Abstract In a 'Columbia Law Review' article published in 1999 -- "Lifetime Employment: Labor Peace and the Evolution of Japanese Corporate Governance" -- authors Gilson and Roe maintain that the Japanese practice of constricting the external labor market is responsible for firms' willingness to invest in human capital. They specifically reject the proposition that Japan's institution of lifetime employment could be the impetus for such corporate outlay. This paper contends, however, that social norms, coupled with a divergent development of Japan's employment law, gave rise to its lifetime employment policy and that this resulting policy accounts for employers' willingness to invest in human capital. The paper argues that a closed market is the result -- not the cause -- of corporate investment in employees.
From the Paper "It is recognized that Japanese labor law theory is firmly established in that of the Weimar Republic, which gave preference to group interests over that of the individual. The theory began to evolve during Japan's first industrialization at the end of the 19th century, when a severe shortage of skilled labor fostered worker migration from company to company. The situation was exacerbated when, in the 1920s, Japan underwent a series of hostile, chaotic strikes, which further caused significant labor turnover in key industries."
Abstract American notions of race and civilization greatly influenced U.S. support for the Philippine-American War that took place from February 1899 to July 1902. The paper shows that many historians argue that Americans supported the Philippine-American war out of a genuine desire to civilize the inferior Filipino race. However, years of isolationist foreign policies coupled with the threat of growing European powers had created widespread anxieties among Americans in the 1890s. The paper argues, therefore, that the the Philippine-American War actually served as an outlet for American anxieties about U.S. international power by allowing Americans to reaffirm their racial superiority.
From the Paper "America could have easily maintained trade with the islands, but chose instead to seek the annexation of Philippines, which cost America many lives and opened up American economy to foreign financers. Nevertheless, support for the annexation of the Philippines was widespread. Rather than considering more peaceful alternatives to the war, many Americans supported the attempt to emulate the "policy of expansions which [had] been pursued in England" in order to achieve an even greater amount of international power than their European allies.
Americans were also able to calm their insecurities, which had fostered avid support of the war, by proclaiming that the U.S. had a divine responsibility to tame the barbarian Filipinos. Americans asserted their racial greatness by complaining of the white man's burden as a divine nation to ?uplift and civilize and Christianize the Filipinos.?"
Tags: Theodore, Roosevelt, William, McKinley, Far, East
Abstract The paper identifies and analyzes the characteristics of these three consumer market groups and then discusses ways in which marketers can use those characteristics to profitable advantage. The writer employs statistics to give a numerical focus to the population in the United States today, outlining characteristics of each population and giving marketing strategies for reaching each consumer group.
From the Paper "The best way to reach these immigrants (and their potential dollars) is through the distribution of radio commercials and staff-produced stories on Spanish-language radio programs. Moreover, because the country at large expects strong increases in the Hispanic people, media companies are spending large amounts of money hiring consultants to help them do a better job of reaching Hispanics (Medina, Saegert, & Gresham, 1996)."
Abstract The paper offers an intimate glimpse of racism and its impact on the individuals who are adversely affected, by sharing the experiences of Maria Cheng, a 24-year-old second-generation Chinese, born and raised in California.
From the Paper "With their distinctive physical features that distinguish them from other racial groups in American society, Chinese Americans have faced racism throughout the history of their existence in America. During late 19th century, laws were passed that barred Chinese immigration and forbade Chinese from testifying in federal courts against white men (Fung 37). Although Chinese Americans no longer face the same kind of prejudice and have made great strides in establishing themselves in American society, they still suffer from discrimination today."
Abstract This paper discusses how linguistic and cultural proficiency has enabled Korean-Americans to enjoy a higher standard of living than their non-English-speaking counterparts. It examines how although many bilingual Korean Americans have decided to assimilate in the American society in pursuit of financial and social security, others have chosen to use their linguistic and cultural proficiency to forge an unique Korean-American niche in American society. It looks at how Korean-Americans who decide to assimilate into American society, often have to abandon their traditions and ethnic origins.
From the Paper "Furthermore, bilingual Korean Americans who are familiar with the American culture through their extensive involvement with white people during their childhood and adolescence have also undergone a painful period of denial and reawakening. They realize that their acceptance into mainstream American society requires them to abandon their ethnic and cultural origins?an integral part of their identity. Kim's journey from an Americanized Korean American who embraced American culture in order to be accepted by his peers to a director of the Korean Youth and Community Center captures this experience. As a social activist, Kim does not believe that Korean Americans should blend into mainstream American society."
Abstract This research paper summarizes and analyzes the historical development of martial arts in China. The paper explores the history of the artform as a product of the confluence and interaction of many religious, philosophical and practical influences dating back to ancient times. Included in the topics are the Chinese classical approach to warfare and military tactics, Daoist thought, Buddhism and various more modern syntheses of martial arts theories, including the teachings of the monks.
