Recent orders
Cuban missile crisis.
Cuban missile crisis.
Student’s Name
Professor
Course
Date
Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban missile crisis is well a documented event that brought the United States and the Soviet Union to a near nuclear war in 1962. This was after the Soviet Union deployed ballistic missiles in Cuba, and President John F. Kennedy was not comfortable with the deployment of missiles in Cuba. Kennedy’s administration was not satisfied with the leadership of Fidel Castro in Cuba, and there had been several attempts to intimidate his leadership. Castro confided in Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev that he needed an assistant to tame the United States invasion in his territory. Khrushchev agreed to deploy ballistic missiles to be installed in Cuba, 90 miles from the United States border, which was not taken lightly by Kennedy’s administration.
Deployment of missiles to Cuba sparked a crisis that nearly brought America and the Soviet Union into war. However, analytic research by various scholars indicates that the presence of missiles in Cuba was not a threat to the security of the United States. As Schwarz argues, America had an overwhelming nuclear power compared to the Soviet Union, and the presence of missiles in Cuba could have been thwarted in case a war broke out (2013). Equally, the secretary of defense in the United States in 1962, Robert McNamara is quoted saying that "a missile is a missile it makes no great difference whether you are killed by a missile from the Soviet Union or
Cuba." From the secretaries sentiments, it is clear security of the United States citizens was not a national interest, at least, based on the events that led to the Cuban crisis. Despite the insignificance of deployment of ballistic missiles in Cuba, Kennedy’s administration pushed for their removal. Looking at these events, it is clear that Kennedy’s continuous provocation of Cuba and his involvement in the removal of the missiles that had already been installed was a purely political move. Indeed, McNamara is quoted saying, "I’ll be quite frank. I don’t think there is a military problem here … This is a domestic, political problem." It is important to note that the United States was going into an election that particular year and Kennedy’s failure to remove the missiles from Cuba would have affected his political ambitions. Schwarz further notes that "Indeed, Washington’s self-regard for its credibility was almost certainly the main reason it risked nuclear war over a negligible threat to national security" (2013). looking at the overall circumstances surrounding the Cuban missile crisis, it is clear that the nation’s interest was to assert its authority and communicate to the world that America was indeed a powerful country. They dictated how other countries should undertake their affairs.
Several factors influence the foreign policies of different countries. More often, external factors, including political structures, international laws, alliances, and military strength. The relationship between the United States and Cuba was not good. Indeed, Fidel Castro had complaint that president John F. Kennedy wanted to assassinate him and that his administration was using some other unorthodox means to remove him and his administration from power. At one point, Kennedy’s administration unsuccessfully tried attacking Cuba, which informed Castro to seek assistance from the Soviet Union. The United States had potent weapons, and the Soviet Union and Cuba knew this. Looking at how Kennedy’s administration approached the foreign policy, it is clear that the primary source was from president John F. Kennedy and his administration.
Kennedy’s administration learned about the presence of missiles in Cuba on 12th October 1962, and it took them close to two weeks to solve the incidence. Kennedy’s approach to foreign policies was central to his administration, and he did not care to consult international partners like the United Nations in such a weighty matter. Instead, Kennedy went ahead and issued a threat in a public forum warning that the United States would attack Cuba if ballistic missiles that were being installed were not removed (Lebow et al. 1995). It is important to note that the presence of ballistic missiles in Cuba was not a threat to the security of the United States. However, Kennedy wanted to communicate with the United States’ friends and enemies that the country was still the most powerful nation in the world. Another interesting bit about the Cuban missile crisis is the involvement of Nikita Khrushchev in the negotiations that led to the removal of ballistic missiles in Cuba. It is, however, interesting to note that until recently, nobody knew that there was a secret arrangement for the United States to equally remove their Jupiter Missiles in Turkey, although, with a condition that it remains a secret. The events that led to the removal of missiles from Cuba indicate that although Kennedy’s administration played a more significant role by issuing threats to attack Cuba, it turns out the Soviet’s input also played a part. The principal source of the United States foreign policies was Kennedy’s administration, but equally, the international environment played a significant role (Lebow et al. 1995).
