Influence of Money and Media on Elections

Influence of Money and Media on Elections During elections, electoral networks drive the â€Å"every vote counts† campaign, but the voter appeal is lost due to the high value placed in high-proficiency media and the conniving, slick interest groups that use propaganda to persuade voter turn-out. There lie many problems in the world of politics. Nasty campaigning and slamming ones opponent have become a commonplace in todays society. The root of these distinct problems doesnt stem directly from the candidates themselves, but rather the national committees for the Republicans and Democrats that represent them. The money which is spent by the massive institutions to their partys candidate in each election is overwhelming, but also impacts the public persona which is seen through the exorbitant and high-priced media campaigns that seduce public interest There are very specific rules that are governed rigidly regarding campaign financing. However the major national committees for the Republicans and Democrats have found ways around this system. The campaign financing rules are simple. Individual people are permitted to give $1000 per candidate per election, whereas interest groups are allowed to donate up to $5000 per candidate per election. In comparison to the hundreds of millions of dollars spent by both major parties, these are relatively small amounts of money. These national committees of the major parties use non-federal accounts to accumulate what is known as â€Å"soft money.† There are no limits on how much a party can spend at local levels for grass roots party building. The money in the non-federal regulated accounts is funneled to states, which are used to endorse or bash one of the candidates. Each major political party spends soft money in places where they have available seats in office and where they know they can retain them. This allows them to ensure more political influence in Congress. If a party feels they cannot steal a seat from the other party, the committee is less likely to spend soft money to keep up. The significance of this is that the candidate who spends the most money often wins. Though the large corporations and interest groups are the source of the influence, the political candidate is the face that the American people see to represent their party. This reality has caused voters to doubt whether their individual vote even counts. With each election, more Americans feel that the ultimate cause of who wins is determined by the amount of political wealth and media attention they have acquired. The solution to the problem is simple reform of the laws which govern campaign financing. While the answer may be simple to achieve, the solution is quite a different story. The major parties control the lawmaking body of the United States. Many of these congressmen owe their political position to what is known as soft money. This soft money comes from interest groups and major corporations; leaving the legislators in a very tough position. However if they were to reform the laws, the roles of these interest groups and the money of these corporations would be greatly diminished. It would provide a level playing field in all congressional districts around the nation. Eliminating soft money from politics would be to restore purity in a sense to the political process. Reforming the laws would ensure that political parties can not influence elections through money. It would also prevent interest groups and large corporations from controlling large aspects of todays government. For instance, the new law could set limits on how much money can be spent on television and radio advertisement. When this amount of money has been reached, the candidates could use no more political money for this type of advertisement. By the same token any amount of money could be spent on pamphlets and brochures. Educating voters on the issues and specific candidates stance on those issues is more alluring than oppressing and berating ones political opponent through media advertisement. This would allow the American people to decide based mainly on the issues presented, not through biased media influence. Campaign finance reform is a very hot topic. It seems that many people are jumping on the bandwagon hoping for some good press when a law is finally passed. With our most recent 2008 election, the candidates were undoubtedly fighting for votes in a close election, since the two of them set a record in soft money spent during an election. We need to fight to make politics about prevalent issues and leadership once again and take our country back from large corporations and interest groups that have assumed control through their large resources and persuading media influence.

The Impact of Keynesian Theory on Roosevelts New Deal :: Economy

The Impact of Keynesian Theory on Roosevelt's New Deal The crash of the stock market brought many hard times. Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal was a way to fix these times. John Stuart Mill and John Maynard Keynes were two economists whose economic theories greatly influenced and helped Franklin D. Roosevelt devise a plan to rescue the United States from the Great Depression it had fallen into. John Stuart Mill was a strong believer of expanded government, which the New Deal provided. John Maynard Keynes believed in supply and demand, which the New Deal used to stabilize the economy. Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal is the plan that brought the U.S. out of the Great Depression. It was sometimes thought to be an improvised plan, but was actually very thought out. Roosevelt was not afraid to involve the central government in addressing the economic problem. The basic plan was to stimulate the economy by creating jobs. First Roosevelt tried to help the economy with the National Recovery Administration. The NRA spread work and reduced unfair competitive practices by cooperation in industry. Eventually the NRA was declared unconstitutional. Franklin D. Roosevelt then needed a new plan. Keeping the same idea of creating jobs he made many other organizations devoted to forming jobs and in turn helping the economy. One of those organizations was the Civilian Conservation Corps. This corps took men off the streets and paid them to plant forests and drain swamps. Another of these organizations was the Public Works Administration. This organization employed men to build highways and public buildings. These were only some of the organizations dedicated to creating jobs. Creating jobs was important because it put money in the hands of the consumer. This directly affected the supply and