Contents:
Chinese Military Realities and Classical Theories
Daoist Thought
Buddhism
Consolidation of Martial Arts Theory
Conclusion
From the Paper "The martial arts in practical terms formed the basis for the training of Chinese for combat which in turn was influenced strongly by the nature and realities of warfare as it was practiced in ancient times and recounted by Chinese historians. Most of those histories related to civil wars between contending power factions, later to the wars which established China's first longlasting unified dynasty, the Han (B.C. 202-A.D. 221), and the wars fought by the Han against barbarians from Central Asia."
Tags: chinese, buddhism, buddha, dao, dynasty, tao, asian, form
Abstract This paper reviews the novel "The Woman Warrior" by Kingston, focusing on the issues of women in culturally different and foreign scenarios. The paper presents a background on the author Maxine Hong Kingston, as a woman born to a Chinese family in California and surrounded by Chinese culture and people. This, the writer believes, reflects in her writing. The paper presents the issues Kingston wrote of including women in Chinese culture and the mixing of the American and Chinese traditions.
From the Paper "Maxine Hong Kingston was born in 1940 in Stockton, California, to a Chinese immigrant family, and she grew up and lived in a Chinese community that followed the customs and tradition of its native land. The expectation for women in traditional Chinese society was as a wife or a slave, though in Kingston's family this expectation was considered an underachievement. Kingston herself would often be bombarded by negative comments directed towards her and her sister because the people in this more traditional Chinese community did not recognize the value of girl children."
Tags: culture, differences, racism, society, tradition, community
Abstract This paper examines the changing gender roles in Japan by focusing on two broad areas ? the role of women in the family and the role of women in the economic/work sphere. The first part of the paper examines women in the traditional domestic sphere. In the second part, the paper looks at women's participation in the sphere of gainful labor, which increased dramatically after World War II. Finally, the paper looks at the effects these changing roles have engendered in other spheres of Japanese life, such as politics and the women's movement.
From the Paper "Traditional stereotypes hold that women have always occupied a subservient role in Japanese society. Indeed, among the most enduring images of women in Japan are the mother/wife/caretaker or the geisha.
These stereotypes, however, hardly do justice to the complex and nuanced positions women have occupied in Japanese society. In many instances, the "image" of the subservient Japanese women does not reflect the power and social expectations related to her role in society."
Tags: gender, roles, in, Japan, subserviant, Japanese, women, Kamakura, period
Abstract The paper focuses on the history of the arrival of the immigrants in the United States and the reasons for immigration. The paper also compares the effects of immigration on the traditional structures of the Orthodox Jewish and Korean families. The paper examines the factors that have helped or hindered the process of acculturation for both groups.
From the Paper "Several factors affected the acculturation process undergone by both the Jewish immigrants at the beginning of the 20th century and the Korean immigrants since 1965. One of the factors is religion. Jews were traditionally, a marginalized group in Europe, a status that carried over to the United States. This marginalization also encouraged them to stay more closely-knit as a group."
Abstract The paper discusses the nature of the Japanese tea garden and its focus on art and symbolism. The paper explains the essential role each section of the garden and the buildings built within it, play in the Tea Ceremony. The paper also looks at the type of trees and plants featured in the garden.
From the Paper "The waiting area or yoritsuki is a small building near the gate of the garden used for part of the Japanese purification ritual. Guests wait in this building or area before the beginning of the tea ceremony. While they wait, they are seated on a carpet or bench, where they may partake of cups of hot water, or of the tobacco tray. The tobacco tray holds loose tobacco and two pipes. This is placed in the waiting area, as there is no smoking allowed in the Tea House. (Cheeke)"
Tags: serenity, gardening, tranquility, chashitsu, Zen
This paper discusses the relationship between the U.S.S.R. and the Mongolian People's Republic in the latter half of the 20th century and the effect the People's Republic of China had on this relationship.
3,729 words (approx. 14.9 pages), 7 sources, 2003, $ 103.95
Abstract This essay looks at the benefits Mongolia and the former U.S.S.R. stood to gain from their relationship with each other. The political, ideological, strategic, geographical and industrial perspectives of both countries are considered. Also considered are the feelings of the Mongolian people towards the Chinese, and how these feelings may have been manipulated.
From the Paper "The relationship between the USSR and the Mongolian People's Republic in the latter half of the 20th century is one that has its roots in a time before the creation of either Communist state. Chinggis Khan's Golden Horde had subjugated areas of Russia many centuries earlier. Russian letters from the mid 19th century proposed preparing a plan to annex Mongolia to Russia should the Manchu overlords ever withdraw into their Manchurian homeland. The Mongols had even appealed to the Russian Tsar for help whilst the Manchu ruled as the Qing dynasty. The crucial point though, is the early 20th century, when the relationship became more one of Elder Brother Younger Brother status, than one with views to colonization. This period formed the basis to a tight bond between the two countries lasting until the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s."