The responsibility of any government across the globe is to protect its people’s interests, and that includes their security. In the United States, for example, the government invests a lot of money in security more than any other nation in the world, to protects the security of the American people. Equally, other countries invest heavily in military weapons in their quest to protect their territory and avert any invasion from enemy countries. During the Cuban missiles crisis, Fidel Castro knew that he did not have the capacity to fight with the United States, and he had to seek assistance from Soviet Union. It is a common practice for countries to enter into security treaties with other friendly nations that have the military capability to protect them in an event where their enemies attack them. Nikita Khrushchev felt obligated to help Cuba from the United States invasion by mounting missiles in Cuba. However, looking at the United States military capacity in 1962, it had the power to destroy Cuba even with the missiles installed in the country. Kennedy’s insistence that they had to remove the missiles was basically because of political reasons and not necessarily the security of the American people (Gavin 2012).
Therefore, this intimates that the presence of nuclear weapons in 1962 was not relevant, and the Cuban missiles crisis was the United States’ creation to assert their authority in global politics. Indeed, Kennedy knew that the presence of missiles in Cuba was irrelevant, and they could not deter them from attacking Cuba if they wanted. Still, he continuously pushed for their removal, nonetheless. Observes of global politics posits that it is through such events that the United States has managed to assert its authority as a global leader. They argue that the presence of missiles was not relevant. Kennedy and his administration would have pursued a more diplomatic way by engaging Cuba and the Soviet Union in a dialogue to resolve the matter. It is even ironic that Kennedy’s administration that was always advocated for peace in other regions across the globe were threatening to attack a small country that could not match its military capability (Gavin 2012).
Reference
Gavin, F. J. (2012). Lessons from the Cuban Missile Crisis. The National Interest Online, 26, 11-36.
Lebow, R. N., & Stein, J. G. (1995). We all lost the Cold War (Vol. 55). Princeton University Press.
Schwarz, B. (2013). The real Cuban missile crisis: everything you think you know about those 13 days is wrong. The Atlantic.
Lucy Grealy Mirrors
Name:
Institution:
Course:
Tutor:
Date:
Lucy Grealy: Mirrors
Grealy’s essay is an actual account of a persons experience in this world. It explores the struggle as well as survival of the individual that was faced by disease and subsequent social alienation. She presents to the reader a detailed story of her painful life that was characterized by constant ridicule from the public. Notably, this is a reflection of the historical suffering of the Vietnam people during the time of the holocaust and the alienation of characters presented in Kafka’s literary works.
Grealy spent a considerable period of time worrying about her image and what the entire word thought about it. She defined her image in terms of the flaws that she thought characterized the same. These were often perpetuated by her frequent use of the mirror and creation of faulty images regarding her physical appearance. Generally, she was obsessed with her looks and considered herself disfigured and therefore unworthy of pubic admiration. As a result, she always hid behind a scarf or/and a mask in a bit to hole up from the entire public. It is indicated that being away from the mirror greatly relieved her and practically gave her a “moment of …freedom” (Nancy, David, Carl, Robert & Somers 7). In particular, this enabled her to face the world with an actual rather than perceived self image.
Generally, Grealy was not happy because of the inability to get normal reactions from the public. This according to her was contributed to by her disfigured face that could only be rectified through an operation. She contended that fixing her face through this procedure could give her a chance to attain a condition of normalcy and be like other people in the society. She refers to the normal people as being “whole, loved and contend” (Nancy et al 12).
In other words, she considers normal people to be those who are loved and appreciated by the society. This basically makes them experience an acceptable level of satisfaction in the society. In addition normal women according to her had a true identity of joy that was apparent in intimate relationships. Thus her non involvement in normal love affairs alienated her from the rest of the society. It is indicated that being able to fix her face would give her a feeling of fulfillment as a result of societal approval. She posits that her “life and soul” would also be fixed and ultimately, her entire life would greatly improve.
It is indicated that she derived a significant degree of comfort fro her imagination that once anything whatsoever was acquired, fixed or learnt, she would be in position to remember the relative lesson forever. Nevertheless, she discovers that fundamental and vital realities regarding the self are often leant through the hardest way. Specificity, she realizes that critical attributes such as struggle and courage greatly influence such lessons.
