An Overview of Neo Colonialism

An Overview of Neo Colonialism What is Neo-colonialism? Discuss with reference to specific examples. Neo-colonialism is the control of less-developed countries by developed countries through indirect means. The term neo-colonialism was first used after World War II to refer to the continuing dependence of former colonies on foreign countries, but its meaning soon broadened to apply, more generally, to places where the power of developed countries was used to produce a colonial -like exploitation-for instance, in Latin America, where direct foreign rule had ended in the early 19th century. (halperin, n.d.) When the Queen of Britain felt that her duty her duty is to extend the model of government and culture to other parts of the world. Hence, she started neo-colonizing while exploited the resources of all such colonies. This happened primarily not with the white colonies. These were usually self-governed colonies with large number of settlers. The main problem makers or rebellions were only brown colonies which were dealt with a divide and rule policy together with a string of home treaties with sociable splinter groups who had their hidden interest involved to gain much from continued British Rule; like the Indian maharajas. Examples of neo-colonialism have been studied in most corners of the world since the end of the Second World War. In fact, its difficult to find a place that scholars do not claim has been subject to cultural imperialism of some sort since 1945. From Egypt to Belize to India to Britain to the United States of Americaall of these countries have observed some sort of influence over their culture from another country (Reid 57; Everitt 42; Altbach 902; Cooper and Cooper 61). This is hardly a surprise; after all, globalization is no secret. Cultural imperialism and hegemony, however, are not concepts that can be described so simply as globalization. Neo-colonialism, the modern colonialism, has emerged as an influential force; used by powerful countries for a variety of reasons, it is continually shaping not only individual cultures, but the global culture. There are two terms that most completely bring out the subtleties of neo-colonialism: cultural imperialism and cultural hegemony. Cultural imperialism is best summarized as the way that certain cultural products have attained a position of dominance in a foreign culture through a process of coercive imposition, usually through their ties to political or economic power (Dunch 302). While imperialism is characteristically determined by military control, this is definitely not the case with cultural imperialism. Cultural imperialism also differs slightly from the idea of cultural hegemony, which is an aspect of Marxist philosophy that calls attention to the promotion of one culture over another with the objective of that the ruling class worldview becomes the norm. This cultural assimilation is particularly useful in that it creates a situation ripe with potential for the economic benefit of the ruling class. By persuading the subordinate group that the profits from agreement outweigh the losses of not working together, the ruling culture is able to maintain their superior status (Schultz 275). It is the intertwin ing and collective definition of these related concepts -cultural imperialism and cultural hegemony that paint the ultimate picture of neo-colonialism and cross-cultural promotion in the interests of one country, often at the expense of another. It exists the power exercising control is often the State which formerly ruled the territory in question, but this is not necessarily so. For example, in the case of South Vietnam the former imperial power was France, but neo-colonial control of the State has now gone to the United States. It is possible that neo-colonial control may be exercised by a consortium of financial interests which are not specifically identifiable with any particular State. The control of the Congo by great international financial concerns is a case in point.The means by which a country may impose an unequal cultural relationship on another are wide ranging, but economics is by far the most common tool used in neo-colonialism (Petra 139). By providing monetary support and forming economic partnerships, the financial institutions, governments, and particularly the multinational corporations of the colonizing power ingratiate themselves to their subjects and integrate them into their own capitalist system. Th ere are two particular concepts that deeper explore this culturally hegemonic relationship. One is another Marxist theory, complimentary to cultural hegemony, which is understood as dependency theory. This theory declares that by the penetration of multinational corporations, economic sanctions, partnerships, and the like, developed countries intentionally foster and enforce a culture within developing countries that is economically dependent on their own. Dependency theory contends that the weaker nation is further impoverished to the benefit of the stronger country due to the subsequent capitalist use of the weaker countrys resources and labour. This practice continues because of the strong hegemony of the colonizing power. A concept that is similar, yet more functionalist than dependency theory is the world systems theory. This theory says that the world is divided into segments of a powerful core, a moderate semi-periphery, and weak periphery nations. The three categories of nat ions each engage in neo-colonialism with varying degrees of success on the other two kinds of nations. Essentially, world systems theory explains how the core can dominate and take control of the resources and labour supplied by the periphery for a profit. Just as in dependency theory, the core benefits because of these mechanics. Dissimilar to dependency theory, however, the peripherys marginal benefits are acknowledged since they are provided with some economic gain. World systems theory can definitely be extended to the broader methods of neo-colonialism if we think of the cultures of the core and periphery in the same way we would otherwise think of their economies. In the present era, we can also look to two key case studies of neo-colonialism: Sino-African relations and The United States of America as an economic power. To this day, more than one million Chinese are African residents, and Chinese investment in Africa exceeds 40 billion dollars. They have spread their money and culture throughout the continent, and are now trading in excess of 166 billion dollars per year with Africa; securing 50 billion in minerals. Africa receives goods in return, and most of these goods support further resource extraction and industrial development. While this relationship was once seen as quite exploitive, views are changing as China fosters goodwill in these nations with more equitable agreements (Africa and China). Similar Chinese examples of economic neo-colonialism have been identified all over