Abstract This paper discusses how, on his death, Lu Hsun was celebrated by Mao Tse-tung and others of the Communist Party as a spiritual father of the revolution, as its literary voice. The writer questions if this was simply the party taking advantage of the now silent writer's reputation, or whether he was truly the revolutionary that Mao claimed him to be.
From the Paper "Even though Lu Hsun was a devoted Marxist, and is credited with bringing many devotees into the fold of communism, he himself balked at joining the party, and never did, which was perceived as no small matter in determining enemies of the state during the cultural revolution that was to shortly follow. On studying Lu Hsun's life and his thoughtful approach to it, one realizes that it is doubtful that this was merely an oversight, but rather represented a hesitancy on his part to fully embrace the revolution that was unfolding. It may have been that he was not convinced that the revolution that had yet to mature in China was the real revolution. Throughout his work, he shows a tendency to rate the quality of revolutions, as he believed not all were equal. ?But only great revolutions can change literature, not small ones, for these do not count as revolutions.? (Hsun/Yang p327)"
A discussion of how the Chinese Government exercises authority on how its citizens use the internet, simultaneously restricting websites that are considered obscene or offensive to the government.
Abstract This paper examines how China would like to embrace the internet for the prosperity of its country while keeping their citizens safe from illegal material that could demoralize the society. It looks at how Chinese leaders are trying to make constructive usage of the Internet because they realize the profit wired economy can bring to their country and how they also feel that political discussions should not be openly accessible by their citizens or other countries since it can bring harm to the well being of their law and order situation. It looks at how the internet in China has been predominantly controlled by the authoritarian regimes and how officiating bodies are bent on filtering material and also have the users register online.
From the Paper "In China Playboy, CNN, BBC all have one thing in common, they have been blocked by the local ISPs. Even search engines like Google and AltaVista have become restricted sites. The Chinese government has blocked these sites because it finds them rebellious to their regime. The search engines have been blocked so that the citizens cannot access material that is anti-government and may threaten the ruling Communist Party. The Chinese government's does not approve of Google because it has the ability to allow the users to see cached websites. This ability allows the users to see archived sites that may have been deleted or blocked. However, Chinese people have their own way to get around this, they use Elgoog that is a site similar to Google and are not filtered. This site is written backward that is why it requires a mirror to be read. People can access Google by typing search queries backward in this site. The governments stand on blocking Alta Vista and Google have led the people to use domestic search engines that are approved by the communist government."
Abstract This paper stresses that, even though Western artists are looking for new ideas when they seek Oriental input, they can only interrupt the Orient through their own Western culture. The author explains that French painter Eugene Delacroix' "Death of Sardanapalus" and Austrian artist Leopold Carl Muller's "The Market in Cairo" are examples of orientalism in Western art. The author states that the Beatles, seeking the teachings of India's gurus, brought orientalism into modern pop culture.
From the Paper "The Western World that Delacroix knew lay on the brink of the Victorian age. Painted in 1827, the Death of Sardanapalus speaks to a people already grown accustomed to the strictures of middle-class morality. As older and wilder days ended, North Americans and Europeans were already entering into a new era of strong religious devotion, clean living, and sexual repression. The wanton abandoning of oneself to pleasure like Sardanapalus seemed to be something that was still possible only within the hidden corridors of the seraglio, a place where leering, bearded despots sought freely to satisfy their carnal lusts. The fact that Sardanapalus's world is about to be consumed in fire is but a fitting moral judgment. Though he can gape at the writhing, sensuous forms of the King's doomed attendants, the European or North American man can only dream of what he cannot have ? the pleasures of the flesh are condemned hellfire."
Abstract As the capital of the ?Land of Smiles,? Bangkok fascinates visitors from around the world by its dazzling architecture, culture and cuisine. Since the city experienced an economic boom in the 1980s, Bangkok has become a crowded city, with infamous traffic and pollution problems. Despite these problems, however, Bangkok remains one of the most attractive cities in the world. This paper begins with an introduction and geographic location of Bangkok. It then presents a general background to the history of the capital before exploring some of the city's major tourist attractions. Finally, the paper looks at local industry performance and problems which face the city such as pollution and traffic.
From the Paper "Bangkok is basically divided into two regions, the Old City and the newly developed areas east of the Old City, collectively referred to as the Greater Bangkok Metropolis. The Old City retains much of Bangkok's historical charm and architecture. Some of the less expensive places to stay are in the vicinity of the Old City, which houses most of Bangkok's major tourist attractions. The preservation of the Old City and its buildings makes Bangkok a model of harmonious contrasts: the major development can occur to the north and east of the Old City without encroaching on it."
Tags: klong, King, Rama, I, Chao, Phraya, Don, Muang