Nonetheless, Grealy appreciates the fact that suffering that people experience tends to stem from the perception of their images. This is further compounded by the images that the rest of the society accords them. Seemingly, the negative implications associated with this tend to affect their self worth and esteem. In some instances, some of them struggle to counter these challenges and face the same with great courage. However, this is often a lifetime struggle that deprives the affected individual of societal approval and subsequent personal satisfaction.
Platos “The Cave”
In most instances, humans have often failed dismally to understand and appreciate the basic factual components that characterize their wellbeing. In most cases, they are always deceived by their myopic perception of various experiences that they go through. In addition, they tend to distort the wellbeing of their senses that is charged with the responsibility of enabling them to capture the ideal and real forms of their experiences. Notably, this can only be effectively captured by the mind. However, the process is often clouded by human distortion regarding perception of experiences, events and their inherent reality.
Plato contends that this state of affairs is contributed to by the dazzling nature of visual perception. It is often so overwhelming that it makes an individual to overlook and ignore the hidden facets of reality that are presented by the experience or event. In particular, it makes the individual to lay undue emphasis on the aspects that are not real and therefore untrue to the event. The visual aspects hence tend to distort the reality of an event, experience or tool. A classic example in this regard would be the images seen on computers and televisions. According to Plato, the prisoners and other spectators only have a chance to see the reflections and shadows of things. In particular, they only tend to experience a “mediated vision of the events and personalities presented therein” (Nancy et al 29). In most cases, they are often unaware of the elaborate process that is employed in the creation and transmission of the visual images. This is only known to the technical personnel, who seemingly employ a great deal of human, technical and financial resources in creating the same.
Comparatively, the segment of the population that understands this process is smaller than the one that is unaware of it. Also, the percentage of the population that expresses concern with regard to understanding of the functioning of the technology is also very low. This is an indication that humans tend to be more interested in the face value of various objects than in the intrinsic value of the same. Of great concern is the fact that they transform this to their day to day lives and end up suffering from interpersonal disorders that compromise their physical as well as mental wellbeing. Indeed, Plato indicates that the experience in the cave can be misleading. This is due to the fact that the individuals in the same tend to have a superficial view of the environment outside it (Selby & Pamela 78). In particular, they rely on the sounds and other partial visuals for decision making.
From another perspective, it can be argued that the conditions in the caves are also deluding as they do not portray an actual picture of reality. Plato indicates that they are literary blinding and undermine the ability of humans to experience actual conditions that characterize the real environment. Although an extended stay in the same enables humans to live in a world of illusion, it can be posited that the harsh reality often awaits the same. In most cases, humans usually avoid real situations because of thee characteristic harsh realities. They consider illusions to be their temporary source of solace. However, in the long run, the usually face the realities of life that in such instances have more adverse implications on their holistic wellbeing
Fundamental Connections between the Two Essays
Both essays analyze the human nature and seek to underscore their disturbing characteristics that greatly undermine their psychological wellbeing and contribute to their suffering. In particular, the authors evaluate the images that humans accord themselves and contend that these impact negatively on their self esteem and worth. In the first essay, Grealy places great emphasis on her facial outlook and contends that it does not meet societal approval.
Lack of societal approval to her is like a death sentence because of the fact that it denies her the relative contentment and happiness. Seemingly, Grealy fails to acknowledge that her ‘real’ self is more important and should be accorded greater value than her facial looks. Likewise, Plato indicates that humans have increasingly relied on the external features of objects to judge their value. Sadly, these are often deceiving and deluding. In particular, they prevent them from understanding and appreciating the actual values of the objects.
In both essays, the society plays a critical role in shaping the perceptions that the objects are accorded. In other words, the values of the objects are entirely determined by the society rather than individuals. This is regardless of the fact that the individuals tend to understand the worth of the objects better than the society. In this respect, it can be posited that humans overly rely on the society for guidance. This has had negative impacts on their welfare as it had failed to acknowledge and appreciate their intrinsic value. Grealy in this regard lacks personal satisfaction that is important for self actualization. Plato on the other hand illustrates that humans prefer being associated with the external appearance of objects to their actual worth.
