effects Of Parental Substance Use Disorder On Childhood Development1565 Words   |  7 Pagessignificant public health concerns and rank among the most common psychiatric disorders beginning in young adulthood. Substance abuse is considered low or infrequent doses of alcohol or drugs such that damaging consequences are rare or minor (Child Welfare, 2012). Such abuse can cause social, mental, emotional, and behavioral problems. 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Greatest Strength Of China History Essay Free Essays

I select inquiry B to analyse the greatest destabilizing component and its greatest strength of China. China has a long and old history which dates back to 1000s of old ages ago. Brilliant civilisation was created and passed down from coevals to coevals. We will write a custom essay sample on Greatest Strength Of China History Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now For the record, China is the lone ancient civilisation that is in being today. the greatest destabilizing component and strength of China The greatest destabilizing component, in my position, would be the issue of husbandmans. As one large agricultural state, China needs the work and dedication of husbandmans to feed the turning population. Without the husbandmans, the cardinal authorities would non be able to raise an ground forces to spread out its district or to support against invasion of foreign race. ( Lewis, M. 2010 ) However, it has been a regular thing that in the beginning of a new dynasty, the new emperor took particular notice of the economic system and the importance that agribusiness was to the stableness of a new born dynasty. Therefore, steps that promote agribusiness had been developed and good encouraged. And this proved instead fruitful for the wellness development of the authorities. For illustration, in the beginning of the Han dynasty, two of the early emperors, Liu Heng and Liu Qi, learned from the experiences of the Qin Dynasty and made up the policy to advance agribusiness. The two emperors lig htened the revenue enhancements and fees on husbandmans, who are the chief production force of the state. There even had been policy to remit farm rent for 12 old ages in a row. The corvee was changed into one time every three old ages which was antecedently one time every twelvemonth. Emperor Liu Heng besides encouraged asceticism and against extravagancy. After Liu Heng, Liu Qi succeeded to the throne and the motto that agribusiness was the root of governing the state was put frontward. He believed that merely by increasing the grain output can the general mass get a better and stabilised life and the economic system can turn better. After the opinion of the two emperors during the early period of the Han dynasty, the root of the new state was stabilized and therefore laid the foundation of a booming coevals. However, the prosperity of a new dynasty ever followed by a dictatorship. For every alteration of dynasty, the function of husbandmans can by no agencies be neglected. At the terminal of a falling dynasty, the husbandmans were ever the first to endure. The chief ground for public violences and rebellions was that the opinion emperor knew nil and cared nil about economic development. To feed the swayer A ; acirc ; ˆâ„ ¢s turning appetite, the husbandmans were frequently deprived of the production that they spend old ages in bring forthing and reaping. Meanwhile, husbandmans were frequently called to take on the occupation to construct temples and castles for the opinion or to support against foreign invasion. The subjugation and sloppiness made the lives of husbandmans suffering and the consequence would be public violences and the creative activity of a new dynasty. However, due to the fact that China had been an agribusiness state and the default of familial system made it impossible for a dynasty to last long for the same circle happened on a regular basis. The greatest strength that China had is the saving of its civilization and tradition. China developed 1000s of old ages and during the long history that it had, infinite dynasties and states were build on what is now its district. The grounds that China remained a incorporate state lie in many factors. ( Shahar, M. 2008 ) Among these factors, in my sentiment, is its civilization and tradition which lasts through alteration of clip and dynasties and binds all peoples in the state together. The opinion of emperors could disappear. The edifices that represent the authorization of opinion could be destroyed. However, what is left in the general mass merely passes through one coevals after another and merely prospers and develops alternatively of lost. The historical development of Chinese traditional civilization is no confined to the Han people. As could be seen through the historical events, China has gone through several times of national assimilation. Through the assimilation, differ ent civilizations were added and a different and new civilization was in formation. Some of the imposts and traditions were passed down while some civilizations were lost and good forgotten. Apart from the civilizations that were forced to come in into the Han civilization, the swayer besides need a incorporate belief that can assist him better regulation the state. Buddhism is the faith that enjoys the largest sum of trusters in China now. Buddhism was introduced from the ancient India. One of the most celebrated official missional activities was the Tang Xuanzong sent Xuanzang into the ancient India to present the Buddhism. Buddhism had its premier times in Chinese history. And it so functioned as the best manner to chasten people. By stating the people in obeying and listening to the fateikarma and after life, the swayer A ; acirc ; ˆâ„ ¢s purpose was realized. Under the philosophy of Buddhism, the swayer established the establishment that put the tightest control on peop le A ; acirc ; ˆâ„ ¢s head: the Confucianism and the imperial scrutiny system. Confucianism mostly absorbed rules of Buddhism. Through its development, some of its rules and philosophies are advantageous to consolidate the opinion of the emperor and therefore the authorities began to advance instruction which taught Confucianism. ( Creel, H. 1971 ) The imperial scrutiny system is a mechanism for the swayer to happen endowments to assist him pull off the state. Through alterations of clip and dynasties, the system was passed down and played an unreplaceable function in head control. ( Wang, R. 2012 ) In add-on to Buddhism, one local faith that still exists today is the Daoism, besides had its portion in fosterage and consolidating the opinion. 3.0 Decision From the ancient history of China, it would be concluded that every bit long as the issue of husbandmans could be good settled and resolved, a stabilizing dynasty could be fund and go on its opinion. The greatest strength that China is able to continue as a incorporate state and conditions countless alterations of dynasties would be the civilization that bind all people together. How to cite Greatest Strength Of China History Essay, Essay examples

Computer Crime Analysis Essay Example For Students

Computer Crime Analysis Essay IEver since I got my first computer. I have enjoyed working on them. I havelearned a tremendous amount of trouble shooting. With my recent computer I havecome across computer crime. I got interested in hacking, prhreaking, and salamislicing. But before I go to far, I need to learn more about it like theconsequences? One question in mind is what crimes are their and what kind ofthings you can do with them? I would like to find out why people do thesisthings? I would also like to learn the laws against all computer crime?IITodays computer society has brought a new form of crime. There are thosehackers who break their way into computers to learn the system or getinformation. I found out in the book Computer Crime written by Judson, Karen:That Salami Slicers steal small amounts of money from many bank customers thisadding up to a great deal of money. I also read about phone phreaks more knownas Phreakers. They steal long distance phone services. Phreakers commit manyother crimes against phone companies. In the book Computer Crime it states, most people commit thesis crimes, becausethey where carious and wanted to explore the system. All they want to do isexploit systems not destroy it. It is purely intellectual. I know one reasonis that is can be very rewarding. Hackers are drawn to computers for theaninymity they allow. They feel powerful and can do anything. Hackers can bethere own person out side the real world. I found out Arizona was the first state to pass a law against computer crime, in1979. In 1980 the U.S. copyright act was amended to include soft ware. I foundout that in 1986 a computer farad abuse act was passed. This act was made tocover over any crime or computer scheme that was missed with any former laws. Violations to any of thesis laws are a maxim of five years in prison and a$250,000 fine. IIIWith my computer I can do lots of these things but choose not to. Because Iknow that if you know computers you can do much more like carious wise. If youknow computers you set for the future. Im not saying I dont have fun with mycomputer I like causing a little trouble every now and then. Well I piety muchcovered the motives and intentions behind the most common computer crimes. Iexplained the laws and punishments for committing thesis crimes. I hope Icleared things up for you elutriate computer people, and gave you a moreunderstanding of the things that can be done. As you have red you can see thatcomputers can and are more dangerous than guns. Category: Technology

Chapel Talk Essays - English-language Films, Breda, Citizen Kane, 9

Chapel Talk Good morning. I don't think I can even begin to relate just how terrifying this is, so here's what I'm gonna do instead; I'll mumble, speak much too quickly, avoid all eye contact, and use overly-dramatic hand gestures. And since it's too early in the morning and school year to picture any of you naked, this'll have to do. In my lifetime, my family has owned and sheltered over one hundred and fifty dogs, cats, horses, goats, sheep, and various other species. My residence has acted as both a foster home and a rehab center for any animal we could make room for. Most stay with us permanently, but we haven't been lucky enough to help every animal we've come across. But the bliss of the successful adoptions greatly overshadows the disappointment of those unsuccessful. It really all began with my mother. Having grown up in a city, she didn't have the luxury of pets until she had a house of her own. She soon made up for all the animals she didn't have as child - three times over. She taught my siblings, myself, and even my father to respect and adore our fellow mammals. But even she has her favorites, and so we've owned more dogs than anything else. Her absolute favorite, (and everybody else's), was Breda. Breda, (who was, incidentally, named after a mispronunciation of a German town), was a German Shepard/ keeshond mix, and the first dog my parents adopted when they moved into their first house back in 1978. It was three years before Breda gave justice to her breed, fiercely guarding, or sheparding, if you will, my newborn sister as if it were her own. Her most incredible feat involved my little brother, Myles. Since both my parents work full-time, my sister, brother, and I were juggled among multiple babysitters. The one who was watching us when M yles was just under two years old made the horrendous mistake of staying on the phone long enough for him to toddle quite a few miles away from the house, down long, winding roads, fast cars, sharp turns, and everything else you could possiblly imagine. While my mother was at work, she received a phone call from a not-so-nearby neighbor, informing her of my brother's little odyssey. It turned out that Breda had followed Myles closer than his own shadow, all the while trying to steer him back towards the house. She wasn't successful in these attempts, but it appeared that the only was our neighbor were able to recognize my brother, who was a fairly new addition, and know whom to deliver him to, was Breda. The woman knew who the dog was, just not the baby it was following. Breda lived another fourteen wonderful years before succumbing to a spinal condition hereditary to many German Shepards. Chloe was a genuine freak of nature. Chloe was also one of the few animals that my family hadn't needed to rescue. She was adopted as a kitten by my parents around the same time as Breda. She died six months ago at the ripe old age of twenty-two. But that isn't the only thing that made her 'unique'. Chloe somehow managed to outlive feline leukemia, an overactive thyroid, deafness, cancer, kidney problems, and a quarter-of-a-decade's worth of being chased around by canines twenty times her size. I remember that when I used to call home, I could tell what room the person who answered the phone was in judging by Chloe's incessant meowing. Rusty, a German Shepard /Collie mix, was abandoned in a boggy salt marsh in southern Canada, in the middle of one of the coldest winters on record, when he was only two weeks old. For anyone who isn't familiar with a marsh, it's basically large tracks of rather barren, open land with sporadically placed craters that're filled with mud and cold sea water. I was never told exactly how anyone found him in such a desolate, isolated wasteland, but it goes without saying he was quite alone in the world. It took months of treats and numerous bites of which I still bare the scars before he would even allow me to approach him. Genuine Ticket

Egyptian Art

Egyptian Art For over three thousand years the Egyptians restricted themselves to a specific set of rules as to how a work of art in three dimensions should appear. Egyptian art was very symbolic and a painting or sculpture was meant to be a record of as the result of subtle changes, not an altered plan of art or its role in society.The great buildings of the past are built of stone. Stone quarries supplied the large blocks of granite, limestone, and sandstone that were used for building temples and tombs. Architects planned carefully as building was done without mortar, so the stones had to fit precisely together. Only pillars were used to sustain short stone supports.At the temple of Karnak, a ramp of adobe brick that leads to the top of the temple wall. These ramps were used to allow workmen to carry stones to the top of structure and allow artists to decorate the tops of walls and pillars.Egyptian VPillars were built in the same way. As height was added, the ground was raised. When the top of the pillar was completed, the artists would decorate from the top down, removing ramp sand as they went.As soon as a pharaoh was named, construction on his tomb had started. Tomb building continued throughout his life and stopped only on the day on which he died. As a result, some tombs are very large and finely decorated, while other tombs, like that of King Tutankhamen, are small because he ruled as a pharaoh for such a short time.The architecture was based upon perpendicular structures and inclined planes since there was no structural assistance except the strength and balance of the structure itself. For this reason, the square and the plumb-line were very important tools in.One of the...