Multicultural Psychology

Multicultural Psychology Multicultural Psychology Multicultural psychology is the study of human behavior and mental processes through multiple cultures. The focus of this field of psychology incorporates theories on culture-specific issues and behaviors. Study models can be used as comparisons in understanding ethnic identity in viewing similarities and differences of the structure of the culture. In recent years, the original concept of one size fits all psychology has changed to include multicultural psychology that focuses on specific cultures and uniqueness within the culture. The study focuses on how a culture varies from other cultures to how they are similar. â€Å"It is apparent that the â€Å"old rules† in psychology have moved away from monoculture to a multicultural premise and that these â€Å"new rules† recognize both an appreciation of differences as well as an understanding of the inherent ambiguity and complexity in psychological practice† ( Pack-Brown & Williams, 2003). Defining Multicultural Psychology Multicultural psychology can be defined as â€Å"the systematic study of behavior, cognition, and affect in settings where people of different backgrounds interact† (McGraw-Hill, 2009). The focus on multiculturalism started in the 1960s as minority issues became more prevalent in society, especially in the Anglo dominated countries such as North America. Multicultural was primarily defined in association to race or ethnicity. The focus has broadened to include age, gender, religion, sexual preferences, and social class. Much of the focus on multicultural issues was directed toward issues in society regarding equality; many were caused and generated by political biases, programs, and policies. Nagayama Hall (2010) stated, â€Å"Multicultural psychology is the study of the influences of multiple cultures in a single social context on human behavior† (p. 8). Brief History of Multicultural Psychology The study on human behavior labeled as psychology, has been traced back as far as the Greeks and into the medieval period of history, studing language, human behavior, and various human traits. In the early 1800s Darwin’s theory focused on an explanation of the evolution of humans and focused on the transformation of mankind. Throughout time numerous psychologists such as Freud, Kant, Mach, Hegel and Galton, to name a few, focused their studies on human behavior. The focus of these early psychologists’ studies relied primarily on a monoculture focus of human behavior. Cultural diversity has been overlooked for centuries and only in the past two decades has a stronger focus begun on how cultures vary from each other in their influences on human behavior currently are incorporating cultural trends. â€Å"During the 1980s, the percentage rate of articles in psychology on people of color remained at 3%. There was a percentage increase in the 1990s but the percentage rate has remained at about 4. 5% throughout the 2000s† (Nagayama-Hall, 2010). Opinions on the reason for such low percentages primarily focus on the lack of cultural (diverse) backgrounds of the psychologists. In 2002, the American Psychological Association Council approved and released a document of guidelines titled â€Å"Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists† (APA, 2002, p. 1). This document has provided a guideline for psychologists to refer to as the concepts of multicultural psychology continues to evolve and emerge into a specialized area of study in psychology. With APA guidelines in place more focus on the variety of cultures and the similarities and differences within cultural groups will create awareness of cultural diversity and increase educational efforts targeted toward a greater understanding of various ethnic groups. Rationale for the Establishment of a Subspecialty for Multicultural Psychology Although ethnic diversity is growing in North America and in many other countries there is also needs to have a growth in psychologists trained on multicultural issues to expand the focus to a broader spectrum of study. The need to encourage and recruit individuals with diverse ethnic backgrounds into the field of psychology has become crucial and providing educational opportunities to support the development of the field of multicultural psychology needs to continue to support the future of psychology. Many business organizations are expanding their focus to international levels that will increase a new level of human resources issues that will need to be considered and developed. With the development of international business along with cultural influences continuing to grow in the United States more multicultural research studies will be needed and the results recorded and published to maintain successful on various levels. Greater understandings of the variance in cultures need to be created and known by business professionals expanding their businesses abroad. The needs for multicultural professionals are growing and psychological research will be vital on many levels. For example, many businesses are required through the guidelines instituted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to recruit a specific percentage of individuals from different ethnic backgrounds. The EEOC has placed guidelines when hiring and firing individuals and serves as a protection agency for possible issues and concerns of discrimination because of diversity or ethnic differences. â€Å"The U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information† (2010, EEOC). Through an improved focus on multicultural psychology, stronger guidelines can be set in place for education, the workforce, institutions . and society all that involve the interaction of a multitude of multicultural environmental backgrounds. Nagayama Hall (2010) stated â€Å"Rather than ignoring, neglecting, or reacting to cultural diversity, as has been the tradition of mainstream psychology, multicultural psychology is proactive and is helping to shape the discourse on race, ethnicity, and culture† (p. 19). Now is the time to grow diversity and eliminate the â€Å"cookie cutter† approach to the field of psychology. With the growing number of ethnic groups from so many countries, the make-up of society is constantly changing. Schools, businesses and entire neighborhoods are continuously changing as more ethnic groups integrate into these areas. The guidelines set forth by the APA provide psychologists strategies to work with society to educate and remove barriers that can come from the unfamiliar and lack of understanding of those individuals from different cultural backgrounds and ethnicities. The concept of monoculture in psychology must be eliminated and replaced with an active focus on multicultural issues in psychology to continue to evolve within society on a personal and professional level. References About the EEOC: Overview. (2010). U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved on April 2010, from http://www. eeoc. gov/eeoc/index. fm Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists. American Psychological Association. (2002) Retrieved on April 14, 2010 from http://www. apapracticecentral. org/ce/guidelines/multicultural. pdf Nagayama Hall, G. C. (2010). Multicultural Psychology (2nd ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall Pack-Brown, S. & Williams, C. Ethics is a multicultural context. (2003). Psych Board. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications What Is Multicultural Psychology? (2009) Retrieved April 14, 2010, from http://highered. mcgraw-hill. com/sites/dl/free/007338271x/591940/Chapter1. pdf