Works Cited
Nancy, Comley R., David Hamilton, Carl Klaus, Robert Scholes & Nancy Sommers. Fields of Reading: Motives for Writing. USA: Bedford, 2007.
Norwood, Selby & Pamela Bledsoe. Essential College English. USA: Longman, 2008.
Digital Literacy
Digital Literacy
Student`s Name
Professor`s Name
Digital Literacy
Introduction
Before the digital literacy, there was a body of prudent world relating to print literacy that are no longer relevant now. There was the use of the term literacy with the addition of prefix that were added with time like information literacy. The definition become incomplete the growing feeling of ideal contextualization of the term in 1960s when the visual nature of information continued to be created in the society (Morris 2018). Therefore, there was the formation of the term visual literacy that entails the ability of a person to integrate other senses beside the visual acuity in comprehending a media concepts and pictures (Bawden 2008). The advancement is essential for human beings and their ability to learn and comprehend concepts and ideas. For a case in point, people can interpret and discriminate visible symbols, objects, man-made and actions that they encounter in their surroundings, as a result, people can communicate conveniently and effectively with these competencies as well as appreciate the aesthetics of visual communication.
The print media has been overtaken by visual media. The preferences of the people in terms of what they buy and believe, recognize and desire, know and learn is influenced by their psyche of photograph they see. Therefore, visual literacy can be termed as the ability to create and communicate through images, decode and encode. Consequently, in the development, digital literacy refers to the capability of human being to acquire and use technique, knowledge, attitudes as well as personal attributes that entails ability to plan, evaluate and execute digital actions in finding remedies to real life situations.
Digital literacy
Digital literacy is beyond any single definition since it involves complex contextual understanding that surrounds civic, creative, critical, constructive, communicative, confident, cognitive and cultural elements. In essence, digital literacy is the ability to assemble knowledge from a diverse sources of data for instance reading and making sense of no-sequential as well as dynamic information. In addition, a person is said to be digitally literate is they can make sense and are aware of the traditional tools in line with networked media (Kienhues & Bromme 2020). For example, a person can understand the culture of the people by observing their mannerisms and establish their beliefs and hence can interact with them with ease by responding in a dignified and emotionally matured way.
Digital literacy is an integrated model of skills that have been enriched with time. The evolution of digital literacy begun with photo-virtual literacy in 1990s they require cognitive skills to not only employ understand visual messages but also to think through them (Eshet 2004). The knowledge of the environment enhances the insightful interpretation of the visual images. A typical example of using photo-visual knowledge in digital literacy is the interpretation of graphic user interface as well as playing computer games where instructions are given through graphical representation of icons and symbols (Bawden 2008). Therefore, success in photo-visual literacy is mark by intense memory and strong intuitive thinking that is associated with the interpretation images. After visual literacy was the creation of reproduction literacy that involved the duplication of creative materials. The era is characterized by the reproduction of academic work through editing visual, audio tapes and texts.
Figure 1.0: https://unsplash.com/photos/-dNCKf4zs3Y
Importance of digital literacy
Digital literacy is instrumental because it has transformed labor market by creating both risks and opportunities hence necessitating the employees to have extra skills and knowledge. In essence, the concept can be look to be beneficial in three vantages; using tools interactively, acting autonomously and working with socially heterogeneous groups. Therefore, the skills and the knowledge that a persco9n will enable him to elevate the sustainable development goals, cohesion and justice, social welfare as well as personal well-being. In early 2000 in Bologna ns Lisbon, educationalists linked political objectives in education to higher education using the digital literacy project called tuning Educational Structures in Europe (TUNING) (Bejaković & Mrnjavac 2020). The central aim was to distinguish generic from subject specific competences. The framework distinguishes three competencies as crucial in transforming the education sector; interpersonal, instrumental and systemic competences.
Furthermore, the ability to integrate and make sense of variety of concepts has since the first time in Europe, enable citizens to decipher ideas hence improving their personal actualization through social inclusion, employability and active citizenship. The competences are essential in the knowledge based society (Bawden 2008). Digital literacy inculcate the need to factor in the traditional competences that ranges from numeracy, mother tongue fluency together with skills in foreign languages, science and technology. As such, digital literacy does not only create a balance society but it also enhances learning in civic education, entrepreneurship, initiative taking and cultural awareness and most importantly self-expression.