FedEx Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

FedEx - Essay Example The different challenges that do arise within such a context include understanding of the relevant technological changes, analyzing which advancements are suitable for FedEx and its processes, adopting to the different technological mainstays and thus getting instant results for the very same. There has to be a real vision and working regime behind the scenes which plays the right strokes at all times possible and no hiccup must be entertained under such a competitive industry where competitors are running after each other’s customers day in day out. Management must prioritize the tasks which are there to be undertaken by the subordinates and more so coming directly under the technological quarters. What this will do is to automate the processes since delegation of tasks and duties is one significant aspect that FedEx could look to do in the long run. What innovative approaches toward business functions in partnering with sites that draw together like-minded customers (e.g., electronic neighborhoods, reinventing commerce, extracting information from data exchange)? The innovative approaches in the wake of the ever-changing business needs and technological regimes are immense since FedEx has to remain one step ahead of the competition at all times. This is because it is an established name and it has to play with its tag and reputation whilst offering state of the art services, value for the customer and customized offerings – all in a single go. It becomes challenging nonetheless to live up to the expectations of one and all. However what FedEx can do is to be more creative and think out of the box to satisfy the needs, wants, aspirations and desires of the customers. This, it could do through the incorporation of technologically advanced equipments at different sites like having electronic neighborhoods where the usage of WiFi is just a single example which could be made use

Astronomy123 assignment2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Astronomy123 assignment2 - Essay Example All this was proved during the study of the Milky Way Galaxy. The astronauts believe that the things that exist in the universe are all within the perimeters of our galaxy. With the measurements, the galaxy is proved to be of a 300000 light years in diameter. This also was proved that the sun was not at the center. The galaxy also had spiral nebulae that was seen by the use of the telescopes and the clouds which were just like gases were seen in the Milky Way. In his points, he argued that the Milky Way was large as the star clusters. The distance between the clusters was 13m and they were all of the same size. This made him to know their actual distance and said that the objects diminished in size as the distance within them increased. The clusters also had a halo on the other body of the galaxy making the galaxy to be 300000 light years in diameter and the sun was 50000 light years away from the sun. He believed that the spiral nebulae was within the galaxy’s boundaries and he came up with a theory that the spiral were formed from the late solar forming systems. This confirmed that the galaxy is the one which forms the entire universe. 3. The discovery of the microwave background was explicit by the fact that Europe had a sociological problem and it was in a disastrous war. Since the war were also to be extended to the United States, the discussion of the theory was not possible because of the disaster. The discovery was to be discovered after the end of the Second World War but unluckily, the world recovered very slowly until in the year 1952 when the discussion was discussed at the IAU meeting although the files had been

Changes Introduced by the Ottomans to Arab Urban Life Essay

Changes Introduced by the Ottomans to Arab Urban Life - Essay Example The Chronicle and the Muslim courts record document that are the relocation of the aesthetically distasteful industries in the city, and above all, the tanneries as the population spread beyond the old wall. For the same reason, cemeteries and mosques sprang out in areas where even none had ever existed (Hathaway and Barbir 145). Public baths also increased in the number, thus indicating the larger concentrations of the people in the broader expanse of the territory. The court note, in addition, settled disputes within the new neighborhoods, property purchases, non-Muslims, and some merchants living in the neighborhoods where they were formally unrepresented. This indicates some positive demographic shift in the urban areas. Another change that was introduced in the urban was the improved marketing. The constructions of gathering places like the mosques brought together people, which in turn resulted in the exchange of good and services (Hathaway and Barbir 139). The construction of the stalled building also attracted more merchants who brought in different goods for sale, since it was easy for them to store their merchandize and find a place to live. Besides, as it was before the era of Ottoman, Muslims never lived near the Christians or other groups of people. However, during the Ottomans era, they are seen to at least move closer and even stays near their neighborhoods. This is some of the changes that were introduced in the urban. Respect within the residential quarters and the people security indicates other critical changes that were introduced (Hathaway and Barbir 144). As seen, the quarters are squeezed only separated by the wall but every one respected his or her neighbor’s property. Besides, the union was also among changes that were introduced. Merchants would walk and cluster together in the neighboring home to the marketing center, and will comfortable welcomed (Hathaway and Barbir 140). From the

Cactus Stack Approach with Dijkstra’s Algorithm

Cactus Stack Approach with Dijkstra’s Algorithm Advance Dijkstra’s Algorithm with Cactus Stack Implementation Logic Idea Proposed for the Cactus Stack Approach with Dijkstra’s Algorithm Palak Kalani Nayyar Khan Abstract— This paper illustrates a possible approach to reduce the complexity and calculation burden that is normally encountered in the Shortest Path Problems. We intend to give a new concept based on the look ahead values of the input nodes given in the shortest path problem as proposed by the famous Djktras Algorithm. A new data structure called as Cactus Stack could be used for the same and we could try to minimize and the loop back issues and traversals in a given graph by looking at the adjacency matrix as well as the creation of a cactus stack which is linked in a listed manner. The calculation of the node values and the total value shall be the same as proposed by the ancient algorithm however by our concept we are trying to reduce the complexity of calculation to a larger extent. Index Terms—Component, formatting, style, styling, insert. (key words) I. Introduction With the advancement in technology, there is increase in demand for development of industries to fulfill the requirements of the people. But in industries there are a lot of chemicals and lubricants used for equipment some of these chemicals and lubricants are volatile in nature and may cause accidents such as fire. However, fire extinguishers and other preventive measures are also available at the security, but they are not proven executive and we have to flee the area as soon as possible. This research paper proposes a new algorithm which calculates the shortest path forget away of such problems. The proposed algorithm is based on the original Dijkstra algorithm. This algorithm gives us optimum solution in less time and also reduces the calculation.[1] II. Dijkstra Algorithm Dijkstra was one of the most forceful promoter of programming as a scientific discipline. He has made contribution to the areas of operating systems, programming languages, including deadlock avoidance, contain the notion of structured programming, and algorithms. We will now consider the general problem of finding the length of a shortest path between a and z in an undirected connected simple weighted graph. Dijkstra’s algorithm proceeds by finding the length of a shortest path from a to a first vertex, the length of a shortest path from a to a second vertex, and so on, until the length of a shortest path from a to z is found. As aside benefit, this algorithm is easily extended to find the length of the shortest path from a to all other vertices of the graph, and not just to z. The algorithm relies on a series of iterations. A distinguished set of vertices is constructed by adding one vertex at each iteration. A labeling procedure is carried out for iteration. In this labeling procedure, a vertex w is labeled with the length of a shortest path from a tow that contains only vertices already in the distinguished set. The vertex added to the distinguished set is one with a minimal label among those vertices not already in the set. We now give the details of Dijkstra’s algorithm. It begins by labeling a with 0 and the other vertices with ∞. We use the notation L0(a) = 0 and L0(v)=∞for these labels before any iterations have taken place (the subscript 0 stands for the â€Å"0th† iteration). These labels are the lengths of shortest paths from a to the vertices, where the paths contain only the vertex a.(Because no path from a to a vertex different from a exists, ∞is the length of a shortest path Between a and this vertex.)Dijkstra’s algorithm proceeds by forming a distinguished set of vertices. Let S k denote this set after k iterations of the labeling procedure. We begin with S0 = ∅. The set Skis formed from Sk−1 by adding a vertex u not in S k−1 with the smallest label. Lk(a, v) = min{Lk−1(a, v),Lk−1(a, u) + w(u, v)}, ALGORITHM: Procedure Dijkstra(G: weighted connected simple graph, with all weights positive) {G has vertices a = v0, v1, . . . ,vn= z and lengths w(vi , vj ) where w(vi , vj )=∞if {vi , vj} is not an edge in G} fori := 1 to n L(vi ) :=∞ L(a) := 0 S :=∅ {the labels are now initialized so that the label of a is 0 and all other labels are∞, and S is the empty set} whilez ∈S u:= a vertex not in S with L(u) minimal S :=S ∠ª {u} forall vertices v not in S ifL(u) + w(u, v) then L(v) := L(u) + w(u, v) {this adds a vertex to S with minimal label and updates the labels of vertices not in S} returnL(z) {L(z) = length of a shortest path from a to z}[2] IV. Limitations of Dijkstra’s Algorithm Although Dijkstra’s algorithm is an effective algorithm but still there are a lot of circumspections. Some of these are discussed below. Presence of calculations bounteously. Solutions pleaded by this algorithm are not equitable. The reasons for changing paths and beading elements are not favoured. It is not explicit when the problem is not closed loop or cyclic i.e. we are having a last element other than destination and last element is connected with only one element then we are not able to reach destination It distracts when both next nodes are same then which node we are going to choose for operation. We have to check distance or path after one step which is not favourable. For example, if we want to go neemuch from indore and distance of Ujjain from indore is more than distance of devas from indore then according to dijkstra we should go to devas and check distance of desvas between neemuch and if we find more than Ujjain route then we again come back to indore. V. Solutions to mentioned limitations First we use look ahead dijkstra : A. Precode Wnext = min [Wvu ,Wvw] Look ahead [Wnext ,Wua , Wsub] { Wfinal = min[Wnextà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚  Wua, Wnextà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚  Wub] Return [Wfinal;:a?b] } Min[∑_(i=1)^2à £Ã¢â€š ¬-(Ti)+Li-1à £Ã¢â€š ¬-] Problem solution Vi=Vj: Min(P1[∑_(i=1)^2wi], P2[∑_(j=1)^2wj]) =next node . B. Proposed Method Cs1 pop(a) { Cs2(b) { Weight (a,b); } Cs2(c) { Weigth(a,c); } Return[min( Cs2(b),Cs2(c)) } (V+Cs)+ look ahead C. Dijkstra with VFS traversal and cactus stack VFS(vertical first search) In the vfs we search in vertical order of cactus stack f(a,b)≈ f(n,m) n=a f(a,’m’) m=b,c,d,e†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. struct node { int*prev; int*next; int data; } D. Complexity Comparison In dijkstra’s complexity is more whereas in proposed method i.e. shortest path with cactus stack is less. In dijkstra’s we need to do calculation from each and every point but in proposed algorithm we need to do calculation from particular points which reduces calculations and complexities. E. Adjacency Matrix In mathematics and computer science, an adjacency matrix is a means of representing which vertices (or nodes) of graph are adjacent to which other vertices.[3][4] Adjacency matrix of above graph is F. Weighted Adjacency Matrix The matrix which represents graph with respect to its weight. Now we have to convert matrix into another matrix by using the following program. Adjacency Matrix is CODE : #include #include #define INF 9999 int main( ) { intarr[4][4] ; int cost[4][4] = { 7, 5, 0, 0, 7, 0, 0, 2, 0, 3, 0, 0, 4, 0, 1, 0 } ; int i, j, k, n = 4 ; for ( i = 0 ; i { for ( j = 0; j { if ( cost[i][j] == 0 ) arr[i][j] = INF ; else arr[i][j] = cost[i][j] ; } } printf ( Adjacency matrix of cost of edges:n ) ; for ( i = 0 ; i { for ( j = 0; j printf ( %dt, arr[i][j] ) ; printf ( n ) ; } for ( k = 0 ; k { for ( i = 0 ; i { for ( j = 0 ; j { if ( arr[i][j] >arr[i][k] + arr[k][j] ) arr[i][j] = arr[i][k] + arr[k][j]; } } } Now we take an above example and use this steps to convert into another adjacency matrix: . G. Traversal of Adjacency Matrix For solving adjacency matrix, we take the 1st node and observe the row of that node if there is weight on any vertex that means that vertex is connected to 1st node with respective weight. Similarly we check for all nodes and traverse the matrix.If any vertex have weight infinity that means that vertex is not directly connected to the main vertex whose row is being traverse. If vertex have weight zero that means there is no self loop present. If user’s last node is not the last node of matrix then we simply traverse the matrix till the node entered by user then we will back traverse rest of node that is we will start traversing last node. VI. Cactus Stack A cactus stack is a set of stacks organized in a systematic format as a tree in which each path from the root to any leaf constitutes a stack. A Cactus Stack act both like a Tree and a Stack. Like a stack, items can only be added to or removed from only one end that is top of the cactus stack; like a Tree, nodes in the Cactus Stack may have parent child relationships. Cactus Stacks are traversed from the child nodes to the parent nodes rather than vice-versa, as in a Binary Search Tree. One of the strongest benefits of a cactus stack is that it allows parallel data structures to exist with the same root. A. Creation of Cactus Stack Let us understand this matrix with the help of an example showed above. Series of steps should be as following: First, We should know the starting and ending point. Let us assume that a is the starting point and f is the ending point. Then we put vertices of graph in cactus stack. Put a in cs1. Now a is connected to b and c. so b and c are put in cs2. b is connected to d and c is connected to e so we put d and e in cs3. Repeat same step till the last node is traversed. On traversing the adjacency matrix if two adjacent node has weight other than infinity and zero then we put that nodes in different cactus stacks. B. Linkage in Cactus Stack After plotting the vertices in cactus stacks. If there is connection between element of cs1, cs2 then we have to join them. Similarly we will join elements of each stack to its consecutive stack. VII. Conclusion With the help of Cactus Stack and Linked List for the shortest path the time complexity is reduced theoretically than the theory proposed by Dijkshtra’s Shortest path algorithm. Thus we conclude that time complexity is reduced. References List and number all bibliographical references in 9-point Times, single-spaced, at the end of your paper. When referenced in the text, enclose the citation number in square brackets, for example: [1]. Where appropriate, include the name(s) of editors of referenced books. The template will number citations consecutively within brackets [1]. The sentence punctuation follows the bracket [2]. Refer simply to the reference number, as in â€Å"[3]†Ã¢â‚¬â€do not use â€Å"Ref. [3]† or â€Å"reference [3]†. Do not use reference citations as nouns of a sentence (e.g., not: â€Å"as the writer explains in [1]†). Unless there are six authors or more give all authors’ names and do not use â€Å"et al.†. Papers that have not been published, even if they have been submitted for publication, should be cited as â€Å"unpublished† [4]. Papers that have been accepted for publication should be cited as â€Å"in press† [5]. Capitalize only the first word in a paper title, except for proper nouns and element symbols. For papers published in translation journals, please give the English citation first, followed by the original foreign-language citation [6]. Wang Tian-yu, The Application of the Shortest Path Algorithm in the Evacuation System, 2011 International Conference of Information Technology, Computer Engineering and Management Sciences (references) Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete_Mathematics_and_Its_Applications_7th_Edition_Rosen, page-710-713 Fuhao Zhang, Improve On Dijkshtra’s Shortest Path Algorithm for Huge Data R. Nicole, â€Å"Title of paper with only first word capitalized,† J. Name Stand. Abbrev., in press. Y. Yorozu, M. Hirano, K. Oka, and Y. Tagawa, â€Å"Electron spectroscopy studies on magneto-optical media and plastic substrate interface,† IEEE Transl. J. Magn. Japan, vol. 2, pp. 740–741, August 1987 [Digests 9th Annual Conf. Magnetics Japan, p. 301, 1982]. IEEE JOURNAL OF SOLID-STATE CIRCUITS, VOL. 41, NO. 8, AUGUST 2006 1803 †Phase Noise and Jitter in CMOS Ring Oscillators†, Asad A. Abidi. pp1803-1816. M. Young, The Technical Writers Handbook. Mill Valley, CA: University Science, 1989.

