Cultural Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cultural Studies - Essay Example Moreover, representation of a particular culture is also a point which has triggered much controversy among the intellectuals. In this context culture entails subjective disposition of an individual or an ethnic group from an external frame of reference. Cultural theorist Stuart Hall laid the foundation of cultural discourses in modern times. Throughout his illustrious career, Hall researched extensively on a number of socio-humanitarian issues, including representation, subjectivity and identity. This essay is going to answer four questions that are central to Stuart Hall’s cultural theories. 1. ‘Culture is itself a signifying practice and has its own determinate product: meaning’ (Hall). Discuss this understanding of culture and relate it to other ways of conceptualizing culture referred to throughout the course. Stuart Hall was the first theorist to hint at the correlation between etymological significance of discourse and culture. His steadfast denial of a pervasive ‘cultural superstructure’ (During 97) brought about a revolutionary change in the social science of language and its meaning. Hall terms language as ‘the medium for the production of meaning’ (Hall 30), which underscores the linguistic concept of the paradigmatic shift from the signifier to the signified. In other words, we need to keep aside the superficial meaning of language to gain a profound understanding of what lies within. As regards perceiving a particular culture in its entirety, it is not as important to consider the outward manifestations of the same as it is to understand the subliminal threads that bind it in a structural accord. Hall himself stresses on dissociation of meaning even within a specific cultural discourse as he endorses arrangement or order of things (30). What he simply con ceives is that nothing has a static meaning per se (Hall and Open University 19). Meaning is itself an

American History - 13 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

American History - 13 - Essay Example Reagan actively supported anti-communist struggles in Afghanistan and Central America. In his second term, Reagan softened his stand and negotiated with Gorbachev, agreeing to scale back the arms race. His 1987 speech in West Germany, â€Å"Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall† was a clarion call for the end of the Cold War. A series of summits and treaties, in collaboration with Gorbachev, including the INF, drastically reduced Cold War tensions. Mikhail Gorbachev, who came to power in 1985, attempted to reform the USSR’s failing economy, and repressive political system, through his policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring). Ronald Reagan yielded his hard-line stance largely because of Gorbachev’s overtures He openly promoted a new international order free of Cold War competition. In 1989, Gorbachev signed the START I Treaty, ending the Cold War. His permissive attitude led to the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. George H. W. Bush only concluded the process initiated by Reagan and Gorbachev. East-West tensions continued to subside and Bush signed the START I arms control treaty in Moscow in 1989. Following this, Bush, along with Gorbachev, formally announced the end of the Cold War at the Malta Summit. The Berlin Wall, symbol of the Cold War, came down in November 1989, and communist governments in the erstwhile Soviet Union were progressively replaced by democratically elected governments. 1. 30-5. The Supreme Court judgment in Edwards vs. Aguillard (1987) is significant as a testament to the need for a strong judiciary to keep the legislature in check. It demonstrates the attempt made by the Christian Right to impose its belief on impressionable school children and destroy the secular fabric of society, by equating the theory of evolution with the theory of intelligent design as valid theories. It exposes the guise of academic freedom assumed in order to impose religious beliefs. Creationism is unequivocally defined as

Wireless communication in business (On the Apple example) Essay

Wireless communication in business (On the Apple example) - Essay Example Wireless communication permits people much flexibility in communicating, because they can do so anywhere they want and with a less restrictions. According to Craig Mathias and Lisa Phifer in their article entitled "The Evolving Wireless Landscape", the wireless technology today is frankly amazing.They furthered that wireless technologies have made foremost development in their quest for broadband.Wireless technology has also entered the world of business. The said modernism has helped the business world in different ways such as wireless monitoring in establishments, control devices; video streaming that allows easy access in communicating with people that are distant form each other. It also allows voice messaging, wireless access of the Web through mobile phones, and bar code scanning.Furthermore, wireless technology enables people involve in business to easily access to whatever they need for their businesses. For instance, they can surf the net whenever they want through the help of mobile phones, laptop computers and broadband wireless communication.These assure constant freedom of stable access to the Internet with great speeds without the restriction of connection cables. And with these, users could enhance productivity and accessibility.Wireless technology has of course its benefits especially to the world of business. They improve the convenience, dependability and appropriateness of communication thus, allowing people to, first is to stay steadily connected with other people in spite of the location and without being plugged into anything. It also saves time and money as well through cutting off seconds of usual tasks like tracking down people, examining items and receiving mission-critical warnings (Wailgum, 2006). Challenges of Wireless Communication There also noted challenges of this said technological advancement. First and foremost is that such technologies are now flooding in the market, giving buyers a lot of different choices making them very confusing to choose. Also, wireless technology is mainly limited compared to those wireless alternatives. There is also a delayed factor when it comes to wireless security. Moreover, decline of connections mirrors the inherent restrictions of signals that are easily blocked by physical obstructions like mountains, tunnels, buildings, and the noise produce by radios and the absence of cellular towers and sites in a specific region as well. Physical appearance of the technologies also hampers the great benefit a user can get. For example, small screens in personal digital assistants or PDAs and other wireless devices limit the user to view the screen at once. Also, short battery life duration indicates that the users must be careful in using the said gadgets and in charging the batteries as well (Wailgum, 2006). Just a year ago, Apple Computers launched one of it greatest product, the iPhone. Apple practically surpassed its competitors, with its magnificent graphical interface and user friendliness, the iphone got 37% of the market share of global mobile phone sales. This indeed has put Apple in the lead and supremacy in the digital mobile phone technology race. iPhone will practically change the way people live and do business. Its ability to access the Internet, great graphical interface, multi-touch function, big storage capacity and user friendliness will equip people and business to be mobile yet connected. One fascinating feature is the ability of the iphone to determine the its exact location using google maps, making it easier to find one's way to and forth any destination. It can also assist