Problems Related to Digital Literacy
Digital literacy has a share of menace in the labor market with it tendency to reduce job opportunities for the people. The skills and knowledge are pertinent in the operation of machines hence increasing efficiencies by reducing costs and increasing production. In essence, the number that by industries and factories require is no longer huge as it was initially. Berger and Frey (2015) predicted a loss of 40-60% of the existing jobs in Europe due to automation. The robotic power that the machines have has rendered manpower irrelevant in a competitive job market. Unluckily, the problem is escalating with the high population growth experienced all over the world. Despite the fact that there are growing industries as result of industrialization, digital literacy has been on demand regarding other skills less valuable in recent past.
According to Bejaković & Mrnjavac (2020), there is a hint that millions of jobs are going to be lost as result of digitalization. Furthermore, digital literacy has created a polarized labor market where the employers created high affinity for skilled employees with high cognitive abilities. Therefore, the demand for low-skilled and middle workers whose input in the industry is purely manual work has greatly diminished hence creating crisis where the low class citizens are incapacitated. Digital literacy thereby creates a challenge to the upcoming generation since their parents cannot afford to sustain their well-being as result of unemployment.
Media and Information Literacy
Information literacy is the capability of a person to recognize the need for information as well as the ability to not only locate, evaluate but also the ability to use the information effectively (Bawden 2008). The endeavors can be made possible by the language and sound competences, fluency in information technology and critical reasoning and discernment. Therefore, it worth to note that information literacy has the power to initiates, sustain and extend a continuous learning process that require technology but not ultimately (Morris 2018). Media on the other hand refers to the central means of communication like the internet, publishing and broadcasting. Media and information literacy is thereby the ability to make use of the avenues where information are shared. It enables people to communicate deeply and efficiently through the internet.
The term information used to be termed as the ability to use as well as manipulate primary software packages. However, the meaning has continually changed to the process of finding, analyzing and evaluating data and material collected. According to Grand-Clement, et.Al (2017) any can create and disseminate content in the internet however it require information literacy to discern the material. There is growing need for skills and insightful and critical mind that can filter content and share real and factual information (Grand-Clement et al. 2017). Furthermore, critical and information literacy enable the people to properly document and get feedback that are sound and convincing by eliminating errors and deception in the media. Inquisitive skills brought about digital versatility and mental acuity bring about creativity and innovation in the manner in which people handle information at their disposal (Lankshear & Knobel, 2005). Information literacy also create autonomy in thinking. For example, literate people believe what they like to believe and as such respect the independence in others. They do not impose ideas and positions on others but rather convince them based on mutual benefit even though they could be supporting them assertively.
Real World Practices Using Digital Literacies
Digital literacy is essential in real life situations like retrieving data, processing data and sending mails. Retrieving information from the internet such as research content require literacy skills. For instance when searching content from the internet, researchers are supposed to discern the difference between real and factual data from the voluminous information found in the google and other research online content (Lankshea & Knobel 2005). In essence, without the insights and competences on information and media skills they cannot distinguish the data. Furthermore, processing information like creating posters and making sense of the content in the photos in them require literacy as well as sending mails in using computers and mobile phones. In searching for information like location of a place from the google and other mobile application require internet sharpness and skills like hypertext navigation and knowledge assembly (Lankshea & Knobel 2005). Therefore, information literacy and media competence is a crucial skill in the practical and contemporary aspects like searching for accommodation, food, culture and weather information hence filtering them to find relevance and usefulness.
Figure 1.1: https://unsplash.com/photos/t0Lc7M82qKo
Labor MarketThe dynamics of the labor market has necessitated for employees who are not only versed with the literacy skills but resilient to the changes that are taking place (Bejaković & Mrnjavac 2020). The potential employees that are digitally versatile stand a chance to get jobs for their relevance in the industry. Most of the operations in the internet are undertaken through coding and encoding digital messages and signals hence labor should be well versed with such skills. In the other, literate people are able to process and contextualize information hence reducing the conflicts among the employers as result of emotional and cultural intelligence.