Frank Lyman Baum :: essays research papers fc

Frank Lyman Baum   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Frank Lyman Baum was born on May 15th, 1856, and is best known for his superior book, The Wizard of Oz. His book was so popular, that they even made a movie in 1939 starring Judy Garland, based on the book. It became the first color film ever. Besides The Wizard of Oz, he wrote many other children’s stories.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As a young man, Baum lived in New York where he authored, produced, and acted in a play, The Maid of Arran, and he toured it from Canada to Kansas. Later on, he decided to give up his theatrical courier. He soon after moved to South Dakota, with his newly wed wife, and worked as a reporter for the Saturday Pioneer newspaper. After he got tired of that, he became a traveling salesman, and following that, he became editor, and worked with special effects.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Later on in life, Baums mother in law became very active in the women’s suffragist reform, and Baum was very interested in that, so he decided to help as well. He learned about theosophy from his mother in law, along with many other useful things. Baums mother in law was very active in the Women’s Right Movement, and many other social causes throughout her life. She worked with people like Elizebeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony. Frank supported his mother in law in basically every way possible. During the time of women’s rights, to help out, he published a newspaper, which helped persuade people to fight for women’s rights; he helped the society change their views in many ways.

Change and Continuity Over Time-Scientific Revolution

In the time from the 1300s to the 1800s, ideology, scientific knowledge, and religious understanding changed from superstitious ideas to rational and factually supported theories while views of religion stayed the same. Throughout scientific history, religion has played an integral role. During ancient times, changes in weather and sicknesses were thought to be caused by the moods of the gods. In the 1300s the scientific revolution began in Europe, changing from a science ruled by illogical beliefs to knowledge with a focus of understanding the logical laws of God's creation. This scientific revolution was started by observant, brilliant minded thinkers who dropped superstition and proposed a creation that is knowable. During the Middle Ages scientific studies did not were not as prevalent as they are today. Other areas such as religion, art, and philosophy were being developed, but without the scientific knowledge to back them up. The powerful Roman Catholic Church promoted traditional dogmas based on Greek philosophy that hindered the scientific movement. This imbalance of knowledge caused much of science to give way to superstition. Up until the 1300s the gap of scientific knowledge was filled with this superstition. Through lack of scientific pursuit, superstition and pagan beliefs began to creep into the middle Ages learning. Medicine consisted more of chants, spells, and ways to draw out evil spirits than what was healthy for the patient and little was known about astronomy, physics, or anatomy. During the late 1300s, after the Church had been discredited by the Black Death, science started becoming more important. New ideas were developed, processes changed, and the culture in Europe started moving away from superstition and into the scientific processes. We typically think of the scientific revolution as a change in natural science and technology but it was really a series of changes in human knowledge within Europe itself. In various fields of scientific study they sought rational explanations to these beliefs with astronomy, anatomy, and physics. In the field of astronomy, Nicolaus Copernicus rejected the view of pagan Greeks that the planets rotated around the earth and said that they actually rotated around the sun. Galileo, seeking to understand the verse, â€Å"God is light†, determined that our sun is only one of many in the known universe. Later Isaac Newton developed the idea that the universe is mechanical and there are laws that cause the world to operate predictably. Many of his theories gave the world of science a better understanding of mathematics and physics. Along with the many new discoveries, observation changed the methods of experimentation. The scientific method was developed and allowed people to test ideas and perform experiments in controlled conditions to help them understand the natural world. This brought on new inventions such as the telescope, microscope, and thermometer, which helped to further expand knowledge and experimentation. Scientific institutions were built, new methods and theories were taught, and knowledge took the place of superstition. This continues to be driven by man's religious behavior to understand consciousness. Einstein's famous â€Å"Special Theory of Relativity† suggests the mystical truth that â€Å"God is light†. Light is apart from time, space, and matter, yet it fills the voids of our existence and sustains all life. Light has no mass, no distance, and is constant in time and presence. Christ is the â€Å"Light of the World†. This idea had remained the same throughout the time period and was supported in the fields of science which left this idea to go unchanged. Many scientific reformers such as Isaac Newton, and Nicolaus Copernicus had said that God was the source of their knowledge and the reason for their discoveries. Yet superstition and illogical beliefs are pervasive. For example, the dogma of evolution is founded in atheism whereas creationism takes on views that support God’s creation of the earth. Many religions today use science to support irrational ideas. In the time from the 1300s to the 1800s, ideology, scientific knowledge, religious understanding changed from superstitious ideas to rational and factually supported theories while views of religion stayed the same.

A Lesson Plan for Teaching Rounding

A Lesson Plan for Teaching Rounding In this lesson plan, 3rd-grade students develop an understanding of the rules of rounding to the nearest 10. The lesson requires one 45-minute class period. The supplies include: PaperPencilNotecards The objective of this lesson is for students to understand simple situations in which to round up to the next 10 or down to the previous 10. The key vocabulary words of this lesson are:  estimate, rounding and nearest 10. Common Core Standard Met This lesson plan satisfies the following Common Core standard in the Number and Operations in Base Ten category and the Use Place Value Understanding and Properties of Operations to Perform Multi-Digit Arithmetic sub-category.   3.NBT.  Use place value understanding to round whole numbers to the nearest 10 or 100. Lesson Introduction Present this question to the class: The gum Sheila wanted to buy costs 26 cents. Should she give the cashier 20 cents or 30 cents? Have students discuss answers to this question in pairs and then as a whole class. After some discussion, introduce 22 34 19 81 to the class. Ask How difficult is this to do in your head? Give them some time and be sure to reward the kids who get the answer or who get close to the right answer. Say If we changed it to be 20 30 20 80, is that easier? Step-by-Step Procedure Introduce the lesson target to students: Today, we are introducing the rules of rounding. Define rounding for the students. Discuss why rounding and estimation are important. Later in the year, the class will go into situations that don’t follow these rules, but they are important to learn in the meantime.Draw a simple hill on the blackboard. Write the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 so that the one and 10 are at the bottom of the hill on opposite sides and the five ends up at the very top of the hill. This hill is used to illustrate the two 10s that the students are choosing between when they are rounding.Tell students that today the class will focus on two-digit numbers. They have two choices with a problem like Sheila’s. She could have given the cashier two dimes (20 cents) or three dimes (30 cents). What she is doing when she figures out the answer is called rounding- finding the closest 10 to the actual number.With a number like 29, this is easy. We can easily see that 29 is very close to 30, but with numbers like 24, 25 and 26, it gets more difficult. That’s where the mental hill comes in. Ask students to pretend that they are on a bike. If they ride it up to the 4 (as in 24)  and stop, where is the bike most likely to head? The answer is back down to where they started. So when you have a number like 24, and you are asked to round it to the nearest 10, the nearest 10 is backward, which sends you right back to 20.Continue to do the hill problems with the following numbers. Model for the first three with student input and then continue with guided practice  or have students do the last three in pairs: 12, 28, 31, 49, 86 and 73.What should we do with a number like 35? Discuss this as a class, and refer to Sheila’s problem at the beginning. The rule is that we round to the next highest 10, even though the five is exactly in the middle. Extra Work Have students do six problems like the ones in class. Offer an extension for students who are already doing well to round the following numbers to the nearest 10: 151189234185347 Evaluation At the end of the lesson, give each student a card with three rounding problems of your choice. You will want to wait and see how the students are faring with this topic before choosing the complexity of the problems you give them for this assessment. Use the answers on the cards to group the students and provide differentiated instruction during the next rounding class period.

Structuralism vs. Functionalism

Structuralism vs. Functionalism Free Online Research Papers Both structuralism and functionalism are mentalisms; this means the mind is the subject of every study. They are different, however, in how the mind is viewed. This paper will compare and contrast the ideas and theories of structuralism and functionalism, and explore how, if at all, these theories are being practiced in psychology today. Structuralism vs. Functionalism Structuralism and functionalism explore the human mind; both are concerned with the conscious self, despite the verbal bashing of each side. While they had some similarities, they also had many differences which will be explored below Structuralism, the first major school of thought in psychology, was founded by Wilhelm Wundt. It is the study of the elements of consciousness, and focused on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components. â€Å"In Wudnt’s view, the mind had the power to organize mental elements voluntarily† (Schultz, D.P. Schultz, S.E., 2008, p.122). In order to do this structuralism relied on a method called introspection. Introspection, however, had a principle flaw and was one basic reason that structuralism completely died in psychology upon Wundt’s death (Psychology World, 2006). The subject agreement and reliability of structuralism was not consistent with mainstream views of experimental psychologists today (Psychology World, 2006). It maintained that a â€Å"conscious experience must be described in its most basic terms,† (Psychology World, 2006). Structuralism was also later criticized, mainly by behaviorists, claiming that the theory dealt primarily with internal behavior. It was argued that this was a non-observable element of consciousness which could not be measured accurately. Functionalism formed as a reaction to structuralism; it was influenced by the work of William James and the evolutionary theory of Charles Darwin. Functionalism is concerned with how the mind functions, and therefore also used the method of introspection. â€Å"Functionalists studied the mind not from the standpoint of its composition-its mental elements of structure-but rather as a conglomerate or accumulation of functions and processes that lead to practical consequences in the real world† (Schultz, D.P. Schultz, S.E., 2008, p.145). Functionalism emphasized individual differences, which had a great impact on education. John Dewey went on to use the theories of functionalism to determine that children should learn at the level appropriate for which they are developmentally prepared. However, just as structuralism had its disbelievers, so did functionalism. The term function was used loosely. It can refer to both how the mental process operates, and how the mental process functions in the evolution of species (Oxford Companion, 2006). Because it lacked a clear definition, it was subjected to the same problematic aspects of structuralism. This is when behaviorism was introduced. â€Å"Behaviorism dealt solely with observable behavioral acts that could be described in objective terms† (Schultz, D.P. Schultz, S.E., 2008, p.520). Theoretically, structuralism and functionalism had similarities. The most obvious similarity is that they both took interest in the mental process; after all functionalism was only formed as a reaction to the flaws of structuralism. Further, both used introspection as a method to explore their ideas. Lastly, both structuralism and functionalism had a desire for psychology to become scientific. While there were some comparisons in these two schools of thoughts, there were definitely more differences in the two. As mentioned earlier, functionalism developed, to a certain degree, as a reaction against structuralism. It was thought that psychological processes would be best understood in terms of their function rather than their structure. In other words, structuralism asked what happens when an organism does something, and functionalism asked how and why. Functionalism drew on evolutionary theory rather than modeling psychological processes on the combination of mental elements. Breaking away from functionalism, behaviorism dealt with observable behavior as a result of environmental stimuli. This was in contrast to focusing on the internal mental process which rejected introspection and called for a more scientific method. Structuralism did not withstand the test of time and soon faded out despite an intensive program of research which relied on the contemplation of one’s own thoughts, desires, and conduct. The experimental methods used in structuralism would not hold up to today’s standards; the experiments were too subjective and the results were therefore unreliable. Functionalism emphasized the function, or purposes, of behavior as opposed to its analysis and description, and soon disappeared as a separate school because it lacked the kind of exactness needed to facilitate its theory. Despite its disappearance as a separate school of psychology â€Å"functionalism never really died, it became part of the mainstream psychology† (Oxford Companion, 2006). The importance of looking at process rather than structure is a common attribute of modern psychology. As an individual approach it lacked a clear formulation and inherited problems from the structuralist reliance on intro spection, however the theory of functionalism is still around today. This writer believes that structuralism is important because it was the first major school of thought in psychology and because it influenced experimental psychology. However, other than the effect it has had on the history of psychology it has no place in modern psychology. Functionalism has had a great impact of modern psychology. As she will become a teacher soon, this writer cannot help but be grateful for the impact functionalism had on the educational system. The writer also feels that all functionalism is the underlying component of psychology; the purpose of the consciousness and behavior is applied to all areas of psychological study. Oxford Companion to the Mind. (2006). William James and Functionalism. Retrieved October 7, 2006 at psych.utah.edu/gordon/Classes/Psy4905Docs/PsychHistory/Cards/James.html Psychology World. (2006). Structuralism. Retrieved October 7, 2006 at http://web.umr.edu/~psyworld/structuralism.htm#1 Schultz, D.P. Schultz, S.E. (2008). A History of Modern Psychology (9th ed.). California: Thomas Wadsworth. Research Papers on Structuralism vs. FunctionalismThree Concepts of PsychodynamicEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalResearch Process Part OneComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoOpen Architechture a white paperThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married Males Structuralism vs. Functionalism Free Online Research Papers Structuralism was formed out of the necessity to distinguish psychology as a science separate of philosophy and/or biology. Functionalism came out of opposition to the basic premises of structuralism. Major differences among functionalism and structuralism are in the ideas of how the mind is organized. Functionalism viewed the mind by how it functioned rather than how it was structured (Schultz, D. P., Schultz, S. E., 2008). Structuralism looked at mental processes through analysis and description and functionalism through behavior (i.e., how and why people behaved). Functionalism explored how the mind changed based on experiences and environment. The basic premise of functionalism is still seen in modern psychology. Darwin a major theorist in functionalism introduced the idea of, â€Å"Evolution†. He proved that the mind evolved/s over time (Schultz, D. P., Schultz, S. E., 2008). Darwin focused on, â€Å"Animal psychology to form a basis comparison, placed emphas is on functions rather than the structure of consciousness, accepted methodology and data from many fields, and focused on description and measurements of individual differences (Schultz, D. P., Schultz, S. E., 2008 p. 155).† A significant portion of the initial premises Darwin established are in practice in modern psychology through the theories that emerged following functionalism. Research Papers on Structuralism vs. FunctionalismThree Concepts of PsychodynamicEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoLifes What IfsInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesResearch Process Part OneHip-Hop is ArtThe Project Managment Office SystemGenetic EngineeringBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of Self