the world, from Canada to Ecuador (Kay; Scheneyer and Perez). The United States of America is another core country that is heavily invested in neo-colonial pursuits. One of the most astute concepts that illustrates the worldwide flow of American culture by mostly economic means is called Coca-Colonization. This concept calls attention to Coca-Colas global pervasiveness as a symbol for the Americanization of nearly every corner of the earth (Kuisel 98). Through huge multinational corporations such as Coca-Cola, American values and culture have been strongly infused all over the world. As one of the most influential countries in the world, there are certainly many other tools that America uses to engage in neo-colonialism, (including many of the ones already mentioned), but economics and multi-national corporations are by far the most commonly referenced (Petras 2070). These historical examples, and others like them, provide a solid basis for examining the exact motivations that nations might have for their neo-colonial pursuits. This is because they show how core countries have benefitted from the cultural assimilation of the periphery, and identifying these benefits then exposes their motivations. Indeed, there are inherent economic benefits for powerful nations to realize as a result of their cultural imperialism: core countries can expand their business to the nations theyve culturally assimilated and also make use of the low-cost resources and labour that they are able to obtain from the periphery. Often times, the subordinate culture becomes dependent (as described by dependency theory) on these foreign operations within their own borders; they rely on outside multinationals for jobs and goods. Because of this dependency, the core is able to set low wages and prices for raw goods and operate at a high profit. As such, these practices pay off financially for the multinational corporations and (by the extension of taxes) the governments of the colonizing power. It can be concluded that the substantial fin ancial gain to be had as a result of neo-colonialism is definitely a motivating factor. While financial profit is one of the most straightforward ways that a nation can benefit from neo-colonialism, there are more motivations that might cause a country to engage in these pursuits. One of these is national security. Just as in the Cold War, nations have an interest in fostering goodwill and dependence in other parts of the world; creating allies and dependent states that would not go to war against them, or support them in the event of the war. Another motivating factor is to acquire resources. As the worlds population multiplies, valuable resources are being stretched thin. Growing countries such as China and India need to secure access to fuel and food to provide for their citizens, and neo-colonialism has been shown to allow them the influence to negotiate access to these resources. Diplomatic power also seems to be a reason to engage in neo-colonialism; countries that have similar cultures are likely to agree and vote identically on international issues. Even if they dont agree, countries that are dependent on another nation may feel obligated to act in the wishes of their neo-colonizer, as a derogatively titled puppet state. The new face of colonialism has shown itself in a wide variety of places around the world, and we can see that countries have benefited in various ways; exposing their motivations. It is also important to look at future implications should these activities continue. Cultural homogenization (most commonly referred to as globalization) is perhaps the most powerful force affecting the global landscape today. For instance, estimates include a ninety percent reduction in the number of languages spoken around the world by the year 2100 while others clearly show that the number of speakers will be highly concentrated in a handful of languages by this time (Ryan; Graddol 27). Global trends such as these are directly related to the practice of neo-colonialism. While the future prevalence of some languages is due to rising populations, it is no surprise that the languages at the top of these lists also have homelands that are known for engaging in neo-colonialism in the past and present. So, while the term globalization seems to indicate that the result is a diverse global culture, the reality is that this ongoing homogenization of ethos is more composed of the cultures that are most aggressive in neo-colonial pursuits. The core nations culturally imperialistic practices reduce the influence of other cultures and strengthen the influence of their own, indeed leading to a global culture that is more comprised of the core than the periphery. If neo-colonialism continues to be practiced, then the current situation of nations can be expected to expand. Many will be quick to point out that the periphery nations benefit in the same way as the core; that they would be a lot worse off should they limit their relationship with the core, and that their loss of culture is not all that significant (Bowen 179). Still more point out that these benefits are marginal, and require that the periphery countries submit to the exploitive objectives of the core pointing primarily to the issue of human rights, they contend that the wages received and benefits incurred (cultural or otherwise) are not nearly enough to compensate for the capitulated resources, labour, autonomy and culture; especially when considering the relative profits of the core (Koshy 26). Most agree that relatively small cultures will eventually be washed out by the cultures of the most powerful nations; that human rights issues must continue to be questioned. If neo-colonialism continues to perpetuate itself in this way, there is little hope that conditions will change for these nationsthe core will remain at the core, and the periphery and semi-periphery will struggle to flourish. This school of thought is quite large, and has given most of the terms already discussed an overwhelmingly negative connotation. However, as already mentioned in the case of Sino-African relations, the core is beginning to realize their own dependency on the periphery which is slowly improving these human rights conditionsthough the general cultural assimilation remains. The modern colonialism benefits countries that spread their culture throughout the world. The tools employed by those countries to this end are varied, ranging from economics to education. As beneficiaries of the financial, military, diplomatic, and resource stability that comes from having nations culturally assimilated to them, there seems to be no reason for powerful core nations to cease in their neo-colonial activities. Illustrated by concepts such as dependency theory, world systems theory, and Coca-Colonization, the forces of cultural imperialism and cultural hegemony are contributing to the globalized world in a way that favours the most powerful of nationsfor better or for worse.