Furthermore, there are situations that necessitate working at work like the case of the pandemics such as COVID 19 that hit the world economically and socially. During such moments, tasks are completed at home and communicated or send through electronically enabled means. In addition, the workers get feedback while at home (Sally, 2020). The transactions are faster and convenient compared to the manual and physical interactions. Therefore, the market have shifted to provide in-service training to their employees while they are keen in looking for well-packaged workers technologically.
The need for such employees is also informed and motivated by the demand for proper data collection. For instance, in marketing salespersons would wish to get partners and buyers for their commodities thereby are required to ascertain the serious and reliable buyers from the mix of marketing and advertising data on the internet. Therefore, workers should smart and digitally informed to create content that is reliable, accurate and factual about the commodities hence effectively appealing to the buyers and business partners. The employers are not only keen and interested for technical skills but also the ability to process digital data.
Study of Media and Information Literacy
According to Grand-Clement, et. al (2017) student in all fields of study should have digital and professional literacy for them to be productive in their jobs in future and enable to graduate. The education systems in Europe has integrated the concepts in the curriculum while in some instance it is treated as a subject of its own. The communication skills as part of information literacy have been emphasized in scales of education. During learning, students need to analyze the relevance, validity and reliability of the information they acquire online. Therefore such skills are crucial especially where voluminous data is required. In as much information literacy when studied in school, is blurred by the fact the concept that it is wide hence no one can claim full competencies of the information competence.
Conclusion
Digital literacy is part and parcel of the contemporary world where communication and marketing strategies and initiatives are done in the internet. The students, employers and the workers alike are supposed to integrate the ideas, images and technical signals in order to understand and communicate effectively. For instance, students should learn skills to acquire, analyze and interpret data based on relevance, accuracy and reliability while employers are keen and affiliated with to digitally versatile workers. The workers on the other hand, are challenge by the dynamism in the labor industry that require them to have such skills in order to deal with marketing and advertising content. In my opinion, digital skills are crucial in the communication particularly professional interaction. The ability to process information accurate and interpret appropriately creates cultural and emotional intelligence pertinent in workplace relationship. Furthermore, sending mails and acquiring information in the internet are among the basic skills and knowledge that each person should learn to survive in the 21th century given the technological and digital advancement that have taken shape in the country. Therefore, digital skills should be stressed in the education system to capture the requirement of the future job market that predictably will necessitate ICT literacy in applications and use of digital services.
References
Bawden, D. (2008). Origins and concepts of digital literacy Preview the document. Digital literacies: Concepts, policies and practices, 30(2008), 17-32.
Bejaković, P., & Mrnjavac, Ž. (2020). The importance of digital literacy on the labour market Preview the document. Employee Relations: The International Journal, 42(4), 921-932.
Eshet, Y. (2004). Digital literacy: A conceptual framework for survival skills in the digital era. Journal of educational multimedia and hypermedia, 13(1), 93-106.
Figure 1.0: https://unsplash.com/photos/-dNCKf4zs3YFigure 1.1:https://unsplash.com/photos/t0Lc7M82qKo
Grand-Clement, S., Devaux, A., Belanger, J., & Manville, C. (2017). Digital learning: Education and skills in the digital age Preview the document. RAND corporation and Corsham institute.
Kienhues, D. & Bromme, R. (2020). General Literacy in a Digital World. Springer, Boston, viewed on 1 September 2020, < https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-1-4419-1428-6_45>.
Lankshear, C., & Knobel, M. (2005). Digital literacies: Policy, pedagogy and research considerations for education Preview the document. Paper presented at the Plenary address given at the ITU Conference, Oslo.
Morris, W. (2018). ‘Why it is important to be Digitally Literate in the 21st Century’, Literature School, viewed 1 September 2020, < https://medium.com/literate-schools/why-it-is-important-to-be-digitally-literate-in-the-21st-century-583000ac8fc0>.
Sally, H. (2020). ‘Business Literacies and the Future of Work’, UTS Online Subject 21900, lecture notes, UTS, Sydney, viewed 1 September 2020, <https://canvas.uts.edu.au/courses/15476/pages/w2-literacies-required-for-the-future-of-work?module_item_id=330474>.