Creative Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Creative Leadership - Essay Example Secondly, communication and vision is very important. This guides the behavior o the members and allow them to make sense of the changes that the organization need. Finally, he also argued that empowerment of all members is very important in making changes more effective. The more involved people are in the process of change, the more effective the change will be and the more lasting it will be for the company (Coyle and Kossek, 2000). There are different forms of leadership that can be applied in implementing business goals and strategies. There are lots of valuable leadership forms, which many leaders could use. They represent the most effective and the least effective leadership strategy. To name them as most ineffective is not to say that they could not be use. These forms of leadership can be used however it must depend on the context. Leaders must find ways of diversifying their leadership styles to ensure that they are applied appropriately to certain situations. Leaders would need to balance authority and democracy in their leadership styles (Goleman, 2000). There is a need to have the sensitivity and emotional capacity to recognize what would be the most appropriate leadership strategy that is being called for by the situation. In many cases using just one strategy cannot generate effective results. One of the important components in leadership is also reco... According to many psychological studies, which aim to recognize the character behind some of the effective leaders in successful organizations, emotional intelligence is very important for many leaders (Goleman, 2000). This has been widely reviewed in many literatures. According to Goleman (2000) this emotional intelligence can be reflected on the ability of leaders to have the necessary social skills. This means that they must be able work well with their people under different circumstances to ensure that there are no barriers to communication. This would help the problem to be resolved immediately and for improvements of the programs be initiated efficiently. They must also have high levels of motivation, which would allow them to do things through initiative and exceed the expected results. They must be really flexible as well to the call of the times and the moment. Finally creative leaders should be able to know their limitations and admit that they cannot possibly do everythin g. B. F. Skinner is considered the Father of operant conditioning, and he maintains that "Operant conditioning is a type of learning where a given behavior is followed either by reinforcement (leading to the strengthening of that behavior), nothing (leading to the weakening of that behavior), or punishment (leading to aversion to that behavior)." (Learning Theory and Christian Leadership). Leaders must know how to deal with problems creatively. Part of the creative leadership is to signify new challenges for managers. There is a need to redistribute the power within the organization and make managers as influencers rather than controllers of subordinates. That

Assessment of English Language Learners Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Assessment of English Language Learners - Essay Example 11). Analysis of our data, for example, showed that elementary children were instructed during the week for an average of twenty-two and a half hours. Student involved classroom assessment is an alternative tool of assessment based on: "student involvement in the assessment process, student-involved record keeping, and student-involved communication" (Stiggins and Chappuis 2005, p. 12). Student-involved classroom assessment ensures that student's achievements are objectively assessed and analyzed by a teacher. Students can be guided toward a real, active respect for an interest in education, extending from secondary education through college and beyond. Apart from narrow educational norms and emphases, other personal characteristics are important for the growth of such a positive outlook. These include a real feeling of self-discipline, understanding of and respect for art and other intellectual achievements of human society, an interest in physical and mental health, and in sound relationships with others, and a sensible perspective on the value and use of leisure. Student-involved record keeping allows students to monitor their achievements and improve them immediately. This assessment tool motivates students to pay more attention to their educational achievements. "As they chart progress, they gain a sense of control over their own learning." (Stiggins and Chappuis 2005, p. 13). It yields an immense variety of designs, characterized not only by self-adaptiveness and a very sparing use of natural resources in their realization but also by two other most significant factors of flexibility: the acceptance of imperfections and the mass production of individuality. Both of these characteristics need to be viewed not as an involution but as an evolution, indeed a revolution, in ability to design flexibly. Student-involved communication is effective tools of assessment because it allows parents to monitor achievements of their children and communicate with teachers and other parents. This techniques motivates students to have "a positive story" and to be responsible for their achievements. If effective and stern judgments cannot always be made, then let us at least use the accreditation process to improve things where possible--this seems to be the conclusion that many have drawn. But this conclusion does not fulfill the objective of accreditation, and, of equal importance, it does not have accreditation doing what the public thinks it should be doing. If the process is to survive, therefore, and if the rapid advance of government in the process of educational evaluation is to be halted, steps must be taken to restore accreditation to the role it is assumed to have--that of evaluating educational institutions, honestly, rigorously, and openly, so that when a person obtains a degree fro m an accredited institution, reality will match expectation (Kyriacon, 2000). The other alternative assessment tools are concentrated on reductions in score gaps and low achievements. Classroom Assessment to Reduce Achievement Gaps helps educators to concentrate on problems appeared during education programs: " (a) focus on clear purposes, (b) provide accurate reflections of achievement, (c) provide students with continuous access to descriptive feedback on improvement in their work (versus infrequent

Lung cancer policy Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Lung cancer policy - Term Paper Example Compared with a combination of other malignant cancers like colon cancer, breast cancer, and the more familiar prostate cancer, the cancer of lungs kills more people than the three mentioned cancers combined. Such is the deadly and alarming situation of cancer of the lung. The simple explanation behind this is that, prostate cancer is prone to men only, while breast cancer is more prone to women. That is a contrast with lung cancer, the malignancy is not specific to gender, and it cuts across both women and men, hence creating more deaths than other types of cancers. In the entire of the nation, by the year 2007 there were roughly around 400,000 people who had survived through lung cancer. This malignancy has the lowest rates of survival compared to breast or prostate cancer which have slightly higher rates of survival. Hence since survival from the cancer is a matter of rarity, this has always resulted to lack of enough funding and even less motivation in creating awareness to the cancer. Currently in the United States the probability of developing cancer in any person’s life is such that 1 man in every 13 men will normally be diagnosed in your life time. And every 1 woman in every 16 women will be diagnosed over the same period. Research on the spending on the lung cancer carried out in 2004 show that the United States has been spending 9.6 billion dollars per year in the treatment and diagnosis of lung cancer. In men, the malignancy diagnosis of the cancer is high among the black and white men compared to Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander men. In women there is higher statistics in white women contrary to other racial groups. When it comes to survival basing on the same ethnic or racial groups the data is as illustrated below in table 1.2, this is an overall average 5- year survival rate-: In diagnostics over half of the diagnosis normally happens when the cancer is at advanced stages, only 16% of the diagnosis happens at earlier stages. 25% of

Christian environment Essay Example for Free

Christian environment Essay â€Å"Today’s Stock market dropped 5%, unemployment rate reaching 10%, Gross Domestic Products dropped for the sixth month in a row. † This economic crisis happened in South Korea in 1999. For sure it was a big trouble for those who lost the job they thought will be their permanent job, like a government owned financial company which I worked for. I witnessed many employees laid off and they were unable to find a new job for a long time due to the lack of technical skills. This event got me thinking of changing my career. My job as an investment bank teller, was very simple and was being replaced by machine. I quit my banking job and started to study in America in 2000. Everything from language to culture was hard for me to adapt but the dream of finding a meaningful career for the rest of my life was a motivation enough to keep me going. Fortunately, I met a good Christian family who introduced me to nursing and it was so attractive to me. First it is its need to solve common societal issues as caring for aging population and Second I thought nursing always needed human touch. One of the new cultures I have observed while living in America is the stress on personal right. Most of the time I hear how important it is to speak up for your own right or people will intimidate or rip you off. I might be wrong because I am an immigrant as I don’t fully understand American society, but can you imagine I never used to speak up for my own interest in a group of people working together? I had to leave my own interest and think about others and the whole organizations. That is how I was taught at home and school in Korea and I learned that practicing these values, altruism and respecting wholeness, brings more joy than loss to my life. Moral Re Armament; was a name of group activity that I was involved in high school. From this group activity,I found myself volunteering for the community. We learned dancing and songs and performed at elderly care centers and orphanages. We visited them with food, helped them clean and played with them regularly. For me it was heart breaking to see how people could be lonely and living in a poor condition. However, these experiences opened my eyes to the world surrounding me as I had thought that I was the poor and the unfortunate one by not having both parents. I started to appreciate the little things such as living in a home, seeing my family each day and laughing with my friends. Most important of all that I learned was extending my hands to those who need help and knowing that there are people in need of help. The reason I chose Loma Linda University Nursing School is because of its Christian environment. I used to believe there was some power handling world beyond human’ limitation, I learned it was God’s hands. Nine years ago when I arrived in America , I needed help desperately, I went to a Korean church. In there I found God’s existence and saw people living as Christians. For me becoming a nurse wouldnt be possible if there’s no God’s intervention. I have now decided to step towards new nursing knowledge. I believe a good nurse needs to have humbleness, compassion and caring mind for the sick like what we were taught by Jesus. These Christian perspectives in nursing education at Loma Linda University will play an important role in my career to become a good nurse caring for aging population.