American Express Case Study

What are the key components of the architecture American Express has created? The key components of the architecture American Express has created were the ability to more effectively do business utilizing new payment methods and mobile devices. This was done through technology road map, reference architecture road map and utility/capacity road map.The enterprise architecture team created road maps to understand the leadership, organizational structure and directions and processes to make sure American Express's Information Technology correlates with this changes in demand placed upon the use of new payment methods and mobile devices and their alignment with the organization's mission, goals, and objectives. This is the architecture governance. In addition, it is important to understand the strategic intent of the company so that the business architecture helps to guide and direct the processes correctly.The technology architecture ensures that the processes and templates provided wor k in compliance with the needs of the organization. Discuss two advantages and three disadvantages of standard enterprise architecture for American Express? An advantage of standard enterprise architecture for American Express includes the ability to provide more consistent user experience. In addition, standard enterprise architecture use can deduce risk and exposure and reduce operating costs. Optimally it will allow product and services to be brought to market more quickly.Disadvantages of standard enterprise architecture include the concept that architecture must guide rather than dictate. The architecture process must seen as a â€Å"fit† for the employees and customers of American Express. It should be value to projects and be accepted on its own merits. It must also serve a mission: in this case American Express has a strategic need for enterprise architecture that addressed the specific need of shorter time to market products and services and new delivery changes like mobile devices.Another disadvantage is that increased costs can be incurred if the system is not properly managed. How might they address the disadvantages? Since architecture must guide rather than dictate an organization it is key that the company's strategy actually drives the architecture (which, as our text points out, drives infrastructure). IT must carefully manage the architecture to ensure that it is being managed in this manner, rather than having the company be limited by the architecture or guided by the architecture based on its perimeters, rather than careful planning of the needs of the organization.Since â€Å"enterprise architecture is the broad design that includes both the information system, architecture and the interrelationships in the enterprise† (Pearlson & Saunders, 2013), it is key that each aspect works together to support strategy and more efficiently help the organization. Costs of managing standard enterprise architecture must be managed. Standa rdization should lead to reduced operating costs and greater consistency within the organization. However, in order to do so, IT must carefully manage the system and look forward as new technologies emerge, ensuring that the system can adapt and flex to adjust for projected needs. American Express Case Study What are the key components of the architecture American Express has created? The key components of the architecture American Express has created were the ability to more effectively do business utilizing new payment methods and mobile devices. This was done through technology road map, reference architecture road map and utility/capacity road map.The enterprise architecture team created road maps to understand the leadership, organizational structure and directions and processes to make sure American Express's Information Technology correlates with this changes in demand placed upon the use of new payment methods and mobile devices and their alignment with the organization's mission, goals, and objectives. This is the architecture governance. In addition, it is important to understand the strategic intent of the company so that the business architecture helps to guide and direct the processes correctly.The technology architecture ensures that the processes and templates provided wor k in compliance with the needs of the organization. Discuss two advantages and three disadvantages of standard enterprise architecture for American Express? An advantage of standard enterprise architecture for American Express includes the ability to provide more consistent user experience. In addition, standard enterprise architecture use can deduce risk and exposure and reduce operating costs. Optimally it will allow product and services to be brought to market more quickly.Disadvantages of standard enterprise architecture include the concept that architecture must guide rather than dictate. The architecture process must seen as a â€Å"fit† for the employees and customers of American Express. It should be value to projects and be accepted on its own merits. It must also serve a mission: in this case American Express has a strategic need for enterprise architecture that addressed the specific need of shorter time to market products and services and new delivery changes like mobile devices.Another disadvantage is that increased costs can be incurred if the system is not properly managed. How might they address the disadvantages? Since architecture must guide rather than dictate an organization it is key that the company's strategy actually drives the architecture (which, as our text points out, drives infrastructure). IT must carefully manage the architecture to ensure that it is being managed in this manner, rather than having the company be limited by the architecture or guided by the architecture based on its perimeters, rather than careful planning of the needs of the organization.Since â€Å"enterprise architecture is the broad design that includes both the information system, architecture and the interrelationships in the enterprise† (Pearlson & Saunders, 2013), it is key that each aspect works together to support strategy and more efficiently help the organization. Costs of managing standard enterprise architecture must be managed. Standa rdization should lead to reduced operating costs and greater consistency within the organization. However, in order to do so, IT must carefully manage the system and look forward as new technologies emerge, ensuring that the system can adapt and flex to adjust for projected needs.