A Study Case For Renewable Resources - 981 Words

Energy generation in Hawaii is a noteworthy issue in context of the islands bound region and nonappearance of neighborhood resources. The state needs tons of petroleum and coal for power, yet late exercises have expanded utilization of renewable resources. There are numerous distinctive hotspots for renewable vitality that could unravel our vitality use issue, despite the fact that impressive measures of sun based photovoltaic and wind power use have actuated force value issues which have made Hawaii a study case for renewable resources. We are looking at Algae fuel and solar and wind power as additional sources to help with this power issue. The run of the mill expense of power in the introductory nine months of 2012 was $0.34 per kilowatt-hour, more than twofold the expense in the going with most fundamental state, New York at $0.16, and more than triple the US common of $0.10 per kilowatt-hour. Renewable sources gave 10.5% of total electric power in 2010. Hawaii organized third among U.S. states in geothermal centrality and seventh in went on sun power. In January 28, 2008, the State of Hawaii and the US Department of Energy indicated a redesign of understanding and reported the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, which has an objective to utilize renewable assets, for occasion, wind, sun, sea, geothermal, and bioenergy to supply 70 percent or a more significant measure of Hawaii s criticalness needs by 2030 and to decrease the state s reliance on imported oil. The StateShow MoreRelatedMotives of the Renewable Energy Policies in Resource Rich and Non-Democratic Countries1230 Words   |  5 PagesThis section will focus on the motivators of oil rich countries in the renewable energy field. Renewable energy can be defined simply as energy that comes from resources which are continually replenished by a period of time. From this simple definition it could be expected that use and introduction of renewable energy projects emerge and are promoted by countries with shortage of non-renewable sources and/or under a high risk of environmental degradation caused by those sources. Also it could beRead MoreThe Risks of Renewable and Nonrenewable Resource Utilization639 Words   |  3 Pagesï » ¿The Risks of Renewable and Non-Renewable Resource Utilization This world is a marvelous, unique, naturally rich place. By naturally rich, one can mean anything from a variety of fauna and flora, and a multitude of minerals and fossil fuels. Furthermore, to add to the incredible nature of this planet, one can utilize most of these resources for purposes that can only enrich human existence. Yet these resources, whether renewable or non-renewable, will truly be finite quite soon if certain mechanismsRead MoreRenewable Energy Through Feed On Tariffs And Taxes1263 Words   |  6 Pages(p. 1). With depleting resources, it may be a good idea to look more seriously at renewable energy (Sakamoto Managi, 2016, p. 16). More governments have been trying to create policies to encourage usage of renewable energy. However, it has been debated what is the best way to enforce renewable energy. In this paper, I will discuss two ways countries have been encouraging renewable energy through feed-in tariffs and taxes. Body Sakamoto and Managi (2016) did studies that took more into accountRead MoreThe Effects Of Renewable Energy On The United States1550 Words   |  7 Pages Renewable Energy In the 1960’s and 1970’s a movement regarding the physical environment began, this movement focused on a few environmental issues and disasters caused directly or indirectly by pollution. As the years progressed, this movement grew into a multifaceted activist movement gaining more attention in the US, more often referred as â€Å"Environmentalism† or â€Å"Environmental Activism†. As the human race realized the physical environment is fragile and thus must be protected, scientists startedRead MoreRenewable Energy Sector : Saudi Arabia1557 Words   |  7 PagesArabia led the Saudi authorities to consider investing in the renewable energy sector. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil producer and exporter, but its dominance in oil production threatens the country’s environment. Therefore, Investing in the renewable energy sector would be a good substitute of a polluting source of energy; moreover, it would lesser the expensive costs of oil -based energy. However, turning Saudi Arabia into the renewable energy sector would require profound adjustment in SaudiRead MoreRenewable Resources For Renewable Energy Essay1157 Words   |  5 Pages Renewable Resources used to be a source that was futuristic and far beyond the time period. Fossil Fuels are damaging to the home that is named Earth. Americans should support the production of renewable resources because they are more efficient, the world will experience a decline in the emission of Fossil Fuels, and the use of of WWS (Wind, Water, Solar) Resources will produce a more resilient source when compared to the sources that in effect now. WWS Resources produce more efficiently thanRead MoreThe Benefits Of Renewable Source Of Energy893 Words   |  4 Pagesbiodiesel burns much cleaner than diesel fuel (Berget al., 2011). According to Bosch and his colleagues, the demand for renewable source of energy is exceeding political agendas (2015). Renewable energies is in great interest of developed countries that lack fossil fuels (Bosch et al., 2015). Even the environmental or social cost are not taken into account while meeting renewable resource demand in developing countries (Bosch et al., 2015). Government should take biomass sustainability into considerationRead MoreEnergy Sector Of Sri Lanka1449 Words   |  6 Pagesincreasing world population, high global energy consumption and depletion of global resources has challenged this objective resulting energy as one of the main concerns today’s world. Accordingly, this report focuses on analysing various issues faced by different governments related to energy and the strategies they have implemented to minimse them. 2.0 Issues related to Energy and Strategies using to Deal with them 2.1 Case 01- Energy Sector of Sri Lanka The issues face by Sri Lanka’s energy sector areRead MoreThe Burning Of Biomass And The Resulting Emissions1582 Words   |  7 Pagesnations have sought to escape environmental ruin through the expanded use of energy efficient and renewable technologies. Ethiopia’s renewable energy potential is considerable, with abundant biomass efficiency, biogas, solar, hydropower, wind, and geothermal possibilities available (Forum for Environment, 2010; Mulugetta Yacob, 2007). But to date, the potential in rural electrification through these renewable technologies, and the implementation of energy efficient technologies in biomass consumptionRead MoreWe Must Make The Switch From Non Renewable1634 Words   |  7 PagesIn addition, another reason we should make the switch from non-renewable to renewable resources is because renewable resources and energy do not cause as much harm to Earth as non-renewable energy. Some examples in which renewable energy and sources help Earth and its inhabitants are by producing little to no global warming emissions, improving public health/environmental quality, creating an inexhaustible energy supply, producing jobs, and maintaining stable energy prices. By reducing the amount