Analysis Of The Last Song Essay

Analysis Of The Last Song Essay Now that Miley Cyrus is 17, its about time she played a 16-year-old. That she does fetchingly in The Last Song, and wins the heart of a beach volleyball champion a foot taller than she is. Well, actually 12.5 inches. She also learns to love her dad, played by Greg Kinnear, whose aura suggests a man easier to love than, say, Steve Buscemi. She does this on an idyllic island paradise off Savannah, Georgia, where her dad is a classical composer whose pastime is restoring stained-glass windows. I was trying to remember the last time I felt the way about a girl that Miley Cyrus fans feel about her. That would have been in 1959, when I saw Hayley Mills in Tiger Bay. Oh, she was something. A brave tomboy. She was 12, but I could wait. Its a bit much to ask for the same innocence from Miley, who has already had her first World Tour, but the fact is, she does a good job of making her character Ronnie engaging and lovable. Thats despite her early Alienated Teen scenes. You know its an Alienated Teen when its a lovely day on an island paradise, but she has her hands pulled up inside the sleeves of her sweater and huddles against the chill of the cold, cruel world. I like Miley Cyrus. I like her in spite of the fact that shes been packaged within an inch of her life. I look forward to the day when she squirms loose from her handlers and records an album of classic songs, performed with the same sincerity as her godmother, Dolly Parton. I think itll be a long, long time until she plays a movie character like the free-standing, engaging heroines of Ashley Judd, but I can wait. The Last Song is about how Ronnie (Miley) and her little brother Jonah (Bobby Coleman) are taken by their mother (Kelly Preston) to spend the summer with their dad Steve (Kinnear). She blames her dad for the divorce, is sullen and withdrawn. Ten minutes after she hits the beach (dressed in Gothic black), her milk shake is spilled by a flying volleyball player named Will (Liam Hemsworth). Talk about your Meet Cutes. Gradually she overcomes her hostility to Men and realizes Will is a nice and honorable kid, even though he lives in a vast Southern mansion with insufferable rich parents. Ronnie and Will make an attractive couple, possibly because Miley is standing on a box below camera range. I suspect Hemsworth may have been cast for his appeal to fangirls, rather like Robert Pattinson in Twilight. Hes a little too tall, blonde, blue-eyed and hunky to be super plausible. He can definitely become a star, but it may be in the Peter OToole tradition; I can more easily imagine him in a remake of Lawrence of Arabia than as a settled spouse in a domestic drama. Miley Cyrus, on the other hand, is attractive in the way of a girl you might actually meet. Her acting is unaffected, she can play serious, and she works easily with a pro like Kinnear, whose light comedy skills are considerable and undervalued. She even seems sincere in the face of a plot so blatantly contrived it seems like an after-school special. Would you believe that she and Will bond over sea turtle eggs? Yes, she scares off a raccoon trying to raid a nest of eggs buried in the sand, and mounts an all-night vigil over them. Then she calls the aquarium, and who do you think is the handsome volunteer who responds to the call? Standing watch together the second night, Ronnie and Will start talking, and its only a matter of time until they regard together the itty bitty turtles hurrying toward the sea. The other big crisis of her summer is that she a trained classical pianist, but has just turned down a scholarship to Juilliard because her dad, you see, is such a snake. In a world containing divorce, whats the use of Mozart? The films title relates to this situation, I believe, in some obscure way. Miley does, however, sing in the movie. Shes mad at her dad, but not her fans. The Last Song is based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, who also wrote the screenplay. Sparks recently went on record as saying he is a greater novelist than Cormac McCarthy. This is true in the same sense that I am a better novelist than William Shakespeare. Sparks also said his novels are like Greek Tragedies. This may actually be true. I cant check it out because, tragically, no really bad Greek tragedies have survived. His story here amounts to soft porn for teenage girls, which the acting and the abilities of director Julie Anne Robinson have promoted over its pay scale. The movie is intended, of course, for Miley Cyrus admirers, and truth compels me to report that on that basis alone, it would get four stars. But we cannot all be Miley Cyrus fans, and these days you rarely hear Hayley Mills mentioned. Yet I award the film two and a half stars. To be sure, I resent the sacrilege Nicholas Sparks commits by mentioning himself in the same sentence as Cormac McCarthy. I would not even allow him to say Hello, bookstore? This is Nicholas Sparks. Could you send over the new Cormac McCarthy novel? He should show respect by ordering anonymously. But it seems unfair to penalize Miley Cyrus fans, Miley herself, and the next Peter OToole for the transgressions of a lesser artist.

How Changing the Structure of an Organization Can Provide a Satisfying

The people employed within a company hold the key to a more productive and efficient organization. The way in which people are managed and developed at work has major effects upon quality, customer service, organizational flexibility and costs. For any employee to be successful, businesses are starting to recognize the need for employees to be fully engaged within the company and are constantly seeking ways in which they can increase employee engagement and also motivate people to want to come to work rather than have to. Employee development is a process that has been created to help individuals within organizations to acquire and maintain a confidence and commitment that will improve performance and enhance the skills and knowledge base of the individuals and the organization as a whole. Developing people is therefore a critical process because it allows individuals to benefit in terms of personal competence, growth, adaptability and continual employability, thus creating a sens e of job satisfaction. Within this essay we will be looking at key strategies that organizations adopt in order to successfully develop and engage their staff so as to benefit both the individual and the company as a whole. `I was always conscious that I was making people come to work when they did not want to. They would rather be doing other things. So we created the conditions whereby people not only had to come to work in order to earn a living - they also wanted to come to work.' Ricardo Semler (1992) To improve the motivation and performance in the workplace people development should be business led and strategic. Longer term goals and perspectives give coherency and direction to its employees over time. Furthermore, vision is the p... ...iend at work'. If you put all this into place you would cultivate what the Gallup organisation illustrates as `employee engagement'. i.e. an employee who is entirely concerned and passionate about their occupation. The essence of Peter Senge's views are that the majority of people would like to feel as motivated about their work as they do about their lives. Major organisations can adopt clear objectives in an attempt to create a engaged workforce, however through my own research I have discovered that the areas I have touched upon are just tip of the iceberg in terms creating an environment in which people will wake up on a Monday morning with the same feel good factor that is present at the weekend. In an ideal world the preferred type of organisation is one that listens to and reflects upon the heartbeat of the organisation - its employees and what they value.