The method that built science

Science is no easy enterprise unless the decay in the inquisitive mind of man takes the form of a lingering revulsion against one of humanity’s most productive disciplines. The scientific method is by all means the cornerstone in the advancement of the major as well as the minor theories and derived knowledge in the scientific world. Dating back to decades in its progression, the utilization of the scientific method has led to a number of refinements in the established principles in the domains of science as well as the refinement in the scientific method itself. In effect, the mutual benefit gained from the application of the scientific method with regards to the analysis of numerous scientific cases and to the broad investigations that underline the basic precepts and consequent principles has placed an edge over the credibility of the science. This is in contrast to the several other means that are apart from and exclusive to the scientific enterprise in obtaining vital as well as crude information with regards to the natural and physical realm. Hence, in order for one to be able to effectively utilize the scientific method, a look into its parts and details is essentially contributive inasmuch as it is beneficial not only to the individual employing the method but also to the community in general. The initial step in the scientific method is commonly identified as observation which refers to the use of the sensory perception or oftentimes with the aid of specific instruments in examining the phenomena contained within the physical or natural environment. After arriving at a description of an event or a set of events or objects, a tentative and educated explanation of the observed event then proceeds. This process is oftentimes referred to as the formulation of the hypothesis which provides a partial, unofficial and unverified elucidation on the observed phenomena. With the hypothesis already in hand, what transpires next is the actual testing of the tentative explanation. This is done through the process of experimentation with all of the necessary material and equipments utilized in order to arrive at the resulting data. The resulting data after the experiment is then gathered and recorded so as to have a list of available information that will serve as the background for the hypothesis. Before arriving at any set of final conclusion with regards to the phenomena, an interpretation of the resulting data is necessary. This step provides the crucial link that stands between the conclusion, oftentimes coming in the form of a generalization, and the data collected from the experiment. Further, the interpretation of the data can be done in several ways, largely depending upon the type of data gathered and the domain in science under which it falls. Generally, the interpretation of the data yields the necessary bases or sets of premises that will be generalized and placed in support of the conclusion. With all the essential data already acquired as well as the interpretations of these sets of data from the variables provided in the experiment, a generalization of all these then follows. The conclusion serves as the pinnacle of the scientific method that started from mere observation of phenomena. Not only does the conclusion fits as the highlight of the scientific method, it also serves as the fundamental verifying statement or statements for the hypothesis, thereby granting the formulated hypothesis either with a substantiated and authenticated merit or a falsifying remark. There, too, are instances wherein the hypothesis is left hanging by the conclusion as the latter oftentimes arrives at a differing point whereas the hypothesis remains inconclusive although experimentation has already been performed. In general, the scientific method along with its intricate steps has provided an extra muscle for the scientific community to be able to better shape its scopes and foundations. Being able to understand the underlying steps in the scientific method is an essential and useful means in arriving at a more concrete exploration of numerous phenomena and the domains in which they fall under. Reference Kramer, S. P. (1987). How to Think Like a Scientist: Answering Questions by the Scientific Method. New York: HarperCollins. Â  

What Is Spanish for Foster Child

Translating terms from English to Spanish can be a challenge when Spanish-speaking listeners might not be familiar with the social and cultural factors involved.An example is trying to translate foster child. The problem is that the term refers to a specific legal arrangement that exists in the United States, and there isnt always an exact equivalent elsewhere. So if you need precision in communicating your idea, you may need to explain what it is that you mean. Quick research indicates that possible terms you might use for foster child include nià ±o en acogida  (literally, a child taken in, a term used in Spain) or nià ±o en adopcià ³n temporal  (literally, a temporarily adopted child, a term used in at least three South American countries). But its hard to say if either one of these terms would be universally understood correctly without explanation. This may sound like a copout, but if youre  referring to the arrangement thats common in the United States, what you  might choose to do is simply adopt the English word and give a brief explanation: nià ±o foster. Thats not an original idea — a quick web search finds many U.S. school districts doing exactly that in their Spanish-language documents. Such a translation may not be pretty, but sometimes these solutions are the best that can be done.