Changing Media, Changing China

changing media, changing china This page intentionally left blank CHANGING MEDIA, CHANGING CHINA Edited by Susan L. Shirk 2011 Oxford University Press, Inc. , publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine VietnamCopyright  © 2011 by Susan L. Shirk Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www. oup. com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Changing media, changing China / edited by Susan L. Shirk. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 978-0-19-975198-3; 978-0-19-975197-6 (pbk. ) 1. Mass media—China. 2. Mass media and culture—China. I. Shirk, Susan L. P92. C5C511 2010 302. 230951—dc22 2010012025 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Contents 1. Changing Media, Changing China 1 Susan L. Shirk 2. China’s Emerging Public Sphere: The Impact of Media Commercialization, Professionalism, and the Internet in an Era of Transition 38 Qian Gang and David Bandurski 3. The Rise of the Business Media in China Hu Shuli 4. Between Propaganda and Commercials: Chinese Television Today 91 Miao Di 5.Environmental Journalism in China Zhan Jiang 115 77 6. Engineering Human Souls: The Development of Chinese Military Journali sm and the Emerging Defense Media Market 128 Tai Ming Cheung 7. Changing Media, Changing Courts 150 Benjamin L. Liebman 8. What Kind of Information Does the Public Demand? Getting the News during the 2005 Anti-Japanese Protests 175 Daniela Stockmann 9. The Rise of Online Public Opinion and Its Political Impact 202 Xiao Qiang 10. Changing Media, Changing Foreign Policy Susan L. Shirk Acknowledgments 253 Contributors 255 Index 259 225 vi Content 1 Changing Media, Changing China Susan L.Shirk ver the past thirty years, the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have relinquished their monopoly over the information reaching the public. Beginning in 1979, they allowed newspapers, magazines, and television and radio stations to support themselves by selling advertisements and competing in the marketplace. Then in 1993, they funded the construction of an Internet network. The economic logic of these decisions was obvious: requiring mass media organizations to ? nance their operations through commercial activities would reduce the government’s burden and help modernize China’s economy.And the Internet would help catapult the country into the ranks of technologically advanced nations. But less clear is whether China’s leaders anticipated the profound political repercussions that would follow. This collection of essays explores how transformations in the information environment—stimulated by the potent combination of commercial media and Internet—are changing China. The essays are written by Western China experts, as well as by pioneering journalists and experts from China, who write from personal experience about how television, newspapers, magazines, and Web-based news sites navigate the sometimes treacherous crosscurrentsO between the market and CCP controls. Although they involve different types of media, the essays share common themes and subjects: the explosion of information made available to the public through market-orie nted and Internet-based news sources; how people seek credible information; how the population—better informed than ever before—is making new demands on government; how officials react to these demands; the ambivalence of the leadership as to the bene? s and risks of the free ? ow of information, as well as their instinctive and strenuous efforts to shape public opinion by controlling content; and the ways in which journalists and Netizens are evading and resisting these controls. Following a brief retrenchment after the Tiananmen crackdown on student demonstrators in June 1989, the commercialization of the mass media picked up steam in the 1990s. 1 Today, newspapers, magazines, television stations, and news Web sites compete ? rcely for audiences and advertising revenue. After half a century of being force-fed CCP propaganda and starved of real information about domestic and international events, the Chinese public has a voracious appetite for news. This appetite is m ost apparent in the growth of Internet access and the Web,2 which have multiplied the amount of information available, the variety of sources, the timeliness of the news, and the national and international reach of the news.China has more than 384 million Internet users, more than any other country, and an astounding 145 million bloggers. 3 The most dramatic effect of the Internet is how fast it can spread information, which in turn helps skirt official censorship. Because of its speed, the Internet is the ? rst place news appears; it sets the agenda for other media. Chinese Internet users learn almost instantaneously about events happening overseas and throughout China.Thanks to the major news Web sites that compile articles from thousands of sources, including television, newspapers and magazines, and online publications like blogs, and disseminate them widely, a toxic waste site or corruption scandal in any Chinese city or a politician’s speech in Tokyo or Washington becom es headline news across the country. Other complementary technologies, such as cell phones, amplify the impact of the Internet. Millions of people get news bulletins text messaged automatically to their cell phones. China is nonetheless still a long way from having a free press.As of 2008, China stood close to the bottom of world rankings of freedom of the press— 181 out of 195 countries—as assessed by the international nongovernmental organization (NGO) Freedom House. 4 Freedom House also gives a low 2 Changing Media, Changing China score to China’s Internet freedom—78 on a scale from 1 to 100, with 100 being the worst. 5 The CCP continues to monitor, censor, and manufacture the content of the mass media—including the Web—although at a much higher cost and less thoroughly than before the proliferation of news sources.During President Hu Jintao’s second term, which began in 2007, the party ramped up its efforts to manage this new info rmation environment. What at ? rst looked like temporary measures to prevent destabilizing protests in the lead-up to the 2008 Olympics and during the twentieth anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown and other political anniversaries in 2009 now seem to have become a permanent strategy. Apparently the CCP will do whatever it takes to make sure that the information reaching the public through the commercial media and the Internet does not inspire people to challenge party rule.Information management has become a source of serious friction in China’s relations with the United States and other Western countries. In 2010, Google, reacting to cyber attacks originating in China and the Chinese government’s intensi? ed controls over free speech on the Internet, threatened to pull out of the country unless it was allowed to operate an un? ltered Chinese language search engine. 6 (Beijing had required Google to ? lter out material the Chinese government considers politically se nsitive as a condition of doing business in China. Nine days later, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a speech about the Internet and freedom of speech that had been planned before Google’s announcement and that did not focus on China or the Google controversy, articulated Internet freedom as an explicit goal of American foreign policy. 7 The Chinese government was stunned and alarmed by the Google announcement. Google’s challenge did not just sully China’s international reputation; it also threatened to mobilize a dangerous domestic backlash. A senior propaganda official I interviewed expressed dismay that Google executives had made a high-pro? e threat instead of using the â€Å"good relationship† the Propaganda Department had established with company executives. A Beijing academic heard a senior official say that the government was treating the Google crisis as â€Å"the digital version of June 4,† referring to the Tiananmen crisis, which a lmost brought down Communist Party rule in 1989. In the ? rst twenty-four hours after Google’s dramatic statement, angry and excited Netizens crowded into chat rooms to applaud Google’s defense Changing Media, Changing China 3 of free information.Google has only a 25–30 percent share of the search engine business in China—the Chinese-owned Baidu has been favored by the government and most consumers—but Google is strongly preferred by the members of the highly educated urban elite. 8 To prevent the controversy from stirring up opposition from this in? uential group, the Propaganda Department went to work. Overnight, the dominant opinion appearing on the Internet turned 180 degrees against Google and the United States. 9 The pro-Google messages disappeared and were replaced by accusations against the U.S. government for colluding with Google to subvert Chinese sovereignty through its â€Å"information imperialism,† thereby creating suspicions that many of the new postings were bogus. The Propaganda Department asked respected Chinese academics to submit supportive newspaper essays, and provided ghostwriters. Online news portals were required to devote space on their front pages to the government’s counterattacks. To defend itself against the threat of a large-scale movement of Google devotees, the CCP fell back on anti-American nationalism.In March 2010 Google followed through on its threat and moved its search engine to Hong Kong; as a result, the Chinese government and not Google now does the ? ltering. Despite the unique features of the Google case, international as well as domestic con? icts over censorship are likely to be repeated as the party struggles to shape an increasingly pluralistic information environment. In her book Media Control in China, originally published in 2004 by the international NGO Human Rights in China, journalist He Qinglian lambasts the CCP for its limits on press freedom. She describe s Chinese journalists as â€Å"dancing in shackles. Yet she also credits commercialization with â€Å"opening a gap in the Chinese government’s control of the news media. †10 Indeed, the competition for audiences provides a strong motivation for the press to break a news story before the propaganda authorities can implement a ban on reporting it—and it has provided an unprecedented space for protest, as was seen in the initial wave of pro-Google commentary. Caught between commercialization and control, journalists play a cat and mouse game with the censors, a dynamic that is vividly depicted in the case studies in this book.Even partially relinquishing control of the mass media transforms the strategic interaction between rulers and the public in authoritarian political systems like China. Foreigners tend to dwell on the way the Chinese propaganda cops are continuing to censor the media, but an equally important 4 Changing Media, Changing China part of the stor y is the exponential expansion of the amount of information available to the public and how this is changing the political game within China. That change is the subject of this book.OFFICIAL AMBIVALENCE As journalist Qian Gang and his coauthor David Bandurski argue in chapter 2, Chinese leaders have a â€Å"deep ambivalence† toward the commercial media and the Internet: they recognize its potential bene? ts as well as its risks. Xiao Qiang, in chapter 9, uses the same term to describe the attitude of Chinese authorities toward the Internet. By choosing to give up some degree of control over the media, the rulers of authoritarian countries like China make a trade-off. Most obviously, they gain the bene? t of economic development; the market operates more efficiently when people have better information.But they also are gambling that they will reap political bene? ts; that relinquishing control of the media will set off a dynamic that will result in the improvement of the gover nment’s performance and ultimately, they hope, in strengthening its popular support. The media improve governance by providing more accurate information regarding the preferences of the public to policymakers. National leaders also use media as a watchdog to monitor the actions of subordinate officials, particularly at the local level, so they can identify and try to ? x problems before they provoke popular unrest.Competition from the commercial media further drives the official media and the government itself to become more transparent; to preserve its credibility, the government must release more information than it ever did before. In all these ways, the transformed media environment improves the responsiveness and transparency of governance. Additionally, a freer press can help earn international approval. On the other hand, surrendering control over information creates severe political risks. It puts new demands on the government that it may not be able to satisfy, and i t could reveal to the public the divisions behind the facade of party unity.Diminished control also provides an opening for political opposition to emerge. What most worries CCP leaders—and what motivates them to continue investing heavily in mechanisms to control media content—is the potential that a free information environment provides for organizing a challenge to their rule. The Chinese leaders’ fear of Changing Media, Changing China 5 free-? owing information is not mere paranoia; some comparative social science research indicates that allowing â€Å"coordination goods† like press freedom and civil liberties signi? antly reduces the odds for authoritarian regimes to survive in power. 11 What is the connection between information and antigovernment collective action? The more repressive a regime, the more dangerous it is to coordinate and engage in collective action to change that regime. Each individual dares to participate only if the risk of parti cipating is outweighed by the potential bene? ts. One way to minimize the risk is the anonymity afforded by large numbers. Standing on Tiananmen Square carrying an antiregime sign is an act of political suicide if you are alone.It only makes sense to demonstrate if you know that a crowd will turn out. Even before the Internet was created, news stories could create focal points for mobilizing mass protests. Cell phones and the Internet are even more useful for coordinating group action as they provide anonymity to the organizers and facilitate two-way communication of many to many. In April 1999, approximately ten thousand devotees of the Falun Gong spiritual sect used cell phones and the Internet to secretly organize a sit-in that surrounded the CCP and government leadership compound in Beijing.A decade before, the fax machine was the communication technology that made it possible for students to organize pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square and more than 130 other cities. As the chapters in this book detail, in recent years a combination of newspaper reports, Internet communication tools, and cell phones has enabled student protests against Japan, demonstrations against rural land seizures, and protests against environmentally damaging industrial projects.The political possibilities of the latest social networking technologies like Twitter (a homegrown Chinese version is FanFou), Facebook (a Chinese version is Xiaonei), or the videosharing program YouTube (a Chinese version is Youku) have yet to be fully tested in China. 12 As Michael Suk-Young Chwe points out in his book Rational Ritual, media communication and other elements of culture make coordination possible by creating â€Å"common knowledge† that gives each person the knowledge that others have received the same message. 3 When all news was communicated through official media, it was used to mobilize support for CCP policies: hence, the CCP had few worries about popular o pposition. Thomas Schelling made this point with a characteristically apt analogy: â€Å"The participants of a square dance may all be thoroughly dissatis? ed with 6 Changing Media, Changing China the particular dances being called, but as long as the caller has the microphone, nobody can dance anything else. †14 As the number and variety of microphones have increased, so have the force of public opinion and the risk of bottom-up mass action.The CCP propaganda authorities may have been reading Schelling: A June 2009 People’s Daily commentary titled â€Å"The Microphone Era† says, â€Å"In this Internet era, everyone can be an information channel and a principal of opinion expression. A ? gurative comparison is that everybody now has a microphone in front of him. †15 Examples like the 2009 antigovernment protests in Iran and the so-called color revolutions in former Soviet states, as well as their own experiences, make Chinese politicians afraid that the f ree ? ow of information through the new media could threaten their rule.But it is worth considering the other possibility, namely, that the Internet might actually impede a successful revolutionary movement because venting online is a safer option than taking to the streets; and the decentralized nature of online communication splinters movements instead of integrating them into effective revolutionary organizations. 16 Nevertheless, China’s leaders are too nervous to risk completely ceding control of information. MASS MEDIA IN TOTALITARIAN CHINA In the prereform era, China had no journalism as we know it, only propaganda.Highly conscious of public opinion, the CCP devoted a huge amount of resources to managing popular views of all issues. 17 In CCP lingo, the media were called the â€Å"throat and tongue† of the party; their sole purpose was to mobilize public support by acting as loudspeakers for CCP policies. 18 The Chinese public received all of its highly homogeno us information from a small number of officially controlled sources. As of 1979, there were only sixty-nine newspapers in the entire country, all run by the party and government. 9 The standard template consisted of photos and headlines glorifying local and national leaders on the front page, and invariably positive reports written in formulaic, ideological prose inside. Local news stories of interest such as ? res or crimes were almost never reported. What little foreign news was provided had to be based on the dispatches of the government’s Xinhua News Agency. People read the People’s Daily and other official newspapers in the morning at work— offices and factories were required to have subscriptions.The 7 p. m. news on Changing Media, Changing China 7 China Central Television (CCTV) simply rehashed what had been in the People’s Daily. 20 Newspaper editorials and commentaries were read aloud by strident voices over ubiquitous radio loudspeakers and then used as materials for obligatory political study sessions in the workplace. A steady diet of propaganda depoliticized the public. As political scientist Ithiel de Sola Pool observed, â€Å"When regimes impose daily propaganda in large doses, people stop listening. 21 CCP members, government officials, and politically sophisticated intellectuals, however, had to remain attentive. To get the information they needed to do their jobs—and to survive during the campaigns to criticize individuals who had made ideological mistakes that periodically swept through the bureaucracies—the elite deciphered the coded language of the official media by reading between the lines. Sometimes this esoteric communication was intended as a signal from the top CCP leaders to subordinates about an impending change in the official line. 2 Kremlinology and Pekinology developed into a high art not only in foreign intelligence agencies, but also within Soviet and Chinese government circles thems elves. In chapter 8, Daniela Stockmann describes survey research that she completed which shows that government officials and people who work with the government continue to read the official press to track policy trends. A diet consisting solely of official propaganda left people craving trustworthy sources of information. 23 As in all totalitarian states, a wide information gap divided the top leaders from the public.Senior officials enjoyed ample access to the international media and an extensive system of internal intelligence gathered by news organizations and other bureaucracies (called neican in Chinese). But the vast majority of the public was left to rely on rumors picked up at the teahouse and personal observations of their neighborhoods and workplaces. (In modern democracies, the information gap between officialdom and the public has disappeared almost entirely: U. S. government officials keep television sets on in their offices and learn about international events ? st f rom CNN, not from internal sources. ) MEDIA REFORM Beginning in the early 1980s, the structure of Chinese media changed. Newspapers, magazines, and television stations received cuts in their government subsidies and were driven to enter the market and to earn revenue. 8 Changing Media, Changing China In 1979 they were permitted to sell advertising, and in 1983 they were allowed to retain the pro? ts from the sale of ads. Because people were eager for information and businesses wanted to advertise their products, pro? ts were good and the number of publications grew rapidly.As Qian Gang and David Bandurski note in chapter 2, the commercialization of the media accelerated after 2000 as the government sought to strengthen Chinese media organizations to withstand competition from foreign media companies. By 2005, China published more than two thousand newspapers and nine thousand magazines. 24 In 2003, the CCP eliminated mandatory subscriptions to official newspapers and ended subsidies to all but a few such papers in every province. Even nationally circulated, official papers like People’s Daily, Guangming Daily, and Economics Daily are now sold at retail stalls and compete for audiences.According to their editors, Guangming Daily sells itself as â€Å"a spiritual homeland for intellectuals†; Economics Daily markets its timely economic reports; and the People’s Daily promotes its authoritativeness. 25 About a dozen commercial newspapers with national circulations of over 1 million readers are printed in multiple locations throughout the country. The southern province of Guangdong is the headquarters of the cutting-edge commercial media, with three newspaper groups ? ercely competing for audiences. Nanjing now has ? e newspapers competing for the evening readership. People buy the new tabloids and magazines on the newsstands and read them at home in the evening. Though almost all of these commercial publications are part of media groups led by party or government newspapers, they look and sound completely different. In contrast to the stilted and formulaic language of official publications, the language of the commercial press is lively and colloquial. Because of this difference in style, people are more apt to believe that the content of commercial media is true.Daniela Stockmann’s research shows that consumers seek out commercial publications because they consider them more credible than their counterparts from the official media. According to her research, even in Beijing, which has a particularly large proportion of government employees, only about 36 percent of residents read official papers such as the People’s Daily; the rest read only semiofficial or commercialized papers. Advertisers and many of the commercial media groups target young and middle-aged urbanites who are well-educated, affluent consumers.But publications also seek to differentiate themselves and appeal to speci? c Changing Media, Cha nging China 9 audiences. The Guangdong-based publications use domestic muckraking to attract a business-oriented, cosmopolitan audience. Because they push the limits on domestic political reporting—their editors are ? red and replaced frequently—they have built an audience of liberal-minded readers outside Guangdong Province. According to its editors, Southern Weekend (Nanfang Zhoumo), published by the Nanfang Daily group under the Guangdong Communist Party Committee, considered one of the most critical and politically in? ential commercial newspapers, has a larger news bureau and greater circulation in politically charged Beijing than it does in southern China. 26 The Communist Youth League’s popular national newspaper, China Youth Journal, has been a commercial success because it appeals to China’s yuppies, the style-conscious younger generation with money to spend. The national foreign affairs newspaper, Global Times, tries to attract the same demograp hic by its often sensational nationalistic reporting of international affairs, as I discuss in chapter 10.Media based out of Shanghai, the journalistic capital of China before the communist victory in 1949, are comparatively â€Å"very dull and quiet,† according to Chinese media critics. The cause they cite is that the city’s government has been slow to relinquish control. 27 Shanghai audiences prefer Southern Weekend, Global Times, and Nanjing’s Yangtze Evening News to Shanghai-based papers, and Hunan television to their local stations. 28 Journalists now think of themselves as professionals instead of as agents of the government.Along with all the other changes referred to above, this role change began in the late 1970s. Chinese journalists started to travel, study abroad, and encounter â€Å"real† journalists. The crusading former editor in chief of the magazine Caijing (Finance and Economy) and author of chapter 3, Hu Shuli, recalls that before commer cialization, â€Å"the news media were regarded as a government organization rather than a watchdog, and those who worked with news organizations sounded more like officials than professional journalists. But] our teachers . . . encouraged us to pursue careers as professional journalists. †29 Media organizations now compete for the best young talent, and outstanding journalists have been able to bid up their salaries by changing jobs frequently. Newspapers and magazines are also recruiting and offering high salaries to bloggers who have attracted large followings. Yet most journalists still receive low base salaries and are paid by the article, which makes them susceptible to corruption.Corruption ranges from small transportation subsidies and â€Å"honoraria† provided to reporters for coverage of government and corporate news conferences to outright 10 Changing Media, Changing China corporate bribery for positive reporting and extortion of corporations by journalists threatening to write damaging exposes (see chapter 3). Establishing professional journalistic ethics is as difficult in China’s Wild West version of early capitalism as it was in other countries at a similar stage of development. Some journalists also have crossed over to political advocacy.In one unprecedented collective act, the national Economic Observer and twelve regional newspapers in March 2010 published a sharply worded joint editorial calling on China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress, to abolish the system of household residential permits (hukou) that forces migrants from the countryside to live as second-class citizens in the cities. 30 The authorities banned dissemination and discussion of the editorial but only after it had received wide distribution. At the legislative session, government leaders proposed some reforms of the hukou system, but not its abolition as demanded by the editorial.MEDIA FREEDOM AND GOVERNMENT CONTROL All authori tarian governments face hard choices about how much effort and resources to invest in controlling various forms of media. In China, as in many other nondemocracies, television is the most tightly controlled. As Chinese television expert Miao Di explains in chapter 4, â€Å"because of television’s great in? uence on the public today—it is the most important source of information for the majority of the population, reaching widely into rural as well as urban areas—it remains the most tightly controlled type of medium in China by propaganda departments at all administrative levels. All television stations are owned by national, provincial, municipal or county governments and used for propaganda purposes. Yet television producers must pay attention to ratings and audiences if they want to earn advertising revenue. As Miao Di puts it, â€Å"television today is like a doublegendered rooster: propaganda departments want it to crow while ? nance departments want it to lay eggs. † The way most television producers reconcile these competing objectives is to â€Å"produce leisurely and ‘harmless’ entertainment programs,† not hard news or commentary programs.Yet exceptions exist; Hunan television has found a niche with a lively nightly news show that eliminates the anchor and is reported directly by no-necktie journalists. Changing Media, Changing China 11 In the print realm, the government controls entry to the media market by requiring every publication (including news Web sites with original content) to have a license and by limiting the number of licenses. Only a handful of newspapers, magazines, and news Web sites are completely independent and privately ? nanced. The rest may have some private ? ancing but remain as part of media groups headed by an official publication and subordinate to a government or CCP entity that is responsible for the news content and appoints the chief editors. The chief editor of Global Time s, appointed by the editors and CCP committee of People’s Daily, acknowledged this in my interview with him: â€Å"If we veer too far away from the general direction of the upper level, I will get ? red. I know that. † However, there is a degree of variation. For example, magazines are somewhat more loosely controlled than newspapers, presumably because they appear less frequently and have smaller readerships.Additionally, newspapers focusing on economics and business appear to be allowed wider latitude in what they can safely report. The publication that set a new standard for bold muckraking journalism is Caijing (Finance and Economics), a privately ? nanced independent biweekly business magazine with a relatively small, elite readership. In chapter 3, former Caijing editor in chief Hu Shuli explains that â€Å"the Chinese government’s control of the economic news arena, both in terms of licensing and supervision, has been relatively loose when compared with control over other news . . [so much so that] even in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square event of 1989, economic news was little affected by censorship, while all other kinds of news were strictly monitored and controlled. † Her analysis of the emergence of ? nancial journalism in China recognizes the pathbreaking role of private entrepreneurs and professional journalists, but also credits the â€Å"reform-minded economic officials† who appreciate the importance of a free ? w of information for the effective functioning of a market economy. She notes that these economic officials didn’t call out the CCP Propaganda Department even when Caijing broke an embarrassing scandal about the Bank of China’s IPO in Hong Kong at the very time when the National People’s Congress was holding its annual meeting; this is considered a politically sensitive period during which the propaganda authorities usually ban all bad news. Evan Osnos, in his New Yorker pro? e of Hu Shuli, observes that the differences among senior officials on media policy may protect Caijing; the magazine â€Å"had gone so far already that conservative branches of the government could no longer be sure which other officials supported it. †31 12 Changing Media, Changing China In 2010, Hu Shuli and most of the staff of Caijing resigned in a con? ict with the magazine’s owners over editorial control and established Caixin Media, which publishes a weekly news magazine (Century Weekly), a monthly economic review (China Reform), and a Web site (Caing. com). Caixin is the ? st media organization in China to establish a Board of Trustees to safeguard its journalistic integrity. Caijing, its reputation damaged by the mass exodus of its journalists, is seeking to recoup by publishing exciting stories such as one that urged that Hubei governor Li Hongzhong be ? red if he failed to apologize for ripping a journalist’s tape recorder out of her hand when she ch allenged him at a press conference with a question he didn’t like. 32 The heated competition between the two media groups is likely to drive them to venture beyond business journalism with taboo-breaking stories that test the tolerance of the government.Although China’s leaders have embraced the Internet as a necessary element of the information infrastructure for a modern economy, as the size of the online public has grown, they have invested more and more heavily in controlling online content and containing its powerful potential to mobilize political opposition. The Internet offers individuals the means to learn about fast-breaking events inside and outside China, to write and disseminate their own commentaries, and to coordinate collective action like petitions, boycotts, and protests.The concept of the Netizen (wangmin) is laden with political meaning in a system lacking other forms of democratic participation. 33 As Xiao Qiang, the UC Berkeley–based editor of China Digital Times, observes in chapter 9, â€Å"The role of the Internet as a communications tool is especially meaningful in China where citizens previously had little to no opportunity for unconstrained public self-expression or access to free and uncensored information.Furthermore, these newfound freedoms have developed in spite of stringent government efforts to control the medium. † From the standpoint of the CCP leaders, the Internet is the most potent media threat. Young and well-educated city dwellers, whose loyalty is crucial for the survival of CCP rule, ? ock to the Internet for information, including information from abroad. 34 That is why the CCP reacted so defensively to the Google showdown and ? rmly refuses to permit un? ltered searches.Additionally, the Internet’s capability for many-to-many two-way communication facilitates the coordination of collective action around the common knowledge of online information. There is no way for CCP leaders to predict whether virtual activism will serve as a harmless outlet for venting or a means to mobilize antigovernment protests in the street. Changing Media, Changing China 13 Government controls include the â€Å"Great Firewall,† which can block entire sites located abroad and inside China and ingenious technological methods to ? ter and inhibit searches for keywords considered subversive. But as Xiao Qiang notes in chapter 9, â€Å"the government’s primary strategy is to hold Internet service providers and access providers responsible for the behavior of their customers, so business operators have little choice but to proactively censor content on their sites. † In addition, human monitors are paid to manually censor content. Ever since the Mao Zedong era, the methods used by CCP leaders to inculcate political loyalty and ideological conformity have re? cted an acute awareness that peer groups have a more powerful impact on individual attitudes than authority ? gures. It is for this reason that every Chinese citizen was required to undergo regular criticism and self-criticism in small groups of classmates or coworkers. Today’s propaganda officials are applying this insight to their management of the information environment created on the Internet. To augment its censorship methods and neutralize online critics, the CCP has introduced a system of paid Internet commentators called the Fifty-Cent Army (wu mao dang).Individuals are paid approximately ? fty cents in Chinese currency for each anonymous message they post that endorses the government’s position on controversial issues. Local propaganda and Youth League officials are particularly keen to adopt this technique. 35 These messages create the impression that the tide of social opinion supports the government, put social and psychological pressure to conform on people with critical views, and thereby presumably reduce the possibility of antigovernment collective action.The July 2009 regulation that bans news Web sites from conducting online polls on current events and requires Netizens to use their real names when posting reactions on these sites appears to have the same aim of disrupting antigovernment common knowledge from forming on the Internet. 36 The large commercial news Web sites Sina. com, Sohu. com, and Netease. com are probably the second most widely used source of information in China after television, and the ? rst place better-educated people go for their news.These sites have agreements with almost every publication in China (including some blogs) and many overseas news organizations that allow them to compile and reproduce their content and make it available to millions of readers. They are privately owned and listed on NASDAQ , but they are politically compliant, behaving more or less like arms of the government. To keep their privileged monopoly status, they cooperate closely with the State Council Information Office, which sends the managers of the 14 Changing Media, Changing China Web sites SMS text messages several times a day with â€Å"guidance† on which topics to avoid.The Information Office also provides a list of particularly independent publications that are not supposed to be featured on the front page. The news sites have opted to reduce their political risks by posting only hard news material that has ? rst been published elsewhere in China. Although they produce original content about such topics as entertainment, sports, and technology, they never do so with respect to news events. Furthermore, with very rare exceptions, such as the 9/11 attacks, they never publish international media accounts of news events directly on the site.Despite the CCP hovering over it, the Internet constitutes the most freewheeling media space in China because the speed and decentralized structure of online communication present an insuperable obstacle to the censors. In Xiao Qiang’s words from chapter 9, à ¢â‚¬Å"When one deals with the blogosphere and the whole Internet with its redundant connections, millions of overlapping clusters, self-organized communities, and new nodes growing in an explosive fashion, total control is nearly impossible. † In the short time before a posting can be deleted by a monitor, Netizens circulate it far and wide so it becomes widely known.For example, speeches from foreign leaders, like President Obama’s inaugural address, are carefully excerpted on television and in newspapers to cast China in the most positive light. Yet on the Internet you can ? nd the full, unedited version if you are motivated to search for it. There is no longer any hope for authorities to prevent the possibly objectionable statements about China by politicians in Washington, Tokyo, or Taipei, or the cell phone videos and photographs of violent protests in Lhasa or Urumqi, from reaching and arousing reactions from the online public.Once news attracts attention on the I nternet, the audienceseeking commercial media are likely to pick it up as well. Xiao Qiang argues that â€Å"the rise of online public opinion shows that the CCP and government can no longer maintain absolute control of the mass media and information,† and that the result is a â€Å"power shift in Chinese society. † HOW ARE THE COMMERCIAL MEDIA AND INTERNET CHANGING CHINESE POLITICS? Like all politicians, Chinese leaders are concerned ? rst and foremost about their own survival. A rival leader could try to oust them.A mass protest movement could rise up and overthrow them, especially if a rival leader Changing Media, Changing China 15 reaches out beyond the inner circle to lead such a movement. If leaders lose the support of the military, the combination of an elite split and an opposition movement could defeat them. The trauma of 1989 came close to doing just that. Thousands of Chinese students demonstrated in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square and over 130 other citie s, and CCP leaders disagreed on how to handle the demonstrations.The CCP’s rule might have ended had the military refused to obey leader Deng Xiaoping’s order to use lethal force to disperse the demonstrators. In that same year, democracy activists brought down the Berlin Wall, and communist regimes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe began to crumble. No wonder that since 1989, China’s leaders have worried that their own days in power are numbered. Because commercial journalism was still in its infancy and the Internet had not yet been built, the mass media played a more minor role in the 1989 crisis than it has since then.During the crisis, students, frustrated by what they considered the biased slant of the official press, spread the word about their movement by giving interviews to the foreign press and sending faxes abroad. One market-oriented publication, the World Economic Herald, based in Shanghai, faced down Jiang Zemin, then the party secretary of t he city, and published uncensored reports. The restive journalists at the People’s Daily and other official papers, with the blessing of some liberal-minded officials in the Propaganda Department, reported freely on the student movement for a few days in May.The Communist Party leaders were almost as worried about the journalists’ rebellion as they were about the students’ one. 37 After the crackdown, party conservatives closed down several liberal newspapers including the World Economic Herald and blamed the crisis in part on the loosening controls over the press that had been introduced by former leaders Zhao Ziyang and Hu Yaobang. 38 Since Tiananmen, Chinese leaders have paid close attention to the destabilizing potential of the media.The formula for political survival that they adopted, based on their 1989 experience, focuses on three key tasks:39 †¢ Prevent large-scale social unrest †¢ Avoid public leadership splits †¢ Keep the military loyal to the CCP The three dicta are interconnected: if the leadership group remains cohesive despite the competition that inevitably arises within it, then the CCP and the security police can keep social unrest from spreading out of control 16 Changing Media, Changing China and the government will survive.Unless people receive some signal of permission from the top, protests will be suppressed or ? zzle out before they grow politically threatening. But if the divisions among the top leaders come into the open as they did in 1989, people will take to the streets with little fear of punishment. Moreover, were the military leadership to split or abandon the CCP, the entire regime could collapse. Though commercialization of the media and growth of the Internet have consequences across all three dimensions, today their effects are felt primarily in the efforts to prevent large-scale social unrest.As the chapters in this book describe, the media and Internet are changing the strategic interac tions between leaders and the public as the leaders struggle to head off unrest and maintain popular support. WATCHDOG JOURNALISM: HOW TO REACT WHEN THE DOG BARKS As noted earlier, the politicians at the top of the CCP are of two minds about whether the media and Internet prevent or encourage large-scale social unrest. On the positive side, the media and Internet provide information on problems so that national leaders can address them before they cause crises.But on the negative side, the market-oriented media and Internet have the subversive effect of facilitating collective action that could turn against CCP rule. The elite’s extreme nervousness about potential protests makes them highly responsive when the media report on a problem. The pressure to react is much greater than it was in the prereform era when the elite relied entirely on con? dential internal reporting within the bureaucracy to learn about problems on the ground. Once the media publicize an issue and the is sue becomes common knowledge, then the government does not dare ignore it.Chinese journalists take particular pride in exposes that actually lead to improved governance and changes in policy. One of the earliest and best examples was the reporting about the 2003 death in detention of Sun Zhigang, a young college graduate who had migrated to Guangdong from his native Hubei Province. Qian Gang and David Bandurski, as well as Benjamin Liebman, describe in chapters 2 and 7 how the initial newspaper story published by the Southern Metropolis Daily, a bold Guangdong commercial newspaper, circulated Changing Media, Changing China 7 throughout the country on the major news Web sites and transformed Sun’s death into a cause celebre that sparked an emotional outpouring online. This emotional outpouring in turn inspired a group of law students to take the issue of the detention and repatriation of migrants directly to the National People’s Congress. Only two months after the ? rs t article, Premier Wen Jiabao signed a State Council order abolishing the practice of detaining migrants who did not carry a special identi? ation card and shipping them back to their homes. Although such instances of actual change in policy are rare, public apologies by high-level officials in response to media criticism are becoming more common. In 2001, Premier Zhu Rongji became the ? rst PRC leader to apologize to the public for a cover-up when he took responsibility for an explosion that killed forty-seven children and staff in a rural school where the students were manufacturing ? reworks.Premier Zhu initially had endorsed the far-fetched explanation offered by the local officials of a deranged suicide bomber. But when, despite a blackout of the Chinese media, the accounts of Hong Kong and foreign journalists who had interviewed villagers by telephone spread in China over the Internet, Premier Zhu offered his apology in a televised press conference. 40 Premier Wen Jiabao has f ollowed the example of his predecessor. He apologized for the melamine-tainted milk and infant formula that killed six and sickened hundreds of thousands of babies.The massive food safety story was originally suppressed by propaganda authorities in the lead-up to the 2008 Olympics, but the scandal was broken by the local press in Gansu Province and the official Xinhua News Service following the games. Premier Wen also apologized for the crippling snowstorms in January 2008 that stranded millions of Chinese eager to get home for the Spring Festival break. To de? ect blame and show how responsive it is to media revelations of official negligence or malfeasance, the central government also has sacked the senior officials implicated in such scandals.The number of such highpro? le ? rings or resignations has increased over the past decade with the growth of investigative journalism. Several good examples are described in this book. Increasingly, officials at all levels are making a consp icuous show of their receptiveness to online public opinion. They publicize their chats with Netizens. Government agencies have opened up Web sites for citizens’ petitions. Law enforcement officers have starting inviting Netizens to provide infor18 Changing Media, Changing China mation for their criminal investigations.In one case, a creative local propaganda official who was a former Xinhua reporter invited a number of bloggers to join a commission investigating the suspicious death of a prisoner. The bloggers had ridiculed as implausible the police’s explanation that the prisoner had walked into the cell wall during a blindman’s bluff game among the prisoners; they thought police brutality must be the explanation. The debate died down after the commission released a report that said they knew too little to conclude what had happened and the provincial prosecutors announced the prisoner had not died during a game but had been beaten by another prisoner.The offi cial proudly explained that he had defused the issue by showing that â€Å"public opinion on the Internet must be solved by means of the Internet. †41 MONITORING LOCAL OFFICIALS Every government needs information about how its officials are performing their jobs in order to effectively implement its policies. The top officials of China’s thirty-three provinces are appointed by the CCP central leaders in Beijing. Yet the central leaders are continually frustrated by their inability to get regional officials to follow their orders.In a rapidly growing market economy, the old top-down bureaucratic methods of monitoring local officials are no longer working. Local officials bene? t more by colluding with local businesses to promote economic growth by spending on big development projects than by providing such social goods as environmental protection, health care, education, and quality food and medicine that are mandated but not fully funded by the central government. Corr uption at the local level is rampant.Yet the poor provision of social goods by corrupt local officials could heighten public resentment against the government and threaten CCP rule on the national level. Theoretically, there are several ways that Beijing could resolve the dilemma of how to oversee the performance of local officials. It could allow citizens to elect their own local leaders. It also could permit independent NGOs to monitor the performance of local leaders. A fully autonomous court system in which prosecutors put corrupt officials on trial and citizens sue for the bene? s being denied them also would help. But CCP leaders have been too afraid of losing control to undertake such fundamental institutional reforms. They have chosen instead to rely on the mass media to serve as a ? re alarm to alert Changing Media, Changing China 19 the center to problems at lower levels. 42 From their perspective, using the media looks like a less dangerous approach because they still lic ense media outlets and appoint most of their top editors, thereby retaining some power to rein in errant outlets. Media revelations of local malfeasance also bene? t the center by de? cting blame for problems away from themselves and onto local officials. The publicity appears to be working; surveys indicate that Chinese people are more critical of the performance of local officials than of central ones, in contrast to the pattern in American politics. The center’s interest in using the media to monitor local officials has been evident since the mid-1990s. CCTV, with the encouragement of the powerful propaganda czar Ding Guangen (see chapter 2), created a daily program called Focus (Jiaodian Fantan) to investigate issues at lower levels in 1994.Miao Di, in chapter 4, discusses Focus in some detail. The program was blessed with high-level political support, having been visited by three Chinese premiers and praised by China’s cabinet, the State Council. The show attracte d a wide viewership and strengthened the credibility of television news overall. However, because local officials intervened so frequently to block exposes of their misdeeds, the show now has become much less hard-hitting.The central authorities tolerate greater press openness on the type of problems that, if left unreported and unsolved, might stir up serious popular dissatisfaction—in particular, problems with water and air pollution as well as food and medicine quality. Some national-level environmental officials have become adept at using media events such as, televised hearings on the environmental impact of important projects to mobilize public pressure on lower-level officials to comply with centrally adopted policies that are environmentally conscious.Veteran journalist Zhan Jiang describes the pattern in chapter 5, on environmental reporting: â€Å"as a general rule the center has an interest in receiving information that reduces the information gap between the cent er and localities regarding potentially volatile problems resulting from negligence by local officials. † However, as he illustrates with the case of the Songhua River chemical spill once journalists pull the ? re alarm and alert Beijing and the public to a crisis, then the center tries to reassert control over the media to cool off ublic emotions and convey an image of a competent government that is solving the problem. Recently, the central official media have been given the green light to pull the alarm on abuses by local officials. For years, reports have been circulating in the foreign human rights community and the international press about provincial and municipal governments that detain local citizens who have 20 Changing Media, Changing China come to Beijing to petition central officials about their grievances with local officials.They lock up the petitioners in illegal detention centers (â€Å"black jails†) on the outskirts of Beijing, ostensibly for â€Å"le gal education,† and then ship them back home. In November 2009, the official magazine Outlook (Liaowang) broke the story of these illegal jails and the report appeared on the Xinhua Web site. 43 Not surprisingly, local officials are wary of media watchdogs and do what they can to fence them out. As Tsinghua University journalism professor Li Xiguang has noted, â€Å"The central government, in the ? ght against the widespread corruption of the local government, encourages journalists to write exposes of the corruption.But the local governments are very much protective of themselves and of their power, so there is a con? ict between the central government and the local government in dealing with journalists. †44 Censorship by provincial and local branches of the CCP Propaganda Department and the State Council Information Office is viewed by journalists as tighter than that at the national level. The essays in this book offer numerous examples of local governments’ blackouts of critical news stories and the strategies journalists and activists use to evade them.Ever since the 1990s, regional commercial newspapers have been doing investigative reporting of corruption and other abuses on the part of local officials, but only outside their own home provinces. This practice is called cross-regional reporting (yidi jiandu). Since all local newspapers are part of media groups belonging to the local government and CCP establishment, editors naturally are inhibited from biting the hand that feeds them. Exciting stories about the sins of other people’s officials may be second best but are better than nothing.Reporters are willing to brave police harassment or violent attacks by paid thugs to get the goods on bad governance by officials in other places. Often they don’t have to go to the scene to report the story. As Ben Liebman describes in chapter 7, journalists blocked by local bans from writing about local malfeasance can simply e-mail the information to colleagues from other regions who then write the expose. Complaints from provincial and municipal officials about nosy reporters pushed the CCP Propaganda Department to ban the practice of crossregional reporting in 2004.Because the order was largely ignored, a year later provincial leaders raised the issue again, this time at the level of the Politburo. 45 Provincial leaders are a powerful group within the CCP, constituting the largest bloc in the Central Committee and one-quarter of the Politburo. Changing Media, Changing China 21 The interests of these leaders incline them to favor tighter restrictions on investigative journalism. As a result of their complaints, cross-regional reporting has been restricted to stories about officials at the county level or below.Only national-level media dare to publish exposes of provincial and municipal officials, and even then they usually wait until they get wind of an official investigation before reporting on the case. M eanwhile, local officials are learning the art of spin; they hold press conferences and online chats with Netizens to present an appearance of openness and candor—for example, Chongqing Party Secretary Bo Xilai invited television cameras to broadcast live his negotiations with striking taxi drivers in 2009.The expansion of Internet access and the growth of the Web also make it increasingly difficult for local officials to enforce media blackouts on sensitive issues. Several chapters in this book discuss the 2007 case of the Xiamen PX chemical plant, a project ultimately defeated by the mobilization of environmentally conscious public opinion that breached a local media blockade. As Xiao Qiang tells the story (chapter 9), the outcome resulted from the â€Å"gap in control between local authorities as well as between local and central authorities [that] can provide a space for Netizens to transmit information. . . One of the most vocal advocates for the issue was the blogger L ian Yue, whose Weblog was not hosted within Fujian Province. Because officials outside Fujian, including the central government, did not share the local government’s interest in censoring news about the PX plant, Lian Yue was able to continue his Weblog and even get coverage in newspapers published outside Fujian. † MEDIA CREDIBILITY AND GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY Competition from the commercial media and the Web-based media has created what Qian Gang and David Bandurski call a credibility gap problem for the official media.In chapter 2, they compare the ways stories are covered in various kinds of newspapers, vividly illustrating that commercial newspapers’ reporting is far more informative and reliable than that found in official newspapers. Readers are abandoning the official media, and their preference is heightened during crises that arouse their interest and motivate them to search for reliable information. 22 Changing Media, Changing China Daniela Stockmann, in chapter 8, provides new data about how people in China choose between different types of news sources.They use the official press to get information on the government’s current policy position, but turn to the commercial media and the Internet for credible â€Å"real news. † As she explains, it is â€Å"the perceived disassociation from the government that lends credibility to the nonofficial media. † Stockmann happened to be doing a survey on media usage in Beijing in spring 2005 when student protests against Japan erupted. This serendipity gave her the rare opportunity to compare the way people use the media during normal times and during a crisis.What she discovered was that during a crisis, people have a particularly keen nose for where to ? nd credible information. Even when the propaganda authorities ban reporting of protests and try to homogenize coverage in all types of media, people are more likely to abandon official sources and turn to the commerci al press and the Internet than during normal times. The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in China in 2003 is referred to by several authors as a turning point in the relations between the government, the media, and the public.By ordering the media to play down early reports of people falling ill with a mysterious disease, a cover-up that allowed the virus to spread and kill more people, Beijing deepened public skepticism about the reliability of the official media and of the government itself. More important, the cover-up taught the public to look to new sources for the true facts. The searing SARS experience also spurred the determination of journalists to meet people’s need for accurate information during a crisis. The ? ght from official sources creates a serious problem for Chinese leaders, who need to prevent panic and antigovernment reactions during crises. Leaders plausibly worry that a widespread environmental or food safety catastrophe that angers la rge numbers of people about the same issue at the same time could snowball into a revolt against the CCP. Competition from the commercial media and the Web and the narrowing of the information gap between officials and the public forces the government to be more transparent to maintain its credibility.The State Council Information Office and Tsinghua University have trained hundreds of official spokespeople for central, provincial, and municipal government agencies to give press brie? ngs. The central government launched an E-government initiative, and almost every government agency (including very sensitive ones like the Ministry of State Security) now posts information on its Web site. Changing Media, Changing China 23 The trend toward government transparency got a major boost from the Regulations on Open Government Information that went into effect in 2008.The regulations require officials to release information during disasters and emergencies and permit citizens to request the release of government information. An activist took advantage of the opening to request budgets from government agencies. When in October 2009 Guangzhou released departmental budgets and Shanghai refused to do so on the grounds that this information constituted state secrets, the media and online public went wild criticizing Shanghai’s excuse. 6 Xinhua piled on by reprinting many of the critiques, in